EDITOR'S NOTE: Each year at this time, Mark Farinella surrenders his column space to The Sun Chronicle's special Christmas correspondent, overnight delivery magnate Cristoforo Cringlione.

FORT-DE-FRANCE, Martinique

Ho ho yourself. I'm a businessman.

And a very tired and cranky one after what had to be one of the worst nights I've experienced in this business in the past 30 years. But more on that later.

This is, by my count, the 30th column I've written for Farinella since we made that agreement that my Christmas ... er, "holiday-time" thoughts (more pressure to be PC these days, bah humbug!) would replace his column once every year as payment for the day in 1974 when he dug my Eldorado out of a snowbank outside of Ann Arbor, Mich., so I could make an important meeting with the Teamsters in Detroit that would transform my small-time shipping concern into the world's most famous overnight delivery service. He could have had stock in the company, but he chose that. Tells you something about ol' "Fearless." He'd be worth millions now.

So, for 30 years, I've told you the story of my humble origins - born Cristoforo Cringlione in a small hamlet outside of Palermo, Sicily ... sent to America as a 9-year-old to escape the crime lords that ruled my native land ... mistakenly identified as "Kris Kringle" by an impatient Immigration clerk at Ellis Island ... sent out to fend for myself on the mean streets of New York City ... and so on.

I ran with the "Kringle" connection and developed an empire, headquartered in Point Barrow, Alaska. (Yes, I have to deal with Sarah Palin on a regular basis. Not fun.). My sons help me run it, although like any family business, there are problems - which is why I sent our middle son, Fredo, to Las Vegas last year to oversee the entertainment and gaming concerns under the Kringle umbrella. Fredo's a well-meaning soul, but he just can't handle the pressure of the delivery business.

Anyway, each year, I usually tell you tales of how I have influenced the great and the near-great, made celebrities out of nobodies and meted out swift justice to those unworthy of the bounty I've brought them. And that, it appears, has led many of you to believe that I can solve all of your problems and fulfill all of your wishes with a wave of my hand.

Take this year, for instance. Never have we logged so many complaints at the KringCo HQ from individuals unhappy with our deliveries last week. I'm here at my Caribbean summer home with my lovely wife, Maria Consuela, but the phone keeps ringing off the hook. It's either of my boys, Santino or Michael, calling with another list of gripes - and each time, it's not a problem with delivery. We got the stuff there on time. It's that no one liked what they got, or they wanted more, more, more. Free stuff! "That's what you're supposed to do, Kringle!" is what they shout.

Everyone's angry. Everyone's greedy.

Sorry, folks. I learned a long time ago that nothing's worthwhile unless it's earned. And that's why this year's missive is about a young man who, as far as I know, has never asked me for anything other than that someone just give him a chance.

As an individual, he's not really all that special. A high school jock in a family of jocks, he had to endure the heartbreak of watching his father chase a dream and not be able to catch it, eventually enduring the pain of separation caused by divorce. But with a supportive and nurturing mother and siblings, and faith in himself, he continued to excel and eventually earned his way to a football scholarship at a major college.

But there were better players than he already there, and more highly-touted players to come at his position. He did everything he could to earn playing time, even asking the coaching staff to play him at another position, but his place would remain the bench.

Still, he never quit, never transferred, never lost his faith in himself - and he never asked for any favors. He eventually drew notice from pro scouts in postseason workouts, and his head coach, a former pro coach himself, did everything he could to convince those scouts that the young man would have played, and played well, if not for the presence of two extraordinary athletes ahead of him. So a pro team took a chance on the young man. The team had the luxury of being able to bring him along slowly, because it already had one of the best players in the game at his position - good for the team, not so good for the youngster whose lot in life was always to wait.

After three years of sitting and watching, however, the "one heartbeat away" scenario intervened in the first game of this season. Now, the career backup was the starter because the flashy veteran was out for the year ... and if you don't know where I'm going by now, you haven't been paying attention.

"It hasn't surprised me," young Matt Cassel told reporters last week about his success this year. "I've always believed in myself and I've surrounded myself with positive thinking people that give me the positive support that I need, and that pushes me forward in the right direction."

Matt Cassel believed in himself, persevered, learned all he could, and when he finally got the chance, he delivered. And because of that, he's going to earn one heck of a paycheck next year, and he won't have to wait for me to deliver it on Christmas Eve.

"It's been a long journey," he said. "When you look back at the situation and you look at the naysayers and all the critics, it's great to overcome those obstacles and let people know that you never know what's going to happen in sports. That's the great thing about sports and especially the game of football. For me, it's just a constant reminder to keep going out, working hard, be diligent about what you do and good things will happen."

In a year in which the Christmas spirit took a serious hit, I think that does a pretty good job of reminding people that it still exists - and it's created from within all of us.

That's all I have to say this year, folks. Enjoy what's left of the holidays, and please, remember to ship early next year. And stop complaining!

CRISTOFORO CRINGLIONE is President and CEO of KringCo Overnight Delivery Inc. Mark Farinella's column will resume Wednesday.