I'm not a Red Sox fan, but I am happy to see my fellow lymphoma survivor Jon Lester do so well. His story is excellent, and the no hitter was a great moment.

It may not be the biggest deal in the year. It was the first no-hitter of the year, but while rare, they aren't unheard of. The Red Sox, Lester's team, have had 4 since the turn of the century.

 What makes this special is the context.

Lester was a very promising pitcher in the Boston system, when he was diagnosed with non-Hodgkins lymphoma, a blood cancer, and underwent extensive treatment.  His life, let alone his career, was in jeopardy. Fighting the cancer to a standstill, Lester returned to the Sox in 2007 winning the clinching game of the World Series against the Rockies 10 months after completing treatments, and seemed this year to be settling into an apprenticeship behind the excellent Sox starting staff.

Then on a brisk May evening, Jon Lester took the mound at Fenway and started throwing a chair to Royal after Royal, while his team-mates pounded the ball all over the park. All no-hitters are tension filled, but this one gathered a sense of inevitable destiny, as Lester threw 20 of 29 first pitch strikes, walked two and struck out nine for the no-no. He needed one big defensive play, and Jacoby Ellsbury gave it to him, laying out to backhand a blooper just above the grass in the fourth.

Then, in the ninth, with his 130th pitch, he blew down Callaspo for the win and the no-hitter. Varitek exploded out his crouch with the ball in his hand looking more jubilant, if possible, than Lester, the dugout tumbled onto the field and the love poured down from the Fenway stands.

Watching this, I felt a tremendous sense of happiness for a young man who has fought and beaten far tougher foes than he will ever meet between the foul lines, and silently thanked him for bringing joy into my life.