I spent a litle time this past weekend just kind of touching base here with this blogging community. I commented on a few posts and read a few others but didn't really devote too much time to this site. But in doing this I was struck with the very real fact that blogging and sports in general have to be kept in a certain context and perspective. For me, this past weekend, this community and sports proved to be a touch of fantasy in context to the real world.

Andy Roddick has a bum ankle and had to "retire" in the third set of his first round match at the French Open. He "retired" makes it sound so proper. He was hurt and couldn't continue so he withdrew. You see, perspective and context. We need to keep them straight.

In that vein we need to keep in perspective ad context what is important. This bloggin community has served another purpose for me this weekend. A respite!

PERSPECTIVE/ CONTEXT

The Sabres won game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals and have forced a game 7 to be played Thursday in Ralegh, N.C. against the Hurricanes. Great for Sabres, not so good for the Hurricanes.

Wayne Gretzky will stay on as coach of the Phoenix Coyotes. Good for Wayne, maybe not so good for Coyotes. Or, vice versa.

Edmonton is back in the Finals. Good for Edmonton, not so good for Anaheim.

The Heat are getting ready to deposit the Pistons into "seasons over" population. Good for Heat bad for Pistons.

Nowitzki can't decide if he wants to be a 30 pt. man or 11 pt. man at most crucial time of year when consistency is key. Good for Suns bad for Dallas.

Barry Bonds finally moved into second place on the all time homerun list in MLB. Good for Barry, Ruth was still great and Aaron is still the man. Bad for Bonds bashers, Ruth admirers and any Aaron fans who are worried about Bonds passing him on the all time list.

Roger Clemens has or has not  (depending on who you listen to) signed a one year deal to pitch for the Astro's. Good for Roger, good for Astro's, or maybe not!

A Dutch report has cleared Lance Armstrong of doping charges in the 1999 Tour de France. Good for Lance bad for his accusers and any who finished behind him.

Citing these examples will help me to explain why these things have to be taken in perspective and context. They have to be taken that way based on their importance and the effect they have on their participants. These effects are very real to those involved. How involved are we, the fan, the spectator, the audience that we should feel the effects like the participants? Really, in context, we aren't so involved with  these kinds of things that our daily schedules should be altered or our perspectives should matter to the participants in these events. And yet we place a high level of importance on things like this and on our viewpoint of them.

And that is why my perspective of our blogging community changed a litle bit this past weekend. I enjoy it because it is a venue for us to share those opinions and debate them if we must. I enjoy it because there are so many people out there who either share our viewpoints or disagree with them and that prompts healthy (for the most part) discussion. I enjoy it because I have been inroduced to a different world of people who can write and communicate their views intelligently and, in some cases, not so intelligently. I enjoy it because it now serves as a respite. When I am feeling kind of down or troubled I have another place where I can go to step out of the real world for a while. A place where I can pop in if I wish or stay out if I wish. A place where my opinion is just that, an opinion, and its relevance to the real world is probably important to me and probably not so important to those involved and for that I should keep it in perspective and context. My opinion doesn't change lives dramatically or alter facts as they happen which is so much real world. Therefore, in keeping blogging and sports in the proper perspective I am allowed my little space to go to when I don't want to face things.

A very good friend of mine lost his father this weekend to Alzheimer's. As if that weren't bad enough, two of my nieces and a nephew lost their father in an industrial accident this weekend. My sister and he were divorced but he was always a great guy. Great to his children and great to my mom and dad, even after their divorce. Whenever I went back home I made a point to go and visit him, if only for a short time, just to keep in touch. He will be greatly missed. His children, like others before them, now have to learn to live in a world without their father. My nephew just graduated from high school. My nieces are in the 9th grade. This is real world. The perspective and context I place on this are of greater importance than any sports opinions, mine or others, or any blogging site we can go to.

Does it de-value the enjoyment I get from this site and those who blog here? 

NO!  As I said before, I enjoy this little community and the majority of those who blog here.

 Does it de-value the enjoyment I get out of sports as either a fan or a participant?

 NO!  I have always been an athlete and strive for competiton. I coach and have found great enjoyment in that.

The loss of my friends father and my brother-in-law fell on the weekend when we remember those who have lost their lives in the pursuit of freedom. Of those who died so that we may live in a free world. My friend and my nieces and nephew are unique to me for their personalities, not for the tragedy that be-fell them this weekend. They are no more unique in that regard than anyone else who has lost a parent or a child or any family member. But all of them are unique in reminding me that there is a proper perspective and context for everything depending on their importance and how people are effected. And in that respect, my opinion on sports and blogging take a back seat to the real world. But this little community of bloggers has become a blessing, a respite from the real world, where things are so much more important on the whole.

I don't want to offend the 12 of you who are still chasing the NGS dream. That has importance for you and in that context blogging holds a high importance to you. I wish you all well in that pursuit. As for me, I needed my perspective arranged a little bit. It is unfortunate what it took to do that. Hopefully, I will be able to maintain the proper perspective on things. I will still probably get edgy on some things and get a bit po'd about a few other things as will most of us. I don't write posts often and am a much more frequent commentor. I hope that doesn't offend most of you because, as you are now one my respites from the real world, I intend to keep up with that practice.

I just need to remember PERSPECTIVE and CONTEXT and their IMPORTANCE.

HAVE A GREAT DAY.