LukeDooley.com

I have a confession. To anyone who knows me this should not be a secret: I really (really really really) like sports. I like to watch them. I love to play them. I get wrapped up talking about them. My dream job would be that of a sports talk radio show host.

Here’s the thing though. I don’t just like one sport. I become engrossed by just about ANY sport. Seriously. Off the top of my head, if given the opportunity I would watch these sports on live or on TV: baseball, basketball, football, futbol, hockey, boxing, mma, nascar, golf, tennis, and horse racing.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not ashamed of any of this. People have passions. One of mine is sports, and I’m totally okay with that! The only problem I have is when I catch myself watching some sporting event on TV, and I come to the realization that I’m wasting a large amount of time watching a game that I have no rooting interest in. So…

I think I have a solution. Maybe solution is the wrong word. Maybe more like a commitment. Of all of the major sports I listed above, the one I care least about is NBA basketball. I don’t have a team that I deeply care about  (I root for the Cavs because they are close, and I’m fascinated by Lebron). So with that in mind, I have made the following decision. I’m not going to watch NBA basketball games this year. The season starts tomorrow. I won’t be watching. I’ll catch the highlights on SportsCenter, but I won’t invest large amounts of time watching games I don’t really care about.

What will I do with my extra time? I dunno. Hopefully something productive. I’m not going to say: “Everytime I could be watching the NBA, I’ll read the Bible”. Sure, that’s a great goal, but probably not something I’ll be able to accomplish. My only goal is to not watch the NBA, and to do my best to use that time productively. Talk to my wife. Read a book. Write a blog. Clean the house. Anything but the NBA. Until the playoffs… I’ll have to watch Kobe vs. Lebron in the Finals!

I love to write. I really do. With that said, I don’t have an explanation for why I go through seasons where I don’t blog. I think it’s because I often begin to blog for the wrong reasons. I blog so others will read. Or more specifically so others will comment, and say something like: “Oooh, good post. I really enjoyed reading that”.

Confession: I crave the affirmation of others. It’s a weakness of my flesh. Sorry.

Back to my original thought. I like to write. Really… I do! I love to find new creative outlets. Recently I began writing a weekly recap column for the Fantasy Football League that I’ve been in for 4 years. It’s fun, I get to pretend like I’m an expert, and analyze meaningless fantasy football stats. I even give away weekly awards. It’s sort of an homage to Peter King’s weekly Monday Morning Quarterback article on www.si.com

Recently I’ve been feeling an urge to blog again. Not sure why. I think I just need an outlet. I’ve been reading more lately than I have in several years. I want to share some of the things I’m learning, processing, and struggling with.

I’m embarrassed by my lack of consistency in blogging. Every time I end an e-mail with my signature, I see my blog address, and hope that the person on the other end won’t visit the blog. I hope they’ll see my Twitter URL and check that out instead. I’m a good Twitterer!

All of that to say. I’m blogging again. Not for you. But for me. Hope that’s okay.