Well, where to begin? You don’t blog for a couple of days and the sports world goes to hell or at least its gatekeepers think so.

I speak of Tim Hardaway’s outburst on homosexuality, the ensuing discussion of tolerance, and hand wringing all around. Where we all stand on the issue runs the gamut from believing being gay is a sin to supporting same sex marriage. The preaching has been at a minimum, but then I’m not checking out every forum or blog lest my melon explode from millions of two cents worths. A couple observations, however:

In my mind there is a difference between tolerance and respect. My religion, race, or sexual orientation should neither automatically establish nor deny respect. Respect — given and received — comes from another set of characteristics, mostly learned at home and having to do with behavior. If I simply tolerate you because you’re Catholic or black or gay or whatever, we may only be able to be teammates but then probably not good ones. Like most of you, I was raised to treat others with respect and when I didn’t, I heard about it big time (and occasionally there was a belt involved). Obviously, I have lost respect for people, but it was a matter of behavior, not something filled in on a census form.

Observation two: Funniest comment I heard came from a gay guy on the radio about locker room worries, a primary and pivotal issue here, something we all think about when the-gays-in-sports-locker-rooms discussion comes up. He said too many guys paralyzed by this possibility are automatically thinking they are all that simply because they have requisite equipment. “Don’t flatter yourself,” he said.

Observation tres: The better the athlete does not necessarily mean the better the thinker. It’s obvious but needs a mention.

Observation last: Will Hardaway become the John Rocker of Roundball? His supporters counseled the aforementioned tolerance. Others may consider the aforementioned respect and behavior. On balance, I’d say Hardaway’s chances to be the new Rocker are spot on.

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Centura and St. Paul played basketball Thursday night and all I heard about was the game. That’s an improvement. Kudos to good fans, cooler heads, and perspective. On to districts.

In other high school sports GICC’s Ryan Zavala stayed unbeaten with two wins Thursday in Class C 125. He’ll be on the mat Friday night in the semis. Eighteen other area wrestlers will also be there. Saturday’s finals will be on the tube — NET. If you can’t make it to the Quest Center, it’s great theater on television, a four-ring treat for the sports fan.

Should be good hoops tonight at the new GICC gym as the Wood River boys visit the Crusaders.