I Need To Get This Off My Chest

I'm double-dipping today because an afternoon of writing and talking MMA after last night's UFC 100 has got me fired up...

Let me start with this: Brock Lesnar's post-fight antics and comments were horrible. Nothing funny, entertaining, or appreciable in what he said and what he did. Kudos to Dana White for immediately acknowledging that Lesnar was out of line and telling the big man just that once he got into the dressing room.

Now, what the hell is with the masses of people who would much rather fire baseless accusations at people and pray one of very few negative elements from an otherwise outstanding evening instead of celebrating the achievements and giving a person his due?

Since I'm sure a lot of people are out in left field right now, here we go.

I've read countless accusations today of Brock Lesnar being a 'roid-raging meathead and causing the UFC and MMA as a whole to lose any footing they had in regards to becoming more mainstream.

The first part of that statement sickens me and not because I like Brock Lesnar as a fighter. During the course of his athletic career, Brock Lesnar has been submitted to steroid tests more time than these keyboard jockeys have gone to the dentist, resulting in zero positive test and not even a shred of evidence to the contrary.

Now, either he has the most intricate masking system in the world and has been made away of each random test he's taken over the last ten years far enough in advance that he's never gotten caught or... he isn't the 'roid-raging meathead some people would rather he be.

How someone can have zero knowledge, proof or evidence to support a statement like that - one that is making it's rounds today amongst the anti-Lesnar contingent - is sickening to me, but sadly, it has become all too commonplace in society these days.

Secondly, just because some members of the media want to make Brock Lesnar the current poster boy for Mixed Martial Arts and use him as an example of all that is wrong with MMA doesn't mean it is accurate.

Those of us who love the sport - we follow it with dedication, write about it with passion and integrity and work to educate people about the beauty and artistry and respect involved at the highest levels - would never point to Lesnar as our Chosen One. He wouldn't be our Chosen 47 to be honest.

His antics last night were reprehensible, but his were the only unprofessional antics of the entire night. The rest of the way before that fight and in the one match afterwards, nothing but the highest levels of respect, sportsmanship and integrity were shown.

Our real poster boy is a guy like Georges St-Pierre, who routinely spends a few minutes after each fight huddled up with his opponent, thanking them for a great fight and showing nothing but the utmost respect and appreciation for a hard-fought battle.

The truth is that the vast majority of Mixed Martial Artists operate on that same level of respect, integrity and sportsmanship - the ancient idea of Bushido - as GSP, with very few taking the same path Lesnar chose to take last night.

Yet here we are this morning and across the Internet today, with countless people using Brock Lesnar as the basis for their continued dislike of Mixed Martial Arts and launching unfounded attacks against a guy who has time and again came up clean against the mud these people are throwing.

Too bad our society has become a place where scandals and failures, unfounded allegations and trying to tear something down has replaced good news and success, evidence and building people up.

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10 Things I Learned This Week

1. The Kyte Family is One Person Bigger
I'd like to start off by welcoming Brooke Smith to the Freak Show on a full-time basis. On Tuesday afternoon in Vegas Baby Vegas, Brooke and my brother Peter were married. Congratulations to both my brother and my new sister-in-law!

2. It's Official
Sarah is officially a nurse! She passed her nurses exam (as if there was any doubt) and is now a part of the workforce 100%. Congratulations Baby... enjoy the next 40 years of work!

3. As A Present to Herself...
Sarah purchased an Xbox 360 with Guitar Hero World Tour and two guitars last night. That's the best present that I've ever received and it wasn't even for me! After five hours of button mashing madness last night, we finally shut things down around 1:00 AM due to exhaustion and freshly forming callouses.

4. Interestingly Enough...
I'm off Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday this week. I won't, however, be shredding on my guitar all day long. I'm starting the book Tuesday morning, in hopes of getting a good chunk of work done so that I can send a portion out for feedback and to gauge interest. After a couple months of making notes and scribbling in the idea book, it's time to get down to work.

5. Brock Lesnar: UFC Heavyweight Champion
Not only do I love Brock's win from a fan standpoint of watching the future of MMA at his beginning, but I love this win from a writing standpoint too. I've spent a lot of time writing about MMA lately and predicting this fight correctly - as I did in two pieces at The Love of Sports this week - shows that I know what I'm talking about. In fact, I got the four biggest fights on the card perfect including my man Demian Maia submitting Nate Quarrey.

6. Getting Closer to the Goal
An email this week from The Powers That Be at The Love of Sports has potentially brought me one step closer to my goal of being able to sustain myself solely through my writing. Basically, the more I write, the better chance I have at getting what I want is what it boils down to, so as much as I'd like to practice up on the video game axe during my downtime, time writing today is going to mean time staying home in the future, so Guitar Hero will have to wait.

7. Polygamy is Effin' Crazy!
Sarah is watching the TLC Forbidden Love special on polygamy and just overhearing some of the crap these chicks are saying is nuts. You have to be some kind of whack job to be okay with your husband having seven other wives. Could you imagine? "Hey Honey, I'ma marry this one too and we'll all live together. Tonight I'ma sleep with you, but tomorrow, I'ma sleep with her. Kay?" How does that make you feel loved?

8. I Should Have Kept Playing Baseball
Why did everyone just let me walk away at age 12 like I did? How come no one told me to keep playing, get better and make it to the Majors? The money these teams are throwing around free agents, even a no stick, no mitt, no wheels guy like me would be able to pull in a couple million a season...

9. This Is Where I'm Meant to Be
Now that we've been out here for a month, it's fair to say that the infatuation stage of things is over. That's why I know this area - or at least BC in general - is where I'm meant to be. Everything about the area still makes me smile - the snow-covered mountain peaks in the distance, the friendliness of everyone in town, the fresh air and peaceful surroundings. I never thought I would be able to live away from "The City," but it's really not hard at all. In fact, it's better.

10. One Month, Three Smokes
Not bad for a guy who has been smoking since he was sixteen if you ask me...

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