Last night, I watched part of the Scripps National Spelling Bee on ABC before I switched over to this week's episode of TUF on Spike TV.  First of all, I wanted to say it's a welcome development that we are giving some of our nation's academically-inclined students some well-deserved publicity.  After all, we do a great job of glamorizing professional athletes, but realistically speaking, making it in pro sports is about as likely as winning the lottery. 

Trust me, I know that there are severe inequities in our nation's education system that prevent many of our kids from realizing their true academic potential (my wife is fighting the good fight on this front).  Still, if kids grow up idolizing more people who have figured out a way to earn a living with their minds, maybe more of them would make that their goal.  And that's a goal that is very attainable (and glamorous in its own right.)

Don't get me wrong -- I've been into athletics my whole life as both a participant and a fan.  However, I also learned early on that I had a much better chance of earning a decent living doing something other than chasing a dream to be a professional athlete. So, I focused on academics.  This is a message I think more of our kids need to hear and see.

So, where am I going with all this?  Well, as I was sitting there watching the spelling bee and TUF, I was struck by some of the similarities between the two shows:

1) Both are intense competitions

In case you missed it, the winner of the Spelling Bee was Evan O'Dorney of Danville, Calif.  He won by correctly spelling the word "serrefine" (even my spell-check couldn't spell this word.)  ESPN did a nice sports story-like write-up here.

As far as last night's episode of TUF 5 is concerned, the quarterfinal match featured Brandon Melendez (Team Pulver) against Gray Maynard (Team Penn). The fight was a good one, featuring two distinct fighting styles -- Melendez prefers the stand-up game, while Maynard prefers the ground-game.  While the fight was back and forth, I think Maynard controlled the tempo with numerous takedowns.  After attempting numerous chokes (which Melendez impressively defended), Maynard finally applied the winning choke at about 4:05 of the second round.

With the victory, Maynard moves on to the semifinals and Team Penn evens out the series with Team Pulver, 5-5.  Next week's episode features the final two quarterfinal matches.

2) Both feature riveting drama

In the spelling bee, I was fascinated watching the spellers ask for languages of origin, definitions, alternate pronunciations and use of the words in sentences.  The spellers then synthesized all this information in the ultimate moment of truth as they began spelling the word.  One letter wrong and the event was over.

The drama we've seen in TUF has been just as compelling outside the Octagon as inside.  In last night's episode, we were presented with Melendez's desire to switch to Team Penn (he wasn't allowed to), his struggle to overcome his hand injury in training and his quest to cut enough weight before the weigh-ins (which he did, thanks to teammate Andy Wang.) 

Things were fairly quiet on Maynard's front (which probably portended well for him in the elimination fight.)

3) Contestants in both shows are skilled but sometimes display adolescent behavior 

This is somewhat expected in the spelling bee, considering the oldest kids in the competition are in eighth grade.  In fact, I thought that for the most part, the contestants handled their time on the national stage with poise and dignity.

I wish I could say the same for some of the TUF contestants.  To be fair, I can't imagine being locked up in a house with 15 other guys for six weeks with no outside contact.  I'm sure it would make even the most mature person a little batty.  But, somehow I think the presence of TV cameras would be enough to sober me up.

Regardless, in last night's episode, we were treated to a little tiff (good-natured?) between Cole Miller and Nate Diaz.  Their late-night antics resulted in two mattresses being tossed into the pool and Miller being "antiqued" (to those who haven't enjoyed this privilege, that's being doused with ice-cold water followed by baby powder.)

In the end, both shows proved to be highly entertaining.  While you only have to wait one week until the next episode of TUF, you'll have to wait a year before you get to witness anyone trying to spell words like "aniseikonia".  Either way, it's a good time.