What MMA Has Made Me Thankful For

While I will not be attending the family Thanksgiving festivities (held in a place which  is not wheelchair accessible), I will at least be spared of having to be humiliated by telling the huge gathering what I am most thankful for this year.

Naturally I am thrilled that my husband is doing so well after his surgery. He is not only my devoted caretaker who spots me in the bathtub, he is the man I have loved for almost fifty years, and my very best friend.

The love I have for my family is a given with all who know me.

My dirty little secret, however, is that above all else, I love MMA and all the accompanying joy and excitement it has brought to my life.

Writing sports articles on the Bleacher Report became the most important facet of my world almost two years ago to the day. Since I am more or less confined in a chair by Multiple Sclerosis, writing on my laptop to communicate my love of sports, primarily Mixed Martial Arts, is therapy for my mind and the few other functional parts of my body.

Much to my grandchildren's dismay, I have spent more time writing opinion pieces than I have rolling around and playing with them recently.

Thank God that I can still do something which makes me feel alive and vibrant at the age of sixty three. (With luck, I will turn sixty four on January 6).

My fans think that I am completely obsessed with Georges St. Pierre, which is close to being true, because his manager Shari Spencer and other members of his team talk to me and have been very, very kind.

That may seem to be a curious or humorous remark to some, but when I wrote offering to lay hands on GSP to help repair his pulled groin muscle, Jonathan Chaimberg was very polite and did make me feel comfortable with voicing my concerns for Georges' welfare.

It is true that I could not hear his laughter, but I appreciated his note thanking me for the offer. Bet he had more than a few sent his way too.

So now I want to reassure all my readers that there are other MMA fighters whom I have much affection for, including Fedor Emelianenko. His marriage had me so excited that I would have sent a gift had I known how to address it and where to send it. It would not have been an expensive gift, but his and her towels are always nice, at least in my opinion.

Jens Pulver shares intimate details of his life that have kept me in a state of delight for days on end. Like his son Karson, I once considered dog food to be a delicacy I could not resist. Of course I was slower than Karson and older than eight months when I shared with my dog "Butchie Boy." Kiwi probably tolerated the intrusion into his food bowl just as my dachshund did: with patience and just a little bit perturbed by the theft.

Jonathan Goulet and David Loiseau have chatted with me when I have asked them some of my dumb, but ever so sincere Grandma Dee questions. Just like my favorite dog, they are fierce fighters, but very gentle and understanding of my inquisitive, intrusive nature.

Chuck Liddell and Matt Hughes are two fighters that I have enjoyed criticizing for their autobiographies including certain mishaps and adventures they have disclosed . Yes, as a liberated female from the sixties (when women first burned their bras), I have hated Liddell's treatment of the various beautiful young women in his life.

With Matt Hughes, I hardly know where to start. Lets just leave it that our definitions of what constitutes a "good Christian" vary vastly. (Religion and politics find us in quite different camps). I certainly have disagreed with his opinions about his fellow fighters as well.

Josh Koscheck has turned me around enough times to make even a normal person dizzy. I hated him from the TUF house adventures, but warmed up to him when he dreamed of going down a weight class to challenge BJ Penn. More than a few of my many articles have been written about Kos.

BJ Penn used to be considered my worst enemy until he had a beautiful baby daughter and upset my applecart. I do love children and she is a beautiful little island princess in my eyes. How could anyone who loves children hate her doting daddy?

Gina Carano and her rival Christiane Cyborg Santos both fascinate me. I have watched and cheered for other women fighters and am trying to keep up with Bleacher Report's 105 pound spitfire Jen "Tink"  Aniano, who just had a fight in the East. Why can't the UFC make the world a better place by including the women in the sport?

Which brings me skidding back to the UFC and my favorite target of them all, who happens to share the same initials that I have. I just adore dissing on Dana White. Heaven knows he gives me so much fuel that I am never at a loss for something to disagree with him about.

Truth be told, I get along with almost everyone I meet and have to try very, very hard to portray the bitter old woman I am in my articles. How can I dislike anyone in the world of MMA when it has enriched my life so greatly?

Happy Thanksgiving to you all and may God bless you and your families!