Whether it's the Dallas Mavericks or American Idol, competition is at the heart of many of the things I enjoy. Although I aspire to activities that induce relaxation and good times and no stress, you may never find anybody more competitive.

My mom has always said that I hated losing even as a child. No, not like you hate to lose. Everybody says that. I mean, who's going to say, "I really enjoy losing?"

I mean it affects me at the core of my soul.

No, not when the Sooners lose. Many folk get tied up in their teams, in their reality show contestants, in their political candidates to the point that it makes them ill when they lose -- and, that stuff ... it just doesn't bother me a bit.

I have no control over it, or at least negligible control when it comes to something like a reality show.

However, it burns my ass to see somebody not try, not bring it, not step up, act apathetic, etc. When I went off on Dirk Nowitzki last week, it wasn't because he isn't a talented ball player or a terrific fellow. It's because, to me, he clearly doesn't have the same competitive core I have.

That bugs me.

I love it when people go for the kill. Heck, go back to Season 3 of "The Apprentice," and remember Kendra Todd.

She wasn't the brightest candidate. She wasn't the prettiest contestant. However, with about three weeks left in the competition, after having stayed under the radar for most of the season, Kendra Todd came out, drew the dagger and killed everything in her path.

It's one of the most impressive feats of competitive fury I've ever seen, and she won. I would have married her on the spot if she woulda had me.

My friends always kid me about my "man crush" on Josh Heupel, the OU quarterback who led those beloved Sooners to a national title in 2000. The source of this non-sexual affection is centered solely on the fact that this guy was probably the most competitive Oklahoma quarterback to ever don the uniform.

He would have done anything that season to will OU to a win, and by the end of the year he was playing like a crippled, middle-aged man but did so with superior intelligence and killer instinct.

If I may come full circle, it is that type of killer instinct that Union High School graduate Melinda Doolittle needs in order to win Season 6 of Idol In fact, if DialIdol.com and the AI message boards and the industry buzz are all aligned, she might need a Kendra Todd-like week even to make the finale.

Only once since the inception of America's most popular program has the most talented individual won -- Carrie Underwood in 2004. That's just my opinion. What's less of an opinion (again, my opinion) is that there has only been one instance of what I'd call "killer instinct" being used to will a victory in Idol history.

Kelly Clarkson.

For somebody to win a reality talent competition, it probably helps not to be damned near perfect to begin with, which Melinda is musically. In Kelly's case, she was a cute girl, but she didn't impress many folks until about halfway through the inaugural season.

By the time the Final 5 became the Final 4 became the, well, you know, she wasn't merely singing, she was murdering, dismembering her competitors and tossing them to the side. Surely, you can see that for the metaphor it is; however, suffice to say that this chick had killer instinct.

Lou Grant might have called it "spunk" some 35 years ago.

I know. He hated spunk. (You'd have to be an MTM fan)

Nevertheless, if the most talented individual is to win Idol, Season 6, she will need killer instinct, a pair of Clive Davis-inspired performances that not only overshadow Jordin Sparks and Blake Lewis but that make them look and sound like rank amateurs.

No, not everything has to be competitive. In fact, I try not to be competitive the vast majority of the time. However, when it comes down to it, if it's a must, if something big is on the line, what usually separates winners from losers isn't talent or ability ... it is sheer will and killer instinct.