Instantly engaging, ruggedly sexy, intelligent, dedicated, relentless, strong and intimidating are some of the words to describe Chuck “Cold Steel” O’Neil, contestant on the wildly popular The Ultimate Fighter Season 13 on Spike cable television. Brought on the show as an alternate, O’Neil has taken a bumpy road to reach the spot he is now, including lucking into a fight, losing to fellow contestant Zach Davis, and securing the wild card position that allowed him to fight another day after that loss! A win during the week of May 11th secured his rightful place of prospective champions for this season.

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If you haven’t heard about Mark Chauppetta you may be living under a rock. From a widely publicized MMA fight to a documentary about prepping for the fight as a forty-year old man, and a book chronicling his most incendiary cases as a Private Investigator that landed him on the Howard Stern Show recently, Mark is indeed everywhere. Handsome, rugged, strong, and unassuming, Mark Chauppetta is a cross between everyman and a superstar. He is media savvy, a member of the media with his own successful radio show, a well-respected PI and a sought after character for reality television. Mark Chauppetta is several personas in one man and his story is fascinating.

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The first time Impact Fighter came to my attention, Chuck “Cold Steel” O’Neil was mentioning the outfit in his shout outs during the interview I conducted. Both on the radio and for the article I wrote about him, O’Neil made sure to mention the company that provided his shirts. Of course fighters need to do that; that’s part of the give and take of sponsorship and support. But Chuck O'Neil mentioned Impact Fighter of his own accord, they don't sponsor him; he believes in what Impact Fighter does and respects the company. What I didn’t know at the time is what an incredible company Impact Fighter is, how much they do for so many, and what an important role they play in the world of MMA. This is Impact Fighter.

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Welcome back to the Friday Music Blog on the Indie Republic. This week’s focus is songs that contain the word “fire” in the title. Be sure to include the artist’s name and/or the artist whose version you prefer. Check out your iTunes library, your compact disc catalogue, dust off your LPs, unearth your long-forgotten mixed tapes, and dig out the 8-track dinosaurs and compile a comprehensive list of songs that have the word “fire” in their title!

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New Hampshire was good to Team Stewart-Haas this year, wicked good. The Lenox Industrial Tools 301 run at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, New Hampshire saw pole sitter Ryan Newman and his teammate/owner Tony Stewart, who started on the outside of the pole, take the checkered flag in the same order they started boosting the two team’s morale, points, and mood.

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