In the end, it was his personality conflict with Sierra that made Apostol look incredibly foolish. After telling her that she was absolutely, positively going to be voted out; after essentially calling her stupid on multiple occasions; after telling viewers he was looking forward to watching her cry when she lost the vote; after acting smug as the voting began — Apostol's face fell and he found himself the victim of a blindside by members of his own alliance.

It was great TV but terrible for Tyson.

And he didn't do himself any favors in his post-elimation, on-air interview. "I guess everybody deserves to be there. You beat me — that's a huge accomplishment," he said. "That bothers me that Sierra would be here longer than me. It's a little weird being outfoxed by an idiot, but I'm not crying over it."

And, months later, he told TV Guide, "They voted me out for being too awesome." And then he went on to insult Sierra some more.

I have to think he was joking. But — note to future "Survivor" contestants — it sure doesn't look that way in print.

And, quite honestly, his behavior toward Sierra didn't reflect well on him for another reason. If she had been voted out, she would be on the jury deciding who wins the million dollars. And Apostol was assuring that one (and possibly more) votes would not go his way if he made it to the final vote.

Honestly, if you actually care about Utahns on reality shows, Todd Herzog (who won "Survivor: China" in 2007) was a much better representative. He played the game well — with the required amount of deviousness — but without being arrogant or cruel to any of the other contestants.

E-mail: pierce@desnews.com