JR - Friday's BBQ'ed Random Thoughts

Here's hoping that everyone is having a great day. The weekend is upon us and then it is back on the road for me as I leave Monday for Dayton, Ohio to prepare for another taping of Friday Night Smackdown. The smoker is fired up so let's get rolling with some BBQ'ed random thoughts.....

For those that have made comments on my most recent Smackdown blog on WWE.com and that took ALL my comments seriously, as Michael Cole would say, "Please, stop the pain." Humor, or attempts thereof, take many forms and my intent with that particular blog, as I try to do more often than not when I write, is to have fun.

Because I am pro choice & pro same sex marriage, does that mean I have to like all intergender wrestling matches because I don't. BTW that's as much as I will ever discuss politics or religion on this site. We aren't here to address the world's problems or to change the direction that wrestling is or isn't traveling.

Tag team wrestling. Seems like it has become topical over the past few days. We have received a fair amount of feedback on this site regarding it. Again, I reiterate that I am a fan of tag team wrestling or should I say good, tag team wrestling. It really doesn't matter who says what company is or is not prioritizing tag teams because until an established tag team headlines a PPV then it seems to me that tag teams, no matter how good they are, are still viable, important, semi main/under-card contributors. A resurgence of long arcing, tag team issues that culminate with those teams squaring off on PPV main events or even co-main events would suit me just fine but until then it is what it is.

Friday Night Smackdown provided the most compelling elements of WGN America's WWE Superstar broadcast Thursday night. Edge 's verbal skills continue to just get better and better and wait until you hear Edge's guest commentary on Friday Night Smackdown during the main event featuring Jeff Hardy vs. Chris Jericho.

Is this WWE fan LeBron James year to lead his Cavs to the NBA Title? I vividly remember "King James" attending a Monday Night Raw at the then Gund Arena in Cleveland his rookie year. We had a nice chat after the event walking to our vehicles and he signed my TV format that night. Really a classy young man as all have seen with his many TV interviews, etc. Since then LeBron has provided me a signed basketball and a signed Cav's home jersey that we will eventually display at J.R.'s Family BBQ in Norman, Oklahoma. LeBron is a great example of what is really good about pro sports and is a young man who knows he has been blessed with amazing gifts and doesn't take that fact for granted.

I saw on the 'net that it was May 8 (that's today as I write this) 2006 that was the date that I came back to Monday Night Raw full time after battling a colon cancer issue. 2005 was an interesting year for me and I got a huge break considering my tumor was not malignant. Fans still write about "Dr. Heiney", etc and all that sort of stuff expecting me to rant about it but I am so much more thankful that I am cancer free and still alive that all that other stuff that has happened on TV is no more than a dot on my personal, radar screen.

Somehow some idiot will go on another's website message board and turned my preceding statement into me "bitching" about not being on Raw and being "stuck' on Friday Night Smackdown which reeks of some having a chronic case of the "dumbass."

A-Rod returns to the Yankees lineup Friday. Does any one outside the world of pin stripes care? Alex Rodriquez can;t have any thing short of a great year for 1. the Yankees to battle their way into the playoffs and 2. to do the right thing by his teammates and fans after creating such a firestorm with his off the field BS of a few months ago. Hearing less from A-Rod in the near future on any subject might be something #13 should consider.

I got a nice email recently from Torrie Wilson who is on NBC's newest reality show that starts imminently. She'll be in a Costa Rica jungle with a slew of other celeb's with the object to see who can last the 30 days as I understand the premise. Torrie isn't a "dumb blond" by any stretch of the imagination and is dead set on proving that fact on her reality show opportunity. Torrie is in amazing physical condition which will help her cause in less than Marriott surroundings in the jungle. She sent us an autographed swimsuit to display in our BBQ joint and I have this revelation, the swim wear did not consist of an overabundance of material.

Speaking of lovely, smart and sexy WWE Divas, it is amazing how many folks check out the Daily Diva section of www.wwe.com. And I'm not even counting how many times the King logs in, so to speak.

From my days associated with the Atlanta Falcons in the early 90's, I got to know Bret Favre and found him to be one helluva guy. Tough minded, competitive and a super guy to be around. But he's a football player who loves to play the game. Bret was put on Planet Earth to be a quarterback. All great players, wrestlers too, have difficulties knowing when to hang up their gear. Let's all remember that it was the media that started the Favre to Minnesota story, not Bret. He seems to have made it clear that he is retired, yes I know that he's said it before, but this time I think he will stay retired. He certainly doesn't need the paycheck and I do know personally that he loves his off time hunting and fishing. Plus, what network wouldn't love to have the future Hall of Famer in their broadcast booth or studio if he's "football bored" and wants to stay associated with the game? NBC's brilliant Dick Ebersol is likely already all over this one.

There was a time in my life when I was joined by several Atlanta Falcons on a regular basis and we thought that we could drink all the Crown Royal in Atlanta but we failed miserably. Thank goodness I met Mrs. J.R. about that time or my life story, if I were able to remember it, might resemble a sad, country song. A party can be found in Hotlanta every night even without seeking one out.

I think the HBK vs. Undertaker Wrestlemania 25 match could be made into one helluva documentary styled DVD. I know some of the biggest stars in the biz who would love to talk about it including some of the HOF'ers who were present that day. This match will live forever in the annals of WWE and should be celebrated sooner than later even though both men are on hiatus for the time being.

Manny Ramirez really screwed up. Duh. How could Manny's doctor accidentally violate the MLB drug policy so blatantly and not be remotely aware of what he or she was doing? Will Ramirez seek restitution from his doctor for the $7M Manny is losing as a result of his suspension. Highly unlikely. Everyone should stop the insanity and just say no and work within a zero tolerance or something damn near it.

WWE's much anticipated DVD release of "The Rise and Fall of WCW" will no doubt create controversy which in turns creates cash. Where have I heard that before? Some have refused to be interviewed for this project which is understandable for many who have already discussed the topic endlessly. I would have personally liked to have heard Bill Shaw's thoughts, and I use that term loosely, but he declined. This DVD, as I understand it, will focus more on the WCW side of this equation from those who were there. I wasn't there when it "fell" and arguably wasn't there when it "rose" but I came in to WCW with the original class and discussed my tenure in Atlanta which was more positive than negative. It will be interesting to see how much of my contributions to the DVD will make air. For the record, I don't "blame" any one from the old, WCW regime for not wanting to be involved in this process and for a variety of reasons. I do know that this DVD is getting tons of internal attention and I fully anticipate that it will be a compelling DVD and one that I can't wait to watch.

What will you bet that the Rick Pitino to the Sacramento Kings story isn't being fueled by rival colleges who want to hurt Louisville's recruiting efforts? The same thing usually happens every December, more often than not it seems to come from the Dallas Morning News, regarding Oklahoma football coach Bob Stoops leaving the Sooners. Bob has been at OU since '99 and has no plans on leaving any time soon but those sort of stories do adversely affect recruiting as kids are kids and are impressionable and are also more media savvy than any other generation.

A Terry Funk Roast is being planned for October in New Jersey which I am sure will be a blast. I love the idea of doing Roasts on DVD but with WWE being PG rated and Roasts usually not being, it wouldn't be a good fit on that particular platform. Nonetheless I am betting a slab of ribs that the Terry Funk Roast will be a fun event to attend and wish the promoters well.

Cowboy Bill Watts turned 70 this past week. He's still feeling great and going strong. Bill "understood his audience" better than the vast majority of his peers in wrestling and was a real student of ring psychology. Cowboy wasn't a great in ring performer, better than he's often described as being, but not great. But he made fans believe and he knew how to promote himself particularly w/ mic time. How many wrestlers can you name who were headlining MSG their third year in the biz? I can think of Rock and Brock Lesnar off the top of my head but Watts did it in 1965, decades before any one else of accomplished the same feat. "Bombastic Bill" is featured prominently in the new book, "The Midnight Express and Jim Cornette 25th Anniversary Scrapbook" which is available at www.jimcornette.com. Watts' hand written memo regarding the art of and the importance of doing promo's is a must see and, like the rest of this classic publication, is a must read.

I have worked diligently to keep up with your questions and comments on our Q&A section of this site. It is updated as we speak and I will continue to work on it sporadically throughout the weekend.

Keep in mind that we ship non liquid, non food items any where in the world. That means our autographed J.R.'s Cookbook and autographed, black, Trucker's Caps, among other items. I hope that you will take a moment and check out our specials in our on line store.

With the wife out of town, I found myself watching WWE 24/7 On Demand until 3 a.m. this morning and that's not a complaint. I love the 24/7 service and encourage all fans to check it out as it is a great value. I truly lead an exciting life do I not?

Apparently the WWE's tour of Mexico is back on and I know that the advance ticket sales are MASSIVE. The international growth of the WWE brand in the future is going to be a major part of the company's success and will further strengthen the brand which should enhance the stock price one has to assume.

I hope to see a huge crowd of WWE fans Tuesday night in Dayton for a full night of WWE action including SD, ECW, and WWE Superstar content. I am arriving in Dayton on Monday in time to watch Raw even though I always DVR it. I have fun "entertainingly" hammering Raw on my blogs but don't kid yourself, I regularly watch the WWE's #1 TV priority. I can always count on the King breaking out a spiffy, new T shirt and his comedic banter directed to his broadcast partner, the "vintage" Michael Cole, has been fun to listen to lately especially when "Oh, My" Cole retaliates.

Remember that the Q&A section is updated and you're cordially invited to visit it.

Boomer Sooner!

J.R.