As always at JRsbarbq.com
I hope this blog (insider, internet term which means I am hipper than I was last week) finds everyone well, in great health, happy and relatively sane.
Things are great in Norman, Oklahoma USA as J.R.’s Family Bar-B-Q continues to stay consistently busy not only in our restaurant, but also with catering jobs as we had three alone on Thursday, one for 750 people. Next week we feed the OU football team, which is one of my more favorite nights of the pre-season.
The Sooner Football program bought several cases of J.R.’s Beef Jerky for their players and coaches consumption as it is a great snack for those on the go and has little, if any fat, plenty of protein, no carbs and seems to give the athletes a nice lift prior to their challenging practices in the Oklahoma heat. OU started practice Wednesday with high expectations, as usual, for another great season after last year’s unlikely Big 12 Championship year that started with the QB being kicked off the team and ended with the exciting Fiesta Bowl loss to Boise State. Nonetheless, in between the start and the end of the 2006 college football season, Coach Bob Stoops’ Troops had a magical year and without a doubt, it was Bob’s best coaching job to date at OU in the eyes of many, including his second year when he guided the Sooners to a National Championship. I would have to think about that one as National Championships are special, but there is absolutely no doubt that what the Sooner coaches did last year with a QB controversy and losing Adrian Peterson for several games with a broken collarbone that Stoops proved once again why he is college football’s best coach. Yours truly had dinner with Bob on Tuesday night and he is excited about this season, especially with so many talented players returning, 17 starters, and the fact that the summer, voluntary workouts, which began in Norman on June 1, went the best that they ever have. Many pundits are making a great deal about the OU quarterback situation and who will start between 3 players. According to Bob, that position is going to be earned and not willed to someone and a decision might not be made until the week of the North Texas game on September 1. Without question, more than one QB will be ready to play and facilitate a Sooner offense that is loaded. I always say it starts up front with the big eaters and the Sooner O-Line has the chance to be one of the school’s all time bests, which is saying something. As you can see, I am “mildly” excited about the potential of this years Sooner Football team and plan on attending every game, home and away.
Turning to wrestling, much has been made of my on air mistake misidentifying Jillian Hall and Beth Phoenix Monday night from Tucson on Raw. I am guilty as charged. I even had a premonition about this matter before the show and went up to the ladies to confirm what they would be wearing. Not simply because of my error, but it might serve each of them well to better distinguish themselves as it relates to look and attire which might lend to their individuality. Bottom line is I made the mistake, which isn’t my first one nor will it be my last, but I will work on correcting this matter in the future. I did get amused at the knee jerk reaction of many wrestling websites who made my “grievous error” out to be a bigger deal than I perceived it to be.
The Monday Night Raw rating, when it was released early this week, was not good. When I saw the rating I felt that it was an abnormally large drop and after reviewing the other programs on against us it seemed that none of them experienced an abnormally large increase for the night. So what happened? Where did the viewers go who failed to watch Raw? What TV show did they tune to Monday Night? All valid questions, but there are few answers except that Nielson, the rating service that provides the all important numbers/ratings for TV shows has stepped forward to indicate that there was technical errors in reporting for multiple shows, as I understand it, on Monday night. I don’t know what the Raw rating will end up being, as I write this, but it was a much better rating than was released on Tuesday that began a “sky is falling” approach by many in the wrestling media, some who almost sounded gleeful that the WWE was being faced with more challenges. I have had the same philosophy for year and that is that I never get to euphoric regarding the high ratings nor will I allow myself to get to low on the bad ones. I adopted that philosophy during the Monday Night Wars when WCW kicked our backside 83 weeks in a row even though I thought on many of those weeks the WWE produced the better TV product. That’s akin to a football team playing a great game and still losing. The bottom line is wins and losses and we lost….83 weeks in a row, so I decided to make a conscious effort to not put my self in a position to stay in a funk or depressed for those 83 weeks. I am not Dr. Phil, but that just doesn’t seem healthy.
Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top fame, a genuine legend in the world of Rock ‘N Roll, and his crew visited J.R.’s Family Bar-B-Q Thursday night and had a great time consuming large quantities of Bar-B-Q and COLD beverages. Mrs. J.R. and I will be attending the ZZ Top concert in OKC this weekend as guests of the band. Billy is a class act and a long time wrestling fan from his days of growing up in Houston and attending Paul Boesch promoted bouts as a youngster. Billy’s wrestling trivia expertise rivals Mike Tyson’s from the celebs I have met over the years.
It saddens and greatly disappoints me that Jeff Hardy will be absent from the WWE for the next month or so. Nonetheless, I am happy that Jeff isn’t suffering from a serious injury as has plagued so many wrestlers recently. The WWE could have certainly utilized Jeff’s services during these challenging times and no one can dispute the fact that Jeff’s individual popularity wasn’t building toward an all time high if it wasn’t already there. Everyone is human and as the old saying goes “to err is human” but the timing of these unfortunate circumstances are extremely untimely. The “good news” if one chooses to look for some positive in this situation is that Jeff will be back in time, as I understand it, and he will have an opportunity to still make a big impact in the WWE and then move continuously in a positive direction in his career and finally live his dream of becoming the superstar he was meant to be.
For some reason “The Simpsons” movie has been a topic of discussion here lately and “no” I haven’t seen it yet, but I have been a fan of the show for years. I used to day dream about “J.R.” being a recurring character on “King of the Hill” back in the day as I always felt I had a face for radio or animation.
Pacman Jones questions seem to abound. I think this is a joke to even consider Jones to be on anyone’s roster and is a knee jerk attempt to garner attention/publicity. Contrary to popular belief I am of the mindset that all publicity is NOT good publicity. It might have been in the P.T. Barnum, days but not in the days of Nancy Grace and her cronies. Seriously, that theory defies common sense in today’s marketplace. Jones has proven to have character issues and is living large in the age of entitlement so why would anyone with any intelligence want this man in their locker room? Wrestling locker rooms are challenging enough places with all the diverse ego and personalities that are seemingly running rampant without adding a known malcontent, non-dues paying, untrained wrestler to the mix.
I am doing some writing for www.ouinsider.com these days and generally have one column a week there concerning…guess who…the Oklahoma Sooners. Check it out if you are a college football fan.
Will Mr. Kennedy become a top hand on Raw? I hope so, but that is largely up to Mr. Kennedy and him getting a few breaks along the way. There is no magic wand that can be waved about a talent’s head that anoints them to be a star. It takes natural talent, really hard work, timely and well executed creative, and a little luck. I still say great talent overcomes average creative but many disagree with me on that one, but that’s fine, too.
For those of you that write asking about WWE Over the Edge of 1999, the event Owen Hart died, I have little recall about that event that I care to remember at this time. I have not seen that PPV ever on tape and have said on numerous occasions I “may” watch it again, if I ever decide to write a book about my career. That was one of the saddest days of my life, professionally or personally. Sitting mere feet from seeing one’s friend die is not a memory I enjoy recalling and I have discussed it enough already.
Will Kurt Angle ever return to the WWE questions have been popping up lately. Last I looked, Kurt had a job with a lesser schedule, which I feel fits him better than being on the road even though the WWE schedule is 4 days on and 3 days off, if one is booked full time. The days of the “I worked over 300 days a year” song and dance have long since passed which, honestly, is a really good thing. I am not in charge of WWE bridges so for me to say if Kurt has burned his bridge or not with the WWE would be a guess and not my place. Personally, I would say he has not, but again, I am down in Oklahoma selling Bar-B-Q and not managing talent relations of which I am eternally thankful.
With the upcoming release of the World Class DVD by the WWE coming soon, many have asked my memories about the World Class promotion. I only worked there a few times as a fill in for a vacating announcer but was close from an administration standpoint working with Bill Watts in the Mid South and UWF organizations. The company had amazing talents, especially and arguably the most famously controversial family in the biz, the Von Erichs. Lots of talent wanted to work the “Dallas Territory” for pappy Fritz because the travel was manageable and their TV production was top shelf, thanks in a large part to Keith Mitchell and their TV aired literally everywhere so the wrestlers had an opportunity to get great exposure. I did have issues with how the company was managed at times and the lack of discipline that some talents exhibited should not have been tolerated. The tragic deaths of the Von Erich brothers is almost too bizarre to be believed. The story of World Class Championship Wrestling is mind boggling and I am sure the DVD will be special. I am anxious to see it myself. There was great wrestling, and ample amounts of sex, drugs and rock ‘roll-like lifestyles within that talented, profitable albeit seemingly haunted wrestling company.
Cena haters, adults especially, but any one dropping “F-Bombs” at John Cena or anyone else at a wrestling event is a classless, gutless, jerk. Using profane language in the presence of women and children is unacceptable in my view. Violators should be tossed if they are heard spewing such garbage. If parents allow their kids to have dirty mouths because they think their kids are cute when they curse, are not good parents. I feel fans should be able to boo who in the heck they want and even write posters indicating such, as I think that makes for good, organic, TV but overt profanity in a public gathering dotted with families is not the place to use foul language. Sometimes I think that some arenas over serve the fans with large beers which compounds the problem.
Greg Oliver written wrestling books. Yes I have read several books written by Greg and he does a super job, does his homework and had passion for what he does. I would endorse any book that he writes. His book on Canadian wrestlers was especially informative and an easy read. I am anxious to read Chris Jericho’s new book, which will be out soon and the book co-written by Frank (Bruiser Brody) Goodish’s widow, Barbara about my late friend’s life.
Big 12 North? I am picking Nebraska, even though the media has selected Missouri to win the Big 12 North. We will be in Omaha, Nebraska for Monday Night Raw during football season, as a matter of fact, the Monday after OU plays at Iowa State and I expect to be booed significantly by the Nebraska fans when they hear “Boomer Sooner” played in the Cornhusker state. However, I will tell you that the Nebraska and Alabama football fans are the most classy fans I have ever met since attending OU games for many, many years.
It is hard to believe how may fans have driven AMAZING distances to eat at our restaurant. We have had fans from Virginia, Illinois, New Mexico, south Texas, Missouri, Kansas, Minnesota, California, and Connecticut that I have actually met there, that have made the trip from their homes to visit us in Norman, Oklahoma. That is amazing to me and I am eternally grateful for all the folks that are helping make our place a huge hit and will enable us to continue to grow outside Norman and Oklahoma as time goes by.
Lots of folks asking about HBK. I have been in email communication with Shawn over the past few weeks and he seems to be feeling much better, but my sense is that he is still a few months away from returning to in ring action. I expect he will start training in a more aggressive way around September 1 and will likely make his return sometime this fall. I know we all miss him on Raw and he is one of the most influential leaders in the locker room. The young wrestlers should always listen when HBK talks and I have always stressed that every young talent thoroughly study Shawn Michael’s DVDs, etc if they truly want to master their craft. I do not believe that because a guy simply looks good in an 8X10 that he has a chance to be a star. Size is a non issue in the way I judge talent and HBK is a testament to that personal philosophy. Skill, passion, and charisma far and away outweigh big bodies. That is my story and I am sticking to it.
Is Terry Funk WWE Hall of Fame material? Are you kidding me. Do I love Bar-B-Q? Do I have “Boomer Sooner” as my cell phone ring? Absolutely, Terry should be in the WWE Hall of Fame as should his brother Dory. And what about the Briscos? Definitely. All 4 of these men deserve to be in the WWE Hall of Fame over many that are in the hallowed halls, especially yours truly.
The best way to cook a beef brisket, or at least the way we do it at J.R.’s, is to slow smoke it on indirect heat (not over fire) at 225 degrees using hickory wood for around 6-8 hours, depending on the size. If I were a new smoker of brisket, I would suggest that one start off slow, select a smaller brisket and essentially practice before you have company over and “show off” your new skills. We have a chapter in our J.R.’s Cookbook that explains how to smoke brisket, among other popular meats.
If you haven’t checked out our store recently, I invite you to go by and visit. We appreciate your business and are happy to say the Beef Jerky biz is booming. I sincerely believe we make the best Beef Jerky available anywhere and I encourage you to try it today. Our Hall of Fame offer includes personally autographed T-shirts and Jerky but they won’t be available much longer.
We will address selected, specific comment feedback soon… before I leave for Buffalo, if all goes well, so keep your comments and questions coming.
We look forward to seeing you one day at J.R.’s Family Bar-B-Q Restaurant. Be well and thanks for stopping by and especially for your business.
BOOMER SOONER!
J.R.
That Cena part is laughable, way to make it sound like serious sour grapes that you are upset your chosen guy isn't universally over. It's cool for DX to make jokes about their dicks, oral sex and homosexuals but gosh darnit don't cuss at John Cena. Wrestling is like going to a football game you know long beforehand what you are going to hear while there, if you don't want your kid to hear that, don't take them.
