J.R.'s Family Bar-B-Q

As most know I am a big football fan and with the NFL playoffs in full bloom this weekend I thought I would make some fearless predictions. We had a good week last week with our prognostications. Here goes: The Colts at the Ravens(-4)....I have become a Ravens fan because of all the Oklahoma alumni now playing for Baltimore. Playing at home, outdoors gives the Ravens the edge here and there is no doubt that Peyton Manning will be harassed unmercifully as he attempts to find receivers, so I am going with Baltimore to take care of business. Emotion still means something to me whether it be in the NFL or in wrestling and New Orleans has the necessary passion to unseat one of the NFL’s hottest teams in Philly (+4) in the Superdome which will feel like a psych ward this weekend. I like what Philly has done since Donovan McNabb went down with an injury but on the road and in the Dome gives the Saints the slight edge. Saints win at home. Seattle (+8 1/2) at Chicago will be a Slobber-knocker. I like Chicago to win even though former OU DTs, Tommie Harris and Dusty Dvorachek, will not play due to injuries. The Bears have two other former Sooners on the squad in WR Mark Bradley and FB J.D. Runnels who I pull for. Seattle will keep it close but I think Chicago wins a close one at home. Rex Grossman’s play at QB will be the key for a Chicago victory, i.e. no turnovers. I like the sloppy dressing Bill Belachek’s New England team to win at San Diego. The Pats (+5) are peaking and have playoff experience and feature QB Tom Brady whose track record in the playoffs is Montana-esque. Boise State got hosed in the final college football rankings by the media and the coaches in my opinion. The only team to finish the year 13-0 was ranked 5th by most and I feel the Broncos should have been ranked no lower than 3rd in the final rankings. Obviously, Boise State’s strength of schedule was their undoing. I look for Adrian Peterson to jump to the NFL and enter the 2007 NFL draft within the next few days. AD is projected to be a top 5 pick according to the experts and definitely a top ten pick. This will warrant some significant up front money in the form of a signing bonus for the talented running back who is 6’2”/220 pounds and runs a legit 4.35 forty. If AD were my son, I would encourage him to move to the next level and to SAVE HIS MONEY! I am really proud of the effort of Ohio State linebacker James Laurinaitis #33 this season even though the talented Ohio State Buckeyes failed to win another National Title. I can tell you from first hand, sideline experience, that winning National Titles in college football are not easy. James is only a sophomore and I hope he continues to be a student-athlete at Ohio State and graduates with a viable college degree before venturing on to the NFL which is a lay-up. I sent James a text message recently saying, “Your Mom must have really been a great athlete.” I was simply having some fun with James’ dad Joe, Road Warrior Animal. I enjoyed Trish Stratus’ work on the CBS program “Armed and Dangerous” last night for the debut episode. Old friends Barry Bloom and Michael Braverman are Executive Producers of the show. I hope it does well for all involved. Critics will most likely hammer it because that is what critics do…criticize. I am anxious to see “The Sopranos” on A/E and to see how the editing process has unfolded regarding the strong language the show features. “The Sopranos” is one of my all time favorite TV shows and we have even collected some signed Sopranos’ memorabilia that we will put on display in our Bar-B-Q eatery which we hope opens in April in Norman, Oklahoma. I hope “The Sopranos” does a full length feature film before they call it a day. Someone emailed me about Cruiserweights and I am a big fan of the Cruiserweights but I don’t know that I am in the majority on that opinion overall in the business as a whole. Women winning men’s wrestling titles are a little too “out there” for me and my old school tastes. That may sound obsolete or chauvinistic but that’s how I feel. You asked and I answered. Slow news day….Sylvan gets a traffic ticket in Peoria, Illinois on Tuesday. Think about it for a minute. This actually was a significant news item on some wrestling websites this week. The annual “will Bruno Sammartino go into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2007” question is posed….again. I have personally met with Bruno, who I have great respect for, and discussed the HOF and other projects with him and the WWE. Bruno did not accept either offer at that time so if anyone slams the WWE for not inducting Bruno, remember it does take two to tango. Bruno’s personal issues regarding the WWE are what they are and are probably not going to change even though I wish he would accept induction for his long time fans’ sake. Yours truly is doing voice overs tomorrow night for another video game to be released in the future. That should be an adventure considering the game doesn’t come out for about a year and lots of things can change in that length of time. I have been asked if I think someone will replace HHH and join HBK in DX. I don’t know the answer but my guess would be “no”. However time will definitely tell and this should be an interesting story to follow on Monday Night Raw. HBK vs. Edge/Orton this Monday night from Bossier City, La sounds like a long night for Shawn Michaels to me but strange things often times occur on the WWE’s flagship broadcast. If someone was going to step up and assist HBK, Monday might be the right time. Midget wrestler “Cowboy” Lang passed away this week homeless and penniless in Portland, Oregon. I have some unique memories of “Cowboy” but am saddened that another wrestler died in such an impoverished condition. So many old timers were not as business savvy as they should have been back in the day as it relates to savings accounts, tax issues, and financially preparing for the day they had to call it quits. I have preached to the men and women I used to manage how important it is for them to fully understand their own personal financial situations and to understand that the “big money” doesn’t last forever. Saving cash and paying their taxes has been a mantra of mine to the talent for years. Some listened and some did not. When I hear of wrestlers who made north of seven figures for a given year now not having a pot to pee in it always makes me ask, “Why?” This is a sad situation to address but I have seen so many wrestlers have great years and now not have the proverbial two quarters to rub together. One of my most vivid memories of “Cowboy” Lang was one night in Ft. Smith, Arkansas, which was our regular Wednesday night club in the 70s, where we worked in a converted car dealership and the showroom was where the ring was. There was one shower for two dressing rooms. The midget tag went on prior to the main event which I refereed. When I got back to ready myself for my shower the main event guys cut in front of the midgets while there was still some hot water which made the 4 midgets and yours truly have to wait. I was just getting started in the business and out of respect I took my shower last which was nothing new. I remember “Cowboy” Lang staying in the shower what seemed to be a LONG time when finally one of the other midgets pulled back the shower curtain in anger and began cursing Lang. Lang had his back to the shower curtain and when he turned around “Cowboy” was in, I’ll be delicate here, an extremely “manly mood”. The 4 footer had risen to the occasion so to speak and needless to say I did not shower that night and depended on plenty of “Right Guard” spray deodorant and some “Old Spice” cologne to get me back to Oklahoma. I had always heard that “Cowboy” Lang was a “ladies man” and I evidently found out why. J.R.