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

In my list of a the handful of great Ric Flair opponents, I inadvertently left off Sting. No intentional diss on my part, as Sting belongs on the list, without question. I broadcast the first ever Clash of the Champions and the bout that Sting was "made" by Ric from Greensboro.

Jim Cornette is taking huge Matt Morgan under his wing, it seems in TNA, and if JC's instincts are right, and they are more often than not, Morgan could be a big time player. Morgan is a classic example that when he was originally signed by the WWE, if Matt could have spent a few years in the territory system before being exposed on national TV he would have been much better off. No one in Cornette's current organization can touch him on creatively developed story telling.

I have said it to young talents for years....pay your taxes. I said it so much it got old and was tongue in cheek repeated by the young talents. Now many of them thank me for it. Uncle Sam always wins. Uncle Sam will retire as the "champion". Independent contractors must pay their quarterly tax estimates, without fail. Failure to do so is isn't smart. Just ask actor Wesley Snipes who has just gotten sentenced to jail time.

The WWE is going to do even more big biz this Sunday in Baltimore (over 600K) and Monday in Jersey for RAW (over 500K) and both events are sold out. Plus the talents have had a week to get their legs back under them so there is no reason that Sunday and Monday nights should not be strong shows.

Denver's first Monday Night Raw in years is on May 26 and it has sold out too. As Borat would say, "that's a nice".

I am in favor of a NFL rookie cap where the rookies still make some serious jack but the bulk of the salaries will go to veterans who have earned the big money. I also think this would eliminate prolonged holdouts a la Raiders big money, big bodied QB JaMarcus Russell last year who wasted a year of his life and a bunch of Oakland's cash due to a long holdout.

The media should give Pacman Jones a chance in Dallas if the trade gets done. Jones is one transgression away from finding a real job and being out of the NFL. There is no doubt that Jones is a helluva Defensive Back and kick returner but his character needs rehabilitating and Jones needs, or so it seems, a new set of friends....real friends.

Who is the best brawler that many fans never saw? An argument could be made for Killer Karl Kox who had some classics with Bill Watts and Dick Murdoch, back in the day. Kox was the best combination of wrestling villain and brawler that I can recall, off the top of my head, as I write this. When Murdoch would come to work in one of Dickie's playful moods, a stiff right hand from Killer Karl would erase the Three Stooges routines Murdoch wanted to do.

I always think of one story when I travel to Baltimore and it has nothing to do with crab cakes or long nights at Sabatino's in Little Italy with Ric Flair. I had a kidney stone fragment while on the air during a Great American Bash PPV there one year and was able to slip off the side of the stage to a men's room as the particles passed in a natural, but painful way. By the end of the evening, I thought I was going to tap for the final time, I had sweat through my tux, and was rushed to a hospital within minutes after the end of the PPV. Ah, the good old days.

Be well and take care. Thanks for the biz as usual.
Boomer Sooner!
J.R.