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

Whether one is a fan of the Hogan Family, Hulk Hogan, Hogan Knows Best, etc, one has to have a degree of empathy for this entire ordeal that saw a young Marine crippled after returning from a war, that most of us still don't fully understand why we are in, and to see a young man who had life seemingly by the Spauldings sitting in a jail cell for the next several months. I watched the majority of the hearings on TV and have a few observations. First, I share no glee in what has transpired and feel badly for all involved especially the victim, John Graziano. The question has been raised since the sentencing if the penalty for Nick Bollea was strong enough. My first instinct was to say "yes". Then my wife asked me what if the victim had been one of our granddaughters and I had to re-think my original statement. Just like in sports entertainment, when one makes an emotional investment in an issue, the issue generally takes on a whole different light. Still, in hindsight, I don't think Nick Bollea got off too lightly.

Another point, Hulk should have lost the doo-rag, without question, in the court room. Staying in an 80's character, "brother", was questionable judgment and it made Hulk come off looking as if he were in performing mode. The doo-rag was distracting and not in a good way.

The civil suit that is likely to follow this mess will be just that....a mess....and an expensive one. No one asked me, but the term "out of court settlement" works for me on this one which seems to be a layup for the victim's family.

This matter has taken on a life of its own since the sentencing. One would think that the key here is that Nick Bollea has the opportunity to serve his time and come out of his incarceration a changed young man, a better person and one that can still lead a productive life that includes helping others and not being a part of his generation's "age of entitlement". As a parent, seeing my son use these 8 months as a life changing experience, would be of the essence and a silver lining to a dark cloud.

I have met Nick on many occasions and I don't feel that he is inherently a bad kid. I do feel he is a product of privilege and of a generation of no patience and, again, entitlement. Nick Bollea is not in the minority on those generational traits.

This entire matter will continue to be worn out in the media and on the Internet, but it is highly unlikely that I will address it in any significant detail here again. I cringe when I read where people say Linda Bollea is "dating" Jay Strongbow, which is so absurd it is almost comical. Perhaps that is the intent. Or when I read that Road Warrior Animal is "pissed" at Hulk for using Road Warrior Hawk's catchphrase of "What a rush" on NBC's American Gladiator commercials. For me, when I heard the promo, I thought of Hawk in a good way and I had not thought of Hawk in any way in quite some time. Perhaps Animal should "let it go" and count his blessings that he has a trouble free son who is about to graduate from college and be a top ten NFL Draft pick and not spending the next several months in jail as the high profile son of a celebrity which won't bode well with Nick's fellow inmates.

Moving on....Howard Finkel, after seemingly a million years is no longer a part of the WWE Talent Relations department and is now focusing his efforts on the revamped WWE.com which is infinitely better since Joey Styles arrived on the scene. Fink also did some ring announcing this weekend, which is his true passion and he's still the best in the WWE at it. As mentioned in this space before, I hope Fink gets strong consideration for the WWE Hall of Fame next year in Houston.

Stone Cold Steve Austin is my personal, leading selection for the WWE Hall of Fame during the 25th Wrestlemania for many reasons notwithstanding, which is one of Mr. McMahon's favorite expressions, the fact that Steve sold more tickets, pay per views, and merchandise than any other wrestler in the the history of the WWE and brought the overwhelming desire to be the very best in his field every night he came to work. If there is one thing that the young talents in the indys and WWE developmental program MUST have to make it in this hard-as-hell-to-succeed-in biz is passion. No passion equals no success in wrestling or any other vocation.

Problem is....wrestlers like Stone Cold Steve Austin don't grow on trees and can't be manufactured. The NBA has been trying to create another Michael Jordan for years to no avail.

It was nice to see the Great American Bash sell out so quickly over the weekend in Long Island, as some of my most enjoyable moments, and a few less than fun moments, have been at the GAB. The kidney stone story at the Bash I have told is not my most stellar PPV experience, but thanks largely to Ric Flair, Dusty Rhodes, The Horsemen, Sting, Terry Funk, Jim Cornette and many others the GAB was always one of my favorite events of which to be a part.

For the record, any list of the "Greatest Intercontinental Champions" that doesn't include the Honky Tonk Man is bogus in my opinion. In all due respect if Jeff Jarrett is/was chosen over HTM that call needs to be explained to me. I am not saying Jarrett wasn't a solid IC Champ but was he better than HTM?

Pet peeves of the week: independent wrestlers no showing indy promoters who are largely in the business for the love of wrestling and to hopefully make a buck or two and NFL players who "hold out" when they have contractual commitments in place with years remaining on their contracts. Oh, yeah, one more....when athletes are interviewed by the media who have been suspended or have run a foul of the law for what ever reason and they don't tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth or they try and spin an issue, they are much better off to simply shut up.

J.R.'s Family Bar-B-Q in Norman has had one of the biggest weeks in the history or our young business which is a true blessing for our "Q" team and helps build the anticipation for the opening of our second store in late June in Moore, Oklahoma.

Jonathan Coachman has not signed a contract with ESPN contrary to what may have been reported elsewhere. As I write this, Coach is still employed by the WWE and is still doing projects for the MSG Network. Will Coach eventually migrate to ESPN? Who knows, he would be a great fit there, but as of today he has not made any commitment to do so.

Thanks for stopping by and for those of you that take the time to do business with us in our store. Our sauces have been getting critical acclaim here in Oklahoma and we are close to finalizing a huge deal to distribute our Beef Jerky in this region of the world. Be well.

Boomer Sooner!
J.R.