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

I hope every one is having a great week. Things are good in Oklahoma with another OU Football game on tap for this Saturday afternoon in Norman versus a talented Cincinnati team that won 10 games last year and returns 9 defensive starters.  Nonetheless when the Sooners are in town are BBQ biz booms which is a good thing. Now on with the show.

The speculation regarding Mick Foley allowing his contract to lapse with the WWE and knowing at least a portion of Mick's future plans has finally ended. Obviously, Mick cannot and will not be a full time wrestler for any organization but one can easily see Mick wrestling sporadically meaning once or twice a year if everyone involved in this scenario is of sound mind. Mick has many diverse, creative interests and my sense is that he is looking to explore TV opportunities that might come his way. Many of us have said for years that Mick would be great in a TV sitcom. Plus Mick has many more books left to write. No matter what Mick does I wish him only the best. It will be interesting to see how Mick is utilized and one can bet a slab of ribs that subject will be under the proverbial microscope by many within the business and more specifically the 'rasslin media. 

In the short time I had broadcasting with Mrs. Foley's baby boy,  Mick became one of my favorite partners. If the opportunity had presented itself,  I feel strongly that we would have really jelled. Be that as it may, I have nothing but respect for Mick wanting to explore other options and forms of entertainment with the Braverman-Bloom Agency who will look after Mick's interests well.

As I see it, and remember this is merely one man's opinion, it would appear that Mick did not burn any bridges with the WWE and a return engagement with the WWE isn't beyond the realm of possibilities for Mick Foley in the future. 

No one in their right mind can argue that Mick Foley isn't WWE Hall of Fame worthy at some point in the future.

Be sure and check out the most recent Legends Rountable hosted by Mean Gene Okerlund and featuring an appearance by Nature Boy Ric Flair who was in rare form when we taped the program several weeks ago.  This is one of the more entertaining Roundtables produced by the WWE. II am much happier being a member of the panel than the moderator/host if any one is keeping score at home or gives a damn.   

It will be interesting to see what the betting line will be on the upcoming, November UFC fight between Brock Lesnar and Randy Couture. Scheduled for 5 five minute rounds, this might give Couture the slight edge but this one is really a pick 'em or so it would seem.  Some say that the longer the fight goes the more it favors Couture who is 45 years of age,over a decade Lesnar's senior,  and will give up some 50+ pounds come fight time to Brock. Couture's wife mentioned that she felt sorry for Lesnar having only 3 MMA fights under his belt while her husband had a huge experience advantage.  Certainly Mrs. Couture has the right to her opinion and she is absolutely correct regarding the experience edge her husband holds over Lesnar but it might not be wise to start adding more fuel to the fire of this fight that might become the most talked about in MMA history going into it. Couture has never fought a big man with Lesnar's combined quickness and strength.  This only adds to the hype for this bout that I will not miss on PPV IF I don't make it to Vegas to see it live.

 Yours truly caught Jonathan Coachman reading the sports news on ESPN News a night or two ago. Coach looks good, relaxed and did a really nice job. I assume these anchors have to write their own copy and Coach did well there too and did not try and make the newscast about him or use forced humor. 

We are working on several major deals to get our Championship Original Beef Jerky in stores in some parts of the country over the next several months.  Of course, we can ship you Jerky any where in the world and just shipped an order to an American soldier in Iraq. Soon, to keep up with the demand in our manufacturing facility, we will go to one flavor of Jerky that being our top seller, the Championship Original. 

Who knew that WWE broadcaster Josh Mathews,  now the voice of the WWE according to the well informed Greta Van Sustren,  lost a recent hair match.  How did I miss that one?

Friday Night Smackdown debuts on October 3 on MyNetworkTV. I wonder if there will be any major changes on the show prior to then? Could someone be "future endeavored" prior to the debut? Will any major guests be booked for the premier? Could any trades be on tap?  Why is the sky blue?

On our Q&A section here on the site, I deleted many questions regarding how I liked working with Tazz (with two z's) on Friday Night Smackdown. Working with the world's angriest broadcaster is a pure joy and very uplifting. It's sort of like hanging out with Zig Ziegler on a weekly basis.    

Seriously, Tazz and I are making progress and matriculating on down the field but we are not where we will eventually be once we have had more time to develop natural chemistry which just comes via hard work and time together.

I would suggest that the best way to describe our team is that it's a  work in progress.

Did you hear about the MAJOR altercation in the locker room area of a recent wrestling event where a top hand had it out with a tester. Seems as if someone in catering failed to test the mashed potatoes and they weren't creamy and buttery enough and there was quite the issue that ensued. Thank goodness that the fish that was throughly cooked that day or this matter could have gotten really ugly and made big news on the 'net.  I hear a team meeting will be held to discuss this issue but that the potato matter won't be specifically addressed.

Hey, being a tester and doing one's job can be very..."testy."

What in the hell does Republican Vice Presidential Candidate Sarah Palin's family have to do with her intellect and ability to make a good V.P.? Does the color of Obama's skin or the fact that he was called another name (Barry) at one time in his life mean any thing when it comes to being President of the United States? Does John McCain's age eliminate him from being American's Chief Executive Officer? Hell no. Of course not on ALL these questions. However, the news media who is largely NOT unbiased (fair and balanced my ass the lot of them) love to pick the bones of these candidates. I do not like today's politics or professional politicians. This country needs to initiate some tough changes to benefit ALL the people and not just for SOME of the people. 

Where's Ventura when we need him??

With all the "Championship Scramble" matches this Sunday on pay per view at Unforgiven from Cleveland, one could easily overlook the apparent pending confrontation between the Undertaker and SD General Manager Vickie Guerrero that is seemingly on a collision course.

Something tells me that Sunday's Unforgiven which has sort of flown under the radar with only a 3 week build on TV including a pre-emption for Raw and the Labor Day holiday to contend with will have some shocking moments and major surprises come Sunday.  These types of PPV's usually out deliver what is expected of them as often times expectations by the fans are not that lofty for these short turnaround events. I am intrigued to see the "Scramble" bouts and even more stoked to see Shawn Michaels, with one healthy arm, fight, not wrestle, Chris Jericho. Even though HBK is injured this bout will take place and to whoever has to follow it all I can say is good luck. 

Yours truly saw a preview of Friday Night Smackdown and it seemed to be a solid broadcast with the proper focus on the right stars all clearly pointing toward Sunday's Unforgiven. There are a couple of bouts on Friday night that are particularly stout. 

Be sure and check out my column on the Smackdown section of www.wwe.com and my OU football blog on www.ouinsder.com. 

Keep your questions coming for our Q&A section and we thank all of you that take the time to browse in our store and who have become customers. 

Boomer Sooner!

J.R.