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

Thanks for stopping by and paying us a visit. We appreciate your support of this site and in particular for all the orders that we have been receiving here on line. Our made in Oklahoma products are created with great pride and we hope that you will give them a try. Our on line store never closes and FREE SHIPPING still exists.   

Stanford football coach Jim Harbaugh is a cool dude. I met Coach Harbaugh in Houston on Thursday night at the Bear Bryant National Coach of the Year Banquet. Coach Harbaugh recognized me from my umpteen years on TV with WWE, etc and unlike other celeb's who don't like to publicly admit that they have any knowledge that wrestling exists, the former Michigan QB was really down to earth. It is easy to see why Harbaugh is such a great recruiter and why he is steadily building a great college football program at Stanford. 

Jim Harbaugh is bound for coaching greatness and hopefully Stanford University is fully aware of just how fortunate they are to have this rising star as their HBC.  

Chris Peterson of Boise State was the "upset" winner of the Bryant Award with most fans thinking that Alabama's Nick Saban had the prize in the bag. A fellow with Peterson was a casual fan of wrestling but knew that Torrie Wilson was a Boise girl and former WWE Diva. 

I shared with Coach Peterson sitting in my Miami hotel room one January 1, after broadcasting Cena vs. K-Fed on Raw, watching his Boise State team upset Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl with some of the greatest, trick play calling ever devised on a big stage. My mini bar bill that night was hefty. Chris is another unpretentious guy who is really good at what he does and has become another of my favorite football coaches.

Every year, from my perspective, the WWE HOF Induction Ceremony gets better and better. Tickets will be made available Saturday at noon for this annual event that is one of my personal favorites of the year. Every year I try to guess who will be inducted as the weeks leading into Wrestlemania roll by. I feel that every class is special and that many, many performers are deserving of this accolade. In total honesty, I still can't believe that this award was bestowed on me but I'm not complaining. I hope that those of you that are thinking about attending functions during Wrestlemania week in Phoenix will make this event a vital part of your experience.

For simple, raw emotion within the genre, nothing beats sitting in the crowd for the WWE Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony...and that's no hype.   

One of my former spots officiating partners, Charlie Wilson, lives in the Phoenix area and he called me today and said WWE was "all over" the Phoenix media.  

Our two BBQ Sauces and the delicious Chipotle Ketchup are selling really well in Norman, Oklahoma Homeland Grocery Stores which may lead to bigger and better things for our small, family brand in the future. Homeland is the leading grocery store chain in our state with over 70 stores statewide.

We've received many emails from folks asking when I'm going to be back on WWE TV and I'm happy to say that I'm feeling better than I have in a long time and I'm in a really positive frame of mind. I hope to be back on WWE TV in a couple of months at the most. I'm still unable to completely close my right eye and the paralysis on the right side of my face is still prevalent but I continue to heal which is the main thing. 

(I could always announce wearing a mask but I think that the black hat might give me away.)

Have you taken a close look at the baseball that we have on display in our photo gallery?  It belongs to Dennis Brent and has Lou Thesz' signature on the "Sweet Spot." That was quite a night when WCW/Atlanta brought in several former World Champions and we all enjoyed dinner one evening and shared some legit unbelievable stories. If any of us would have had the vision, we would have turned a camera on and let it roll that night and had a DVD that would have been awesome....and R Rated for some colorful language.The first story teller did not have a chance as everyone had a tale to tell that topped the previous speaker's. That was the first time that I met Buddy Rogers, the original "Nature Boy," and he was a legend who exuded charisma and obviously had "it." Buddy's "presence" was still as prominent and evident then as it was, one has to believe, when he was a young wrestler. I had been in the biz many, many years at that point and I was in absolute awe of "Budro." There was also a noticeable level of tension in the room as every past titleholder did not covet all their peers. Some old wounds never heal especially when proud, passionate men have their ego's bruised. Nonetheless it was a special night and Dennis Brent's signed baseball is one of the most unique pieces of memorabilia that I have ever seen. Since that night Dennis has gotten Ron Simmons, Terry Funk and Vader to sign the World Title baseball.

Dennis has a tremendous selection of wrestling memorabilia, not to mention his amazing collection of Nolan Ryan swag, and some day, if we're lucky, Dennis will launch a website with his memorabilia included. Dennis also owns the original "Black Scorpion" mask that Ric Flair wore at the PPV in historic Kiel Auditorium one, cold December night in St. Louis.      

It's moments like this particular night in Atlanta so many years ago that draws me to WWE 24/7 On Demand on such a regular basis. Cox Cable gets plenty of business from our household and 24/7 is a primary reason why. I strongly urge you to check our the "Top Ten Matches of the Decade" which is airing now and let us know your feedback. I've said it many times but the Legends Roundtable is one of my favorite things to do 

We've updated our Q&A Section here on the site. I seemed to be compelled to delete more questions this go round than normal because many were so negative. There were simply too many rants to properly deal with and our Q&A's resembled a loaded, message board. Nonetheless continue to write what you choose and let the cards fall where they may. I'm not going to dictate to anyone what they should or should not write but I will always reserve the right to delete content that I perceive to be unacceptable on this particular forum. 

I hope that you are following my Tweets as I am told that the numbers are increasing at an amazing level. I wouldn't know a great # for Tweeting if it bit me in the ample backside but I appreciate you checking them out and I am having fun doing them as they are impulsive and spontaneous.   

Before I forget, one thing that used to always stand out to me with certain old school, main event wrestlers is how many of them dressed. Tailored suits and starched shirts were the norm for many of pro wrestling's biggest names of yesteryear. Lou Thesz and Buddy Rogers always wore a suit to the arenas and out in public. They weren't alone, for the record. When a photo op came around these men wanted to always make sure that they "looked the part" and had a professional, buttoned up appearance that lent itself to looking successful and first class. Not a bad philosophy.

Cowboy Bill Watts used to complain about having to wear his cowboy hat everywhere he went but that was what folks expected to see...not Bill Watts  but "Cowboy" Bill Watts.

No, Wahoo McDaniel did not wear his Native American Headdress in non wrestling situations and if he did no one would have kidded him too much about it.  Not many men crossed Wahoo who had a reputation for not only being amazingly tough but quick to boil if you know what I mean. 

I had an interesting conversation Thursday night with 1957 Heisman Trophy winner John David Crow who also suffers from severe facial paralysis but the former Texas A&M and NFL star, was affected at birth. Mr. Crow had facial surgery to ease his situation and that is something that I have contemplated on occasion but have never felt comfortable enough to pull the trigger. 

Rarely do I travel to Houston when someone there doesn't bring up the late Paul Boesch who promoted wrestling in the city for years and years.  Paul was a unique man with the most distinctive, large cauliflower ears I can ever recall seeing. He once did a memorable print ad for I.W. Marks Jewelers in Houston with something along the line of "If these earrings can make my ears look good, just think what they can do for your's."  

For those wondering, I do read the feedback that I receive here on the site following the posting of these blogs but I am unable to answer them all. More often than not, they don't need addressing and if you want to ask specific questions please do so on the Q&A Section. Thanks. 

We are working on a cool special on our stock of T shirts that we need to clear out. I have to address shipping matters, etc but we will soon have something finalized. We don't have all sizes and have more smaller sizes than larger which might bode well for kids and smaller men and women. But all sizes are represented with the largest being 3X. 

The March 1 OKC Monday Night Raw has really got folks buzzing here in Oklahoma. I "think" this is the only WWE date in Oklahoma in 2010 and tickets are being made available this Saturday in OKC at the Ford Center box office and all Ticketmaster outlets. I'm already being body slammed for tickets and it only will get worse. I expect some one to ask for tickets and a free meal before it's all said and done. What's next, a ride to the event? 

Enjoy Friday Night Smackdown and Eat More BBQ!  Order now and you'll have your DE-licious products in just a few days via Federal Express Ground. 

Boomer Sooner!

J.R.