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

Happy Father's Day to all and to those that still have their Dads around I hope that you've already reached out to them today.  Those cards and phone calls mean a great deal as I can personally attest. I originally had other Father's Day plans but the change in the travel schedule has me leaving on Father's Day for Green Bay. I'm grateful to have work in today's climate but can't say that I am overwhelmed about traveling on Father's Day. Random Thoughts.....

I've been so busy the past few weeks that I have been virtually disconnected with the College World Series of which I throughly enjoy following every year. I love sports and I enjoy tournaments so this event combines some great individual elements for me as a fan.

Speaking or tournaments, I would like to see some sort of annual, TV tournament in wrestling that is held over an extended length of time for a prize or opportunity of significant value. Tournaments held over time are natural, episodic TV elements, much like two out of three fall bouts, which have value when producing weekly TV shows. People are likely thinking "King of the Ring" but that seems to have run its course but I suppose it could be resurrected. 

Exchanged a few text messages over the weekend with Jerry Brisco who is in a positive state of mind after suffering three strokes and discovering that he has a hole in his heart and a faulty heart valve.  Jerry's wife Barbara had to confiscate his cell phone as many of Jerry's friends were reaching out to him. The WWE Hall of Famer is respected by all that know him not to mention the fact that Jerry has helped so many men get their start in the business. Jerry told me that he will know more on Monday when he will have heart surgery as it was expected to be this week but that is not definite. 

Speaking of Jerry Brisco, his son Wes recently had his first TV bout on Florida Championship Wrestling that I saw for the first time this weekend on a DVD. Wes certainly looks like his Dad, has a terrific amateur background and is a heck of an athlete. Wes' uncle Jack Brisco was about as good as one could imagine during his heyday so the young Brisco has plenty of excellent role models as he begins his wrestling odyssey.  

FCW has some particularly good talkers on their show or at least that was my first impression of some that I heard. FCW's "look" of their TV show is really slick which was impressive. 

Young Bret DiBiase was also featured on the FCW show that I saw and he seemed to connect well with the audience. One can also see Bret's potential inside the ring. It's all about how much these kids can continue to get better and how willing they are to diligently work full time to improve all their skill sets that will determine if they become productive members of the WWE team,  or not. 

One can assume that the Smackdown contribution Monday night on the first ever commercial free Monday Night Raw will consist of probably one bout. However, that one match could be a dandy. There should be no issues with matches having an adequate amount of time to take care of their business on Monday night with no commercial breaks.

I expect ECW to also have one bout on the show obviously, in some fashion,  promoting the ECW Title Bout at "The Bash" which is all of the sudden here.... as in next Sunday in Sacramento.

HHH vs. Randy Orton in a Last Man Standing match for the WWE Title is a stout attraction for Monday's Raw and these two won't have any time restraints to deal with in this main event. It will likely be "vintage."  Oh, my!

Yours truly watched Todd Grisham do his Fox Sports gig on Saturday night hosting the MLS pre game show, etc. Todd played college soccer and did a really smooth job at the sports desk for Fox on Saturday night. Honestly, Todd is more proficient than many SportsCenter anchors on ESPN who, at times, force too much of themselves into their broadcasts. 

The NBA draft is this week (who knew?) but we here in Oklahoma are keeping an eye on it because the #1 overall pick is likely to be the Sooners Blake Griffin plus the OKC Thunder have two first round picks. Blake to OKC would take a miracle but it would stabilize the Thunder franchise.  How could this "storyline" be facilitated?

For some reason today,  I remembered sitting in the office of Cowboy Bill Watts in Bixby, Oklahoma many years ago when he had Fritz Von Erich on the speaker phone discussing talent trades, future bookings, etc. Watts efficiently utilized Fritz' sons in Tulsa and OKC without making the Mid South or UWF guys seem insufficient as the World Class talents were always "special attractions" or "semi main events." You talk about two, tough , wrestling Dads....one had them in the Cowboy and Pappy Fritz. Unfortunately Fritz at times turned a blind eye to many of the challenges his sons were facing and did not want to believe that his off spring were traveling dangerous roads. Perhaps all us fathers are that way to a degree as it's basic human nature but at some point being a parent can't cloud one's judgment or affect one's ability to make tough decisions regarding their children.

Stu Hart is the most famous father in Canadian wrestling lore and after being showed a few of Stu's favorite maneuvers in "The Dungeon" one day while we were waiting for Bret to arrive, thanks Bret, I can attest that Stu was a "hands on" Dad. When Bret did arrive to work out with his Dad while focusing on submission holds for Hitman's Ironman Match vs. HBK at Wrestlemania, Stu absolutely did NOT take it easy on his famous son. Most of that tape did not make air. Stu would have Bret take a position and then Stu would apply some sick, submission holds on Bret that actually had me concerned for the main event at 'Mania. Instead of it being a teaching/motivational session it sort of turned into a torture session or at least that was my impression. Poor Bret was simply cooperating with his Dad and Stu was then letting Stu's natural instincts take over on a vulnerable individual. I knew Bret was a tough son of a gun but that day in"The Dungeon" really validated that sentiment.  

Not sure why this memory can me into my mind this week but while brainstorming with some WWE folks about potential home video releases, I remembered a long interview that I did with The Rock while sitting on top of Titan Tower just before or right after Rock made his WWE debut. I don't think that it has ever aired but it might be cool for WWE 24/7 or WWE Classics on WWE.com. I do remember that we covered a ton of ground on the interview. 

My pal Stone Cold is in Texas for Father's Day weekend and Steve's Dad Ken is one helluva man. Ken beat cancer not to mention playing running back for the Rice Owls when they made an appearance in the Cotton Bowl Game many moons ago. One of these days I'm going on the annual Stone Cold family fishing trip of which I have so kindly been invited several times but my work schedule has always intervened. 

I heard from my friend of over 30 years MLB Umpire Tim McClelland a day or so ago. Tim is a crew chief for Major League Baseball and we went to umpire school together down in Florida in 1976. Tim has been voted by the players and managers as the #1 umpire in the game many times.  Tim lives near Des Moines, Iowa and thought I might be there with WWE on Friday night. Tim is 6'6" and has a Masters Degree from Michigan State that he had before he attended umpire camp. Smart man....and a good man....and the best in his field.  

We had a solid business in our on line store this week but can always use the support. Your orders help us maintain this site and I hope that you will consider investing in our products. I'm getting ready to autograph some JR's Cookbooks before I have to head to the airport. 

I sure miss my late Dad especially on Father's Day as he passed away at the age of 64 after being ill for all of 48 hours. J.D. Ross died  the night that the Road Warriors appeared in the Manhattan Center on Raw.....my crazy life seems to always have a wrestling tie in whether it be the good days or the bad. 

Thanks for stopping by.

Boomer Sooner!

J.R.