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

It was a huge weekend in Norman with the Sooners taking on the vaunted college football program from the University of Miami before the largest crowd ever at Oklahoma’s Memorial Stadium of over 85,000 who saw the Sooners hang “half a hundred” on the Canes in winning 51-13. It was too bad that The Rock couldn’t make it to this game to see his alma mater compete on an exciting day in Soonerland. Plus, the ABC TV crew highlighted J.R.’s Family Bar-B-Q on the broadcast which was greatly appreciated. We had the pleasure of serving almost 20 members of the crew on Thursday night and they loved the “Q” and the friendly service. ABC color analyst Ed Cunningham, one of TV’s bright, young stars, especially loved our ribs. J.R.’s Bar-B-Q is doing amazing biz and we are thankful for all of you that have given us the opportunity to serve you. I hope you all can try our great food and friendly service one day. It was great meeting so many Hurricane fans over the past few days in our place to go along with the many Sooner fans, many who traveled great distances to attend the game Saturday morning and then make it to our Bar-B-Q joint. Feedback time: James- I feel ECW is still a work in progress and the final form it eventually takes could be termed as “still to be determined.” I am not a major fan of a weekly hardcore or extreme rules match because they cease being special if one sees them every week and these matches increase the odds of a wrestlers getting injured. With the overall lack of quality depth available, injuries should be avoided when they can. I do think that C.M. Punk is a “find” and will continue to grow into the asset the WWE needs to cultivate more of going forward. For those that are holding out for the “old ECW” to emerge, I would suggest that isn’t going to occur any time soon but I do feel the current brand is steadily improving. I watch it every week and enjoy most shows. Jetix- You must be new to our site. When is Savage going to be inducted into the WWE HOF? And you are boycotting the WWE until Randy is inducted? To stop the pain of the long time visitors of our site, I will refrain from spending any more time on this matter other than to say, I don’t know. Mark- I am usually at our restaurant Wednesday-Saturday in and out during the day and evening. Our staff usually knows my whereabouts and I have no issue with them calling me if we have out of town guests who want a photo or something signed. We only live about 10 minutes from the Bar-B-Q place. I hope to see you soon. John- My assumption is that the WWE posted results of a recently taped ECW show to compete with the other websites who were covering the same story. I do agree that reading too much info about a taped wrestling show often times taints the viewing of the broadcast and preconditions it for many folks. David- The Sooner defense is for real and may be one of the very best in all of college football. The team speed of the entire OU team is tough to deal with, but the team speed on the defensive side of the ball is extraordinary. This team is the most focused and best conditioned team in the Bob Stoops’ era at OU. Al- I have no idea why the first War Games match was not on the Four Horsemen DVD, unless there were simply space limitations. I would expect to see many more DVDs in the future that would provide a nice platform for War Game matches from the past. John- Good people are not immune to making stupid and ill-conceived decisions, such as evidenced by the several athletes who were recently suspended for violation of the WWE Wellness Program. The key here is education and learning from one’s mistakes and not allowing a negative part of history repeat itself. In the meantime, now is certainly time to make hay while the sun shines for many athletes who will be provided an opportunity with so many of their teammates on the sideline. Jacob- I would be surprised if any Angle or RVD matches were NOT shown on WWE 24/7. Wes- the Raw vs. Smackdown 08 video game is big time to say the least and the addition of Rick Rude, among others, is huge for all gamers. If you are a wrestling fan and like to play video games, I don’t see how one cannot make this purchase. Joel- Drug abuse in our society is a horrible thing, not to mention wrestlers who use poor judgment and abuse drugs. This problem is far reaching in our society and there are many that need to assess their accountability for rampant, illegal or ill advised drug usage. I often wonder why the FDA even allows HGH to be sold so easily and frequently when it was created to help treat dwarfism but has been spun into several other arenas’s since its creation. Plus one has to wonder why the FDA can continue to condone internet drug sales of any kind. I get bombarded with junk emails soliciting me to buy prescription medications over the internet. I am smarter than I look and I am not taking any thing without the counsel of my personal physician who is not a “celebrity doctor” and takes care of my health, not any childish needs I might attempt to fabricate. Ricardo- I heard when I first came to the WWE in 1993 that there was going to be a Hulk-Hitman match or matches, but that Hogan had second thoughts. Daniel- Whoever said that Oklahoma State had the greatest college football offense on the planet needs counseling. That over statement was proven in Athens a week or so ago. UGA seems loaded with talent but also seems to be missing “something.” The Dawgs do still have Larry Munson and I listened to some of his call of the South Carolina game Saturday on XM Radio. Jeff- I think you are right about the “BBQ Shack” in Fayetteville, North Carolina. It is a ‘shack’ that is actually called the BBQ Hut. My bad. Did you try it? Robby- The recent WWE Tour of South Africa was very successful with the majority of the events, if not all of them selling out, including two events in J’Berg. The same athletes who performed in South Africa will be on Monday night Raw live from Green Bay Monday night. That is a challenging assignment considering the travel time invested. My hat is off to all of those that made the trip and that will be expected to turn it on Monday night. Jeff- I don’t do a great deal of thinking about my sentence structure when I broadcast. I can’t speak for the other announcers but I realize that grammar may not be my strong suit. I am not a pronoun guy, as a rule, and perhaps too many announcers in all sports utilize pronouns instead of nouns or proper names too frequently. Lawler has taken me to Rendezvous BBQ in Memphis and it is really good, but I think Cozy Corner might be the best in Memphis. Eldon- To the best of my knowledge, Ric Flair is still an active member of the WWE and is still on the payroll. The rumors surrounding Ric’s future are flying, but Ric has not told me he was quitting. I will believe it when I see it and as I have said on many occasions I feel that Ric still has a great deal to offer the business, as his legacy could be enhanced and should live forever. It would be very easy to build the 2008 WWE Hall of Fame class around “Naitch.” Drew- I have a copy of Vince Russo’s book and have read significant amounts of it. It was an interesting read and if one was a fan of the business during Russo’s heyday in the WWE it would most likely be a good read for them. DHJ- I watch RAW via DVR on my TV in hope of improving on what I do for a living. I do not have an extensive tape collection, believe it or not, I am sad to say. Daki- My remarks on “Beyond the Mat’ was to an athlete that simply needed to spend more time in the gym focusing on his upper body, which would have enhanced his look naturally. I never inferred that for this wrestler to “get bigger” that he needed to do drugs. That’s a little Oliver Stone-ish of a theory and is insulting to boot. I have repeatedly said that I do not feel an athlete needs to be 6’2”-250 to be a star, but that they do have to be in shape and have a natural, athletic look which this individual did not have at that time. Jason- I know where Ohio State is in relation to the Nationwide Arena. However, we were told to say we were coming from the University or the home of OSU. Fans forget that we announcers are not in business for ourselves and we often times have ample help and specific instructions about what we say on TV. It is the function of any producer to help his announcers do a better and more thorough job. Again, I know of nothing of the internet rumor that Flair has given a two week notice. Marcus Cor Von is still a member of the WWE/ECW, but is taking a leave to handle some family issues. Justin- I don’t know what the WWE wants or does not want you to “believe” as it relates to John Cena. You should believe what you want about Cena’s persona you see on TV. I know the man behind the persona and I like him. He is a hard working solider who works harder than any WWE Champion I can recall, behind the scenes with Make a Wish kids and other projects that rarely get the time of day or exposure. Cena’s in ring technique is getting better and better and we are a long way from seeing John’s best in ring days. I seriously doubt that Cena will be champion “forever.” Is Cena ever going to be HBK in the ring? Probably not, but who is?? Stephen- I am all for the WWE revealing the names of the individuals who fail a wellness test and wish they had revealed the latest results. I do think it will be a positive tool in deterring the abuse of illegal substances and over medicated athletes by physicians without character or a conscience. Being singled out publicly could be an embarrassing moment for many performers and one would think that this would make one think twice about doing something so stupid. JImbo- I am in hopes of re-signing with the WWE and talks are on going. I don’t see any immediate issues on the negotiation horizon. This is another story that has taken a life of its own and many internet sites have written about it as if they know exactly what is going on, but none of them have talked to me about it, which should illustrate that there are times when some sites simply take a rumor and run with it as fact. My goal is to continue to work for the WWE, but if that were not to work out, I still have plenty to do to keep me busy. My wrestling career has been a blessed one that I would have never envisioned over 30 years ago, but all things have to come to an end at some point. Our Bar-B-Q biz is going to continue to grow as we hope to start rolling out more store stores in 2008 and plan on building several stores over the next few years. Pip- thanks for making the drive to check out J.R.’s. The chicken wing sauce is special and I will take your recommendation and discuss our distribution of it to the public. J.R.’s Family Bar-B-Q is about much more than just the great old school, slow smoked “Q” we serve! Thanks, again. I am headed to Green Bay as I write this and look forward to spending a couple of nights in Title Town and broadcasting an eagerly anticipated Monday Night Raw there. Keep the feedback coming and please take a moment to visit our on line store. Be well everybody. BOOMER SOONER! J.R.