Welcome to J.R.’s Blog

Congratulations to the WWE’s Ron Simmons, the first African American recognized as a World Champion by a major wrestling organization, for being inducted into the class of 2008 College Football Hall of Fame. This is a huge honor for Ron, who was a three time All American nose guard for Florida State University in the early 80s.FSU made a huge coup when they recruited and signed the Warner Robins, Georgia native to come to Tallahassee instead of going to the University of Georgia after being named one of the top high school players in America his senior year in high school. Oklahoma playedFSU twice in the Orange Bowl during Ron’s tenure there and both times, as best as I recall, Ron was pitted against another future pro wrestler, Steve "Dr. Death" Williams, who played offensive guard for OU. My friend, former OU and Dallas Cowboy coach BarrySwitzer, still vividly remembers game planning around Simmons, whose presence at nose guard demanded that Ron be double teamed on most plays.

Former NWA World Champion, Bronko Nagurski from Minnesota who starred in the early days of the NFL, is also in the College Football Hall of Fame, class of 1951, as is another Golden Gopher, LeoNomellini, class of 1977, who wrestled in the off season a great deal while playing for the NFL San Francisco Giants. (more…)

I hope this short blog finds every one well and happy. This blog covers more than simply wrestling, so for some of you that are “all wrestling or not I’m not interested,” then you may feel compelled to move along. Or, you can read it and make comments on this website or other sites about how P.O.’ed you are when I actually express an opinion of something other than ‘rasslin.

Random thoughts:

We have a new Q/A section posted on the site as of Sunday February 10 that you might want to check out. We realize we are behind in answering your questions, but I can assure you that it isn’t for a lack of trying. As my Dad used to say, and that’s all a steer can do. As you may have read we are doing some upgrades here on our site and our webmaster is doing his best to continue to help make our site a fun one to visit and in which to interact. So bear with us as positive changes are on the horizon.

The new J.R.’s Family Bar-B-Q that will be located in Moore, Oklahoma will be approximately 5,300 square feet and will feature a separate sports bar area which our original store doesn’t have. Our new menu will be out this week, we hope to have it in the store on Tuesday, so please check out the site later on to take a look at the positive changes we have made to the menu. All for the better we hope. We are selling an amazing amount of our delicious Bar-B-Q Sauces along with our Chipotle Ketchup and Jalapeno Honey Mustard on this site which can provide you a little of the true flavor of J.R.’s Bar-B-Q no matter where you live. (more…)

Thanks for checking in with us and I hope all are well during these frigid days for many here in the States. Unless one is in South Florida or Hawaii it seems to be colder than hell in most places, which includes Oklahoma, where it was 20 degrees when I stepped off the plane Tuesday morning after taking a 5 a.m. (central time) flight from Norfolk to DFW to OKC.

Business is still doing nicely in our online store and I hope you will check out our Valentine’s Day Special which is a super value. Plus, you’ve got to order one of the “Big Nuts” T-shirts as they are becoming one of our hotter items and are great conversation pieces. We also have some really good prices on a couple of flavors of our Beef Jerky for all you Jerky lovers out there.

Random and largely non important thoughts.

Charlie Haas was on my flight Tuesday morning, but he wasn’t wearing his mask which might have posed some problems with the TSA folks at the Norfolk Airport.

Van Halen is in OKC Tuesday night and the Mrs. is going with friends, but I am “tagging out.” How could I pick attending a Van Halen concert over watching the ECW TV show live?! There could be a “CATFIGHT!!” or a “YAMBAG” mention.

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I made a mistake in commentary on RAW Monday night when I mentioned that it was Hogan and HHH who were the only two men who had held the WWE and IC Titles at the same time. Of course I meant to say it was the Ultimate Warrior who defeated Hogan for the WWE Title at WM6 in the Skydome in Toronto and for the record the Hulkster did kick out at 3 1/2, by golly, if you are keeping up with such info at home. Several wrestling websites had my misspeaking as a headline of sorts on Tuesday morning. My bad…no excuses…but it won’t be the last time I fumble. For all of you that have done live TV and have experienced many different sounds in one’s headsets I am sure you know what I mean. Someone even nicely said I was “entitled” to make a mistake and all this time I thought that every human was “entitled” to make the occasional mistake. Shows what I know. The next thing that some Einstein will write is that “J.R. is undoubtedly slipping” or that “J.R. must have gone to happy hour before RAW celebrating his new contract.” (more…)

I enjoyed visiting with Paul Bearer in Mobile Monday prior to RAW. PB is a funeral home director in Mobile and dabbles in wrestling a little, but just for the fun of it. At one time Paul weighed in at 525 pounds before he had gastric bypass surgery (I think that is what it is called) and now tips the Toledos at approximately 300.  Paul is a great example of what I preach more often than not and that is any one wanting to get in the wresting business should have their college degree or have an established trade that they can fall back on when their wrestling days have ended. 

A guy in the DFW Airport asked me Tuesday morning if Britney Spears was coming to the WWE to be a Diva. In a rare moment of clarity and before I blurted out “Hell, No,” I simply said that one never knows what is going to happen in the WWE and that if Britney made an appearance somewhere down the road, how could any of us be totally shocked. What if she came between Edge and Vickie Guerrero?! (more…)

Everyone here at J.R.’s Family Bar-B-Q wishes all of you a safe and happy holiday season. We hope you had a safe and Happy Christmas. There is nothing like spending time with family and for those that are fortunate enough to be able to do so, you are encouraged to enjoy every minute of it. We should also take a moment to reflect on the sacrifices the men and women of the Armed Forces of the United States do on a daily basis for each of us that live in America. My black hat is off to all these brave American soldiers along with a Sooner-sized thank you.

Being the avid sports fan that I am it is a particularly crazy and interesting time of the year, especially in the NFL. With the poorly marketed and promoted NHL, along with the no defense playing NBA just getting their seasons underway, the pros in football are heading into crunch time. The next few weeks leading up to a February, yes February, Super Bowl is going to be interesting to follow. With no clear cut, favorite NFL team to cheer for, yours truly enjoys following several teams that feature former Oklahoma Sooners players that I have gotten to know on a personal level over the years. Plus, games with playoff implications make for great TV, too. Here in Oklahoma we get ample doses of Dallas Cowboy information and I do like Coach Wade Phillips and former Sooner DB Roy Williams is a dangerous weapon in the Cowboys secondary.

Bobby Petrino leaving his Atlanta Falcon team, a team I used to broadcast for in the early 90’s, was suspect judgment at best as it relates to how the former Louisville coach departed Atlanta. Petrino has a right to work where he chooses, but the manner in which the head coach took a hike on his team was had no class. If Petrino stays at Arkansas over 4 years, it will be a minor miracle and I hope that I am wrong. If factions at the U of A can run off native son, Houston Nutt, who won games and invigorated the program, then Petrino must win quickly and that is win quickly in the SEC . Good luck on that one. (more…)

Thanks for checking out our site and here’s hoping everyone is having a great holiday season. We are staying busy as we can be in our online store and our shipping folks are working over time to get everyone’s orders out and to you as quickly as possible. I hope you will take a moment and visit our store and take a look especially at our “Big Nuts” merchandise and our “Redneck Gift Buckets,” which are autographed and make super gifts for birthday or any occasion. When you are finished reading the latest feedback, click on the link below (it will open in a different window) to see this article about J.R. written by Robert Przybylo that appeared in the Dec. 9th edition of the Daily Oklahoman newspaper. I certainly appreciate the write up, Robert!

Click here »

I have received a LOT of feedback in the last week concerning the 15th Anniversary shows with LOTS of questions. We are going to post questions with the answers. Today is Part 1 of Updated Feedback answers…

Now on to your feedback… Bar-B-Qed style!

Hi JR,
Just wanted to send my thanks to you and everyone else involved in Raw XV. I sat 4 rows behind you for Monday’s show. It was great to see all the old faces there, especially Barry Darsow. I was also exceptionally lucky to have CM Punk and Gerry Brisco give me thumbs up at the end of the night for having a “Bring out Ricky Steamboat” sign. The work that went into that show was astonishing. The high school students I teach went absolutely crazy for all the pictures from the show that I brought into school today. Just wondering what your own favorite memory of the show was? Thanks!

Bryan

Keep up the good work educating our youth. Bryan. I too, am a Steamboat fan and am happy he is working with the WWE. Ricky is a class act who is a great teacher. Darsow, as Repo Man, was classic stuff and Barry, more importantly, had a great time.

Jr, There are a few rumors going around that CM Punk was drinking a beer at the end of RAW this week? Is it true? I would believe that he didn’t, but there’s a side of me that has to know for sure.

Alyssa

Ah, more rumors… Punk drank no beer at all - and neither did a few others.

Hi JR,
You touch on Hogan being on RAW, but still make no mention of Hogan’s strange Savage reference on the show, even though several people have questioned you regarding it. What gives?

Adam Piatt

I addressed this question on the last blog. As best I know it was simply a Hogan adlib. As best I know it means zilch as it relates to a future match between Hulk and Savage. Have you had your J.R.’s Bar-B-Q Sauce today?

(more…)

Wow… our online store business is really rocking these days and we sincerely thank everyone. It is not too late to get your orders in for the holidays as our hard working shipping folks are working overtime to get all your orders promptly processed. “J.R.’s Big Nuts” shirts and all the other new merchandise is doing super, as are the autographed, Redneck Gift Buckets. We have gifts to fit virtually every budget so please visit our store today and we will help you put a smile on someone’s face for the holidays!

Bar-B-Qed Fan Feedback:

Kramer- I have not heard from you since that stand up comedy routine you performed that went “south,” nonetheless, I do not see TNA on the same level at this time as WCW whatsoever. Not even close as Turner and Time Warner had much more resources.

Ron- I am happy you enjoyed your Sooner experience in San Antonio. It was a heck of an atmosphere which is one of the many reasons I love attending college football games especially OU games. Many of my WWE-Texas colleagues love to pile on when the Sooners have a bad day, but I rarely retaliate and I chalk up their boorish behavior simply as being insecure and jealous. (more…)

My thanks to those of you that have responded with such positive feedback over the past few days. It is refreshing to read of the positive energy from so many especially for a business that is about entertainment and not about any of the urgencies that we face in many aspects of our every day lives. Wrestling is intended, in my opinion, to be fun and entertaining and to not be over analyzed as it so often times is. There is no doubt that TV wrestling is subjective and that some weeks are definitely better than others. Just like we have some days that are better than others, some wrestling programs are better some weeks than other weeks. I plan on doing my best to keep this site positive and fun and to not allow myself or what I do for a living to be taken too seriously. The product should be entertaining, but without fail some weeks will be more entertaining than others and no broadcast will ever be perfect. I’m still looking for that perfect show even after 4 decades of trying. I will continue to seek the perfect broadcast even though I fully realize I am likely to never experience it. But I will continue to have fun and enjoy what I do and the day that ceases is the day the black hat disappears from your TV set.

It was a great weekend for yours truly on a personal level as I attended the Big 12 Title game in San Antonio and watched from the OU sideline as the Sooners won another Championship over a talented Missouri team, that had a super year.

Now it is on to the Fiesta Bowl for my team and I plan on attending the festivities in the desert, come January 2, when Oklahoma plays a really strong West Virginia team.

This Monday is really a wonderful milestone in broadcasting, as it will be the 15th Anniversary of Monday Night Raw. It is amazing that this program has lasted all these years in the volatile world of cable TV and in prime time to boot. Kudos to the many men and women who have contributed to the show’s success over the past 15 years. I am proud to have been a small part of the process and hope to continue to be sitting at ringside every Monday night for the foreseeable future doing what I love to do and that is broadcast wrestling and to, hopefully, entertain people. There isn’t another two hours of the entire week that I enjoy more than being at ringside as a part of Monday Night Raw. (more…)

Hi everyone and thanks for stopping by our site. Thanksgiving has come and gone and I can’t believe that we are just around the corner from the December holidays. Remember, we ship your orders within hours of receiving them and if you order soon we will be able to get you your products in plenty of time for the upcoming holidays. Of course, we think our products, the Sauces, Jerky, Merchandise, our new J.R.’s Nuts, and the Redneck Gift Buckets make great gift ideas the year round. We also have personally autographed “J.R.’s Cookbooks” still available which also make super gifts for any occasion. Our store is open 24/7 for your shopping convenience and I hope you will spend a few minutes there before you leave us today. I assure you that your business is sincerely appreciated.Your Feedback:

Ryan- The WWE should have plenty of Brisco vs. Funk bouts in a variety of forms as the two sets of ultra talented brothers wrestled many, many times over the years in a multitude of settings. The Oklahoma born Briscos and the Texas born Funks had a natural rivalry simply based on their heritage, but all four also had the competitive fire to be the best in their field which escalated their in ring efforts. Plus, ironically enough, I think that all 4 were southpaws. At the end of the day, anyone who doesn’t acknowledge the Briscos and the Funks as two of the greatest brother combinations in the history of the business really doesn’t know a great deal about wrestling. Yes, there have been many great brother combos but none greater, in my opinion, than Jack and Jerry Brisco and Dory, Jr. and Terry Funk.

Cris- The Jericho return has been extremely well done, but I wish the crowd in Ft. Lauderdale had been more vocal. Comparing Jericho and The Rock isn’t comparing apples to apples as Jericho left to write a wrestling book and simply test the entertainment waters while Rock left to start a whole new career. If the Rock were to come back, no I do not think that will ever happen, but he would be welcomed back by the vast majority of the fans with open arms in my opinion. (more…)

According to everyone I have been in contact with this week, the Oklahoma Sooners have had an exceptional week of practice in preparation for Saturday’s Big 12 Championship Showdown against the #1 ranked team in the nation, the Missouri Tigers.

The Sooners has been focused and intense in their practices, and to a man are looking forward to flying to San Antonio Friday afternoon for a return match with the explosive Tigers, who OU defeated on October 13. Seven days after beating Texas, by the way, 41-31, in Norman.

Read the rest of the story at OUInsider.com »

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