• Look Back In History
• Pmessages
• Quiz
• Stump The Staff
• Top Fifty
• Close

JR's Blog: Friday Blog...Random Thoughts..Te'o, Superstar Graham, Tyson Kidd, NFL Predictions, Oprah & Lance, Order JR's Products Today!

Posted: Jan 19th 2013 By: CMBurnham

Thanks for the visit and here's hoping everyone has a great weekend. Here's a quick blog with various random thoughts and housecleaning.

Getting lots of questions asking for a Royal Rumble Match winner of which I have no clue. I'm not even sure who all are entered in the match and certainly don't know the order of entry. The winner of the Rumble match earns a WM29 main event spot on April 7 in MetLife Stadium in Jersey. I have some thoughts but I'll keep them private for now.

I do know that the Rumble match is arguably the most challenging bout of the year for a broadcaster to call as the story changes every time a new entrant is announced and whenever there is an elimination. Then once all the Rumble entrants have ended another phase of the contest commences where the last man standing in the ring earns himself a significant payday because of nabbing a WrestleMania main event slot.

I remember the year that Taz and I called the Rumble match together which was a first for the two of us as a unit. I could tell Taz was nervous because it was a first time assignment but @OfficialTAZ did an excellent job and I thought that we represented ourselves well for our first voyage in such challenging waters.

I assume that @MichaelCole @JCLayfield and @Jerry Lawler will handle the commentary in Phoenix for the PPV event and having three at the announce table might actually be a plus when calling the Rumble match itself.

Wasted 90 minutes of my life Thursday evening watching @Oprah interview what appeared to me to be a somewhat defiant, borderline arrogant Lance Armstrong. Armstrong is like many mega personalties/athletes who become so big that they essentially create their own world in which they are comfortable living. When forced from their personal, cocoon they appear totally uncomfortable. I don't think I will check out part two.

However, I thought Oprah's interview skills were stellar.

Armstrong seemed like an empty man...almost devoid of emotion and expressionless more often than not. It's hard to feel empathy for anyone who seems that arrogant and above the fray. I still think that the general public will either forgive, to some degree, or forget the man in time but that's largely dependent who how long the media keeps this matter alive.

It will be interesting to hear the line of questioning that NFL officials throw at Notre Dame Linebacker Manti Te'o at the upcoming NFL Combine. You can bet that they are preparing those questions now as we speak with experts. A team cannot invest millions of dollars on 'damaged goods' no matter how great an athlete the prospect is. Mental stability is just as important as physical health when laying down big money for a football player whose average career spans approximately five years.

I saw Te'o play in person when #NotreDame pounded #OU in Norman and he is an impressive athlete who might fit better as an inside linebacker in a 3-4 defensive scheme. Nonetheless, how this imaginary girl friend business is resolved and how much involvement Te'o had in the apparent hoax will definitely affect his draft status and will likely cost him significant money.

Manti Te'o needs to man up and explain what in the hell happened and if he was naive enough to be duped then admit it. If he was duped, found out and was too embarrassed to do any thing but play along hoping that it would go away then admit that . Put the silliness behind him and move forward. Getting this story out there, the truth will suffice, will make the NFL Combine inquisition easier and allow Te'o to put more focus back on the field where he has performed well....except against Alabama where he looked mighty average.

Most insane Twitter question of the week @JRsBBQ....what are your favorite amusement parks and in alphabetical order?

Here's the deal on me signing things that are mailed. They MUST have a self addressed, STAMPED envelope AND the item that you want signed. Mail them to JR's Family BBQ, PO Box 721294, Norman, Oklahoma 73070. Do NOT send cash. If you do NOT include a self addressed, stamped envelope then I won't even see the item. Just follow the simple rule and I will be happy to accommodate you. Hint... trading cards work best and please be respectful to not send too many items especially several of the same item.

If you live in the UK and want an in ring career in wrestling take the initiative to find Robbie Brookside in England or tweet @RealKingRegal for more info.

UK and European fans are really supporting our efforts to distribute JR's products from @americansoda in Manchester. Check out American Soda's website for some amazing deals on our products including a package deal with a personally autographed, meaning it's REAL, trading card that has never been distributed.

Prayers to Superstar Billy Graham as he is very ill or so reports say. For those wishing to reach out to Superstar he is on Facebook as I understand it.

Tyson Kidd, one of the potentially brightest young stars in WWE, underwent knee surgery Thursday to repair multiple injuries and will be out until sometime late in 2013. I am very high on Kidd's in ring work and have seen him have some tremendous outings while performing at NXT. Hopefully when Tyson is healthy he will look at his return as a fresh start as, hopefully, will all involved in the process. If you've heard my commentary during Kidd's NXT bouts you already know what I think of this young man's potential.

The signing of Clayton Jack from Oregon State won't be the last outstanding, collegiate athlete that WWE Talent Development signs this year. Far from it actually. Yes WWE will still scour the independent circuits for the best talents available but the raw numbers will e found in colleges. These specific athletes have no bad in ring habits, have a through resume that can be thoroughly reviewed and have been in a structured, athletic program where they have been held accountable and measured in a variety of way since high school.

I wonder if the selection of who inducts Mick Foley would not have become a topical matter this week if not for Twitter and the Internet? Obviously, not. I still like Terry Funk as Mick's Choice as his presenter or perhaps even Mick's oldest son. Bottom line, it is totally @RealMickFoley call. I can't wait to hear his induction speech.

Hopefully 2013 will be the year that JR's products will make their way onto grocery stores at worst on a limited area. Getting our products in retail stores on a national basis is going to be daunting. We are trying but smaller entities such as ours are HUGE underdogs when it comes to getting valuable shelf space.

WWEShop.com, http://www.wweshop.com is doing a superior job marketing our goods online. We are currently working on JR's HOT Sauce and JR's Wing Sauce which are in development. When asked when they will be ready for distribution my answer was when they are "Perfect."

Just wondering but if college coaches can leave their job and players while still under contract then why is it wrong that their players can't transfer to another school after the head coach exits? Retirement would be a different matter in my opinion but simply taking another coaching job shouldn't restrict players from transferring. It's complete BS that "most players commit to a school because of the curriculum and the school in general." They commit because of the head coach, the fact that the coach wins and has a record of sending players to the NFL.

Really conflicted over this weekend's NFL Playoffs. Arguably the best football day of the year in the NFL sans the Super Bowl but some would argue that point. Atlanta is the home underdog. That would PO me if I were a player. Can the home crowd push the Falcons to the next level of intensity? Can Matt Ryan stay vertical and go deep like he did last week with his selection of great receivers? I think that San Francisco wins but I'm taking Atlanta -4 points.

Pick: Atlanta -4

Ravens at New England has the Pats as a 9 point favorite the last that I looked . Weather, wind, solid defense, the Ray Lewis factor, etc make me think that even though the Pats likely win that the bet is Baltimore -9. QB Flacco surprised me last week and he's a win and a Super Bowl appearance away from a huge, new contract. Feeding the ball to Ray Rice feels right and Flacco does have arguably the strongest arm in the NFL which helps in the weather conditions that could exist Sunday.

Pick: Ravens -9

The amount of questions being posted on this site is increasing and it's always interesting, at least more often than not, to see what's on the mind of many fans. Submit your questions there or simply check out what others are asking and my responses.

Boomer Sooner!

J.R. @JRsBBQ