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JR's Blog: Saturday Blog...National Wrestling HOF..Eskimo Joe's..Brisco-Funk..Lesnar-HHH.. UFCONFOX..Best Athlete?..JR's Beef Jerky Rocking

Posted: Aug 4th 2012 By: CMBurnham

With fires raging out of control in my home state of Oklahoma and not that many miles from Norman, I wish you all a great weekend and thanks for stopping by our site. If you haven't lately, check out the new, updated JR's page at http://www.wweshop.com. Now we start.....

Spent the day in Stillwater, Oklahoma in meetings and dropped by the National Wrestling Hall of Fame @NWHOF and I have to say it is amazing. A must see for all fans. It's so classy and with some of the most amazing memorabilia I've ever dreamed of seeing. If you are ever traveling on I-35, hop off at the Stillwater exit and take a moment to go on the tour. I promise that you won't be disappointed.

Random Thoughts:

I think that Booker T will do a nice job as Smackdown General Manager as he seemed comfortable in his role Friday night. I also thought the two man booth of Michael Cole and Josh Matthews did well. Some three man combinations have and can work but my preference is a two man broadcast team not just for WWE but for football, hoops, and baseball.

Best Olympic athlete ever? Easy...Jim Thorpe..arguably the best athlete ever. Do your research.

Sorry to digress but the Oklahoma fires that are destroying homes by the hour was apparently started by an arsonist. I hope the person is quickly found. It would be O.K. with me if due process was forgotten, if there was proof of this crime, and the individual or individuals were hung from the highest tree.

Spoilers and tape delayed broadcasts have had little if any affect on NBC's Olympic TV ratings or so it seems. Does the same hold true for sports entertainment? Likely so in most cases if the broadcasts are on free TV.

One is reminded how young many fans are when they ask if I miss never working with Gorilla Monsoon which I did in the mid 90's. Read my article about Gorilla and The Brain at wwe.com at the classics section.

How many cowboy hats do I own? Not sure why this is asked so much but I own several. Most are of the Resistol 200X variety as I've in directly promoted @resistolhats on national TV for years and years and I assume that they're not even aware of it.

Food tip...often times chicken breasts can become dry when grilled. I suggest marinating them in liquid smoke and JR's All Purpose Seasoning over night and then basting them in JR's BBQ Sauce on one side during the last 2-4 minutes of the grilling process.

Oklahoma is the pre-season #4 ranked college football team in the first USA Today Coaches Poll. I'm think that might be a little high. The Sooners play 5 teams in the top 25 and if they can survive that schedule they will have earned their way into the 'Big Game.' I'm planning on going to every Sooner game, home and away, so I might be meeting some of you this fall. I will keep you posted. I might do some informal meet and greets during road games.

Love the Tweets I receive with photos of folks using JR's products. Got a great pic from @RickWWESignGuy Friday as he stopped by Norman Homeland Store to stock up. Rick may be the most traveled and devoted fan I've ever known.

Really looking forward to the new WWE Encyclopedia written by Kevin Sullivan @SullivanBooks...BTW that's not the Taskmaster Kevin Sullivan of wrestling fame. Many fans are pre-ordering the long awaited publication now and saving money by doing so. The amount of work that is done for this particular book is staggering.

I was talking to WWE HOF'er Jerry Brisco Friday on my way back from his stomping grounds of Stillwater and we got to talking about HHH vs. Lesnar at Summerslam. We both agree that the match will likely be off the page thanks to the personal issue that is brewing and the fact that both men will be of the mindset to steal the show. I expect a smart, physical contest from two men who are comfortable in the spotlight and with pressure on them to deliver in a big way.

Some athletes thrive being in the cross hairs of the audience especially when the lights are their brightest while other main event level talents have been known to occasionally wilt under the pressure of main eventing a major PPV.

I will say that the broadcasters who get the opportunity to call the HHH-Lesnar bout will have every thing provided them to make the match a classic.

I'm headed back to Orlando next week for another round of tapings at Full Sail University for NXT. Thursday night's show starts at 6:30 p.m.

Anyone who thinks that I might actually not enjoy broadcasting a few NXT bouts and helping the young talents achieve their goals is pet coon goofy. It's damn near insulting to think that I would rather stroke my own ego and appear on Raw or Smackdown each week rather than help a great team of young people grow as professionals and, hopefully, contribute to the long term success of the company of which I am loyal.

Watching UFC on Fox Saturday night unless I'm over ruled by the Mrs and the Olympics win the battle of the TV in which case I will DVR the UFC on Fox. I assure you that @steveaustinBSR won't like the Fox Sports music because he identifies it with NFL football. The card Saturday night doesn't overwhelm me but I'm curious to see how Fox handles the production and the fight is on free TV.

Best story of the week...Olympic Champion Gabby Douglas just signed a $90M contract with Kellogs and this is after her single Mom worked three jobs before the Olympics to provide for her family.

Nothing new on our business arrangement with @americansoda out of Manchester, England but product is in route and big news should be coming soon for folks in that part of the world.

NFL fans keep an eye on @RyanBoyles now with the Detroit Lions and formerly a #boomersooner as he will sooner than later contribute in a positive way for the Lions. Great hands, route runner, punt returner, team guy with a truck load of character. If I had a son in the NFL, I'd want him to be like Ryan Broyles.

Had lunch Friday with former Olympic Wrestling Coach Lee Roy Smith who is a huge asset to our recruiting efforts with amateur wrestlers throughout the nation. Lee Roy is also the Executive Director of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame. We went to a Stillwater landmark, Eskimo Joe's. @eskimojoes is an awesome place to eat and drink when one is in Stillwater. Great food and service.

I'll come clean...I blew my diet Friday at Eskimo Joe's. Shared an order of home cut fries..with cheese and bacon! Damn near felt guilty...damn near. Yes...cheese fries with bacon @eskimojoes. Whew...I feel better getting that off my chest.

Favorite match that I did not call but watched as a 'fan'...one of the many Jack Brisco vs. Dory Funk, Jr. one hour draws. They are timeless classics from which every wrestling earning a pay check can learn.

Food tip...scrambled egg whites with JR's Chipotle Ketchup and Salsa. Healthy, quick and easy.

Last I looked we were about 1500 followers shy of 500,000 on Twitter. This could be a milestone weekend in that regard for us. @JRsBBQ.

Rookie to keep an eye on...Big E Langston...fiercely strong...amateur champion..DT at Iowa...intelligent and driven. Tipping the scales at 283 down from 300 and he looks great and moves excellently. An athletic, big man.

WWE officials along with Mark Henry are in London at the Olympic Games doing some important due diligence for WWE Developmental. Stay tuned.

Check out the Q&A Section of the site. It's updated.

Hopefully you will take the time to browse our page at http://www.wweshop.com and embrace our BBQ Sauces, Chipotle Ketchup, Main Event Mustard, All Purpose Seasoning and FIVE flavors of 87% Fat Free Beef Jerky. Our Jerky biz has really picked up and I can attest that JR's Beef Jerky is a great snack especially late at night when temptation lurks.

Be well and thanks for the visit.

Boomer Sooner!

J.R.