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JR's Blog: JR's RAW Thoughts, RAW Announcing, Josh Barnett, Kevin Sumlin/Johnny Football, OU Football, JR's In More Stores

Posted: Sep 4th 2013 By: CMBurnham

Greetings from Norman, Oklahoma home of the OU Sooners and home base for JR's Family of BBQ sauces and condiments. You can buy our products online at http://www.wweshop.com.com and at http://www.americansoda.co.uk.

Enjoyed RAW from Des Moines Monday night and several elements stood out to me simply from a fan's perspective.

Thought Daniel Bryan's promo directed at Randy Orton and referencing Orton's heart was effective.

The 'David vs. Goliath' main event made early and built throughout the night was a solid thread that ran the duration of the three hour broadcast.

Ryback's swagger to the ring was noticeable especially after Ambrose attacked Ziggler who never gave up but came up short in overcoming, essentially, a two on one situation.

The Shield becoming allies with HHH & Co works for me.

Stephanie McMahon cut to the chase when addressing the Big Show. The dialog was uncomfortable and compelling.

The Prime Time Players have upped their game or so it seems. I'm beginning to take them more seriously. They're playing like every match is in the 4th quarter. If these two keep upping their game they will quickly realize the results.

Orton vs. Rhodes was a stout match that could have been even longer for my tastes. Liked the back and forth, the battle for momentum, and the near falls.

Cody's exit promo was his best verbal work to date in my opinion.

Speaking of promos, when a hot personal issue is in place, in ring promos don't have to be endless oratorical presentations as evidenced by the outstanding promo by CM Punk. Punk's promo sold PPV's in my view.

If she continues down her current path, AJ Lee has the opportunity to be in the same discussion with the all time best Divas in WWE history.

Ricardo Rodriguez has marketable charisma and is a unique fit with RVD who has been a great acquisition for WWE.

The Bryan vs. Show main event was so well executed bell to bell that I forgot at times the enormous size difference between the two men. Thought the in ring story was spot on during the match. Bryan is arguably the best wrestler in the world right now combining all phases of the game.

Really enjoyed the work of he announcers especially the spirited back and forth between Michael Cole and JBL. Navigating a three plus hour live TV show with multiple platforms to address and bring forward is a challenge for any broadcaster. I'd submit that few 'mainstream' sports broadcasters could handle the Monday Raw night assignment. Check out the @LayfieldReport app as I'm sure that you will enjoy it as much as I do. It's FREE and loaded with some great features on a variety of subjects.

Grilled fresh, skinless, chicken thighs last night seasoned with only JR's All Purpose Seasoning and grilled them about 6-8 minutes per side on medium/low heat (appx 300 degrees) and they were outstanding. Actually used some of JR's Chipotle Ketchup with them after the grilling process and the taste was amazing.

Passed 900,000 Twitter followers a few days ago on route to, hopefully, 1M sooner than later. Follow me if you choose @JRsBBQ.

JR's products are now in Lawton, Oklahoma at the three, Country Mart stores. Tweet us pics of the displays there. Same goes for our Beef Jerky at J. Botie's in Norman at 36th and Main and of course the four, Norman Homeland Stores that carry the complete JR line of products.

Happy for my friend and talented pro wrestler/MMA fighter Josh Barnett for is @UFC win Saturday night. I'm expecting a great 'run' for Josh who is a student of the game of grappling and respects the long history of the business. Anyone who references Billy Robinson and Karl Gotch in their post match remarks is money in my book.

The Q&A's are updated elsewhere on this site. Please keep your questions succinct to increase the chances that they will be answered. I'd suggest reading some of the past questions to try and not be repetitive. Remember, I can't answer them all so if your's doesn't get addressed please don't take it personally.

I feel badly for my good friend and current Texas A&M coach Kevin Sumlin who is seemingly charged with parenting his athletically gifted quarterback Johnny Manziel. Summy is an awesome guy, an excellent coach and a loyal friend who doesn't deserve to have to deal with the childish behavior of his Heisman Trophy winning quarterback who needs to put his Andre the Giant sized ego aside and put his Aggie team first. No one player is bigger than the team....NEVER...and that concept also applies to the sports entertainment genre where no one man or woman is bigger than the company in which they are employed.

High spirited athletes have to be managed/coached in a unique manner. One must direct the talent's engeries toward a positive direction and away from negatives. Easier said than done but that's the simplicity of the matter.

Sure happy to be at home after our trip to the UK of which I enjoyed a great deal. Hope I get to do it again some day.

Nice win for my Sooners Saturday in the season opener but the stakes will rise this Saturday evening when Big 12 Conference foe West Virginia rolls into Norman. Leery of the Sooners -19 point spread.

Be well and have a great day!

Boomer Sooner!

J.R.

@JRsBBQ