As soon as I stepped out of Bradley Airport Monday evening near Hartford, Conn., I realized why I missed living in the Nutmeg State so much when I saw a foot of snow and felt the 14 degree weather. Today, as I write yet another award-winning, stimulating blog, it is 80 degrees in Norman, Okla., but somehow we will suffer through it and endure another day “Down South.”

Love going to the Mohegan Sun Resort and Casino where this Friday Night SmackDown will emanate from on MyNetworkTV starring “MYTazz,” but for anyone who doesn’t think that the economy doesn’t affect all areas of our society, think again. The beautiful casino in Uncasville was somewhat desolate until the WWE Universe packed the arena there for the Tuesday night double-header TV taping.

Many younger readers might not fully understand the challenges facing their parents, etc due to the economy that the Republicans blame on the Democrats and the Democrats blame on the Republicans with neither group of professional politicians seemingly willing to want to work together for fear one party might get more credit than the other. Sounds like “politics” in the old territory days in wrestling but that’s a chapter for a book some day.

From what I am told, only a handful of WrestleMania tickets are still available for the biggest event of the year down in Houston on Sunday, April 5. The remaining tickets start at $40, which is a tremendous value in today’s marketplace. Even fewer tickets remain for the WWE Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony the night before WrestleMania, which will feature “Stone Cold” Steve Austin among many, many legends including my mentor, “Cowboy” Bill Watts.

Watts was a freak of a big athlete in his day and was bench-pressing 500 pounds in the ’60s when it certainly wasn’t fashionable. Watts had to actually pull weight to play on the Oklahoma University football team under the legendary coach Bud Wilkinson as Bud did not want any of his linemen to weight more than 225 pounds in the late ’50s. Watts wrestled more years than not around 285-300 pounds and headlined wrestling territories all over North America. Watts was a true student of the business and his business acumen helped him discover and provide breaks to some of wrestling’s biggest and most prominent names. I hope I can do him justice when inducting him at the 2009 HOF Ceremony. Bill was also a great addition to the Legends Roundtable panel recently when we talked about African American athletes in WWE and for the upcoming Roundtable about Texas Wrestling. WWE 24/7 On Demand is still, for my money, the best TV wrestling investment out there.

BTW the legendary Wahoo McDaniel, a former football teammate of Watts at OU, was the man who got Bill into the squared circle, as Watts was looking to make a career for himself in pro football.   

Friday Night SmackDown features a contract signing for the World Title Bout to be held at WrestleMania between Edge and No. 1 contender Big Show. Most contract signings, like situations featuring pies and cakes, don’t end as planned and Friday night likely won’t be any different.

Some Friday night’s I think I am bearing witness to a daytime soap opera with all the rumor and innuendo surrounding what is or isn’t going on in the relationship of SmackDown G.M. Vickie Guerrero, her husband Edge and now with the added, significantly sized, element of Big Show in the mix. Some weeks I’m not sure if I’m watching “Days of Our Lives,” “All My Children” or SmackDown. If Mrs. Edge somehow comes up “with child” then business will really pick up.

Hardy dysfunctional family updates … the brothers will compete this Friday night in Money in the Bank Qualifying Matches, but in separate bouts. Jeff is still adamant about not fighting his own flesh and blood, which I personally feel he is doing out of respect to his Dad and he and Matt’s late Mother.

Someone e-mailed www.jrsbarbq.com and suggested that Matt Hardy was sporting the “young Abe Lincoln” look with Matt’s nifty beard.

If Jeff can go the duration and never fight his brother, then the “Strange Enigma” is a better man than most of us. However, if both Hardy’s qualify for the Money in the Bank Ladder Match, their confrontation will be inevitable.

All in all, 8 men will qualify for the Money in the Bank Ladder Match and will represent all three brands at WrestleMania, which probably means that all three announce teams will broadcast that high-risk, human demolition derby together. I wonder what the score sheet for obscure, wrestling or pop culture references will be in that one? I think I would lean toward the “over,” whatever that may be.

Who’s the best tag team in WWE? Hard to argue it isn’t Miz and Morrison even though my most politically correct answer would be Carlito and Primo, SmackDown’s WWE Tag Team Champs. Are these two teams building toward a unification match for the WWE and World Tag Team Titles? For the record, what brand are Miz and Morrison officially members?

This just in … N.Y. Yankees A-Rod may need hip surgery or so says his brother … not his cousin mind you, but his brother. It amazes me every year when MLB starts that so many “stars” seemingly discover that they are not physically ready to play. N.Y. Mets pitching ace Johan Santana, no relation to Carlos Santana, tweaked his pitching arm just in time to miss most of the running in spring practice but says he will “take one for the team’ and start opening day. I also don’t get what the big deal is about starting opening day. O.K., that’s enough of the MLB rant for this week. 

One more thing, both New York baseball teams could use a man like Stocky Balboa as their strength and conditioning coach, a man of conviction, a heavy consumer of protein and broccoli rabe, and who wears a Marciano-like size 44 stout.

Michelle McCool joins the “World’s Angriest Announcer” and me this Friday night for some commentary and Michelle shocks the world by talking about, gasp, herself! I don’t think Ms. McCool has too many allies in the world of the WWE Divas which, come to think of it, is a reality show waiting to happen. I think WWE should put a select group of Divas on a tour bus and make a cross country drive from say, Stamford, Conn. to the West Coast with, of course, a stop off at J.R.’s Family BBQ on I-35 just South of OKC where they could engage in the obligatory food fight. The Fink could either be the driver or the chaperone, Stocky Balboa could be in charge of security, conditioning and any thing that required actual thought, the Brooklyn Brawler could be the group’s “Dr. Phil” while Harvey Whippleman could document the going’s on for another book. You do know that Harvey AKA Bruno Lauer has an autobiography available entitled “Wrestling with the Truth,” right? Throw in “The King” and Ric Flair as “Entertainment Director’s” and one has just developed a hit … BROTHER!!

Speak of “Brudda,” a Jimmy Snuka reference for those keeping score at home, who will Chris Jericho next insult and humiliate in his seemingly unquenchable thirst to embarrass every wrestling legend that he can prior to the 25th Anniversary of WrestleMania? The King was outspoken about Jericho’s actions Monday night in Boston to which Michael Cole replied off camera, “Oh, my.” (Sorry, I think the world of Michael Cole who is THE voice of Monday Night Raw, but I couldn’t resist.)

I would not suggest that Jericho get in Lawler’s face as “The King” still is in grappling shape and would much rather wrestle than announce I can assure you. From what “The King” has told me on many occasions, there are only a couple of things in life that Jerry enjoys more than wrestling and one of them involves Cleveland sports and the other is, well, you know. Moving on …

Yours truly spoke briefly to “Stone Cold” Steve Austin earlier this week and Austin was busy, as usual, and was on his way to the gym while I was on my way home from Connecticut, Wednesday. I know Austin will steal the show come the WWE Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, because whatever he says he will say from his heart and mean it and it won’t take him a week to make his point. I have been unofficially consulting with Austin on some new projects from the world of J.R.’s Family BBQ as his eye for marketing, etc is uncanny. Plus, he’s a consumer of our products which helps.

JBL says he is going to make history at WrestleMania? I’ll take JBL at his word, his blogs here on WWE.com are great reads, but I would suggest that many of his adversaries would like for JBL to make verbal history at WrestleMania by taking a vow of silence. BTW have you had your Mamajuana today?

One can sure tell the change in attitude of Legacy these days. Someone deeply rooted on Raw recently told me that young pups Rhodes and DiBiase really think that they are “big shots” to quote my source and have really become elitists. My suggestion to Legacy is that they need to address how they plan on surviving between now and WrestleMania as Triple H made a deal to keep his hands off Master Randy Orton, as I understand it, and not Cody and Ted … which sounds like the names of two members of a boy band, but I digress.

Orton’s WrestleMania opponent and reigning WWE Champion, Triple H, will face the rampaging Umaga this Friday night on SmackDown, which will cap the end of one hellacious week for Mr. McMahon’s son-in-law. It’s hard to say whether Umaga is catching The Game on a good week for the big Samoan or not. Tune in Friday night and see.

I do think that Orton knows he’s going to be taken for an aggressive and perhaps overdue trip to the woodshed at the 25th Anniversary of WrestleMania by Triple H, who pretty much made his intentions known Monday night. With that said, and if it is true, one can only imagine the sense of urgency and apprehension that Mr. RKO will feel in the hours leading up to WrestleMania match time.      

What an honor it will be for me to be able to sit ringside, unless you know something that I don’t know, at WrestleMania and witness history when two of WWE’s greatest, all-time Icons, Undertaker and Shawn Michaels, wrestle in what many fans of each Superstar will argue is the true main event of this year’s WrestleMania. Has Undertaker’s 16-0 record ever been in more jeopardy than it will be in a mere, few weeks? I think not simply because ‘Taker has never wrestled any one at WrestleMania with the big match wrestling skills of HBK. HBK may have named himself “Mr. WrestleMania” but it is hard to argue that moniker doesn’t fit like a glove. Michaels’ resiliency, agility and speed will obviously present a unique set of problems for Undertaker to overcome deep in the heart of Texas which is so special to both of the future WWE Hall of Famers.

With ‘Taker a SmackDown wrestler and HBK a Raw wrestler, one has to wonder just who will be announcing this classic bout?

As far as I know, I will both be at WrestleMania Axxess on Thursday evening, April 2, and will be doing a little announcing with the fans at one of the many features at WWE Fan Axxess. Check elsewhere on WWE.com for more info as it becomes available. I really enjoy attending Axxess and simply being a fan.

Natalya is arguably the best pure wrestling Diva in the entire WWE. Natalya’s use of her Uncle Bret hart’s “Sharpshooter” is a real equalizer in any match in which Natalya competes. Tyson Kidd seems to have a nice upside too, and I could see some great bouts between Kidd and the returning Evan Bourne down the road.

ECW has arguably the best young wrestler in WWE in Jack Swagger, who one would assume would be a coveted draft pick come the annual WWE Draft Night on April 13 in Atlanta during a three-hour episode of Monday Night Raw. I keep getting asked by fans I see on the road and at our BBQ joints if I know if any of the TV announcers will be drafted this year and I don’t. I didn’t know last year either, but that move to Friday night’s has worked out fine for me. I do expect some MAJOR moves during the Draft on what should be a “can’t-miss” TV show.

If you have the time, please check out our online store at www.jrsbarbq.com as “Baby needs new shoes.”

Have a great weekend and continue to count your blessings.

Boomer Sooner!
J.R.