I was 12 years old when I first got into pro wrestling. If you would have told me that I’d be about to turn 36 and still be a wrestling fan, I probably would have told you that you were nuts. Yet, here I am, a regular watcher of RAW and an occasional watcher of ECW, Smackdown and Impact as well as a regular reader of a variety of wrestling related websites. Throughout these 23 years, there’s been one constant: Ric Flair.

I’ve seen your flashes in the pan like Goldberg and Brock Lesnar come and go. I’ve seen more wrestling related deaths than any fan should. I’ve watched some of the so-called greats like The Rock, Hulk Hogan, and Randy Savage, among others rise to the top of the business only to leave it for some reason or another.

For nearly 36 years, Ric Flair has been a professional wrestler, and as far as I’m concerned, there’s been none better. You can have your Hogans and Stone Colds and Rocks. None of them are the Nature Boy. None of them could work a mic like Ric. None of them could make a match against the lowliest of jabronies into a classic. And none of them could have inspired an entire generation of wrestlers.

Flair’s retirement was the worst kept secret in wrestling. Though I did not get to see his match against HBK at Wrestlemania, by all accounts it was just another classic to add to Flair’s massive resume.

I remember long ago watching a TV match between Ric Flair and Barry Windham that went to a 45 minute TV time limit draw. This was on the NWA’s syndicated World Wide Wrestling program. You didn’t see matches like that on TV back then, and that’s what made it so special.

Ric Flair was the anti-Hulk Hogan. Not just because Flair was primarily a heel and Hogan a face. No, it was more than that. Ric Flair is a wreslter. Hulk Hogan is an entertainer. There’s a big difference. Yeah, Hogan’s not bad on the mic, but few can match Flair’s promo prowess. And even during those days when Flair was at his dastardly worst, he could still make you smile with some of his famous lines. Heck, I even quoted Flair’s "To be the man, you gotta beat the man" in my high school year book. I wrote a paper on him in 11th grade. That’s how much Flair’s been a part of my life as a wrestling fan.

I long for the days of NWA World Championship Wrestling on WTBS at 6:05 every Saturday night. I long for the days of the original Four Horseman running roughshod over the NWA with Ric Flair holding onto the fabled 10 pounds of gold. I long for the days of Flair/Steamboat, Flair/Rhodes, Flair/Sting, Flair/Luger and so on. I long for the days when what went on in the ring was more important than what went on outside it.

The tribute to Flair on Monday night was one of the most geniune outpourings of affection I’ve ever seen. It’s amazing how many wrestlers he’s influenced and inspired.

I could go on and on about Ric Flair, but anyone who knows me knows how highly I think of him. Bret Hart always claimed to be the best there is, was and ever will be, but sorry Bret, Ric Flair’s the best.

So I say to Ric - god bless and good luck. There will never be another like you.

And there’s no better way to finish up this entry than with some of Ric’s best lines...

"Kiss stealin’, wheelin’ dealin’, limousine ridin’, jet flyin’ son of a gun!  Whooooo!!!!"

"Whether you like it or don’t like it, learn to love it, ’cause it’s the best thing goin’ today!  Whoooo!!!!"

"The Symbol of Excellence"

"Diamonds are forever, and so are the Horseman.  Whoooo!!!!"

"Stylin’ and profilin’!"

"Step back and see what’s causin’ all this."

"Custom-made from head to toe."

"You gotta walk the aisle!"

Yes, it’s an actual blog post from me - the first in way too long.  Let’s see if I can at least post a few times a week from here on out.  Not makin’ any promises, though. :)

- Spring is slowly coming to Western PA, and that’s just fine with me.  I like a gradual build up to spring.  I really don’t like it when it goes from 40 degrees to 70 degrees practically overnight.  Temps in the 50s and 60s during the day are just fine. That’s Spring, folks.

- The NHL season is drawing to a close, and the Pens are getting closer to clinching the Atlantic Conference and wrapping up a 2 seed at the very worst. My friend Milo (who can’t be objective about the Pens) is still unconvinced that this team is a Stanley Cup contender.  I think that if the goaltending holds up and Fleury keeps playing like he has of late, this time might be close to unstoppable. We’ll see.

- Baseball season begins tomorrow.  No truth to the rumors that the Pirates are already officially eliminated from playoff contention.

- Everybody who had Davidson in the Elite Eight raise your hand. Not too many of ya, huh?

- Good luck to the Pitt Lady Panthers as they take on Stanford in the Women’s Sweet 16 tonight. Hey, they made it farther than the men’s team did...

- A good week for me means three emails read on the Tony Kornheiser Show. Man, I really need to get a life.

- South Side tonight!  And that means Moonsauce at the Cambodican Cookery. Yum in the tum as my friend in the Woodlands would say.

- Wrestlemania 24 is tomorrow. Wonder if Floyd Mayweather will actually go over the Big Show. I can’t see it, but "anything can happen in the WWE." I do fully expect Triple H to win the WWE title back even though I think Randy Orton should hold onto it because (I can’t believe I’m saying this) he’s actually made a good heel champ. Guess we’ll see.

- Anyway, I’m off to enjoy what promises to be a glorious Saturday afternoon. See you kids later!

JD

Funny how much life can change in the span of 4 months.

My life wasn't exactly what I wanted it to be, but at least it was consistent. I knew what to expect out of it. I guess you could even say I had something of a routine. Then, in the space of a little over a month, it all changed.

My mother, who has been paralyzed from the chest down for the past decade, had to be placed in a nursing home because my father could no longer care for her.  About six weeks later, my dad (whose health had always been very good) ended up in the hospital himself. That was nearly 70 days ago. He's still there, and after having a stroke, it doesn't look like he'll be getting out any time soon.

I'm an only child, so I'm having to take care of all of their affairs, including finances, their house, not to mention trying to see both of them as much as I can. There are days when it's okay, but there are days when I feel like my world is cracking.

I have friends, near and far, friends who will be there for me if I just ask. But that doesn't stop me from feeling very alone sometimes.

Perhaps some day I'll finally meet the woman of my dreams, the woman I've been searching for my whole life. There are times when I wonder if that's truly my destiny, and there are times when I wonder if it will ever happen. And there are some days when I just don't know.

So, here I sit on another lonely Wednesday night, hoping that tomorrow will be the day I get some good news for once. Heaven knows that my family and I could use some.

Well, today turned out to be a very pleasant day, despite not being able to spend it with my family as a whole. I went to the nursing home to spend the afternoon with her. I stopped in to see my dad at the hospital before heading out to have dinner with my uncle, cousins and other assorted friends and family. It was a wonderfully stress-free evening that included me rocking out to "In Bloom" and "Wanted Dead or Alive" on Rock Band. Guess who got 99% on vocals for "Wanted"?

Tomorrow, I will do my best to avoid Black Friday as for the first time in 4 years, I won't be working at the bookstore. Therefore, I see no reason to deal with the insanity. Thank you, I'll do my shopping online this year.

But for those of you who will be getting up at the crack of dawn for 5am door busters, I wish you luck. You're gonna need it.

Have a good weekend, kids.

Been awhile since I actually did a blog entry.  It's been a busy last few months.  My dad's in the hospital, and my mother's in a nursing home.  So, I've been doing a lot of running back and forth between various medical facilities.

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving which used to mean getting together with my mom and dad (and any relatives that deigned to make an appearance) for turkey with all the trimmings.  Well, that won't be happening this year.  I'll be joining my mom for her dinner at the nursing home before heading out to have dinner with my uncle and cousins.  My dad?  He's on a ventilator and is being fed thru a tube in his stomach.  So, no turkey dinner for him, unfortunately.

Needless to say, it's not exactly what I was hoping for over the holidays, but that's life, I guess.

Anyway, I just wanted to wish everyone out there a Happy Thanksgiving.  Eat, drink and be merry.

John

It's gonna get close to 90 today.  Bleah.  Not a big fan of super hot weather.  I don't mind being outdoors when the weather is pleasant (mid 70's is usually what I like best), but when it's so hot you work up a sweat walking to and from your car, it's best to be inside with the air conditioner cranked up.  As Mr. Tony so eloquently puts it, "I'm schvitzing like an airedale!"

Anyway, I think I'm going to be doing my best to restrict my activities to indoors today.

Have a good weekend, kids.

Too busy/lazy to blog lately.  Hope to resume next week.  Yes, I'm still alive. :)

More soon.

Well, not for much longer, I guess.  Seems like the weekends just go by faster and faster anymore.

Tomorrow features a 4 hour training session that is bound to be coma-inducing.  There had better be lots of food and/or drink to keep me awake.  Wonder if anyone would notice if I wore my iPod?  Probably.  I'll just take a notepad and pretend to take notes while actually writing down story ideas and anything else that will keep me from dozing off.  Maybe if I get to bed at a semi-decent hour, that will help.  Couldn't hurt.

And that being said, it's bedtime for me.  Later, kids.

Yes, I kind of do have the Bay City Rollers on my mind, much to my horror.

Well, it's another Saturday.  This past week just seemed to fly be for some reason.  It's not that I was ridiculously busy or that it was any different than most weeks.  It just seemed go by so fast.  And I'd really like things to slow down just a tad.  I don't want to blink and have it already be September.  I want to enjoy spring and summer for once.

I'll be at the Pirates game again tonight.  My friend got me an invite to his company's tailgate (free food!) and pretty good tickets down the third base line, to boot.  And hey...it's 50s-60s Logoman bobblehead night!  If that's not enticement enough to fork out a few bucks to go to tonight's game, I don't know what is.

The Preakness Stakes is also happening today, so the chance exists for me to once again make a few bucks letting someone else pick the winners. It worked for the Derby, so why not for the Preakness, too? It's not going to be enough for me to retire on, but maybe it'll be enough to treat myself to a new DVD set.  Guess I'll find out in about 5 hours.

Anyway, time to get this show on the road.  Have a good weekend everyone!