WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross updated the blog section of JRsbarbq.com. The following items are among the highlights.

-Ross on Jeremy Piven hosting Raw: "Actor Jeremy Piven will guest host Raw Monday night from the sold out Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Ct on what could be an unique night as it relates to Mr. Piven. The Entourage star and the star of an upcoming film that actually looks very funny is reportedly somewhat attitudinal. I only know what I read and I am not claiming that Piven is a tool, for the record. Nonetheless, as I wrote earlier, I hope that Piven is exactly like his character Ari Gold on the HBO's Entourage and 'runs rough shod' on Monday night. In the old days many of the veterans would have clamored to see who could play the biggest rib on Piven or any other 'celebrity' who came into the locker room area and acted any thing less than respectful to the biz.

Powell's POV: If any celebrity is going to play a heel, it should be Piven. Am I alone in wishing that Ari's assistant Lloyd would make a surprise appearance? I know, wishful thinking.

-Ross on Fedor: "Bottom line is this, if Fedor wanted to sign with UFC and cement his legacy and enhance his arguably padded 30-1 record he would do so. Great competitors always want to compete on the highest level and one could assume that Emelianenko would be no different. The excuse that 'we couldn't get a deal done' feels more like a cop out than a reason.


Powell's POV: Fedor's handlers blew it when they passed on the UFC deal. By all accounts, they gave up a very lucrative deal because they refuse to give up on the ridiculous notion that UFC should co-promote events with them. Dana White put it nicely when he compared it to a certain retired NFL player (whose name shall not be mentioned by this Vikings fan) asked an NFL team to give him 50 percent of their profit. It's too bad because I'd love to see Brock Lesnar vs. Fedor. By the way, J.R. has a lot more to say on this topic.

-Ross on Tito Ortiz: "I remember meeting Tito, who was attending a WWE event with Rick Bassman many years ago in Anaheim at the Pond, if memory serves me correctly, when Tito had an interest in discussing a potential career in WWE. Tito had/has a great look, charisma, is obviously very athletic and would have likely done very well in WWE. However, Tito's true calling is MMA and for an athlete to be able to perform only a few times a year for big bucks and not endure excessive travel is the only way for some athletes to go about their professional lives IE Brock Lesnar.

Powell's POV: I actually suggested the idea of bringing in Tito for a one-time match with John Cena at WrestleMania 25 earlier this year. He's a legit fan of pro wrestling and he knows how to sell pay-per-views. Obviously, this won't be happening now that he's re-signed with UFC.

Other topics include the UFC 100 buyrate, Jeff Hardy vs. John Morrison, J.R. getting excited about the upcoming football season (aren't we all?).

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