MichaelLortz.com/JordiScrubbings.com

A while back, perhaps almost a year ago now, I had a very interesting twitter-based conversation with fellow Tampa-based blogger Clark Brooks and legendary hip-hop artist Chuck D, frontman for the great Public Enemy.

The conversation started on a response I made to Chuck D’s tweet comparing Run-DMC to The Beatles.

According to Chuck D, Run-DMC’s music and performances set public excitement to levels not seen since The Beatles. Run-DMC, like The Beatles, were new, exciting, and harbingers of a new mainstream music scene. As the rock of The Beatles was derived from earlier influences such as Elvis and Chuck Berry, and later Muddy Waters, the hip-hop of Run-DMC was derived from Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, the Sugar Hill Gang, and several other hip-hop trailblazing legends. Chuck D also tweeted to me about the attention and national spotlight given to these two groups and that there was a buzz surrounding both of them. He said Run-DMC was no doubt The Beatles of their day.

Although I didn’t really have a leg to stand on in regards to the first-hand knowledge Chuck D of Run-DMC, I told Chuck and Clark that I would lean more towards comparing The Beatles to well-known historical hip-hop act NWA, although instead of cultural excitement, I would base my comparison on musical influence and impact.

Looking at NWA and The Beatles, I like to think of Ice Cube as John Lennon. Although some might initially think Easy-E, as it was Easy who put the group together and both Easy and Lennon died at an early age, I think Ice Cube is the better comparison. Cube was the songwriter for most NWA’s earlier albums just as Lennon was one of the main song writers for The Beatles. Like Lennon, upon going solo, Ice Cube got much more political, although instead of “giving peace a chance”, Cube became one of Amerikkka’s Most Wanted.

With Ice Cube filling the Lennon role, I think it makes sense to compare Dr. Dre to Paul McCartney. Both achieved extraordinary success outside of their original groups, with McCartney in Wings and Dre in his solo ventures and with Snoop Dogg and Eminem.

Of the remaining Beatles and NWA members, I would compare Ringo Starr to MC Ren and then finally George Harrison to Easy-E. Although each of the four here had respectable careers, none could quite capture the acclaim they had when they were part of a group.

During my twitter conversation with Clark Brooks and Chuck D, I asked Chuck what classic rock group he would compare to NWA. His answer surprised me at first, but I think is definitely worth exploration. He said he would compare NWA to The Yardbirds, which I think is another great comparison, although my personal opinion is that it falls a little short.

For those who might not remember, The Yardbirds were an early to mid 1960s rock group that featured, at one point or another, three of the greatest guitar players of all time: Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, and Jeff Beck. They also at one point contained another future Led Zeppelin member in bassist John Paul Jones. Right away, we can associate MC Ren and DJ Yella of NWA with Keith Relf, Chris Dreja, and Jim McCarty of The Yardbirds – members who although they recorded outside of their most well known act, failed to make any more mainstream waves.

So that leaves Clapton, Page, and Beck and Ice Cube, Dr. Dre, and Easy-E. I think that’s the perfect order as well.

Ice Cube as Eric Clapton: Clapton left The Yardbirds in 1965 because he claimed they were losing their blues roots. Ice Cube left NWA because he claimed they weren’t paying him enough. Clapton went on to join the John Mayall Band, Cream, and Derek and the Dominoes before going solo. Ice Cube went solo, but worked with the production team from Public Enemy before putting together Da Lynch Mob and being part of the Westside Connection with Mack-10 and WC. Both Cube and Clapton were able to toe two lines in their respective genres: Cube went from black militant rap to West Coast gangsta rap and back while Clapton meandered from blues to rock and back to blues. Probably the biggest difference here is that Clapton hasn’t ventured into movies and other media as Ice Cube has, but that might be a sign of the times.

Dr. Dre as Jimmy Page: Whereas Page took the Yardbirds into a different direction by bringing aboard Robert Plant and John Bohnam and calling the group “Led Zeppelin”, Dre left NWA but like Page, started a whole other “band” in Death Row Records. Both Dr. Dre and Jimmy Page both took the torch lit by their first groups and ran further with it thanks to their new colleagues than any of their former counterparts. Page and Dr. Dre found relative unknowns in Page and Snoop Dogg, respectively, and turned them into mega-stars. Both have also been astute on the business side of their music as well, as it was Page who re-released a lot of the Led Zeppelin live concerts over the years, repackaging and remastering using the most modern technology and of course Dr. Dre has used the power of promotions from commercials to using holograms to get his music heard and seen.

Easy-E as Jeff Beck: Of the three MCs in NWA to make it as solo artists, Easy-E attained far less acclaim then his two ex-mates. The same could be said for Jeff Beck, although Beck is still with us, unlike Easy-E. Even in death, however, Easy-E is overshadowed by other deceased hip-hop legends. Although Ice Cube and Dr. Dre left NWA and Jeff Beck was fired from the Yardbirds, both artists held long-term grudges against their former group members, with Beck saying “fuck them” at the Rock’n’Roll Hall of Fame and Easy-E recording Dr. Dre diss songs on his 187um album. While Beck has had the chance to play with former Yardbirds Clapton and Page on numerous occasions, Easy-E was never able to perform on stage with Ice Cube and Dr. Dre, although he did meet with them on his deathbed.

(Here is the weakness in Chuck D’s argument. Easy-E and Jeff Beck are not a good comparison. Jeff Beck is a Rock’N'Roll Hall of Famer and no one will ever mistake Easy-E for a great rapper. Easy-E did however discover the multi-platinum Bone-Thugs-N-Harmony. While Easy-E stayed primarily solo in his post-NWA career, Jeff Beck was in close to a dozen more groups after leaving The Yardbirds.)

While I can definitely see Chuck D’s point that NWA does have some similarities with The Yardbirds, I still think the West Coast rap legends make a more apt comparison to The Beatles.

Along the same lines, there are other hip-hop to classic rock comparisons I think are fitting:

Rakim to Jimi Hendrix: This is the old high school analogy. What Jimi is to guitar, Rakim is to hip-hop lyrics. There were guitarists before Jimi, but none blew the ears off listeners like Hendrix, none experimented with as many sounds and effects as Hendrix, and few put on a show and had a sense of timing like Hendrix. For early hip-hop fans, Rakim is the same on the lyrical tip, with a sense of timing, dexterity, and flow that few had heard before. Rakim also brought a depth and intellect to rhyming and lyricism that was unheard of in the days of party hip-hop. Today, both Hendrix and Rakim are still considered among, if not the best to ever do what they did.

Lil Wayne to Motley Crue: I like to think of Southern Rap as the Hair Metal of hip-hop. It’s flashy, cheesy, and utterly materialistic, lacking the depth and relevance of its predecessors. Since the Cash Money Clique first broke through in the late 1990s, southern hip-hop has been one of the most formulaic genres in music. For a while in the 1980s, hair metal was the same to rock’n’roll. Hair metal had the makeup, the hair spray, the spandex, and the power ballad. No band was bigger nor more hair metal than Motley Crue. Southern rap had the pimp cup, the souped-up Cadillac, the crunk juice, and the song about being in the club. And no one has epitomized Southern rap more than Lil Wayne.

Tupac Shakur to Jim Morrison: This one is almost too easy. Both Morrison and Tupac Shakur died before their time, both were poets as well as lyricists, and both had tragic wild sides. Both Tupac and Jim Morrison were misunderstood stereotypes miscast in their particular time. While Jim Morrison was on the surface a poster child for the wild bacchanalia of the 1960s, he was in spirit a well-read intellectual who studied Greek mythology and was deep into Native American culture as evident by his poetry. Tupac was also miscast into the role of thug during an era when mainstream hip-hop drifted towards West Coast gangstra rap. As many would attest, and how he himself would say, he was an artist and also well-read in the classic literature of William Shakespeare. Unfortunately for both, it was the temptations of their hedonistic ways that would lead to their early demise.

Here are a few others that I think make worthy comparisons:

Jay-Z and Bruce Springsteen

LL Cool J and Aerosmith

Wu-Tang Clan and Black Sabbath

Bob Dylan and Nas

Finally, what about Run-DMC, the hip-hop group Chuck D first discussed?

With their genre-crossing, groundbreaking, and trailblazing ways, Run-DMC, the self-proclaimed “Kings of Rock” are most like “The King” himself, Elvis Presley. Elvis took the blues and country and mashed it up with a little rock and took over the world. Run-DMC took rock and the new thing called hip-hop, mashed it up, and took the country by storm.

Rock and hip-hop are the premier music genres in America now and probably will be for generations to come. As such, there are a lot of comparisons that can be made between the artists of each, just as we can look at blues singers and jazz players and punk rock singers and metal screamers. In all types of music, there will be members of an explosive initial burst, personnel who are part of the scene when the music is either commercially accepted or rejected, and those who hold on when the music fizzles out of the public eye.  So far in America, rock’n’roll and rock singers have had the longest lifespan. Although hip-hop and its MCs and DJs might never catch rock, it won’t be long until it surpasses the longevity of jazz and the blues and its artists find a secure place in the great American song book.

(This post originally appeared on Bus Leagues Baseball.com)

From The Book of Revelations:

Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him.

HE is here.

The Chosen One. Born of pure midiclorians, HE is the one of the great prophesy of the Book of Doubleday.

For years now, we have awaited this glorious day. The day in which HE would descend upon us, don the uniform of our capitol city, and we would bask in HIS glory. How fitting that HE would arrive in The City of Angels. Even the stars dare not blink when HE crosses their path. Sound the horns and mark the day, for it is one we must never forget.

Since 2010, we have attempted to purify our souls in anticipation. We oogled at HIS god-like adolescent strength. We compared HIS mental make-up to the greatest hitter of all-time. We compared HIS on-the-field actions to those who grace our great Halls. We have been penitent and humble in HIS glory. And now, on this day when he stops riding buses and toiling among the common folk of small towns and small fields, we hope that we have done enough. We hope we are worthy of HIS presence.

Sceptics, blasphemers, and non-believers will try to dissuade us. They say today is not the right day for HIS arrival. They will downplay HIS impact on our lives. They might even say HE is not the savior we know HIM to be. But they do not understand.

This is the day we will tell our grandchildren about.

Write the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter

The Bryce Harper Era starts today.

I’ve had the pleasure of working with several local Afghans in my month here in Afghanistan. As I have written before, it has been an interesting experience, especially in regards to comparing and contrasting our two very different cultures.

Although we are in a war zone, and sometimes we are incredibly busy, there are some moments in our office where things are a little calmer. Fridays (the Muslim holy day) and Sundays (the Western holy day) are usually quite calm. On some of our slower moments, we pop in a movie to pass the time. So far I have watched Pirates of the Caribbean 4, an Angelina Jolie spy-thriller, a movie where Ewan McGregor plays a political autobiographer, Taxi Driver, and Gangs of New York with my new Afghan colleagues.

While watching Taxi Driver with non-Americans was an interesting experience, the most interesting post-movie discussion I’ve had came after Gangs of New York. One of the Afghans asked if it was a true story. I told him that although it had been jazzed up for Hollywood, it was probably based on real events, as there was a lot of turmoil among immigrants in New York City in the mid-1800s and all the way into the early 20th Century. His response was that the movie reminded him of Kabul roughly 15 years ago.

Following his questions on the validity of Gangs of New York, my Afghan colleague asked about the war going on in the backstory of the movie. This of course was the Civil War, so I told him briefly about the struggle of the Northern States to promote a stronger central government versus the Southern States insistence that the states be the stronger entity. Although I touched on slavery, I figured he would better understand centralized government versus localized government, as that is not far from Afghan today and their struggle to establish a central government that can provide security for all the people of Afghanistan.

Since our discussion, I’ve been thinking about post-Civil War America and whether or not one could compare it to some of the things that are happening in Afghanistan right now.

- A few years ago on my trip to Memphis I saw a plaque outside an old school house that said the school was built and protected by Northern troops to ensure newly freed slaves could attend and become constructive members of the new southern society. A quick glance at Reconstruction on Wikipedia confirms what I thought: the US military played a key role in assisting former slaves in the South and promoting integration. The national military was in the south to assure civil rights were kept equal and that government mandates on voting were kept. Sounds like a peace keeping mission to me.

- The post-Civil War Reconstruction Era also gave birth to southern paramilitary groups with fundamentalist and extreme views. The Ku Klux Klan and the White League were just two of the groups who used violence and intimidation to push ex-slaves into the role of second-hand citizens.

From Wikipedia:

A new organization operated openly and had political goals: the violent overthrow of Republican rule and suppression of black voting. White League chapters soon rose in many rural parishes, receiving financing for advanced weaponry from wealthy men. In one example of local violence, the White League assassinated six white Republican officeholders and five to twenty black witnesses outside Coushatta, Red River Parish in 1874

Sounds a lot like the actions of the Taliban and the Haqqani Network here in Afghanistan as they use tactics of intimidation of rural towns and villages and have murdered people attempting to work with the new Afghan government.

After the Northern troops left the Southern capitols in 1877, southern politicians ensured ex-slaves were seen as second class. Here in Afghanistan, if the religious extremists take uninhibited control again, women and many other minor groups won’t see the light of day or the sunshine of freedom.

It took nearly 100 years in America for the children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren of ex-slaves to stand up and fight to ensure their civil rights could not be tampered upon. How long will it take for those who don’t want religious extremism in Afghanistan to say “enough is enough”? Although it might happen, the religious extremists could be so well-armed by the time it happens that the populace will have no choice but to stay oppressed. Either that or there will be massive exoduses from Afghanistan of the moderate and educated, which will definitely hinder development.

- I wonder how much illegal economic activity went on in the South after the Civil War. Here in Afghanistan, there is a billion dollar opium trade that helps finance the insurgents. Did the Southern paramilitary groups sell bootleg cotton or tobacco to make money for weapons? Did they receive income or supplies from Spain, England, or any other nation that wanted to disrupt the victorious US government?

- The situation in Afghanistan is more complex than Reconstruction in the United States because besides the problems of the federal government faces with the Taliban, the Haqqani Network, and other disrupting elements, it also faces some local hesitation in the form of tribes who have done things their way for hundreds, if not thousands of years. And of course, many of them speak different languages or dialects. It would be as if Northern troops stationed in the South during Reconstruction tried also to integrate the Native Americans in Florida, Georgia, and other states into the new Southern Government. Of course, we know that didn’t happen and that both the North and the South tried to drive the Native Americans from their land.

- On top of all this, imagine if the British had done more damage than they did during the War of 1812. Imagine they leveled the United States before finally leaving. From what I hear, Afghanistan used to be a very beautiful rural country before the Russian invasion in 1979.

- I wonder if any foreign country ever gave the United States money earmarked to specifically rebuild the South and its economic ability, similar to India providing the government of Afghanistan 11 billion dollars a few weeks ago to expand natural resource mining and build a railroad.  While the Taliban can try to stop civil rights, they will hard-pressed to stop the increasing hunger for resources and the growing spheres of influence of India and China. The dollars of these two growing economies will either assist the new Afghan government in building a stable economy and eventually fund a capable military able to put down the extremists, or India and China will merely rape Afghanistan of its natural resources, making Afghanistan not only a war-torn country, but a barren one at that.

As for Afghanistan’s other neighbor, I tend to think the power of the dollar will sedate Pakistan’s assumed desire for a pro-Pakistani Afghanistan. Why should Afghanistan want to side with Pakistan when India is richer and provides much more aid? Where is the incentive to be pro-Pakistan? Although a lot of people are worried about Pakistan’s intentions after NATO leaves, I think they will be irrelevant, because when money talks, irrational governments have a way of becoming rational quickly.

Also to my point, Pakistan has been increasingly talking with India and recently agreed to be part of the TAPI – a Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India oil pipeline project. These things don’t happen if one nation acts irrational and plays extremist hardball with the others. Whether or not money from these deals will trickle down to the common folk has yet to be seen. It could be siphoned off for the rich. But the bright side of that is that when the elites are making money, countries don’t usually go to war. So cross off any thoughts of a Pakistan-India nuclear showdown. There is too much money involved.

- People tend to think Afghanistan is a backwards place of warring tribes who will go to war the moment the global community exits. What these people fail to see is that Afghanistan isn’t too far off from America 150 years ago. And with the speed of technology, if money does win out and the kibosh is put on religious extremism, Afghanistan will grow at a much rapid pace than America did following its own tumultuous time. It will whip through the industrial revolution and get right into the digital age.

These are just a few thoughts. I am sure as I learn more, I’ll write more. Stay tuned.

While being away from live baseball for the 2012 season, I’ve had to look a little harder for things to write about. Fortunately, within my first week in Afghanistan I met Air Force Tech Sergeant Marc Leistico and oddly enough our conversation drifted towards minor league baseball. A few days later, TSgt Leistico was nice enough to sit down with me and answer a few questions for Bus Leagues Baseball.com.

Bus Leagues Baseball: So what is your name and rank?

Marc Leistico: My name is Tech Sergeant Marc Leistico and I am with the United States Air Force.

BLB: Now we’ve been working together for a bit, and a week ago you told me that you were a fan of Minor League Baseball. I was wondering if you could tell me what team.

ML: I am a fan of the Sacramento River Cats, they are a minor team of the Oakland A’s.

BLB: Awesome. How long have you been going to their games?

ML: Oh, since about 2001.

BLB: In your experience with the River Cats, what’s the allure of Minor League Baseball?

ML: Well, when it comes to sports, I follow teams, not individuals. I’m terrible with individual stats. I don’t care about stats or personas. But the team itself is what I really like the most. And the thing with minor league baseball is these personas are taken out because when they are really really good, they go up to the majors. So you have a chance to focus on the team and enjoy the team. Mostly you wrap yourself around the mascot more than any individual player.

BLB: That is very true. It’s more about the front of the jersey than the back, which is almost in line with the Air Force and the military – that there are no individuals.

ML: Exactly. It is a very unified point of view.

BLB: Can you tell us your views on the experience of going to a minor league game, especially as compared to a major league game? Have you been to many major league games as well?

ML: I’ve been to several major league games. Minor league baseball games are much more family friendly. So it is not just the game you are watching, you are also watching the in-between innings, the goofy little games, that sometimes do or do not make sense, and it doesn’t really matter because the whole point of the game is to get the crowd involved. You know, regardless of what’s going on the wave seems to be more prominent at minor league games than at major league games.

BLB: I’ve never been out to Sacramento. How many people usually attend? Is it a couple of hundred? A couple of thousand?

ML: The stadium is packed and the grass is packed. Sacramento is huge for the River Cats.

BLB: Now being in the Air Force, do you get to go very many games?

ML: Well, every time I am on vacation in the area, my parents always spring for one or two tickets. When I was stationed in Travis Air Force Base, it was quite often.

BLB: Being in Afghanistan now, of course you won’t be able to go to many games, but will you still follow the team?

ML: Probably not. I get home from work and I want to go to bed.

BLB: So has the River Cats experience changed since you started going in 2001?

ML: It hasn’t. It is the consistency that makes it nice. When I go to a baseball game I know what I am getting myself into. And one thing that I really like about minor league baseball games is that you don’t get a whole lot of Budweiser or Coca-Cola, you get more local breweries or local diners. It is a very local flavor. I imagine this counts for every minor league baseball team, if you want to catch the taste of a local area in one small setting, go to a minor league baseball game or minor league sports, in general.

BLB: Could you tell us about the first game you went to and give us a few of your most memorable experiences at the ballpark?

ML: I can’t really remember the first game I went to, I just remember that it was 2001. It was when I was first stationed at Travis Air Force Base, not far from Sacramento. It was nice.

BLB: Was it just something to do?

ML: Yeah. My parents have now gone from one or two games a year to a game almost every week or every other week. My parents are now huge River Cats fans. They always get my son River Cats paraphernalia such as bats and balls and jerseys. He is all decked out in River Cats gear.

The memory that stands out the most for me now is Roof Man. If someone hits a foul out behind the stands, Roof Man comes out all superhero like and he is dressed in a cape and he throws balls back down to the audience. It gets everyone involved. The River Cats have such a creative way of getting the crowd involved.

BLB: Now had your parents gone to many games before you went to games?

ML: Yes, because they had the time.

BLB: Have you taken your son to any games?

ML: Yes. Every time we go back. It’s amazing because he was like a year and a half old and, you know, a year and a half old kids don’t have much attention span, but he was sitting there on my lap just enthralled. Just enthralled with the game. And he is telling the pitcher “And … throw! And … throw! And … throw!”. He barely spoke anything but “and …. Throw!”. He was more than happy to do that. So he is already a huge River Cats fan.

It’s a family thing there. It’s a community thing.

BLB: Do you go with your parents and turn it into a family outing?

ML: Yeah, it’s the whole family. Some friends, it’s a bigger event. Everyone has a great time.

I’ve also noticed that when you go to a Major League game, you don’t really talk to the people next to you or the people behind you. But at a Minor League game, they are much more concerned with taking care of you. Like there was a nice couple behind us once and they caught one of the balls from Roof Man and gave the ball to my son. So it’s very, very community.

BLB: So are you going to miss going to the ballpark while you are here in Afghanistan?

ML: Yeah. When I get back I’ll be in Germany. My wife and I both agreed that we are going to take the sites in and we are going to see Europe. So no River Cats games for three years. Maybe we can find a minor league team or something like that in Germany.

We’d like to thank TSgt Leistico for his time and wish him the best during his Afghanistan deployment and throughout his time in the military.

(Photo from baseballpilgrimages.com)

In Catalonia, an area of Spain, they throw parades and celebrate a day in honor of Sant Jordi (Saint George). According to the almighty Wikipedia, the day is also known as El Dia del Libre, or The Day of the Book.

Wikipedia also states that “Historically, men gave women roses, and women gave men a book to celebrate the occasion—”a rose for love and a book forever.” In modern times, the mutual exchange of books is also customary.”

Now given that my book selection is kinda scant, with only my greatest hits and two books on minor league baseball available on Amazon (cheap plug!), may I suggest on this Sant Jordi Day that you send a loved one a link to one of my many posts?

Maybe you are a fan of my baseball work. There is plenty to choose from there.

Maybe you prefer my work from ScalpEm.com or Yay!Sports. There are quite a few oldies but goodies in those categories.

Maybe you like my comedy. You know the power of laughter is one of the greatest gifts you can give.

Maybe, just maybe, you are a fan of the introspective stuff I have put on here. If so, that’s awesome. Maybe I captured what you were feeling and put it into words in a way that you really enjoyed. Or maybe you find my personal insights ridiculous. Eh, that’s ok too.

But regardless of which post you send, thank you for sending one and getting the word out there about me. And I hope you have a very enjoyable and happy Sant Jordi Day!

With another WrestleMania Weekend recently behind us, I thought I would take a moment and look at the idea of a place to acknowledge the best of the squared circle. A place where fans can learn about the past and celebrate those who have made pro wrestling into the institution it is today.

Until recently, I had no idea there was a Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum. Located in Amsterdam, New York and established in 2002, the PWHF, according to its mission statement, strives to “maintain organized volunteerism that preserves and promotes the dignified history of professional wrestling.”

Since 2002, the Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum has had backing by a who’s who of prominent names in pro wrestling history. And every year since 2002, they have inducted some of the biggest legends in the business. Despite their hard work and love of professional wrestling, however, unless something drastically changes, the Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum will never become the wrestling fan mecca it should be. Unfortunately, as things are now, there are five big reasons why the PWHF is doomed for an eventual failure.

Location – After a few years in Schenectady, the PWHF moved to Amsterdam, New York in 2005. Amsterdam, New York is a small town of 18,620 located 180 miles north of New York City according to Google Maps. Even if there was historically rational reason to housing the PWHF in Amsterdam, a la the Baseball Hall of Fame in similarly small Cooperstown, that is a terrible location. In order to raise public awareness, the PWHF should move to a city, preferably one with a rich wrestling history such New York, Atlanta, St. Louis (a city with its own wrestling hall of fame), Memphis, or perhaps even my city of Tampa.

Web Presence and Social Media– If the PWHF is insistent in staying in small-town upstate New York, it needs to revamp its social media and web presence. While the PWHF website isn’t terrible, there are a few things I would like to suggest.

First, I would like to see videos if possible in the bio section. Maybe even a PWHF Hall of Fame video highlight reel with a nice voice over. Second, the gallery hasn’t been updated since 2009. That’s not good at all. Third, if it is a museum, are there any exhibits? Any old belts, turnbuckles, programs, etc.? Pictures of these types of pieces with stories of the items would be a nice touch. Although pro wrestling is mostly about the people, it is also about the events, the rings, and the titles. Those are the glue that hold the history of the sport together.

Whereas the website isn’t that bad, the rest of the PWHF’s web presence needs a lot of work, especially if it wants to capture the interest of casual wrestling fans. Of course, this means the social media mainstays of Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.

A Facebook search of “Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame” brings up a lot of different pages, none of which I can surely say represent the PWHF. There is an informational page which describes the museum, but there is no fan page that interacts with wrestling fans or promotes upcoming events at the museum. Once that is established, perhaps the PWHF’s page could post facts about inductees and exhibits, maybe even a fact, video, or trivia question of the day.

Only slightly better is the PWHF’s twitter presence. Although it appears they have an account, it doesn’t look like anyone has used it since November 2010, and that was after a nine month gap in tweeting. Like Facebook, twitter would be a great way for the PWHF to engage fans and raise awareness. When so many wrestling fans are active on twitter and Facebook, for the PWHF to not be active on either is sad.

Despite the fact that they have a youtube video embedded on their homepage, the PWHF’s youtube usage also needs a ton of work. Until recently, their front page featured a youtube video that wasn’t even from the organization’s youtube page. It was from a youtube channel that also featured some “tea party” propaganda videos. I don’t think political party propaganda is the type of stuff the Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum should be associated with.

(Note: they recently changed it, but to another page that only partially has anything to do with the Hall of Fame. There are wrestling videos, but few are about the PWHF.)

As for their actual PWHF youtube page, it has three videos off the museum, one from 2010, one from 2009, and a generic video. The page also has a 30 second spot of TNA visiting Amsterdam. Why the last video is there, I have no idea. And why the 2011 Hall of Fame video is not on the official PWHF page is also a mystery. There is no reason why the page isn’t a robust forum of interviews, exhibits, and other propaganda about the museum.

Volunteerism – From checking out their homepage and other assorted information about them throughout the internet, I get the impression that the PWHF is proud of their volunteer, non-profit status. That would be fine if they were located in a big city, but in small-town New York, I am guessing the pool of volunteers they can pull from is quite low. Perhaps if they were a for-profit company they could attract more employees, employees who could help market and promote the museum. Volunteerism is great if you are where free labor is bountiful, such as a major college town, but I think for the PWHF it is now a liability.

Non-Affiliation – According to its website, the PWHF takes pride in not being affiliated with any one professional wrestling organization. It is not in cahoots with the WWE, NWA, or any other international, national, or regional organization. Whereas in the tricky world of pro wrestling, this might have been a good idea initially, I think it is actually to the PWHF’s detriment. Affiliating with the NWA, for example, may allow the PWHF to freely use video and other items – possibly even exhibits – from the organization’s rich history. Being in the official hall of fame of other organizations as well would also mean access to their archives and property.

The WWE Hall of Fame – We all know it’s coming. Eventually the WWE will build a physical home for its Hall of Fame. It will attract wrestling fans from far and wide. It will squash any and all regional or small-town halls of fame and museums that attempt to tell the story about the rest of professional wrestling. And it will be the default “pro wrestling Hall of Fame” for casual fans and non-fans alike. If the WWE Hall of Fame doesn’t strike a death knell for the current Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame, it will greatly hurt its chances of succeeding as a tourist destination. Everything the WWE does, it does big, and there is no doubt a WWE Hall of Fame would follow suit.

The PWHF can circumvent being the “other” pro wrestling hall of fame if, after gaining the blessing and affiliation of NWA, TNA, and other regional wrestling organization, it reaches out to the WWE. If the PWHF takes in all WWE Hall of Famers and acknowledges the WWE Hall of Fame as part and parcel of the PWHF, it might also be able to utilize the WWE’s huge marketing juggernaut. This is a story of David convincing Goliath to work with him, but if the PWHF gets it other ducks in a row, then it might have a chance to convince the WWE to outsource the care and maintenance of a physical hall of fame to the PWHF.

I’d like to see the PWHF succeed. I really would. It would be great to see a hall of fame and museum dedicated to pro wrestling that tells the entire story of the sport, and includes everyone from every organization from every country in the world, not just from the biggest pro wrestling company. In a perfect world, a metropolitan-located PWHF would receive footage, rights, and exhibits from Vince McMahon, the powers that be at the NWA, and other groups from around the world, making the Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame a mecca of pro wrestling history and celebration.

(This post originally appeared on Bus Leagues Baseball.com)

When we brainstormed about who we would like to interview this year, one name kept coming up: Jonah Keri. Jonah is the author of the New York Times Bestseller “The Extra 2%” and writer and podcast host at Grantland.com. Besides “The Extra 2%” and his work at Grantland, Jonah has also written for ESPN.com, the Wall Street Journal, Salon.com, New York Magazine, and Baseball Prospectus, where he contributed to numerous published volumes and edited “Baseball Between The Numbers”. He is currently working on the definitive history book on the Montreal Expos.

Needless to say, Jonah is one of our favorite authors.

Having met Jonah before at a book signing event at Tropicana Field prior to the 2011 season, I jumped at the opportunity to contact him this year and ask him a few questions.

Bus Leagues Baseball: How’s the new book coming along?

Jonah Keri: Going well. Mostly in the interviews stage right now, tracking down old players, managers, execs, as well as fans and other people on the periphery. Interviewing is always my favorite part of the process, so it’s exciting.

BLB: Is writing about the Expos a dream come true? Was it your idea – maybe something you have had for years?

JK: Not at all my idea. My editor on my previous book, The Extra 2%, was a guy named Paul Taunton. American, went to McGill in the late 90s, fell in love with Montreal and with the Expos. We used to post on the same Expos message board many moons ago, before I wrote about baseball for a living. He remembered my random Internet rants. Years later, I get an email from this guy saying he’s an editor at Random House now, would I like to write a book for them. I assume this was one of my buddies punking me, but turned out to be for real. That conversation led to The Extra 2%.

Took a lot out of me to work on that book for 2 years so I was ready for a break. But then one day over beers Paul suggests an Expos book. I actually argued against it for a while, because I wasn’t sure people would read a book about a defunct baseball team that had somewhat limited appeal even when they existed. Paul convinced me otherwise, and here we are.

BLB: As a writer, do you get a lot of ideas that you don’t write or fully develop? What do you do with them?

JK: Sure. Sometimes I’ll do a search and find that others have already done a great job with it so there’s no need to cover the same ground again. Or I’ll get an idea, do a couple interviews and/or some research, and find there’s less there than I thought. This was more annoying when I was a full-time freelancer. Now that I have a steady gig at Grantland, I just chalk it up to a good try that didn’t work out, and look for another interesting project to tackle.

BLB: I was wondering if you could tell us when you knew you could make it as a writer.

JK: I’m not what “making it” means, really. It’s the only profession I’ve really had — journalism school, had a full-time gig while still in college finishing my degree, etc. The sportswriting part of it is new, really. I was a stock market writer for more than a decade before really getting into sportswriting more seriously. Actually Grantland is the first full-time sportswriting job I’ve ever had.

But I look at all the amazing work being done by…hell, everyone. High-profile writers, younger bloggers, everyone. To me “making it” means doing fantastic work, regardless of how much you’re paid or who’s paying you. By that standard, I still have a long, long, long way to go.

BLB: What was your inspiration for becoming a writer?

JK: I wanted to play in the NBA. By age 12 I realized that was beyond impossible. So I started getting interested in writing, especially sportswriting. That’s pretty much it. That and my dad buying me my first Bill James Abstract when I was 8, plus me reading the great Michael Farber in the Montreal Gazette for many years.

BLB: What is your daily process on days you commit to writing? Do you write from home? Do you keep a game on when you write? Engage in social media when writing?

JK: “Days I commit to writing…” that’s funny! I (have to) write every day, some days just more than others. I do write from home, though living in a beautiful (and temperate) city like Denver, I should probably take my laptop out more often. The process varies. Generally speaking when I’m writing your basic Grantland piece, I do have a game on and Twitter up while writing. But as I get closer to deadline or need to really to bear down on something, I’ll shut everything else down.

Book-writing is a different species altogether. No social media, no family interaction, no game-watching. So much goes in to making a book perfect, from strong research to smart writing to making sure the story flows well from page to page. And I’m REALLY far from even approaching that level of perfection. So it requires extreme concentration (and an assist from Paul, as well as the great Rob Neyer, who did first read on The Extra 2% and will again on the Expos book) to create something that people might want to read.

BLB: You wrote a book on the Rays and are well versed in their business methodology. What do you think of the Matt Moore signing? Do you think all teams should do more contracts that buy out a player’s early years, or do you think it should be an option for only small market teams such as the Rays? In what case is it smart, and in what case you would think it is too much of a risk? How sure do you think a team has to be before they do a deal like that, especially with a pitcher?

JK: Love the Matt Moore signing, of course. It’s funny to me how people make fun of Moore (and especially Evan Longoria) for giving away potential riches. If either guy broke his leg tomorrow and didn’t have the long-term security of a big, early contract, then what? It’s win-win, and the Rays have found the right mix of taking an early risk with shooting for a potential bargain. From the player’s standpoint, he’s set for life by…what, age 22, 23, 24? It’s riskier with a pitcher, certainly. But Moore in particular is blessed with both ability and durability. No deal can ever be completely risk-free for either side. The Rays’ ability to smartly handle risk-assessment is one of their biggest strengths.

BLB: You are of course a huge Montreal fan. I am surprised no Minor League team has moved to Montreal since the Expos left. Why do you think that is? Is the city no longer supportive of baseball?

JK: “The city” is sort of a nebulous term. I suspect a small, downtown minor league stadium would draw very well in Montreal. But to get one built, you need politicians on board, you need deep-pocketed local businessmen willing to commit. There are plenty of baseball fans in Montreal. But if you want people to come eat at your restaurant, it better be nice to look at and offer great food — same as anywhere else. Montreal doesn’t have that great potential restaurateur right now.

BLB: How important are the Montreal Royals to Montreal baseball history? I was surprised to see they played from 1897 to 1960. Most fans I think only know them as Jackie Robinson’s first team. Do people in Montreal think of them differently?

JK: Hugely important. The only statue outside Olympic Stadium is of Jackie Robinson. That’s the stadium where Hall of Famers Gary Carter and Andre Dawson played, Tim Raines, Larry Walker, Pedro Martinez, Vladimir Guerrero…and Jackie’s the only one. It was a long time ago, but talking to people from that era and reading about the history, two things become clear: 1) People in Montreal loved baseball and loved the Royals, and 2) Jackie Robinson playing professional baseball in Montreal did great things for the city’s reputation as a worldly place. It’s always been a diverse, cosmopolitan city in which to live and work. But Jackie being there underscored that point to the rest of the world. Or at least the rest of North America.

We definitely want to thank Jonah Keri for taking the time to fill our Q&A and providing such great answers.

Over at Bus Leagues Baseball.com, I had the pleasure of doing a  Q&A with New York Times Bestselling author Jonah Keri. This was a very cool honor, as I met Jonah before and he was more than gracious in signing my copy of “The Extra 2%”, his book on the Tampa Bay Rays.

In this Q&A, Jonah answers questions I have about his writing process, his thoughts on the Rays financial signings, and baseball in Montreal – to include Montreal’s place in the history of Jackie Robinson.

Hope you enjoy.

Q&A: Best-selling author Jonah Keri – Bus Leagues Baseball

In the month I have been in Afghanistan, I’ve been reading more and more about the area. Before I left, a friend of mine told me to learn something new everyday, and that is what I have been trying to do.

Through my conversations with a few locals and what I have read recently, I have come to the conclusion that Afghanistan is an amazingly interesting place. It is so vastly different from the US in every regard. As Luke Skywalker said,

“If there’s a bright center to the universe, you’re on the planet that it’s farthest from.”

That’s not to say Afghanistan isn’t the center of somebody’s universe. People have been here and made history since long before sailors even thought of a New World, before they thought the only thing past the waters off Europe were sea monsters and the end of a flat earth.

Since I’ve been here I have learned of some parts of Afghanistan’s rich historical culture that they are proud of. I’ve enjoyed my limited tastes of Afghan food (which is surprisingly very good) and learned of the Massacre of Elphinstone’s Army (where over 16,000 British personnel were killed by rebelling Afghans).

On the other hand, I have learned of some of Afghanistan’s darker secrets, the aspects of culture that should not be acceptable anywhere in the world. The day after I was told about the practice by one of my American co-workers, I read a very moving Washington Post piece on the Afghan practice of dancing boys, or “bacha bazi”. According to the Washington Post, many Afghan men of higher status take young Afghan boys of lower class status as their personal dancers, with many of the relationships becoming sexual in nature. Dancing boys are also frequently employed for local gatherings and celebrations. For these boys, it means a home and a way to make money, something that might be hard to come by in Afghanistan. In some cases, I have heard that lower class families pimp their young sons out as a way to make additional income.

And the practice is growing. Sad, but true.

Also on the subject of depressing news from Southwest Asia, just outside of Afghanistan is another place I recently learned about, the Pakistani province of Baluchistan. According to another recent article, Baluchistan has seen numerous uprisings and turmoil in recent years as the Pakistani government tries to oppress any opposition voices. With Baluchistan bordering Afghanistan and Iran, what happens there could a prominent effect throughout the region.

I guess I am lucky to be where I am at the time I am here. I have already been afforded the ability to learn a lot – from how to say “good night” to how parts of the Afghan government are organized. And while I focus on my job and balance the local learning, I am glad we live in an age where media stories are so prominent and widely circulated. Years ago, sexually manipulated dancing boys and atrocities in Baluchistan may have never been talked about, nor brought to anyone’s attention. They would have been swept under the rug and life would have kept on ticking.

Now, because of these exposes, we have non-government agencies and other folks out here trying to make a better life for all people. And here I am, a stranger in a strange land, trying to do my part.

Here is another one from the binders from an Article and Essay class I took in Spring of 2002. Interesting to read where my mind was at when I was 24. Also kinda interesting to post this now, as I am on another military adventure. (Note: Some slight grammatical edits made based on the professor’s comments. And I changed the names to protect the not-so-innocent.)

About once or twice a year foreign dignitaries, ambassadors, and other important people visit Fort Hood, Texas.  Part of their tour of the post is a drive down Old Ironsides Road, better known as Motorpool Road.  Along this road is the backside of the motor pools of every unit on Fort Hood.  Each motor pool is a huge parking lot for the unit’s vehicles, be they HUMMWVs, Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicles, service vehicles, or in the case of my unit, the 2^nd Battalion, 8^th Cavalry Regiment, tanks.

I personally hate the motor pool.  I would much rather be working in the air-conditioned office than sweating under the Texas sun in the motor pool.  The motor pool is about a quarter mile from the office and I have to make the walk back and forth at least once a week to do maintenance on my vehicle, an M577 personnel carrier.  There are times when I’ll spend all week at the motor pool working on the vehicle.  Usually, however, my vehicle is in top shape so I am done with maintenance in a day, if not a few hours.

Whenever I walk to the motor pool I always take a peek at who is working in the guard shack.  If I know someone in there I won’t hesitate to say “what’s up”.  Usually in the shack is Staff Sergeant Smith, the Battalion Master Driver.  SSG Smith is a strange person.  When in Bosnia he informed me he had a fetish for  women who don’t shave.  Some things I just don’t need to know.

Duty in the guard shack rotates throughout each platoon in the battalion.  I’ve done my share.  There is nothing quite like having to stand outside by an entrance gate in 20 degree weather for ten hours.

Walking past the guard shack I enter the main maintenance bay.  This large bay is where drivers in the headquarters unit bring their vehicles to be worked on.  It is also home of the Maintenance Platoon.  Being that maintenance is very important to Army readiness, these guys have a lot of pull with the Headquarters Company Commander.

One of the leaders of the Maintenance Platoon is Staff Sergeant Ford.  SSG Ford is the type of person who seems like he smoked out a little too often before he joined the Army.  He is so laid back it is scary.  And he is in charge of the fine American soldiers that make up the Maintenance Platoon.

Some of these fine Americans include Specialist McDonald, “Johnny Mac”, a guy who joined the Army in his early 30s and can’t wait to leave maintenance so he can work in pharmaceuticals; Private First Class Romeo, who specialized in impersonating the Battalion Commander; and SPC Foley, who had such a high tolerance for alcohol he could down a large bottle of Jack Daniels before going out for the night.

After finally acquiring all the maintenance paperwork I need for my vehicle, I leave the bay.  My vehicle is usually on the far end of the motor pool and I have to walk past everyone else in order to get to it.  Along the way I pass all four of the tank units: Alpha Company, Bravo Company, Charlie Company, and Delta Company.

Each of these tank companies has their own personality.  Alpha Company, or Aces, is a very family oriented unit.  They have very few single soldiers in high profile positions (office work, supplies, etc.).  There is also a large country music, southern, “redneck” vibe to Aces.  Many of their soldiers can be seen wearing cowboy attire in their off time.

Bravo Company, the Bulldogs, seem to take on the personality of their First Sergeant, 1SG Sheller.  He is a fiery, little red headed guy and very dedicated to bringing whatever he was doing to its next level of success.  His soldiers shared that dedication, consistently being one of the highest rated companies in tank-training exercises.

If the Alpha Company Aces were a mature, family, down home country group, then the Charlie Company Cobras were its exact opposite.  They were mostly single soldiers and lived the life.  I had many friends in Charlie Company with whom I would go out drinking.  I also worked on derogatory reports and police blotters when not in the motor pool and Charlie Company’s soldiers came up quite often.  Even my best friends got in trouble for drug use and going AWOL (Absent without official leave- i.e. leaving without telling anyone).

Despite their faults, the Charlie Company Cobras were good and they knew it.  They often competed with Bravo Company for the best company in the battalion.  Charlie Company also included the battalion commander’s personal tank, adding to the prestige of the unit.  He would only ride out with the best.

Lastly, was Delta Company, the Death Dealers.  Despite their imposing name, Death Dealers were possibly the weakest company.  They rarely finished tank-training exercises with impressive scores.  They were nice guys, just not the best tankers.

After passing the tanks on my way to my M577, I find myself in the midst of the mortar platoon’s personnel carriers.  The soldiers of the mortar platoon suffer from an identity crisis.  They are the only infantry soldiers in a tank unit.  They act differently than everyone else as well.  It is not uncommon to see two mortar platoon members wrestling each other for fun.  In contrast, tankers don’t do that.  They are content knowing their tank can either blow up or run over anything opposing them.

Mortar platoon members also hold themselves to a higher standard.  I had the pleasure of rooming with a mortar soldier for two years.  Not only did we have to keep our barracks room to our first sergeant’s high standards, but also to the even higher standards of the mortar platoon sergeant.

Finally, after walking across the entire motor pool, I arrive at my vehicle.  Hopefully, nothing will go wrong when I go through this weeks maintenance checks.  I’d like to get back to the office as quickly as possible.  Maybe I am a spoiled office worker who can’t work without air conditioning.  I still hate the motor pool.