Ric Flair: A Capitol Hill Icon

I know this has long been making the blog rounds (Kentucky Sports Radio via Sports By Brooks…Google them, I’m too lazy to link right now) but anyone that knows this site — or more importantly knows me well — knows that Ric Flair is by and far my Hero and there aren’t many that you could say are a close second.

If Ric Flair hadn’t “made it” already, he officially has now.

The Nature Boy is a limousine ridin’, jet flying, kiss stealin’, wheelin’ dealing, Capitol Hill son of a gun!

A Sad Day For Carolina’s Own

Editor’s Note: Discuss this article NOW over at ACC vs. SEC! - A Sad Day For Carolina’s Own

It is a sad day for myself and millions of fans, as well as the overall inspiration for TNB, as Ric Flair more than likely wrestled in his last match as a professional wrestler last night at WrestleMania 24. I grew up a big fan of professional wrestling with Ric Flair — and his trademark “WOOO!” — always being personal favorites of mine. It is fairly remarkable in a sport-entertainment business as hard on the body as is professional wrestling that one man could still work a great, twenty-minute match at 59 years of age; not to mention he has done so for over 35 years running.

I know what you are thinking: wrestling is fake as are the “career-threatening” story lines. And though I realize the outcomes are written in to an overall plot, the bumps and bruises along the way are most definitely real and are what make Flair’s run so impressive. Secondly, I would agree that the “retirement match” gimmicks are normally fictional, but with his Hall of Fame induction this past weekend, his family ringside, and all of the tributes and all of the tears, this was most definitely Flair’s last match and where better than at WrestleMania?

That’s not to say Flair won’t one day lace ‘em up again, but we won’t see The Man wrestle for quite some time, if ever, and that is tough to accept. The Nature Boy will be sorely missed by myself and I’ve enjoyed being entertained by The Dirtiest Player In The Game my entire life.

His legacy will live on as arguably the greatest professional wrestler of all time and, as always, “diamonds are forever, and so is Ric Flair! WOOO!”

Pacman The Sports Entertainer

In a stunning turn of events (actually, not really that stunning because, after all, it is Pacman Jones we’re talking about), Pacman Jones, fresh off of his one-year suspension announcement, has inked a deal with up-and-coming professional wrestling organization, TNA (Total Nonstop Action Wrestling). TNA is the leftovers and the holdouts of the old WCW regime that wasn’t rehired when WWE Chairman, Vince McMahon, bought out WCW several years back. As TNA has increased in popularity, other disgruntled WWE Superstars made the switch in hopes of more air time and less stress.

Pacman joins the ranks of Karl Malone, Dennis Rodman, Mike Tyson, Pete Rose, and A.J. Pierzynski, among others, as athletes-turned-sports entertainers. TNA airs Thursday nights at 9:00PM EST on the SpikeTV network with their flagship program, Impact!.

For the sports side of things, here is the link: ESPN.com

For the sports-entertainment side of things, here is a different link: TNAWrestling.com

Benoit Update #2

Action News 2 (link) out of Atlanta, Georgia is reporting that the toxicology reports on the body of WWE Superstar Chris Benoit, who was involved in a double-homicide/suicide with his wife and son last month, and the results are a positive test for the steroid testosterone (elevated, abnormal levels), Xanax, and hydrocodone.

His son, Daniel, also tested positive for Xanax while wife, Nancy, tested positive for Xanax, hydrocodone, and hydr0morphone.

After a bit of research for anyone, like myself, who may not have known:

Xanax (alprazolam) (link) is an anti-anxiety pill used to treat depression that has a history if illicit abuse in some people.

Hydrocodone (link) is a pain killer derived from naturally-occurring opiates that also has a reputation for illicit abuse.

Hydromorphone (link) is another, lower key pain killer that is not as well known as hydrocodone.

For Chris, it was quite a chemical cocktail he had in his system which may, or may not, shed some light on Benoit’s bizarre and erratic behavior.

However, alcohol and anabolic steroids were NOT found in his system and with one drug meant to subdue you (Xanax) and another to kill pain, relax muscles, and even make you sleepy (hydrocodone) it would seem, to the naked eye, that the drugs might not have had as much to do with the tragedy as some might think; especially with the absence of alcohol to react with the drugs.

It also is note-worthy that it seems as if Chris’ wife and son were sedated, possibly by Chris himself, at the time of their respective murders.

I will post any links if any medical experts come forward and explain how this particular combination causes a “ticking time bomb” effect that was believed to be found in Chris Benoit.

And the story continues to unfold…

Benoit Update

The Chris Benoit saga just took a turn for the much crazier, as it had already reached epic proportions of crazy, with the news that Benoit’s Wikipedia entry was updated nearly 14-hours before officials entered the Benoit Family house and discovered the bodies. Wikipedia is an online dictionary that allows a registered user to update and edit entries and boasts upwards of 1,900,000 articles. The Wikipedia change log shows the change happening at 12:01AM on Monday morning from an IP address register in Stamford, Connecticut, otherwise known as the home to WWE.

Either Benoit changed the post himself from a computer that was initially registered at WWE headquarters or he told someone his wife had passed and that sparked the change; nonetheless, this story continues to baffle me.

Link: ESPN.com

Another Update: According to CBS 46 News out of Atlanta, Georgia, a Wikipedia user from Stamford, Connecticut with an IP address matching the one appearing in the change logs has admitted to changing the Chris Benoit article prior to any actual knowledge of Benoit’s wife’s death calling the matter a “terrible coincidence.” This story remains to be strange.

The Benoit Family Tragedy

As most of you know by now, WWE Superstar Chris Benoit was involved in a double-homicide / suicide over the weekend that included his wife and their seven-year-old son. The bizarre details of this tragic story are now beginning to unfold and this is my attempt, using multiple sources, to piece this puzzle together.

• Friday, June 22, 2007: Chris Benoit kills wife Nancy in their suburban-Atlanta home late in the day on Friday, however the time of death is still undetermined.

• Saturday, June 23, 2007: Benoit cancels involvement in a WWE live show in Beaumont, Texas scheduled for Saturday night citing illnesses in his wife and child; this cancellation occurs mid-afternoon on the day of the show (Benoit’s wife is already deceased).

• Saturday, June 23, 2007 / Sunday, June 24, 2007: Benoit kills seven-year-old son Daniel either very late Saturday night or very early Sunday morning, however exact time of death is still undetermined.

• Sunday, June 24, 2007: A series of bizarre text messages are sent to WWE employees from Chris and Nancy’s cell phones and both Nancy and Daniel are presumed dead at the time of the messages. Below is a transcript of those text messages, with timestamps, courtesy of WWE.com:

Text Message 1 to two co-workers (sent 6/24 at 3:53 a.m.) - Chris Benoit’s cell phone
“My physical address is 130 Green Meadow Lane, Fayetteville Georgia. 30215”

Text Message 2 to two co-workers (sent 6/24 at 3:53 a.m.) - Chris Benoit’s cell phone
“The dogs are in the enclosed pool area. Garage side door is open”

Text Message 3 to two co-workers (sent 6/24 at 3:54 a.m.) - Nancy Benoit’s cell phone
“My physical address is 130 Green Meadow Lane.
Fayetteville Georgia. 30215”

Text Message 4 to two co-workers (sent 6/24 at 3:55 a.m.) - Nancy Benoit’s cell phone
“My physical address is 130 Green Meadow Lane.
Fayetteville Georgia. 30215″

Text Message 5 to one co-worker (sent 6/24 at 3:58 a.m.) - Nancy Benoit’s cell phone
“My address is 130 Green Meadow Lane. Fayetteville Georgia. 30215”

• Sunday, June 24, 2007: After canceling his Saturday night appearance, WWE officials are unable to contact Chris Benoit regarding his appearance in Houston, Texas at Sunday night’s pay-per-view show “Vengeance: Night of Champions.” As of 11:00PM EST, Benoit had yet to be reached and had since been replaced on the card for the 8:00PM EST show.

• Sunday, June 24, 2007 / Monday, June 25, 2007: Chris Benoit commits suicide either late Sunday night or very early Monday morning. It is possible that Benoit is already deceased at the time of the Sunday night pay-per-view show but it is still unclear as the exact time of death is still uncertain.

• Monday, June 25, 2007: At 12:30PM EST WWE Officials are made aware of the bizarre text messages from the prior day and contacts the Fayette County Sheriff’s Department. By 4:00PM, the WWE was, in turn, contacted by the Fayette County Sheriff’s department and were notified of the fact that three bodies had been found in the Benoit residence, an adult male, an adult female, and an adolescent male. No further details are released pending an investigation.

• Monday, June 25, 2007: Shortly after the news of the deaths of the Benoit Family, the WWE Raw event in Corpus Christi, Texas is completely canceled and is replaced by a three-hour tribute show to the career of Chris Benoit.

• Monday, June 25, 2007: An allegedly deceased man himself due to storylines, Vince McMahon stands in an eerily empty arena in Corpus Christi, Texas announcing the death of Chris Benoit, admitting that his own death was a fictional storyline, and announcing that the “Raw” show would be canceled in lieu of a three-hour tribute show to the life and career of Chris Benoit (the “Mr. McMahon assassination” storyline has seemingly since been dropped by the WWE).

• Monday, June 25, 2007 / Tuesday June 26, 2007: Details begin to surface late Monday night surrounding the deaths of the Benoit Family (Nancy Benoit was found upstairs and face down in blood with her hands and feet tied and deceased due to an apparent asphyxiation, Daniel Benoit was found deceased in his bed due to an apparent strangulation, and Chris Benoit was found deceased in his weight room due to an apparent suicide using cables and weights from his workout equipment.). The event is officially labeled a ‘double-homicide/suicide.’ In light of these details, WWE removs all tributes to Chris Benoit from WWE.com and removs all references to the Superstar by very early Tuesday morning.

• Tuesday, June 26, 2007: In the late afternoon and early evening time frame, the WWE releases a statement regarding the cause of death of Chris Benoit maintaining that steroids “were not and could not be related to the cause of death.” The rest of the statement is as follows courtesy of WWE.com:

“1. The authorities stated that all drugs found in the house were believed to be legal prescriptions.
2. Steroids were not, and could not, be related to the cause of death (asphyxiation). Authorities had no factual basis to speculate as to Benoit’s state of mind, and rightly did not do so.

3. Toxicology tests have not even been completed, so there is no current evidence that Benoit even had steroids or any other substance in his body. In that regard, on the last test done on Benoit by WWE’s independently administered drug testing program, done on April 10, 2007, Benoit tested negative.

4. The physical findings announced by authorities indicate deliberation, not rage. The wife’s feet and hands were bound and she was asphyxiated, not beaten to death. By the account of the authorities, there were substantial periods of time between the death of the wife and the death of the son, again suggesting deliberate thought, not rage. The presence of a Bible by each is also not an act of rage.

5. WWE strongly suggests that it is entirely wrong for speculators to suggest that steroids had anything to do with these senseless acts, especially when the authorities plainly stated there is no evidence that Benoit had steroids in his body, pending the toxicological reports, and that they had no evidence at this time as to the motive for these acts.

WWE is continuing to monitor the ongoing investigation being conducted by local authorities.” - Comments by the Fayette County Sheriff’s Department and Disctrict Attorney at a press conference via the WWE

• Tuesday, June 26, 2007: Prior to the WWE-owned ECW television program, Vince McMahon issues a second statement due to the new details that became apparent late Monday and early Tuesday. The following is a transcript of that video message courtesy of WWE.com:

“Last night on Monday Night Raw, the WWE presented a special tribute show, recognizing the career of Chris Benoit. However, now some 26 hours later, the facts of this horrific tragedy are now apparent. Therefore, other than my comments, there will be no mention of Mr. Benoit tonight. On the contrary, tonight’s show will be dedicated to everyone who has been affected by this terrible incident. This evening marks the first step of the healing process. Tonight, the WWE performers will do what they do better than anyone else in the world – entertain you.” Vince McMahon

• Wednesday, June 27, 2007: According to ESPN.com reports, the investigation of the Benoit residence turned up prescription steroids and investigators have initially linked Chris to online drug store MedXLife.com, a site now under investigation for steroid, human growth hormone, and testosterone sales.

The worst part about the story is that it is extremely possible that Chris Benoit was alive for almost 48-hours with his wife deceased in the house, forcing his son to live with that fact for possibly 24-hours, or more. It is also possible that Benoit was alive for nearly 24-hours with his son already deceased, all of which is very disturbing. Of course, these timespans are merely estimations as no further details have been released but it will be interesting to see what the autopsies and toxicology reports reveal in the coming weeks. It will also be interesting to see how the WWE handles Benoit’s death in the coming weeks on their television programs; one would assume they would cease all acknowledgment of the situation and the character Benoit portrayed in storylines. It will also be interesting to see how the WWE writers handle the apparent dropping of the death of Mr. McMahon storyline as this past Monday night’s “Raw” was to be a tribute to a “deceased” Mr McMahon until it was canceled for the tribute show.

This has been a sad tragedy, possibly one of the biggest in the sports / sports-entertainment world in sometime, and thoughts go out to all of the family members and friends of the Benoit Family who were affected.

Sources: ESPN.com & WWE.com