How many times does one get an opportunity to talk face to face with a childhood hero? Unless, of course, that person is a family member or a close friend, a celebrity hero is usually someone with whom familiarity is gained by reading or watching interviews.

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to visit with Harley Race, an eight time World Heavyweight Wrestling champion. I called Mr. Race up last week to inquire if he had any openings with reference to a wrestling manager in his World League Wrestling promotion. He suggested that if I were to pursue that avenue, I should train to be a referee.

I spent about an hour with Mr. Race before the school began that afternoon. In his office is the NWA World Heavyweight belt that he wore as champion encased in a frame. The ring area has numerous memorabilia scattered throughout, including trophies, robes, wrestling shoes, and photographs of Mr. Race and well known wrestlers and promoters, as well as celebrities (one with Jackie Gleason, for example). What an honor it was for him to show me around and spend some time with me.

Well, to begin the training, one has to endure the initial tryout. There were several young men and women in the class headed by two trainers. One young lady is Amy Hennig, the daughter of the late “Mr. Perfect” Curt Hennig. I was doing fine in the tryout until we got to the 200 free leg squats. Ugh. I might as well have been paralyzed from the thighs down just after the midway point. All my legs could do was tremble and shake. Fortunately, the trainers and other classmates were very encouraging and helpful. Apparently they didn’t want to lose a potential ref on the first day.

At one point, I was standing in one of the rings across from Miss Hennig. It was almost like looking across at her dad, the resemblance is so striking. Of course, I had just taken several backward falls at that point as well, so my brain was a little scrambled, but it wouldn’t have taken much for any of them to have gotten the quick three count on me.

As I type now, my arms are weak and shaky from the pushups and numerous other exercises that made me feel like I’d hauled a dump truck full of cordwood by hand in less than an hour. However, at the age of thirty-nine, I have made a commitment to a business that I grew up watching and enjoying as a kid. Let’s see where it goes.

CLICK HERE FOR THE HARLEY RACE HOME PAGE!!!

Talk about no respect.

CLICK HERE FOR CAM INMAN’S STORY ON THE 1983 LOS ANGELES RAIDERS

Cam, I agree with Tom Flores, that the 1983 Raiders are one of the most dominant and under appreciated teams ever. I am convinced one of the best ways to determine the mettle of a great team is to examine how they did not only in the season under discussion, but the preceding and following seasons. In 1982, the Raiders went 8-1 in a strike shortened season, tied with the eventual Super Bowl champions, the Washington Redskins. They also defeated the defending AFC West champion San Diego Chargers twice, and went 1-1 in the playoffs, losing 17-14 at home to the New York Jets due primarily to Plunkett’s 3 interceptions. In 1983, the Raiders lost to only three teams, the St. Louis Cardinals, the Seattle Seahawks (twice in the regular season), and blew a 35-20 lead in Washington to lose to the defending Super Bowl champions 37-35. They avenged losing to two of those teams in the playoffs and the Super Bowl with convincing wins. In 1984, the Raiders returned to the playoffs, but finished third (!) in the AFC West with an 11-5 record to the Denver Broncos (13-3) and Seattle (12-4). They lost in the first round to Seattle. (The Raiders also returned to the playoffs as AFC West champions in 1985 with a 12-4 record). That was the first season I got to see the Raiders play in person. My mom bought tickets to the game in Kansas City (we lived in Missouri), and they defeated the Chiefs 28-20. What a memory to get to see an eventual Super Bowl champion in my first pro football game!!! I rank this team above the 1980 team, as the Raiders seemed to catch lightning in a bottle that year. In 1981, they went 7-9 and had a stretch of three straight losses by shutout that year. I also would say this team was at least the equal of the 1976 Raiders who went 13-1 and who avenged their only loss in the playoffs (against the New England Patriots). It’s past time for an accurate assessment of the 1983 Los Angeles Raiders, the champions without a home.

A few years ago, when the news that studies had been done to determine the effect of cow flatulence on the environment were being and had been done, we all guffawed at the idea. C’mon, perfectly good and freshly printed government money being used to test the emissions of Ol’ Bessie’s backside? HA! The good ol’ boys couldn’t help but laugh while downing a cup of coffee and a maple log.

However, those studies were being done for a reason. The EPA has suggested that these discharges from cattle may fall under their jurisdiction by way of the Clean Air Act. This might also open the door for an additional tax on dairy and beef cattle as well as well as swine.

Click here for the story

Much like the National Animal Identification System (NAIS), which at its heart seeks to regulate and track every single farm animal in the country, this wonderful “poop” tax would be cost prohibitive to smaller farmers and ranchers. Even worse, it is based on trying to eliminate what is one of the largest and most expensive hoaxes of all time: global warming.

In the ‘70’s, we were destined for an ice age within just a few years. In the ‘80’s, the great imagined terror was acid rain (and the basis for such great movies as ‘Return of the Living Dead’). In the ‘90’s, it was the evil ozone hole that just had to be created by hairspray.

People in general, and Americans in particular, love to invent monsters to fear, and then ignore the real terrors that stare them in the face. If that’s where it all stopped, in the privacy of their own closets, that would be great. But instead, opportunistic politicians find a way to tax people to stop the hoax. By the time the hoax is evident to all, the damage has been done. By that time, there is a new “monster” that can only be stopped with taxes. Wake up, people.

“One way or the other, we are determined to deny Iraq the capacity to develop weapons of mass destruction and the missiles to deliver them. That is our bottom line.”

“If Saddam rejects peace and we have to use force, our purpose is clear. We want to seriously diminish the threat posed by Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction program.”

If there is one thing constant about Americans, it is the fact that their emotions will be changed by the next episode of Oprah. Remember, all of you, how overjoyed you were after 911 that Bush had won the 2000 election, because you just knew that Al Gore would have been handing out government cheese to the terrorists? Remember the envy of Clinton people that such a dastardly deed didn’t take place on Clinton’s watch so he could get the glory of rectifying the situation? Remember how you all just knew that Bush, being a Republican, would strike the terrorists with the overwhelming military might of the United States Armed Forces? Remember how panicky Ted Kennedy was that Bush hadn’t hit back at Osama Bin Laden in the month after the attack? “Why the delay!?” Teddy and the Dems couldn’t wait until we pummeled the enemy with “shock and awe.”

The rest of America just wanted everything to get back to “normal.” It was more important to get back to Britney, Botox and the Baltimore Ravens that it was to get our minds on the fact that we were going to need to make some sacrifices to defeat a wicked enemy. “If the NFL doesn’t play this weekend, the terrorists win!” “If we quit shopping, the terrorists win!” “If Barry Bonds can’t have his steriod injection, the terrists win!”

The fact of the matter is that Bush staked his legacy on terminating the threat of Islamic terrorism to the United States and her allies. For a while, he had a 90% approval rating. However, it didn’t take long for his political enemies to realize that Bush would get credit for protection America if they didn’t do something quickly. So they carefully picked their spots. They couldn’t wait to vote for the authorization for the war in Iraq, but when things got tough, they unzipped their pants and urinated on their President, all the while creating excuses as to why they voted to authorize the war in first place. “Bush lied, people died!” “If I would have known now what I knew then, I would never have voted for it!” “I was for it before I was against it!” “I did what?”

And the American people, slowly but surely, joined the President’s critics instead of standing their ground. “Backbone” has become a valued commodity in the United States. It is as rare as platinum.

During the President’s recent visit to Iraq, the only story that the press would cover is the shoe throwing reporter. But the military’s response to their commander-in-chief should have been the real story. The military, for the most part, knows that a Republican president is almost nine times out of nine going to stand with them through thick and thin. Bill and Hillary Clinton’s disdain for our troops is legendary.

See the US Military’s response to Bush’s December visit to Iraq

Click here to read about the US Military’s apprehension and uncertainty of President Obama

Now, America, you are about to get the President you deserve. The sheen has already begun to wear off, with the Blagojevich mess, the withdrawal of Bill Richardson as Commerce Secretary, and putting forth Leon Panetta as head of the CIA. But none of this matters right now. For now, Americans want to believe in the fantasy. It’s like my dad telling me professional wrestling was fake. Instead of believing him, I looked for ways to prove him wrong and created even more fantastic explanations as to why the sport was real.

And those quotes that begin this story? They aren’t from President Bush. They are from President William Jefferson Clinton in 1998 (February 4 and February 17, respectively).

Click here for Democrat quotes regarding WMD’s prior to the Iraq War