A Farewell to Pops

A few months ago, I wrote a post entitled “One Last Drive to Minneola” about my trips to see World Xtreme Wrestling, the longtime pro wrestling organization owned and operated by Afa Anoa’i.

Although there has been mention that Afa Jr might one day bring back wXw, the show in April was the end of an era. It marked the last show put on by Afa, his wife Lynn, and their daughter Vale. As I wrote in my post, wXw was ending because Afa’s health was not good. He had been through several scares and there was a need to circle the wagons and focus on recovery and family.

Unfortunately, Afa left us on August 16th, 2024, nearly four months after closing wXw and only six weeks after his brother Sika Anoa’i passed away.

Pops was a lot of things to a lot of people. To those who didn’t know him, he was a wrestling legend, a titan of the ring in his era and the patriarch of generations of champions. To those who knew him, he was a father, a husband, a High Chief, a brother, a friend, a trainer, and a mentor. He was father figure to many, and a “Dad” to many more. He welcomed many into his family and encouraged people to seize their full potential. He gave chances and believed in those he cared about.

I like to always mention that I have only been in a wrestling ring twice in my life. Once was at a training center with my brother Bryan Maddox and the other was helping put together a ring for a theater performance. It is not my place. But Pops still referred to me as one of his kids. He had a lot of kids, and each one was special to him. To be called one of his kids was an honor and not something I took lightly.

For me, Pops was a father figure, a great-uncle figure, and a role model. As a man, you want a lasting impact. You want to treat people with kindness, but have the wisdom and authority to make things happen when they need to happen. Through his kindness, Pops had an unspoken gravity to him. You didn’t want to let him down.

I didn’t have a relationship with Pops when I started attending wXw. For years, I called him “Sir” and said hello only when spoken to. Through the years, however, Pops started to know who I was and I went from “Maddox’s brother” to “Afro” to “Mike”. Eventually, I would talk to him after every show. He would ask how the show was, and I would always answer that I had a great time. That’s the honest truth. Whether the show was a banger with a full crowd or not, whether my brother was wrestling or not, I always enjoyed going to wXw.

Pops also always asked me how I was doing and where my brother was if he wasn’t on the show. Always. Not only did he want Bryan to wrestle in the show, but he genuinely wanted Bryan there. Bryan was one of his kids and he wanted his kids to do what makes them happy. He knew wrestling made Bryan happy. It also helped that Bryan was one of the biggest wrestlers on the wXw roster and a multi-time champion, but that was secondary.

On the rare chance I saw Pops before a show, he often suggested that I would be involved in a run-in or some in-ring action. I am pretty sure he was joking, but if he told me to do something, I would do it. I don’t know how well I would do, and it never progressed more than a suggestion, but he said it enough to get me nervous.

While I was never a wrestler, Pops taught me a valuable lesson about wrestling. During one month in 2010, I had the pleasure of doing a video project with veteran wrestling manager Bill Alfonso. Among the places Fonzie wanted to visit was wXw. That was the first and only time I went in the wXw locker room before a show. While we were getting footage of Fonzie mentoring aspiring wrestlers, Pops pulled me aside and reminded me to make sure I protected his business. That’s a forgotten mantra in today’s social media age, where the behind-the-scenes of wrestling is almost as popular as the in-ring action. But in Pop’s day and era, it was wrestling law. Of course, if someone of Pop’s stature in the business tells you something, you do it. Hence, I protected the business in Fonzie’s video and continue to do so. 

Outside of the wXw shows, Pops made his presence felt in my life. As a longtime government contractor, I’ve often gone overseas for months at a time. During a trip to Qatar in 2018, I included Pops on my monthly email updates to friends and family. Not all my friends and family would respond. As a matter of fact, only a few did. But Pops always replied. Every month for nine months he would send me a short email telling me to stay safe, take care of myself, and that he and everyone missed me. He didn’t have to do that. Of course, when I returned, he told my brother that he knew more about what I was doing overseas than my brother did. That might have been true.

Pops loved having people at his house. I was lucky enough to visit a few times following wXw shows. Pops sat in his chair as a king (or a chief) would on a throne as people mingled and socialized. Before the night was through, he always asked newcomers what wXw meant to them. There are few wrestling organizations that can honestly say they are a family, but wXw could. That was the most common answer. When asked, I remember telling Pops that although I would follow my brother anywhere and cheer and boo him as needed, wXw transcended that. It became more than a wrestling show, it was seeing, supporting, and hanging out with people I cared about.

My brother and I were able to visit Pops one last time a month before he passed and a few days before he went to Pensacola for his final days. It was a sad day, but while we knew it would be the last time we saw him, it was good visit, full of laughs and smiles and stories.

Although he is gone, Pop’s legacy lives on. Just the other day, I spoke with a wrestling friend for three hours on the phone. We talked about Pops a lot. I look forward to seeing other wrestling friends at shows throughout Florida. I might even again chat with one of Pop’s superstar nephews or great nephews. No matter who I meet or see again, I am sure we will reminisce over the common bond that Pops touched our lives.

On the same day I spoke with my friend for a few hours, I texted Pop’s daughter Vale. I sent her some words of comfort during this difficult time. As I mentioned when my own father passed away, the “passing of a parent club” is a club no one wants to join, but as we get older time inevitably makes many of us members. When that happens, it helps to remember that many of our friends might already be in this unfortunate club. As friends, it is our job to be there for new members and give them hope. To let them know their loved one will always be with them in spirit and their friends will always remain by their side here on Earth.

RIP Pops. Your legacy will last forever. #AnoaiStrong

 

Review of Inside Out 2: A Missing Emotion, Kobe Bryant, Stuart Smalley, and Michael Jordan

Inside Out 2 has been in the theater for close to three months and I finally saw it a few days ago. I was the only person in the theater. I don’t know if that is weird or not, but I don’t mind. I picked the best seat and I had the theater all to myself. That’s what you get when you go to a three-month-old movie at noon on a Friday. Maybe I should treat myself to a solo movie more often.

Inside Out 2 builds on the plot of Inside Out 1. In the first movie, there are characters inside a young girl’s head representing Joy, Anger, Fear, Sad, and Disgust. In the second movie, these characters are joined by Anxiety, Envy, Embarrassment, and Ennui (boredom). Inside Out always reminded me of the short-lived 1990s Fox live-action sitcom Herman’s Head, which starred several actors who voiced Simpson’s characters. If you don't remember Herman's Head, don't worry. It was mostly forgettable.

I liked Inside Out 2. I liked Inside Out 1 probably a little better because of its originality, but I like them both for their creativeness and how they convey the mental parts of the mind as objects. There is a lot of thought and care put into the Inside Out movies. The Pixar people obviously consulted mental health professionals to build a world inside the mind. They are both brilliant in their execution.

Spoiler Alert: Stop reading here if you don’t want the movie ruined. I have a critique about the movie that might ruin it if you haven’t seen it.

But I have a few questions about Inside Out 2. My first is perhaps based on my age and how things were when I was a teenager in the early 1990s. Is anxiety that big of a deal for the average 13-year-old or is Riley suffering more than usual? I don’t think I learned or understood the meaning of the word “anxiety” until I was in my 30s. I heard someone mention “depression” once in college in the early 2000s. I knew that meant being sad, but had no idea the extent or the effect on the brain.

Maybe it was the times, or maybe I was ignorant of mental health.

My second question about Inside Out 2 is “Where is Confidence”? I agree with Ryan M. Niemiec Psy.D. in his review on Psychology Today. Ryan writes that there is an imbalance in the movies with several detracting emotions and only one positive emotion, Joy. He writes, “Humans have a large array of positive emotions. Where are excitement, love, gratitude, interest, desire, (healthy) pride, awe, elevation, hope, amusement, and/or calmness/peace?”

In the movie, Riley suffers from almost crippling anxiety. She almost has a nervous breakdown during a hockey game. Anxiety is controlling her mind and has created a whirling tornado of chaos. But instead of Joy taking the controls, why not Confidence? Is Confidence an emotion? If Boredom is an emotion, I would think Confidence would be as well.

There is a key scene in the movie in which Anxiety uses Riley’s imagination to create scenarios of failure which lead to more anxiety and panic. Joy finds a desk in Riley’s imagination and begins sketching positive scenarios. Wouldn’t that lead to Confidence – the idea that good things will happen based on experience? If Riley knew how to score hockey goals, playing at a more difficult level becomes a battle between Anxiety (Failure) and Confidence (Success).

Maybe Riley doesn’t have Confidence. Is Confidence a rare trait among 13-year-olds? Is it seen less than Anxiety? I am not in mental health, so I don’t know.

We don’t see Riley’s parents building up her self-confidence. Maybe that’s a blind spot in their parenting, or maybe Pixar didn’t think it was important. We see her succeeding, we see her having great support from her family and friends, and we see her having more opportunities for additional success. But somehow, these factors don’t gel into Confidence.

Is that normal?

While we see Riley having fun playing hockey, experiencing Joy in sports is typically a byproduct of success. No one is happy when they lose. When a pro athlete says they are “having fun”, it is usually because things are going well. Failure leads to more work, which is usually serious, and not fun – although the best athletes discuss finding Joy in The Process. But that might be too heavy for a teenager.

Of course, there could be Joy in playing, win or lose. Especially when playing for recreational purposes. But that’s not Riley’s situation. She is a serious hockey player.

Instead of idolizing a player on the high school team, Riley could have idolized basketball legend Kobe Bryant, who said,

“I encourage my players to focus on visualization just as much as athleticism. Visualization combines concentration, imagination and belief. Concentration is the ability to think about a single thing or task without internal or external interruption; imagination is the creative ability to see yourself in a wide range of situations and envision how you’d navigate them; belief is unshakable confidence in your own abilities. These qualities are crucial to success in sports.”

Bryant’s Hall of Fame coach Phil Jackson used the concept of envisioning success to motivate Bryant and fellow legend Michael Jordan. When you envision yourself succeeding, it becomes what you do. You think about your past victories. Confidence becomes contagious. Success builds on itself. Confidence could have led Riley’s imagination instead of Anxiety, drawing situations where she succeeds.

The voice in Riley’s head shouldn’t have said “I am a good person”, although that is important. The voice should have said, “I am good enough.”. That’s Confidence.

Following the climax of the movie, Confidence could have also taken control of the mind. Confidence plans for the future. I am not a mental health expert, but there are a lot of articles on Confidence versus Anxiety. They seem to say that while a little bit of Anxiety is ok, Confidence prevents it from overwhelming the mind.

The tools for Riley’s success were there. The emotion that needed to control her mind wasn’t.

Maybe Riley could have heeded the words of the great mental health coach Stuart Smalley, played by Al Franken.

“I’m good enough. I’m smart enough. And doggone it, people like me.”

Here is a classic Saturday Night Live skit with Smalley and the aforementioned Michael Jordan.

 

Not so Serious Movie Review: Shinobi 4 - A Way Out

 

The final chapter of the epic Shinobi saga. When we left our heroes, Kagerou and Aoi, they were running through the woods of Japan otherwise known as the Kingdom of Aiga. They were Shinobi on the run. Aoi was poisoned, and Kagerou was forced to work with a two-faced shinobi who might be their friend, or he might be working for the local tribal strongman. In Shinobi 3, we were also introduced to power hungry warlords because Aiga is in the middle of a civil war, in case you didn't hear the same introduction that plays in the opening of each movie.

To be honest, Shinobi 4 is the best of the series. Things actually happen in this movie. Some things make sense. Some don't. Of course, there is running through the woods. There are also plenty of random ninjas and sword swinging. And in a case of lack of imagination, they bring back the crazed Kagerou-hating madman from Shinobi 2. His reappearance is an extreme stretch in what is an entire saga of reality stretching.

But whereas Shinobi 2 and Shinobi 3 were filler following the Shinobi 1 introduction of story, Shinobi 4 brings the story to an emotional ending. After watching over six hours of Kagerou and Aoi running through the woods, I grew attached to them. I wanted them to find a way out and escape the drama, trials, and tribulations of shinobi life.

I will say, Shinobi 4 hit me in the feels. It had the same B-level dialog, effects, and plot, but I felt for the characters. I wouldn't recommend any of these movies to anyone unless you are a martial arts movie fan or a glutton for bad movies (I happen to be both.). But out of all the Shinobi flick, Shinobi 4 found the way to my heart.

Grade: 3 sad shinobis out of 5

Not so Serious Movie Review: Shinobi 3 - Hidden Techniques

 

Yet again we find ourselves in the woods of maybe feudal Japan in the land of Iga, home of the Shinobi. Yet again, we find Kagerou and Aoi running through the woods. Yet again, there are bad guys trying to kill them. Yet again, there is awkward narration and low budget aesthetic.

In Shinobi 3 we see more of Kagerou's friend and his attempts to help Kagerou and Aoi run through the woods. But is he friend or foe? This chapter of the saga introduces higher level bosses into the story. We knew Rokoku, the chieftain of Kagerou and Aoi's former village, the guy who set Kagerou up for murdering his mentor, but now we met the bigger bad, a robed guy with a big stick. He wants to take over the entire region of Iga. Did I mention it was a time of civil war? The narrator says that before each movie.

Whereas Shinobi 2 had a crazy Kagerou-hating guy who fought Kagerou in the final battle, this movie features two Shinobi hunters, Steel Fist and Cape Man. That's not their names, but they are kinda irrelevant outside of their fighting scenes so that's what I am calling them. Steel Fist is the more vocal of the two, but he is angry at the world. He and Cape Man are employed to hunt Kagerou and Aoi. Cape Man has the magical power to disappear and reappear. He also fights with his cape and poisonous feathers, which was kinda unique. Kudos to the fight between Kagerou and Cape Man, although the conclusion was awkward.

Speaking of poison, the movie ends with Aoi poisoned and captured. Kagerou leaves her in the woods, sitting under a tree while he runs to a nearby village for a plant that can cure the poison. Of course he knows exactly where he left her and exactly how far the village is. But why would you leave your friend under a tree for 24 hours while she is suffering from poison and every bad guy in the movie is out to get both of you?

Of course she gets captured. Although I don't know how she got found. What if she died from the poison under the tree? Or was attacked by a bear?

Which leads me to my biggest question. I've watched three of the four Shinobi movies at this point and my biggest question is how do the characters always know where the other characters are? We see Kagerou and Aoi running through the woods attempting to flee their village. They run for days. Yet the bad guys and allies know exactly where they are and find them with no problem. Even spying ninjas have no problem keeping their eyes and ears on the two runaways. Kagerou and Aoi are like kids who run away in their fenced backyard. No matter how much they run in the backyard, they are still in the backyard. It's like Kagerou and Aoi have a GPS in their pants and everyone is tracking them. Or they are the world's worst runaways.

What will happen in Shinobi 4? Will there be more running through the woods? Will Kagerou and Aoi live happily every after? Will Kagerou free her and will they ever find their freedom?

I care too much for this low budget saga. But alas, it is still not recommended.

2 Running Shinobis out of 5

Check out LoveHKFilms.com review on Shinobi 3: Runaways here. They didn't like either, but I don't they were as invested in the saga.

Writing for the SportsChump

 

My friend Chris has a blog called The Sports Chump. It's an old school blog where Chris writes his thoughts on sports. Independent, no filter, whatever he wants to write, whenever he wants to write it.

I love it.

Of course, when Chris asked if I wanted to contribute to a debate on his blog, I said of course. Chris is a big Orlando Magic fan and wanted to know my thoughts on whether or not the Magic should retire the jersey number of legendary sometimes-star Dwight Howard. Although I was a Howard fan at first, I soured on Howard in the middle of his career. So you can probably guess which side of the debate I took.

It has been a long time since I wrote about basketball, so this was a treat.

Chris's blog is highly recommended. Check out our debate.

Debating the Second Superman: SportsChump and Michael Lortz discuss a Dwight Howard return to the Magic and the possible retirement of his number - SportsChump.com

Not so Serious Movie Review: Shinobi 2 - Runaways (2005)

 

A few weeks ago, I watched Shinobi: Law of Shinobi (2004). Shinobi 2: Runaways picks up where Shinobi left off. Our heroes, Kagerou and Aoi are on the run. Literally, they run through the woods for half the movie. Along the way, they encounter other shinobi who are instructed to kill them. There is a Shinobi 3 and 4, so it is not a spoiler to say the other shinobi don't succeed. Not even the crazy prisoner guy who yells "Kagerou" often.

The low quality of these movies make them confusing. I think they are supposed to take place in the 16th century but they talk like it was last week. Yet the dialogue is not as bad as the narrative breaks in the movie that fill in unnecessary backstory about the villages and tribes. And I am still not sure what to think of Aoi. She continues to be a confusing mix of damsel in distress and badass swordswoman. Overall, this movie doesn't advance the story at all. It's just more running. I can't wait to watch Shinobi 3.

Grade: 1 running shinobi of 5.

Seen on a SportsKeeda WWE Video

 

Eagle-eyed wrestling fan and my good friend Nick Major informed me that I was in the background of a recent video by Sportskeeda Wrestling. The video, entitled "How WWE Failed Dolph Ziggler", covers the career of Ziggler from his days in college wrestling to his present status with TNA and New Japan Pro Wrestling. A majority of the video covers his nearly 20 years with WWE, to include his 2008-2009 stint at Florida Championship Wrestling in Tampa.

That's where you see me and fellow Afro-Squad member Snowman. We are at the 3:30 mark in the video.

Fun story: one Thursday night in late 2008 or 2009, I went to a local Hooters after an FCW show. It was near 10pm and Hooters was about to close. But there was enough time to get food. While I was sitting at the bar eating wings, Dolph Ziggler walked in a took a seat at a table in the nearly empty restaurant. I told the bartender that he was a wrestler. At first she didn't believe me but then walked over to ask him. She talked to him for a few minutes. That's my Dolph Ziggler story.

Unfortunately, that is not the Sportskeeda video. But if you want to watch what is in the video, here it is.

Flash vs The Aliens full video is finally online

 

Almost 25 years ago, I made a movie with a few Army friends. That movie, Flash vs the Aliens sat on VHS for years until I finally digitized it in 2012. At the time, Youtube would only let me post 15 minutes at a time. For a 38 minute movie, that meant it had to be in three parts. Very inconvenient.

Last year, I created a Vimeo account. Vimeo allows longer videos but less often. So now Flash vs The Aliens is available in full on Vimeo. All 38 minutes of amateur alien invasion insanity. I am excited. Maybe I will clean it up for the 25th Anniversary Special Edition.

Flash vs The Aliens - The Earlier Adventures of Flash Hercules from JordiScrubbings on Vimeo.

My problem with the comments of Stephen Hawking

I wrote this over 10 years ago. Not sure why I never published it. I haven't thought about Stephen Hawking in a long time. Here are my thoughts on him from back then.

There is no doubting the utter brilliance of Stephen Hawking. The man is as close to a real life living brain as possible. He has done miraculous work in the field of cosmology and theoretical physics. I consider him the smartest man since Einstein.

(For the Star Wars geeks, Hawking is also basically a human version of the BT-16, the spider thing in Jabba's palace. According to Wookiepedia (again!), a BT-16 is a robot spider that carries the brain of an enlightened monk. Or in Hawkings case, a super smart astro-physicist.)

Now all that said, Hawking has been ruffling the feathers of the faithful over the last few years with comments that God wasn't needed to create the universe and his most recent statement that there is no afterlife.

While I am not going to dispute his statements there, I am going to call BS on his reasoning for the latter.

"I regard the brain as a computer which will stop working when its components fail," Hawking said. "There is no heaven or afterlife for broken down computers; that is a fairy story for people afraid of the dark."

(Quote from Space.com.)

If the brain is truly like a computer, then it must be completely understood as a computer. A computer only runs when hooked up to electricity or a battery. It doesn't work without a spark. When the computer becomes outdated or the motherboard or chips fail to work, the power in the battery and the electricity in the wall doesn't vanish. It becomes potential energy back in the battery or on the grid. The energy is still there. "Life" for the computer is still there. There is just no consciousness.

Likewise, when our parts stop working an energy that ran us needs to go somewhere. While our consciousness is gone, the energy should still exist. That's Newton's Second Law, or the Law of the Conservation of Energy. The energy that drives Einstein's General Theory of Relativity should be default also exist in humans. We don't have a special "non-energy" that propels our existence. The same energy that energy that exists in all atoms and galaxies is the same energy in us.

Using the notion of an all inclusive energy and if you believe that "all is one and one is all", then the energy that was "us" is no longer contained in us when we die but is now potential again. Hawking should know that all the energy in the universe is spawned from the Big Bang or may possibly slip through to other dimensions and alternate universes, depending on what theories of astro-physics you believe.

With the understanding that energy can not be created nor deleted, Hawkings statements can be seen as somewhat off. Although I agree that we have no consciousness of an "afterlife" with Pearly Gates and saints and a life among the clouds, the energy that was in us will still be there after our life. Whether potential or kinetic, the energy that drives human life will continue to exist, always and forever.

(Yes, that means unless energy is deported to another dimension or universe, the next Big Bang should be just as epic as the one that created our universe.)

You can call that energy God or the Tao or the Great Spirit or whatever you want.

But you can't deny its existence.

Not So Serious Movie Review: Shinobi - Law of Shinobi (2004)

 

Back in the day, Shinobi was a video game, kinda like Kung-Fu, but with more ninjas. This movie isn't based on the video game, although it might have been better if it was.

Shinobi are the lower class foot soldiers of samurai. They are assassins and swordsmen trained to kill or be killed. They love to run around in forests. No lie, 80% of the movie is the woods. Shinobi are also as cliquey as high schoolers. Kagerou is the best shinobi so of course no one likes him except his bestie, Aoi. She is part badass and part damsel in distress. Very confusing. They fight the bad guys, a dude gets impaled by a log, another guy gets gutted like a rabbit, and our heroes run around in the woods.

Looking forward to Shinobi 2: In the Woods Again.

Score: 2 cheap samurai of 5.

Independent Bookstore Day in Tampa Bay

 Here is my trip to various independent bookstores in Tampa Bay on Independent Bookstore Day 2024.

One Last Drive to Minneola

I’ve been putting off writing this for a few reasons. One, I wanted to attend all that needed to be attended, and two, I wanted to give time and space to others to express their views before I express mine. I don’t mind bringing up the rear, and in their world, they go first.

Fifteen years ago, there was very little development northbound on State Road 27 between I-4 and Minneola City Hall. Once you got off the interstate and past the truck stops, there were a few lights in Clermont and a whole lot of nothing before arriving at Minneola’s one traffic light. The nothingness was so expansive that in February 2009, the first time I drove up SR 27 to Minneola, I thought I was lost. After a few minutes of nothingness, I turned around and drove back to Tampa.

True story.

Once I figured out where I was going, Minneola City Hall became a regular drive. Although many times I took a friend or two, and even once took a legendary pro wrestling manager, I often made the journey solo.

While friends were always nice company, the reason I drove to Minneola City Hall was to see World Xtreme Wrestling, the famous federation run by Afa Anoa’i and his family.

In the beginning, my reason for driving to Minneola was simple, to support my brother, Bryan Maddox. If Bryan was in a show, I drove to see him. Prior to wXw, following his career led me to matches all over Florida. I saw matches in roller skating rinks, VFWs, bars, television studios, and the occasional civic center. Once he settled on wXw, I settled on wXw.

As the commercial says, wXw is better than the rest.

Over the years, I became a wXw regular. I was the heckler with the afro wig. A cheerleader, one with a three-foot afro wig instead of pom-poms. A tradition that started with the Afro-Squad at Florida Championship Wrestling travelled to Minneola and found a new home. Whereas I was part of a crew at FCW, at wXw I was the only afro-clad super fan. In wXw, the afro wig got bigger and I got louder. I developed a reputation as the guy who jeered the bad guys and started chants for the good guys.

“Perfect Loser!” – to Richard “Perfect Creation” Criato. Still one of my favorite chants.

“No one likes you!” – to any and all bad guys. Especially the arrogant type.

“Get up! I have money on you!” – always funny when a good guy is getting pummeled.

“You got him right where you want him!” – when a good guy wrestler is getting beaten by a bigger bad guy.

“WXW! WXW!” – when wXw was invaded by FCW and years later, Battlefield Wrestling.

And so many more. Whenever I brought a friend, I would warn them of my reputation and antics. Sometimes they joined the trash talking. Sometimes they got caught in the heckling crossfire. But it was always good fun and always clean.

Being a wXw regular and Bryan Maddox’s brother introduced me to so many great people at wXw. First and foremost, the Anoa’i Family. From Pops to Momma Lynn to Vale to other family members who occasionally visited, the entire family treated me like family. Whether it was giving me a warm welcome when I returned from Afghanistan, allowing me to visit their home after a show, sending me emails when I was in Qatar, asking about my brother during his times away from the ring, coming to my book signing, or being at my Dad’s Celebration of Life, I am forever thankful for their kindness and support.

Before I discuss the regular roster, I want to mention that because of wXw, I have some amazing Haku stories. Haku is a legend of the ring. A former king and one of the toughest men in pro wrestling history. But I never approached him as an awestruck fan. His daughter, Vika, was at FSU the same time I was. Her college roommate was friends with my college roommate. When I first approached Haku, I asked about his family. We talked about life in Orlando versus Tampa. He paid my tab at Buffalo Wild Wings one night after I complained about lack of service. He sent me a birthday video last year. He gave me a hug and chop to the chest at the last wXw show. Haku is the man. Getting to know him wouldn’t have been possible without wXw.

Because of wXw, I also broke bread and drank beer with Jey Uso in a Tampa sports bar. When I explained to Jey that his family has treated my family like family for many years, he asked me who. When I told him I knew his Uncle Afa, Aunt Lynn, Cousin Vale, etc, he invited me to hang out with him and also paid my tab. We closed down a few bars when WWE was holding temporary residency at Tropicana Field. That never would have happened without wXw.

Other people I crossed paths with because of wXw include Harry Smith at the same sports bar I met Jey, Tamina Snuka at a Qdoba in Tampa, and two women on a nature trail in Hawaii who commented on my “Anoa’i Strong” t-shirt and told me about their own Samoan lineage.

Now to the wXw roster. I have a lot of respect for the wrestlers of wXw. I have only been in a wrestling ring twice in my life. It is not my place. My place is outside the ring with a big afro wig on my head. But to those who put their bodies on the line at wXw, thank you. To my brother, Bryan Maddox, to his longtime tag partner, Ethan Essex, to his former manager, Rico Moon, to Nick Nero and Ace Radic (aka Justin Bieber), Maluta to Mandrake, Vertigo to Deathrow, Hound Dogg to Hudson, Gus Money to Gariston Spears, Mercedes to Sarona, Sugaa to Shawn Spears, TNT to Tony Ice, D-Ramos to E.R.A. to Alex G to the Big O, and many, many others, thank you for years of dedication and entertainment. I hope to see you at other shows soon.

In my 15 years of wXw fandom, one of my favorite moments happened in Summer 2023 when Battlefield Pro Wrestling “invaded” wXw. I arrived at Minneola City Hall wearing my afro and a wXw t-shirt. Before I could make my way to a seat, the wXw wrestlers sitting ringside chanted “One of us” to me. I was representing wXw and they wanted me to sit with them. Of course, I didn’t attack Battlefield wrestlers when they did, but I did join them in booing and jeering the invading roster. For them to acknowledge me as “one of them”, even in the crowd, was super cool.

Now to the fellow fans. Through wXw, I became family with many other regularly attending fans. We would always chat and catch up every month. From the Clacks to Santa Claus to everyone who bought my book to the kids who thought my afro was real to the kids who swore it wasn’t, thank you for making wXw more enjoyable. I can’t count how many new fans at wXw asked me if I was part of the show or told me that I added to their enjoyment. Thank you to the fans who laughed at my heckling and thank you to the fans who joined my chants. I also hope to see all y’all at other shows soon.

wXw provided me with 15 years of entertainment and introduced me to so many good people, but the best thing wXw did was make me that much prouder of my brother. I saw Bryan win titles, lose titles, get cheered, get booed, get a stinkface from Rikishi, meet his idols, and eventually make the wXw Hall of Fame. I’ll admit I cried a little when he received his well-deserved Hall of Fame plaque.

Weeks ago, when I started writing this essay, I thought I was making my last drive to Minneola. Afa the Wild Samoan announced April 13 was the last wXw show. Twenty-seven years, to include fifteen in Florida, was coming to an end. I was ready to tear up. During the show, however, Afa Junior took the mic and announced he was going to continue hosting wrestling shows in Minneola. We don’t know when, we don’t know who, and we don’t know how. But we are going to hold Junior to his word.

Instead of saying good-bye to Minneola, the wXw Grand Finale was instead the closing of a great chapter. It was end of the shows hosted by Afa, his wife Lynn, and their daughter Vale, the central nervous system of wXw. They have to circle the wagons and take care of Pops, who has been battling health issues lately. The Grand Finale was their finale.

These days, countless condos and complexes line State Road 27 from I-4 to Minneola City Hall. The nothingness is gone. The area is growing and more things are happening. City Hall itself is getting a massive upgrade. But after April 13th one thing will be missing.

World Xtreme Wrestling.

Thank you, Afa, for putting on such great shows for 15 years. Thank you, Mom and Vale, for all you did. Thank you to the wrestlers and the fans. I love you all and I will see you soon.

P.S. After the second-to-last show, someone asked me if the afro wig will be retired if wXw closed. I don’t think it will be. The Afro-Squad started in FCW and has been at many different organizations statewide. I also don’t think my WXW or Anoa’i Strong shirts will be retired either. As a matter of fact, they will probably be my regular attire to all wrestling shows from here on out. Although I will be at whatever show in wherever, Florida, my heart will always be at wXw.

P.P.S. I still can’t believe I missed The Rock.

Signing Books at the Ale and the Witch - Sunday April 21 2024

 

I am very happy to announce another book signing! 

On Sunday, April 21, 2024, I will be at The Ale and the Witch beer garden in beautiful St Petersburg, Florida from 5pm to 8pm.

This will be my first signing at The Ale and the Witch and I am excited. They do a Blues Jam on selected Sundays and I am signing while the band is playing, which is always great synergy.

Come on out and say hi!

Not so Serious Movie Review: Damn Yankees

 

I finally watched the movie Damn Yankees. In March of 2023, I read the novel The Year the Yankees Lost the Pennant by Douglass Wallop, the book from which Damn Yankees is based. The movie and the musical took the novel to another level as most people now associate the story with the Damn Yankees title and not the book's original title.

Several of the reviews for Curveball at the Crossroads have mentioned Damn Yankees, inspiring me to find the movie and the book. There are some similarities, although my novel is based more on blues music and southern folklore. Damn Yankees is a more generic Faustian tale.

What I liked:

• As far as I remember, the movie stuck pretty true to the novel. 
• It's light, quick, and fun - an easy watch. 
• The Yankees lose. Which is always a good thing.

Being a musical and made in the 1950s, the movie doesn't get too deep into the dark side of a deal with the Devil. Ray Walston keeps the Devil humorous and mischievous. He is evil, but with a quick wit. After working with the Devil in my novel, I like seeing how the Devil is portrayed in other works.

My biggest critique of the movie has to be why "Who's Got the Pain" was part of the production. While impressive for its dancing, it doesn't advance the story at all.

If it wasn't a musical, the movie could have dove deeper into the characters. I thought Lola was especially overrated. She is a side character at best and definitely doesn't deserve to be the focus of the poster. But Gwen Verdon is an amazing dancer and steals the show in her dancing scenes, and that's the focus of musicals, hence she is the biggest face on the poster. 

On a related note, no offense to Gwen Verdon, but she doesn't come off as a temptress very well. The fake accent scene didn't make sense and not until the end does the viewer get the idea that Joe Hardy might even like Lola. She is more concept than character. The novel version of Lola is a bit more tempting. Neither are as seductive as Kim Bassinger in The Natural, however.

Overall, Damn Yankees is recommended. Especially if you have read Curveball at the Crossroads. I also recommend reading The Year the Yankees Lost the Pennant, which I like to think is Curveball at the Crossroads's spiritual predecessor.

Side note: I realized after watching Damn Yankees that the song "Heart" is from the musical. I have seen the video of the 1969 Mets on the Ed Sullivan Show performing the song many times but never knew where it was from. Mystery solved.

By the way, could someone look less excited than Nolan Ryan being forced to sing on late night television?

Signing books at Magnanimous Brewing in Bradenton

 

In what has now become an annual tradition, I am again doing a book signing at Magnanimous Brewing in Bradenton, Florida. This is one of my favorite locations to sign books as it is directly across the street from LECOM Park (formerly McKechnie Field), spring training home of the Pittsburgh Pirates.

You can't get a better place for the baseball environment than across the street from the stadium. And even better, my book signing is on Sunday, March 17th - St. Patrick's Day - from noon to 5PM. Yes, I am signing books at a brewery on the holiday of the Irish.

Should be a great time.

So come on out and say hello. If you haven't purchased either Curveball at the Crossroads or The Man Makes You Work, check them out. If reading isn't your thing, support local breweries.

See you there!

Interviewed by The Gilded Page Bookstore

I forgot to post about this a few months ago, but the kind folks at The Gilded Page Bookstore in Tarpon Springs, Florida interviewed me on their website. I really liked this interview as they asked some really good questions.

Here is a sample:

Here is the link to the rest of the interview:

Author Spotlight: Interview with Michael Lortz

Book Signing at Grindhaus Brew Lab in Clearwater, Florida

 

I will be selling and signing my books at Grindhaus Brew Lab in Clearwater, Florida on Sunday, March 3rd from 3 to 6 pm. Grindhaus is located at 1650 N Hercules Ave, Unit I, Clearwater, FL 33765.

Grindhaus is an awesome funky local brewery with a movie theater in the back of the establishment. There is a good chance they will play some baseball movies for us during the event. Baseball is back!

A Video Tribute to My Dad

 

As part of my Dad's celebration of life, I volunteered to make a video slideshow. Making the video was a feat. I had to scan old pictures, label pictures, find dates, and sort through hundreds of pictures spanning from 1952 to 2023. I had to make some tough decisions on what to include and what ended up on the cutting room floor. But in the end, I think the final product turned out pretty good.

I try not to think about it like this, but this is the final thing I did for my Dad. I like to think that I had the honor and the pleasure of telling his life story. As a creative person, that's the best gift I can give.

George's Journey - A Tribute to George Lortz from JordiScrubbings on Vimeo.

A Tribute to My Dad

On December 23, 2023, I joined a club few if any want to join. Unfortunately, in the course of life, time makes many of us members. Now in my mid-40s, many of my friends have lost a parent or two. And as much as I feel comfort knowing I have people who are there for me and have felt this loss, it’s still hard.

My Dad is gone. I’ll never talk to him again.

My Dad was proud of me. Of that there was no dispute. I followed close enough in his footsteps that he knew the route, even if I walked on different paths.

My Dad was a complicated man who wanted the world to be simple. He enjoyed Jeopardy, Jim Beam, and James Bond. He thought there were too many dinosaurs. He could be obstinate. He could be argumentative. He was quick with what is now appropriately called “a Dad joke”. He taught me to drive as fast as I wanted, as long I didn’t endanger anyone. Seventeen speeding tickets later, he would tell me not to speed.

I learned a lot from my Dad. Most of it true, some of it not. For years, I thought the bungee cord was invented by a man named Arthur J. Bungee. According to my Dad, Arthur J. developed the bungee cord in 1942 to preserve rubber for the war effort. My Dad told me that Mr. Bungee’s new cords were used on aircraft carriers and helped America win World War II. Of course I believed him.

I wrote in the dedication of my novel, Curveball at the Crossroads, that my Dad introduced me to baseball and the Blues. I remember when he took me to my first Major League Baseball game, Back to School Day at Shea Stadium, 1985. I received a free Mets school binder that day that I still have. My Dad religiously watched those mid-80s Mets, descendants of the ‘69 Mets he witnessed win the World Series. In that year in which the second most amazing event was a man on the moon, my Dad was selling programs and scorecards from Shea Stadium’s upper deck.

One of my Dad’s favorite stories about his time as a vendor was when the Mets won the division for the first time in their history. When the final out was recorded, bedlam erupted and the fans rushed the field to celebrate. As an employee, my Dad was supposed to stay in the stands, but on this day he joined the jubilee in the grass. When a policeman grabbed him and asked why he was on the field, my Dad told the officer that in order to sell his stuff, he had to be where his customers were.

I remember when my Dad introduced me to the Blues. I was a hip-hop kid in the 90’s, much to my parents’ chagrin. During one my first visits home from the Army, however, I asked my Dad if he could make me a cassette of Jimi Hendrix songs. As he recorded most of the classics from his vinyl collection, he asked me to listen to “Red House” before he copied it. Red House is Hendrix’s most bluesy song. I wanted that song on the cassette. That lead to me finding a CD entitled “Jimi Hendrix Blues”, one of my favorite albums of all time.

My Dad taught me that most music is influenced by something earlier. I remember him listening to Dr Dre and immediately recognizing Parliament-Funkadelic samples. He challenged me to find the source of my music. In my growing Blues fandom, that led me to Clarksdale, Mississippi, and the legendary crossroads where Robert Johnson allegedly made his deal with the Devil.  If that sounds familiar, then you understand my Dad’s influence on my novel.

Throughout the years, my Dad and I went to a lot of events together. In 2008, I took him to his first World Series game in 39 years. I took him to see Eric Clapton, Buddy Guy, and almost every year from 2000 to 2010, we saw the legendary BB King play the Blues. 

Sometimes our events required long drives. For a few years, he would journey to Tampa and join me in trips to Tallahassee to see FSU football. As part of those weekends, I introduced him to the Bradfordville Blues Club, a small music venue outside of Tallahassee that was one of the last juke joints in America.

Besides music and sports, I understood my Dad professionally. After a few years with various other defense contractors, he worked for Northrop Grumman for over 30 years. In my career, I have worked for over a dozen different defense contractors, to include Northop Grumman for a year. My Dad was very excited I joined his company, but not so excited when I complained about my time with the company and left after nine months. I had to tell my Dad that although the company is the same, my division and my experiences were vastly different. Whereas he worked on a Northrop Grumman campus, with Northrop Grumman equipment, in Northrop Grumman buildings, I’ve always worked on military bases, surrounded by military people, doing military things. In my Northrop Grumman job, that base was in Doha, Qatar, where I enjoyed being until it was time to come home. When I came back, the company had no stateside positions for me so I moved on.

For someone who never put on the uniform, my Dad had a love for the military that went above and beyond. The equipment he worked on in his forty-plus years in defense contracting saved lives and helped win wars. And when I left for basic training on August 21, 1995, it was my Dad who drove me to the recruiting station in his pearl white, 1971 Datsun 240z. If you knew my Dad, you knew that car only came out for special drives. When we got to the recruiting station, he cried, gave me a big hug, and told me how proud he was.

I am going to remember a lot about my Dad. Although he could be a pain in the ass, we had a lot of good times. But time moves on. Shea Stadium is gone, leveled in 2009. BB King passed away in 2015, and the Bradfordville Blues Club closed its doors early last year. Many of the people and places I shared with my Dad are gone. Now he is gone as well.

I’m gonna miss you, Dad.

Buy Curveball at the Crossroads from Ingram Spark

Curveball at the Crossroads

Lortz, Michael and Anderson, Grego "MojoHand"

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Buy Curveball at the Crossroads directly from my distributor for only $13.64! 

That's almost $4 off the cover price!

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