J.R Blog: Shaq & Piven Hosting Raw, Fedor's UFC Negotiations

Jim Ross has posted a new blog over at JRsBarBQ.com. He talks about Jeremy Piven hosting next week's Raw, WWE's partnership with 7-Eleven to promote SummerSlam, the new DX book and more. Here's what JR said about:

Shaq Hosting Raw: It was good seeing Shaq Monday while in D.C. taping the lone, SD bout for WWE Superstars, that was excellent BTW. Shaq was his regular, friendly self who had a legit fun time at Raw and enjoyed being around the talent. I was pleasantly surprised at how lean Big Shaq was which must mean that he is eagerly anticipating his season coming up with the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Big Fellow really looked in excellent, physical condition. Shaq is a natural born performer and a true fan of WWE which all seemed to come through clearly to me on the Monday evening telecast.

Jeremy Piven Hosting Raw: "Entourage's Jeremy Piven will have his hands full following Shaq's act this Monday when Piven Guest Hosts Raw from the Mohegan Sun Casino which is one of my favorite spots to visit when on the road. I don't plan on being there this Monday but that always could change I have grown to know. However, I will be in Long Island for SD on Tuesday night and the Nassau Coliseum is a big time arena that is "in the shadow of New York City" or so I've been told and prompted to say on air many times."

Fedor Negotiating with UFC: "The UFC and Fedor Emelianenko are still apparently negotiating for the much hyped, superman/heavyweight MMA fighter to sign with UFC. It's obviously a negotiation that UFC must undergo but signing Fedor definitely isn't a "must sign." The deal must be good for the UFC. This deal should be for a minimum of three fights and without destroying UFC's business model that so many have worked tirelessly to build. Fedor is not bigger than MMA and when, not if, Emelianenko is defeated he ceases to be bullet proof. Yes, I've been around a few monstrous, ticket and PPV selling attractions in my career and I realize that a potential Fedor-Brock fight is huge money but so is their return. What if Emelianenko-Lesnar was an Ali-Frazier thing, don't say that's impossible, and it took three battles to settle the score? That's sort of hard to accomplish with only a "one fight deal ... UFC has all the leverage, as I see it, in these negotiations and crafting of a fair and mutually rewarding deal for both entities should be UFC's only goal."