Las Vegas 2008 CAC Part Three

Monday afternoon had come and gone for me, and the second bracket of the Cribbage tournament had come to a close except for one pairing, that being Jeff Sharkey and Wes Daniel. Wes had become entangled with the production ends of the event and was in a board meeting that lasted until just before 5 p.m.

Bill White, C.C. Starr and I went to the buffet tables to try to fill our inner most desires of getting our money’s worth at the food line. Following a two-hour session, we decided to go to my suite as the matches for that night were already in progress. We watched Redd Foxx on my laptop and then some Three Stooges shorts that I had brought on my new 250 gig external drive.

It was during that session that we decided to play some more cribbage, and out came the cards and boards, some with splatters of blood on them from earlier in the day. At 9 p.m., we went our separate ways for the evening. I put on some old Marty Robbins music and retired to sleep.

Tuesday would be a super day for us, as the 2008 Tournament would begin again. As usual, we began the morning by meeting at 9 a.m. at Katy's for a hearty breakfast. I had my favorite again, biscuits & gravy with a side order of grits smothered in butter and a small dashing of cream.

At 10 a.m., we were at the reception area, and the games began with Wes and Jeff completing their games. Jeff secured the win and the second session began with me taking on Paul Vachon. I lost quickly to the very talented Mr. Vachon in two straight falls, taking me out of the tournament.

C.C. Starr met Jeff Sharkey, and, like two bulls in a china shop, they began their set by smiling at each other. Then, they turned the smile into a growl as the two largest athletes in our tournament began a game of survival of the fittest. At the end of the three falls, both were covered in sweat, and Jeff's arm was raised in triumph as he pegged the last six holes on the board to win. Jeff walked away and went into the semifinals.

Dave Bodell and J.J. Dillon met at the table where J.J. was hawking his latest book, "Wrestlers Are Like Seagulls." If you haven't gotten your copy, I would advise to secure yours, as it is a great bit of wrestling history and captures the life of the real J.J. Dillon. With the constant interruptions of his game J.J. lost to Dave, and they shook hands, and Dave returned to the head table where I was.

It was decided by majority vote that the tournament would continue on Wednesday as the room was filling up with fans of Jim Ross and Stone Cold Steve Austin, who had just arrived from California. You can bet that I took my opportunity to meet with these two giants of our industry.

I had to break away from the festivities and join Dave "Supermouth Drason" Burzynski and J.J. Dillon for a seminar about wrestling managers in a room adjacent to our reception room. It was scheduled for a one-hour time limit, but, as many of you could guess, once you put a mike in front of an old wrestling manager, it was the mistake of the day as we did 90 minutes without even coming up for air.

During J.J.'s speeches, he became very dry mouthed, and I grabbed a pitcher that was filled with ice and a little water and proceeded to pour him a drink. All the ice came flying out of the pitcher on to the table, and J.J. never lost a beat because of my shenanigans. It got a good laugh from the capacity crowd in our room.

After signing autographs and exchanging thank you's with many in the crowd, we returned to the main reception room. I spent the next couple of hours playing cards with fans and telling old war stories of my days on the road.

It was during that time that Fr. Jason Sanderson came over to the table and announced that he had an early birthday present for me and handed me a huge plastic bag filled with old episodes of Hee Haw DVD's from the old TV series. You couldn't have given me a million dollars and made me feel any greater than I did that afternoon.

A few minutes later, Wes Daniel came by and handed me yet another package with CD's, VHS tapes and DVD's in it. It had a copy of the Gulf Coast Reunion that had just happened a few months before and Casino, as well as Goodfellas and a beautiful perpetual calendar for my desk at home. It also had some Elvis items, which I will treasure forever.

It is without a doubt the greatest feeling in the world to have good friends, but, when they think enough to give from the heart, it means so much, especially to me.

Coming back across the street to the Riviera and going to the top of the tower where our Tuesday night Burrito Blowout would be held brought back a lot of good memories for me. It was in this same room that, just a decade before, I was reunited with many of my brothers and sisters of the canvas after being away for over 25 years.

My mind rushed back to seeing Tex McKenzie, Eddie Futch, Rey Urbano, Sputnik Monroe, Stan Pulaski, Pampero Firpo and many others that night. I also had the opportunity to meet a very young Kurt Angle, who was being honored as a future legend. My train of thought was broken by Wes Daniel asking me if I would step to the plate and be a guest auctioneer to help raise money for the Benevolent fund. Of course, I said YES!

To be continued ...

Percival A. Friend, Retired
The Epitome of Wrestling Managers

2003 BWC Hall of Fame Inductee
2004 CAC Hall of Fame Inductee
2006 LWA Hall of Fame Inductee
2007 TCCW Hall of Fame Honoree