OFFICIAL SITE OF AUTHOR MICHAEL RICKARD

Madison Square Garden has been home to some bloody brawls but they were a shadow of what happened on May 4, 1981 when Sgt. Slaughter and Pat Patterson wrestled (and I used that term loosely) in no holds barred bout known as the Alley Fight. Click here to read part one. Click here to read part two. Originally presented at Canadian Bulldog's World.

On Friday November 2, 2018 I'll announce the details on my new book. Will it be another wrestling book, a sequel to Laughing All the Way to the Bank Robbery (How an Attorney Survived Prison), a coloring book, or something even crazier? Check back next week to learn all the details.

Madison Square Garden has been home to some bloody brawls but they were a shadow of what happened on May 4, 1981 when Sgt. Slaughter and Pat Patterson wrestled (and I used that term loosely) in no holds barred bout known as the Alley Fight. To understand what led to this match we need to go back to early 1981 in which Sgt. Slaughter was offering $5,000 to anyone who could break out of his Cobra Clutch submission hold. For weeks, Slaughter had been goading Pat Patterson into

Editor's Note: Originally presented at my site Jack Lord's Hair, way back in 2015. After watching Taste the Blood of Dracula (a bizarre but apt title once you watch the movie), I began wondering, why can't anyone make a good Dracula movie anymore? It's been over twenty years since Bram Stoker's Dracula, a film which has its moments but never really clicked for me. I'll be generous to Keanu Reeves (who I think gets a lot of unjust criticism) and ignore his awful English acce

Copyright 2018 by Michael W. Rickard II Tim Hornbaker’s Death of the Territories proves that wrestling history can be informative and entertaining, while still following traditional methods for documenting the story you’re telling (in layman’s terms, you can write a book backed by facts rather than just talking out of your ass). Hornbaker chronicles the various factors that saw wrestling’s popularity explode while simultaneously altering the status quo forever. It’s a tale of

Copyright (c) 2018 by Michael Rickard II Editor's Note: Illegal border crossings are more controversial than ever, something discussed in a class I recently took on borderland literature. This real-life story provides insight into authors' thoughts on living between two worlds. Spoilers abound: Luis Alberto Urrea’s The Devil’s Highway shows the many factors at play in illegal entries across the border (“border crossing”) and the reaction in Mexico and the United States to th

Copyright 2018 by Michael W. Rickard II Madison Square Garden had hosted two brutal and bloody encounters between World Wrestling Federation (WWF) champion Hulk Hogan and the number one contender Randy “Macho Man” Savage. The third match would be held under lumberjack rules, proving for a conclusive finale to this trilogy of thrills. Join me as I look back at the second match in one of Madison Square Garden's greatest three-match series. Originally presented at Canadian Bulld

Here's another commentary I wrote for my class "Introduction to Lexicography," this time looking at the dictionary's future. Chapter two’s history of lexicography makes me think society is waiting for the next breakthrough in lexicography. As I have discussed in earlier entries, the power of computers has opened up new opportunities to compile dictionaries, whether they be online dictionaries or print ones (although print dictionaries seem to be secondary to online ones). Whe

Copyright (C) 2018 by Michael Rickard II Sunday was upon me and I was ready for the big presentation. I’d spent several weeks creating a short film to present at the Monster Conference and now it was my day to present. As fate would have it, I wouldn’t have the option of taking a taxi to Bishop Grosseteste University and although the school was in walking distance, my poor sense of direction nearly led to me missing the conference. Fortunately, some foresight and a Good Samar

Copyright 2018 by Michael W. Rickard II Madison Square Garden was the home of the second encounter between World Wrestling Federation (WWF) champion Hulk Hogan and the number one contender Randy “Macho Man” Savage. The match would prove to be as brutal as their first encounter and set up a third and final encounter for the WWF championship. Join me as I look back at the second match in one of Madison Square Garden's greatest three-match series. Originally presented at Canadia