So back in 1999, I'm a sophomore at Syracuse, and @davelevinthal assigns me a story for the @dailyorange on why the World Wrestling Federation can't hold a PPV-level show at the Carrier Dome. The answer is essentially that the school thought the WWF's material was too lewd. https://twitter.com/TalkinJake/status/1275845774132359170

Instead, WWF stages a house show at a much smaller arena downtown. I set up an interview with the one wrestler who knows what it's like to perform at the Carrier Dome: @TheRock. He played football at Miami -- including games at the Dome. He was the perfect guy to talk about it.

He's a star at the time, but he gives 18-year-old jabroni me 25 minutes. Gracious. Kind. Helpful. He’s so accommodating that I get greedy. My dad was a newspaperman for 42 years. I know you don’t ask sources for anything. Instinct took over. Just couldn’t pass up the opportunity.

“I have a terrible answering-machine message,” I told @TheRock. You have to understand: This was pre-widespread cell phone. The landline was the only way to reach people. So the outgoing message was vital. He laughed, grabbed my recorder and asked for my roommates’ names.

He hit record. And this is what he said: “This is @TheRock, the people’s champ from the WWF. You’ve reached Jeff, Jake and Danny. So leave your name … IT DOESN’T MATTER WHAT YOUR NAME IS! So leave a message after the beep, if you smell what the Rock is cookin’!”

For the next three years, almost every Friday and Saturday, I’d come home to a flashing light on the answering machine. Danny loved to drink and tell people we had The Rock on our outgoing message. They’d call. Even after listening, they still wouldn’t believe it. But it was him.

Anyway, all of this is to say @TheRock was super cool to an 18-year-old me and more than 20 years later I very much appreciate it. And to answer your question, @TalkinJake, the All-Star Game won't be happening. No official announcement yet, but that's coming at some point soon.