its really unfortunte... its sad to see this kind of thing. Its also sad TMZ sensationalizes it, But the real kicker is we.... as a society thrive on the bad fortune of celebs. What does that say about us?

'Still, what happened to him is beyond sad, especially considering the fact that he was a Marine who had served two tours of duty in Iraq.'

I am sorry Kev, but would it not have been as sad if he worked an office job, or worked in a store? I see your point, but didn't need to be made.

Other than that, how anyone can really support the Hogans are blinkered, and I cannot agree with your comments more.

RESPONSE FROM KEVIN ECK: Yes, it would be sad no matter what. I was just trying to make the point that it is even more tragic that he served his country and survived life-threatening situations in doing so, only to be nearly critically injured by a careless act.

Nothing left to say Kevin . You said it all . Good job .

Qoute from LINDA Bollea ( in a video clip ) several months ago re: street racing , " Oh I love it . Love it . The rush , the speed on the road , stereo blasting , heart pounding , racing in between all the cars , dodging the cops . It's awesome . Some mom .
Terry was known to purchase alcohol for his underage kids . Some dad .
Terry partied at the " Playboy Club " day after ""accident "" .
Nick boasts of talking his way out of countless speeding tickets because " I'm Hulk Hogan's son "
. " Hogan knows best " ??? I'd rather be wrong then .

Unless this a work to get Hogan getting heel heat, Eck, I think you should stick to the ring action and related information and get off the soap box about how you would parent. I mean, I don't read this blog to get smacked about the face with preachy-holier-than-thou commentary about a family's out of the ring trouble. At least Hogan didn't hang his wife and kid from a Bowflex.

RESPONSE FROM KEVIN ECK: I understand your point. And if you don't like this type of commentary, you have the right to choose not to read it.

If the Graziano family wins financial restitution after a civil trial , I wonder if the Hogans will have to sell off their Bel-Air mansion , or their Las Vegas home , or maybe the shack in Clearwater ? Or maybe a few autos - the blinged out Mercedes , or maybe the Hummers , how 'bout the Viper ? Too bad that Supra won't bring much will it ? What fine human beings they are to have cut off paying for a condo for Mrs. Graziano to be near her son . What am I thinking , they need that money to keep crybaby Nick in diapers .

Seriously though, perhaps children being able to drive so young isn't necessary! Look at the number of incidents this one family has had in less than 1 year!

Hogan will come crawling back to the WWE again after American Gladiator's upcoming cancellation.

This is exactly why I enjoy watching Gene Simmons Family Jewels. His kids are much better behaved and disciplined compared to the Hogan's!

JTK - As to whatever Kevin chooses to write about or express his opinion on is his perogative . It is HIS column . I thought a blog was a place for readers to openly comment (discuss) their feelings about a particular topic . A "friendly" debate if you will . If you read the blog and don't wish to hear his personal opinion on things , go to one of the "cookie cutter" type sites , or as he said you have the right to choose not to read it . Frankly the reference to "bowflex hanging " was tasteless . Since we don't know one another , I'll give you the benefit of the doubt and hope your'e a good person and respectfully disagree with you.

I think in the case of the Hogans, I think Terry himself promotes this whole money making attitude. Im not trying to defend what he said in these tapes, there is no excuse, but what I think Terry is fully guilty of, is the fact that he has put himself in this spot in life where no matter what it is, hes thinking about making money. Season 3 of Hogan knows best was practically centered around his and Linda's marriage about to fall apart. I really believe Nick could die tomorrow(lets hope not) and instead of fully greiving he will be trying to cash in with a reality show about mourning him or something else. And lets face it, Daddy's actions influence the entire family. Sometimes money isn't everything Terry. When he learns that fact, maybe then he will trully understand what his son did.

Eck, I normally don't mind hearing your points and opinions about wrestling. While Hogan is a wrestling icon and this is certainly not his finest work, I don't think it deserves a screed about his dysfunction. I don't remember such a rant when Jeff Hardy nearly free based his way out the Federation and how his parents failed in his upbringing.

If I wanted to read your views on parenting and a family's problems with the law, I will look for you over at "Charm City Moms." Now don't mind me, I will be over at "Gospelrama" until we get back to making fun of Mike Adamle and TNA's booking.

I pretty sure the girl with Hulk in the sunbathing photos was actually his new girlfriend?

Tony

RESPONSE FROM KEVIN ECK: No, it was Brooke.

you hit the nail right on the head!

I totally agree with everything you said especially the part where Hulk should be doing the tough love he claims he does at ,least on the show anyway and let Nick sit there, shut his yap and do his time. I think Hulk has gotten hit too many times in the head as he thinks he is this major star and I am sorry, wrestling is not the sport of kings! I doubt that judge will give in this brat doing a Paris just like I predicted he would, after all 8 months in the slammer to someone who thinks he is a "star" is a life sentence and just like waste case Paris, hours before at the MTV awards she was putting on this brave face, claiming to want to do her time and get it over with and 6 hours later when reality hit, it was cry to Mommy and Daddy to get her out of there, ADHD my foot!!! Nicky is whining to Mommy and Daddy too to get him out on house arrest and I doubt it will happen because a lot of people in their neck of FL, not to mention a lot of others, wanted him to get jail time and it would not have set too well with the locals if he had gotten a walk, they were sick of the Bollea's already! So I doubt the judge is gonna change his mind and if he does, he needs to be off the bench for relenting on this brat, the sentence should hold.

You said “Nick, I feel for you and I love you. But..." In my own opinion saying the word "but" after saying "I love you" means you love your child conditionally. Just say "I love you."

RESPONSE FROM KEVIN ECK: It is unconditional. The "but" means, "even though I love you, I can't help you here for your own good."

I think that 50% of nicks sentence should be served in jail and the other 50% on house arrest i mean come on the kid is 17. Its not like every kid doesnt call their parents when their in a tough spot. this is all just being blown out of porportion because of the hogan's celebrity status.

Both of these parents are enablers...they promoted Brooke's singing career and the poor girl just looked like white trash! Nick was allowed to do what he wanted to do with little or no supervision and look where that landed him!

I agree 100% with what you have written. If people don't like what you have to write, they can go someplace else for their information. Great job!! =)

These people who think the sentence is too harsh are ridiculous! There is no way that ANY of his sentence should be served on house arrest. Eight months is a ridiculously lenient sentence as it is, he should have to spend eight YEARS in prison for what he did. What a disgusting person Nick Hogan is.

I am so sick of Hogan haters! You would do the same thing for your child if you were in this situation. Team Hogan!

Karma got the Hogans. The only thing Nick should be looking forward to after jail is his inappropriate relationship with his sister.

You only get what you put in. Hogan lives like trash and his family will go down as trash. The thing is though, just like in wrestling politics, you don't get ahead in life trying to make friends. Probably why Hogan is worth millions.

He still sucks though...

I do dislike the way tmz goes out of their way to bash celebs I cant help but agree with the 'hogan bashing'.I was a fan way back in the day.I thought when the crash happened that Nick would get away with it.I was happy to see that he would get some sort of punishment after seeing pictures of John Graziano and what is left of his head.I cant believe that they are trying to make money out of it.I cant believe that after all this Nick still will not accept his share of the blame even after that fake apology in court.I was hopeful after that he saw his misdeeds but after the tapes I heard I know he thinks he is blameless and in the end I think he will be let out because of the money Hogan has.I can say I will never watch another match,tv show or purchase or consider a single hulk hogan item again.I will be surprised if he doesnt lose Gladiators.I remember feeling sorry for hulk after the accident even though I was waiting for it to happen.I remember thinking he will lose alot of money for something he personally didnt do.Now after seeing the (in my opinion) fake divorce,hearing the comments and how he has gone along with nick on this to get him out of trouble,saying the horribly wrong things about the victim,I wont cry to see him lose everything.I know he was trying to fix things pr wise but cant believe the depths they went to in order to cover nick and his money.I wont cry to see them lose everything even though I know they wont.And I am sorry to say Nick didnt learn a thing and agreed only to save pr.I cant wait to see when he is released, a year down the line, the false things he will say in public, the false charity items(which he is already trying to get a pat for) and unfortunately see this or similar happening again and maybe worse next time.

I finally listened to the notorious tapes for myself, and I have to admit (as someone who once said, "Hogan Knows Best justifies every reason I've ever had for despising Hulk Hogan") that Nick's current conditions are not in line with his original sentence. He was not sentenced to solitary confinement, just 8-months in prison. Due to his age, the state must separate him but this place cannot reasonably handle those accommodations.

I would not be surprised if he is under house arrest for the rest of his sentence, and I would not disagree with that decision either.

"You only get what you put in. Hogan lives like trash and his family will go down as trash. The thing is though, just like in wrestling politics, you don't get ahead in life trying to make friends. Probably why Hogan is worth millions.

"He still sucks though..."

Mr. Bronson, if your "getting ahead in life" consists of making money before friends, then you will most certainly become one of life's biggest losers. Let's not pretend that those with the most riches are living the richest lives. They're often sucked into the vacuum of their own shallowness.

In the past decade or so, our society has seen a paradigm shift of celebrities. We used to admire and revere them, and now we mostly judge them and pity them. In fact, Kevin Eck had an interview with Bruno Sammartino, talking about his responsibilities of being a role model due to his stardom. I believe those are now extinct.

This whole family is slimy. Hulkamania indeed.

I find it kind of hypocritical, Kev, to say you don't comment on a family's personal business and then turn around and do a full editorial when it's something that you feel strongly about. Hogan thrives off gossip, good or bad, and the only reason he'd be allowed to air a crap reality show like that is because of people who never stop talking about it. I'm not defending the idea, but a certain Simpson's Haloween episode comes to mind, where all the billboards came to life and started destroying the town. They needed to find a way to get rid of advertising, and the solution, just don't look.

As for all the people commenting about the sentence, it's a pretty fair sentence. If you look at the laws, look at the circumstances, it all pretty much comes in line. Here are the facts about the accident: They were not racing, they were driving recklessly. They were going between 60-70 in a 40 zone. Nick was not drunk, he had a BAL of 0.05, which is well below the legal limit for of-age persons, 0.08. The limit for underage drivers is 0.02, which is probably one drink for Nick. More than likely, he was the most sober person present. Graziano was NOT wearing his seatbelt. HAD he been wearing his seatbelt he most likely would have sustained much less serious injuries. For all you people saying 8 years, 5 years is the maximum you can get for a crime of that nature, and that's if someone unintentionally dies. As far as his sentence goes, he's barely an adult, there were factors in the crash that were out of his control, and had Graziano been wearing his seatbelt Nick probably would've only been charged with a minor traffic offense. The sentence is perfectly fair according to the laws.

Now, for all the people that just want to lock him for as long as possible, why, because he's a celebrity? You complain and moan about all his wealth and special treatment, and then want to throw the book at him just because he's a celeb? He's not getting any special treatment, he got a fair sentence, the law was not being manipulated.

As for house arrest, there would be precedent. A lot of sentences for younger offenders are turned into house arrest. I'm not saying he should get house arrest, I'm saying that's for a judge to decide.

And as for Graziano being a Marine, oh boo, hoo, cry me a river. He was in a car with a bunch of rowdy friends and wasn't wearing a seatbelt. Was the crash his fault? No. Is his injury his fault? Yes. Nick was charged for the crash, he received his sentence. Graziano was not wearing his seatbelt, and that could've been the difference between a few bruises and maybe some broken bones and a life of paralysis. I'm not going to sit here and entertain sob stories just because he was a Marine.

when will stars learned that once you're on reality tv in your house, you're doomed! daily living trying to entertain america must make you crazy.

Actually the tapes at a jail, are not meant for public use. I know....my sister was in one. Just because they are monitered calls does not mean they are for the public. I feel sorry for both families. I have an idea these tapes will never be used in a court, because they were apparently confiscated in some way. I think it is dirty, no matter who did it. They were private communications, and have no place being used for sensationalism.

i always thought the hogans were a bunch of jerks - the only one that seemed decent was brooke, with some allowance for nick being so young years ago...i mean, his parents were letting him sleep with girls at a young age...doesn't anyone know how to care about society anymore?

does anyone remember hulk at some event like 4 years ago, already pushing his daughter's ''career'' on us back then? this is a sick stupid family, and the kids had it rough from the beginning....i thought brooke was a pretty nice girl, despite her father's idiocy

Scripted reality show. Fake wrestling career. No wonder these people are so ignorant. They live in La La land. Instead of a scripted reality show,. Tough guy Hulk should suggest some real reality. Maybe enlisting to go to Iraq would help his son growup. No amount of money, can take the lowlife trailer trash out of a family! Dude!

The simple fact is this...how truly sad are people's own lives if they actually care about what happens to a washed up daughter fondling ex-wrestler, his tummy tucked, breast enhanced soon to be ex-wife, their Britney Spears wannabe daughter and their full grown 4 year old near killer son.

Work on your own lives people and turn off the television from time to time!

I have read some of the other comments about nicks sentence.I would like to point out that he proudly displayed his lack of respect for the law and the rules of the road on the show.He drove without a license for the cameras,sped for the cameras,gave attitude about it for the cameras.Combine that with the tapes of how he feels about his sentence and the victim and you lose all pity on my end.He may be a 'kid'.But I dont know many kids who have access to a Supra and a multimillion dollar estate.I dont know many kids who are allowed to show their lack of responsibility for the nation to see.I know it may sound like celebrity bashing but I am sorry.He lost the ability to be a normal kid making mistakes the minute he went on national television with his irresponsible attitude.As far as those saying his sentence was just.I agree.It was, in number only.I do not know many people would be allowed to go on house arrest because they didnt have a cell mate,didnt have a window and didnt like his hot dogs for dinner.And can I remind you that his house would be a multimillion dollar estate,or a beach house in Malibu?When you think house arrest is fair, or when you think this poor kid is being unfairly treated I suggest you look on the internet and find pictures of the victims head that the lawyers showed in court that the hogans call a "bump on the head".Yes he wasnt wearing a seat belt.But I would have more pity for Nick Bollea if he has not been racing (reckless driving) in a Supra,after quite a few speeding tickets,having a license plate that says Capable of Eluding High Speed Pursuit,having alcohol in the system of a 17 year old that his father bought,shown repeated disrespect for the rules of the road,making stupid comments that they knew the public could hear over the phone,wanting to make money off a kid who is now a vegetable,trying to blame the kid for his caved in forehead and a million other things.I think the pity belongs on John,not Nick who seems to think he can buy and sell pity that comes his way and make a profit off of others pain.

Will people lay off Eck, We blog about the suspensions in wrestling his Q & A's don't just cover wrestling. The Bollea's actions will crossover in to wrestling, Hulk is wrestling, There would be no Ring Post in Big City newspaper if not for Hulk Hogan. He was stressing his opinion on a wrestling Family. This will effect Hogan because he will need to come back to wrestling.

I'm not trying to attack Eck, I'm merely pointing out the dichotomy of his remarks.

As for Lisa, you make me start to lose faith in humanity. First off, it's completely obvious that all you're trying to do is generate sympathy for this, "poor kid who had his head bashed in." I'm not trying to excuse Nick, I'm not trying to do anything but promote objectivity. Where would we be as a society if we based all our legal decisions on the emotions of people who empathize with certain groups? I never said that house arrest was most certainly what Nick deserved, I said there is LEGAL PRECEDENT, and I said it was FOR A JUDGE TO DECIDE. Not me, and certainly not you, thank god.

Celebrities deserve the same treatment as everyone else. What, just because you're bitter about having less money than them that gives you the right to say they should be subject to harsher penalties? That's ridiculous.

As for the alcohol, correct me if I'm wrong, but Nick and his friends were out at a club, if I remember correctly, meaning Hulk did NOT buy the alcohol. Besides, it's a pretty stupid point to bring up. He wasn't even drunk, the charge was just tagged on because he was underage. The only reason to even bring that up is so you can get all indignant about minors drinking. It probably had little to no effect on the accident, and if he were 4 years older and in the same condition that point wouldn't even be brought up at all.

As for the comments, it's already been said that those comments were never intended to reach the public, and that those conversations are supposed to be confidential. In fact, I wouldn't be at all suprised is the Hogans released them themselves to get publicity, which obviously worked seeing as how everyone is talking about it and acting completely indignant and self-righteous.

I'm not saying I feel sorry for Nick, but I certainly don't feel sorry for Graziano either. He wasn't wearing his seatbelt, and if he was none of this would've happened. I don't care if you don't want to hear it, that's the truth. You all go out and rag on Nick and act like he's the worst person ever and act like John is a completely innocent victim, and why? Because you want a villian and you want a victim. You want to put out these sob stories about Marines being injured by some kid, and make it sound like that kid was maliciously trying to ruin his life. You want to talk about playing on emotions, how about telling me to look at the photos, is that not trying to play on emotions? That's exactly what that is, you want to go around and say, "look at this poor kid," and try to make Nick look more at fault than he actually is, and make Graziano look like a helpless victim. Nick crashed the car unintentionally, Graziano was not wearing his seatbelt, they both have to deal with the respective consequences.

The thing I cannot figure out is why did these phone calls get "leaked" It is obvious that all they want is sympathy for Nick and truthfully I think it is backfiring.

The problem that I think alot of people have with Nick about all of this, is that he doesn't show alot of remorse over what happened to his friend and more importantly, he is not taking any kind of responsibility for his actions.

As for the people who are going to read this and say "But he is only 17...", that doesn't mean a thing. At 17 you have the ability to understand the difference between right and wrong and know actions have consequences. The fact that he is so adamantly not taking responsibility is the most irritating and somewhat sadistic considering what happened.

He should be in that jail cell thinking about why he got there and what he can do to make it right, if anything, once he fets out. Instead we have to deal with a kid who is whining about how hard it is in jail. Duh!!! it is jail, you are not suppose to be having good times and partying all the time

More importantly...hwo are these calls getting "leaked"? It is pretty obvious Nick is not leaking them to the public, but he must know about it and has to be ok with it.

What kind of parents would actually let this get "leaked" to the publc and not ask for respect for them and Nick at this time??

For those who think the tapes were private.. WRONG. The only conversations that are private in jail are with your lawyer and with clergy. The rest are NOT private. There are signs on the walls as well as a warning before each conversation that hese calls are being monitored. It's JAIL people. You aren't in Kansas anymore. Information on these tapes CAN and WILL be used in court. That is the whole reason the county tapes these conversations and more than one dumb prisoner has found that out the hard way at trial. I guess the Hogans figured those signs and warnings were for mere mortals, not them.

The tapes show them as they truely are, not the facade they wanted people to see. And it is really ugly.

If Nick doesn't like his lonely cell take heart, he turns 18 in July and can go into gen pop. I'm sure he will make new friends. Be careful what you ask for Nick. You may get a nice cell with bars to see out AND a few roomates to boot.

This is for Jermine Wells.I will admit I may be a little harsh on him.I dont think you are wrong and I dont think I am either.I have an opinion,the same as you do and I am not in a place of decision in the case.If I was and if he had gone to a jury and I was on it,I would be looking at it differently.I would have to have a more open mind than I do now.It would be unfair to judge him in that case.You can argue its wrong for me now.But I cant help but feel sorry for the victim.Yes he is just as guilty for stupidity.I think what aggravates me about it is what they seem to think of it behind the doors.They say one thing in public and another in private.I personally do not think they should have leaked those tapes.They are entitled to privacy just like anyone else,but no matter who is right in this the fact is they are public.I hope they sue over who released them but doubt it.I will admit maybe I went a bit far in my judgement.Maybe it is jealousy.I like to think I am not a prejudiced person.I have been told my opinions seem to be harder on wealthy people.I did feel pity for him at times.I think I lost most of my pity when I saw the pictures of Johns head.I almost got sick.And it was so needless.Fault on both ends.But I do think it was just for nick to pay something because obviously tickets didnt work.I do hope he makes something out of himself.I believes he deserves another chance,I just am hesitant because of what I heard.OH and quickly,my comments about him being on an estate if he got house arrest.If there is precedent he should get the chance like everyone else.I just dont see how it would seem like punishment when he has access to all he would at home.The object of punishment is to make it unpleasant so you dont do it again.It sounded to me like if he did get it hulk and linda would continue to coddle and spoil him.

I am a mother of a young man that was in prison for DUI Manslaughter. He accepted his responsibility. There were times in the first weeks of incarceration he wanted it all to go away... to get out... to be forgiven. But we always reaffirmed that he had a responsibility and that we suffered with him. We did not want him in prison but the other family had a child in the grave. We were fortunate that we had a visitation with our child and that one day he would be free to live life.

Because of our stand he absolutely took his responsibility seriously. And he then was able to be the one that held us together when the years were ticking by. He was the one that said, "I have to serve my time. One day I will be able to live my life again. But (the victim) never will. I will be a better person for having completed this journey in my life."

Today he has a young family and is serving the Lord. He is happy and healthy. And today, he still mourns the loss of his friend. But he knows that he has served his time and he is moving on with his life.

To the Bollea's... Be the parents you should be. Quit babying your son and love him enough to teach him how to be a man. Respect the parents who daily see their child that will never be normal again and that will watch a very slow death. Get out of the media and quit using this as another way to gain monetary means.

Thank you.

RESPONSE FROM KEVIN ECK: Very well said. Thanks for sharing your story.

JOHN DIDN'T EVEN BOTHER TO WEAR HIS SEATBELT

I have to say I totally agree with you, without bashing them, you have rationally stated why the hogans brought this on themselves, Obviously Linda is hurting for her son, But for her to say she is suffering more than John's mother is just crazy, and for Hulk and Nick to talk about getting the most money after getting out is just selfish, I hope Eric Bishoff and Jason Hervey, the Eric and Jason they were talking about do not stoop that low after all this.

Tough Love is needed for Mr. and Mrs. Hogan. I would never dress my daughters in the skimpy outfits that they have Brooke wearing, she looks like a hooker. Not suprised seeing the trouble Nick is in, his first eposide was making out with his girl friend on his bed. It is just going from bad to worse. I for one have had enough.

While I agree with some of the stuff you said about tough love, I also believe that EVERY family has it's problems. No Family has a perfect life. There are many kids out in this world today that make poor desicions. That does not make them all Sick or terrible people. Nick is a 17 year old kid...He got away with alot of stuff being that he was the BOY of the family. And even though Hulk and Linda were a lot too lenient on him do you really suppose that had Hulk and linda been tougher that Nick wouldn't have done his own thing and made stupid decisions? Many Kids are brought up in strict environments and some have grown to be killers and Rapists. As for Brooke...Music is a career that SHE wanted to pursue and they did push her to help her succeed. HOWEVER I firmly believe that NOBODY makes her dress or act in the way that she does. She makes those decisions. MOST girls her age flaunt what they have And Brooke has got a great body so Why should she want be any different from the rest of the "trashy" girls that are finding different ways to express themselves.
And as for Hulk and Linda's Marriage...Leave it alone. These things should be private but because they are famous everybody has to get involved. I mean I doubt very seriously that had the hogans Been a normal everyday family...None of you would give a rat's ass about their issues. So give it up. They are not terrible people. They are humans that have made mistakes just as we have all made mistakes...Maybe smaller...Maybe bigger.

Ive been following this story for a while now, especially since seeing the REAL photos of John Graziano, (nightmares for a few days!) But, of all Iv'e read, your observation and commentary has been the best, made the most sense, and has sorted things out. Will look forward to reading more, of what you have to say!