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Foley's Friday Mailbag: March 8, 2013

Fri, 08 Mar 2013 09:50:01 +0000

Kent State's top-ranked Dustin Kilgore is made for MMA (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com)

Foley: I have good news and bad news, Gregg. Already working on making this a massive 1500-word piece filled with technical details, interviews and projections for the next five years. However, the piece will be running on ESPN.com/mma during the NCAA tournament and will be a pay-to-read article. Kinda like this one on which guys are on the bubble.

All I can tell you is that Dustin Kilgore will be on the list despite the fact he may never go into MMA. For me, Kilgore is just too skilled and too marketable to miss out on a life of slapping men with 4 oz. gloves and buying beers for small-town ring girls. He is the "Killah Gorillah!"

Q: This Saturday I watched the Pac-12 Championships. I couldn't believe how great the broadcast was put together. Ken Chertow along with the other gentleman broadcasting did a tremendous job. Additionally, the video quality was in perfect HD and the manner in which the announcers articulated the action led me to be believe at some points that I was listening to a big-time NCAA basketball or football broadcast. Ken and the other announcer actually explained the matches in a play-by-play, move-by-move and position by position format and had great dialogue and knowledge of both the wrestlers and the sport. Immediately afterward, I watched a previously DVR'd Cornell vs. Oklahoma State dual meet from this year at Madison Square Garden. At the risk of sounding negative, but with the greater goal of articulating my point, I must comment on the commentating for this event. The announcers talked about a recent Knicks-Cavaliers game at the Garden, how tough wrestlers are, how great the two teams are, how nice everybody is, and basically everything, but the detailed chess matches that were taking place on the mats. In the past I've noticed that watching wrestling on TV has sometimes led me to fast forward through some matches and other times putting me at the edge of my seat. It was today I realized why (even as a former Cornell wrestler). While the Grapple at the Garden was a great event, and I hope to see the event held there every year, I noticed a stark difference in the style in commenting of the matches and for the first time ever, realized how important good quality announcers are to our sport. In light of the ludicrous IOC decision, I, like many in the wrestling community, am much more closely attuned to every aspect of how our sport can be improved. Now more keenly aware that entertainment value certainly plays a large role in the success of our sport, I think we should pay more attention to the manner in which we broadcast our events. While I wouldn't necessarily take no coverage in lieu of 1950s quality video coverage, I think it's more important than ever that wrestling take its broadcasting prowess to a new level. I believe the Pac-12 coverage set the bar to date. Ever watch an MMA event without Rogan and Goldberg? Add to that non-HD? Big difference.
-- CJB, Syracuse, NY

Foley: Harumph ... harumph ... harumph!

I've heard that Ken Chertow is a good announcer and it's good to hear that he did a nice job at PAC12s. Other good announcers include BTN's Tim Johnson for play-by-play and Jim Gibbons for color. I've never listened to the ESPN production of the finals, but I'm told that Robles is picking it up as a third man in the booth.

This weekend is actually my debut as a color commentator. I'll be working alongside Shawn Kenney for ESPN3 at the ACC tournament in College Park, Md. I can tell you from my experience covering the original BTN broadcasts for InterMat in 2010 and now working with ESPN, that these productions take lots of manpower and money, which is both humbling and a wake-up call. ESPN doesn't do anything unless it makes money, but to keep making money we have to put on a good performance.

Wrestling can be a well-watched event, and though the enjoyment doesn't totally rely on the backs of the announcers, having knowledgeable and professional guys in the booth will help retain the core audience. What makes Joe Rogan great at his job is that he's a technical genius on describing the ground game in perfect detail, and when he screams it's at moments when fans at home are screaming as well, and even then only for the briefest of seconds. We need more of that in all our wrestling coverage.

I'm hopeful for my performance, but realistic that it won't be perfect. Please be sure watch, listen and send in critiques. I'll need the feedback to help me improve for next season.

Oh, and GO WAHOOS!

Foley's Friday Mailbag: March 1, 2013

Fri, 01 Mar 2013 10:50:42 +0000

InterMat senior writer T.R. Foley answers reader questions about NCAA wrestling, international wrestling, recruiting, or anything loosely related to wrestling. You have until Thursday night every week to send questions to Foley's Twitter or email account.

Do you want to read a past mailbag? Access archives.

Three work weeks have passed since the announcement that wrestling might be eliminated from the Olympics in 2020, and slowly more information is coming to light about how we plan to pursue the problem.

Everyone with a voice box has sounded off about the indescribable lunacy of the decision, but the leaders of USA Wrestling and the Committee for the Preservation of Olympic Wrestling (CPOW) are taking a more measured approach. FILA didn't do its job, and it's our task to do more than just direct anger at the IOC's executive board, but listen to what the IOC wants from wrestling. Is it rule changes? More women? More action?

The process is tedious -- effective lobbying takes time and relationship building. No amount of greased palms can deliver you what you want when votes are cast. That comes from personal relationships, and more investment in the Olympic movement. Right now America doesn't contribute any money to the IOC, and while that might seem justified, a more proactive and generous approach might've helped keep our interests in consideration.

The IOC consists of former athletes and business people from 79 countries. That's 79 interests, needs and wants. The business of changing their mind won't come from making the most trouble, or being the loudest advocate for the sport of wrestling. It'll take diplomacy, patience and consideration. We'll need to create media events in their countries that highlight the importance and history of wrestling. Gentle guidance, not head snapping.

But mostly the lobbying process will mean relaxing our throats to give our ears the chance to hear what needs to be done to repair our relationships and save our sport. That's true Cauliflower Diplomacy.

To your questions ...

Q: Why do we have riding time in college when it is not in middle school, high school, or the Olympics? And what other sport gives you a point for possession? I thought the name of the game was to PIN your opponent, not ride 'em bronco.
-- Joey B.

Foley: Because you asked a question that asks for a peek behind the curtain of history, I'm going to wind you around for a minute.

The goal in most traditional wrestling styles is to pin your opponent. In the American style of the sport, first popularized in the early 19th century by Irish and Scottish immigrants in New England, the pin was the only way to win a wrestling match. However, as life outside the barn halls of Vermont got more hectic and the sport increased in popularity (wrestling was arguably the most popular sport in America in the first two decades of the 20th century) promoters and rules committees at school boards began to shorten matches for the fans and added times as well.

Those rule changes have expanded to govern all types of scoring situations, moves and boundaries. American wrestling was once the wild collision of men filled with bull testosterone hashing out grudges. Today it's a friendlier, more accessible sport that rewards technique and trickery more than aggressiveness.

But we're not alone. After 600 years with no significant rule changes the Kirkpinar wrestling tournament added a time component to their oil wrestling competition. They've since added scoring, which has alienated traditionalists inside the country. The longest continuously competed athletic event in course of recorded human history is adding rules for the sake of fans. I like pins, but it's apparent that we need to understand that fan interest is what keeps us afloat.

Tune into this coming week's Back Points podcast and listen to Coyte Cooper recap what more we can do to promote fan-friendly rule changes.

Until then, "Ride 'em Bronco!"

Q: Based on your travels, what do wrestlers from other countries think about American folkstyle? Do they watch it? Do they know about the NCAAs? How do you think the top level Russians/Iranians would do in say the Midlands? I think a lot of them would be fine on their feet but hate all the funk rolls and eventually end up getting killed on bottom. I'd argue the wrestling community should push for it but the injury
What are your thoughts?
-- Bryan R.

Foley: The Russians and Iranians would be an awesome addition to any American-styled wrestling tournament. I'm sure that many of them wouldn't have to worry about what happens on bottom, since they on average have some of the best neutral attacks in the world.

The majority of wrestlers that I've met around the world want to know how I've done at the international level. In India this month there was little understanding of folkstyle's existence and no accommodations made for success at the NCAA level. I was even introduced at tournaments, and while many fans and wrestlers recognized the cauliflower ears to mean that I'd competed, it was my journalism that was mentioned. No terms existed to quickly inform the crowds of time spent as a wrestler or coach.

Mongolians have a better sense of American folkstyle. They keep a very close eye on the wrestlers who've come to America and have watched Turtogtokh, Ugi, Ganabayar and Minga compete through YouTube and Flo. Most of the talented wrestling population lives in the capital of Ulaanbaatar, so as you progress into the countryside there is less certainty about the American style (even as freestyle schools remain).

The best question is to ask yourself what you know of other traditional styles and how success is gauged in their competitions. Some Indians are contented to only wrestle Kushti. They receive money and acclaim and eventually they earn coveted jobs in the military, police force and working for the railroad. There are plenty of NCAA-obsessed wrestlers in America that follow a similar path.

Q: Do you think we will ever see women's wrestling at the college level? Has there ever been a women wrestling in college? Will we ever see a women's NCAA wrestling championship?
-- Gregg Y.

Foley: My man, we HAVE a women's wrestling at the collegiate level and it's growing every year. The Women's Collegiate Wrestling Association boasts 22 women's programs, with more coming every year! The WCWA even has a national dual team tournament. The women compete using FILA's freestyle rules.

Wrestling is the fastest growing women's sport at the high school level and the NYC public school system just announced a 16-team league complete with 12 weight classes.

Women are hitting the mats and making all wrestling fans proud.

Q: Why does Penn State shy away from the NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals, and how do they remain No. 1?
-- Leo

Foley: They remain No. 1 because they are the best team in the country in terms of individual performance at the NCAAs. They choose not to wrestle the National Duals, and the reasons might change year to year, but I just don' think they see the upside. They have talents. They already wrestle the big teams and they're two-time defending NCAA champions. Why give up their edge?

Agree or disagree, they are doing what they feel is right for their program. If the National Duals become a compulsory NCAA event then they'll attend. Until that time, they are without question the top team in the country. If there are people who really think otherwise I know that Joey Odesssa will be setting lines for the team race for several sites. I suggest you lay down a mortgage payment and make some cash.

Q: Everyone is dying to see Kyle Dake and David Taylor go head-to-head once more in the NCAA finals. Any chance that either one of them is too focused on their third match and gets tripped up before the finals?
-- Tim M.

Foley: The temptation is to agree and give you a trope about how you can't look ahead, but I'll save you the speech. Kyle Dake and David Taylor will be in the finals. They're on that different planet, and unless they suffer a catastrophic injury in training, they'll be the two in the finals.

Multimedia Halftime

Gotta love a leader with a heart for the sport, and the passion to dismiss diplomacy in favor of full-throated attacks on referees. (We've ALL been there.)

Link: Bethlehem mayor ejected from wrestling tourney

Fortress CEO and longtime wrestling philanthropist Mike Novogratz took to CNBC to discuss his position within CPOW, an organization formed to lobby members of the IOC.

Link: Fortress' Novogratz 'wrestles' with Olympic Committee

Q: With Ed Ruth being a junior and king of the weight class, could you see Minnesota's Kevin Steinhaus trying to bulk up to 197 and switching with Scott Schiller in the Gopher lineup next season? Seems he would be a favorite for a title there.
-- John M.

Foley: Most college coaches aren't going to ask for one of their most talented wrestlers to move weights in order to dodge a tough opponent. However, I don't know that we've seen anyone as dominant as Ed Ruth, and to be honest depending on how things play out at NCAAs there is a chance that the Minnesota wrestler could make that decision in the offseason, giving the "Bear-Jew" time to bulk up and win an NCAA title.

Steinhaus is an absolute stud and one of the favorite wrestlers to discuss on the BP podcast. He deserves an NCAA title, and if he decides that bulking up is the best way to win, he'll have the support of the fans.

Q: It seems to me that Kyle Dake is getting far less attention than Cael Sanderson did four years ago despite the fact they are both going for No. 4. Is this a product of the fact that Cael was undefeated and Dake has several losses, or other factors such as program, personality etc.?
-- Josh Z.

Foley: Two is a couple, three is a few, and four is several, but it still feels wrong to read that he has "several" losses.

The wrestling media is larger than it was in 2001 so I think that Dake's quest is receiving much more attention overall. However, you're right in thinking that Sanderson was afforded more national media attention due to the fact he was both undefeated and the first wrestler capable of winning four titles since Pat Smith.

Should Dake win his fourth title he'll be lauded in the mainstream media for his achievement and possibly be mentioned as the better wrestler given his ability to win it across four weights.

As for personality and program, as a writer I think both favor Dake in terms of appeal and storyline.

Q: Given all the things that make our sport unique, do you ever see the advanced stats craze making its way into wrestling? Things like PER for basketball, WAR for baseball and DYAR for football are now routinely discussed whenever debates about MVPs and All-Stars come up. Because wrestling is an individual sport with only four ways of scoring, I don't believe it ever will but I'd love to hear your take.
-- Dan L.

Foley: The advanced stats craze has made its way into MMA, so it's difficult to write that we'll never see them appear in wrestling. I was recently contacted by a man who has been following interesting stats from the past ten years, and was impressed with things I didn't know, like how many wrestlers who placed at the 2012 NCAA tournament hadn't won a state championship. The answer is six.

Statistics make sports more accessible, and I'd welcome any meaningful role they could have in helping promote the sport to a new demographic of fan.

The problem with statistics is their applicability to on-the-mat results. Stats are a great way to justify an inkling you have about the habits of a wrestler, but as a predictive measure -- in MMA, and wrestling -- they'd fall short of forecasting future behavior. Nothing can overcome the weight with which we learn to value certain positions, opponents and timing. All takedowns aren't equal. Hitting a successful double leg against Ed Ruth in the second period is much different than hitting a first-period takedown against the fourth stringer from a tiny DIII school. Statistics haven't yet made an accommodation for that type of human computation or pattern recognition.

Q: I know you have answered plenty of questions when it comes to rankings ... so here is one more! Why is it that when wrestlers do not compete they hold on to their rankings? Many athletes suffer illness, injury, and even giving up forfeits during the last match of a dual if the match is no longer in contention ... examples of this has been Mike McMullan and Andrew Compolattano, both have missed several matches against ranked opponents or have been out of the lineup due to injury but both remain in the top 15, at least on the InterMat site.
-- Confused Big Ten Fan

Foley: I think it would be foolish to assume that either of the wrestlers you mention in your question were ducking opponents in order to preserve a ranking, or a seed at NCAAs. McMullan placed third at NCAAs last season and Camp is a legitimate stud. It's much more likely that they were managing small setbacks, like ankle tweaks than actually dodging opponents. Tough to penalize them in the rankings for suffering from injuries that could happen to any wrestler.

Q: Was looking through the InterMat rankings and see that at 174 8 of the top 10 ranked wrestlers are in the Big Ten. I'm interested in your breakdown of the Big Ten tourney at 174. So many interesting matchups and more than one possible champion. This is going to be a great bracket!!!
-- Tom G

Foley: Your exclamation marks say it all. Let's get to the wrestling already! Anything could happen once the shoes hit the Resilite, but we know that the quarterfinals should break into something like this (expected seeds):

Quarterfinals:
No. 1 Logan Storley (Minnesota) vs. No. 8 Dan Yates (Michigan)
No. 4 Nick Heflin (Ohio State) vs. No. 5 Matt Brown (Penn State)
No. 3 Bob Kokesh (Nebraska) vs. No. 6 Jordan Blanton (Illinois)
No. 2 Mike Evans (Iowa) vs. No. 7 Lee Munster (Northwestern)

Semifinals:
No. 1 Storley vs. No. 5 Brown
No. 2 Evans vs. No. 3 Kokesh

Finals:
No. 5 Brown vs. No. 3 Kokesh

Champion:
Bob Kokesh

Foley's Friday Mailbag: Feb. 22, 2013

Fri, 22 Feb 2013 07:57:40 +0000

Foley's Friday Mailbag: Feb. 8, 2013

Fri, 08 Feb 2013 09:09:23 +0000

InterMat senior writer T.R. Foley answers reader questions about NCAA wrestling, international wrestling, recruiting, or anything loosely related to wrestling. You have until Thursday night every week to send questions to Foley's Twitter or email account.

Do you want to read a past mailbag? Access archives.

I'm posting this mailbag from India where despite my fear of a stomach bug that could flatten a Billy goat, I've managed to avoid the gastro-apocalypse. Maybe it's foolish to mention my luck, but facing the invisible destruction of cholera and amoebic dysentery without succumbing makes me feel invincible. I'll inevitably end up eating a bad curry, but why let the fear of a loss interrupt an ongoing victory celebration.

I'm in Dehli to write about wrestling, and one of the reasons I've avoided getting sick is that I'm able to crash in the beautiful apartment of a kind man who works for the U.S. Library of Congress. In addition to his librarian duties (I'd imagined he racks books at the Taj Mahal, but found out that it's actually a pretty sweet job securing documentation, etc.), he's made a hobby of visiting various Indian akhadas and photographing traditional Indian wrestlers. His collection is impressive and I hope to share some of his work in the coming weeks.

By now you've heard me say, or read that I believe "wrestling is everywhere," and after this week in India, I've never been more certain. It's been an informative and challenging week and though there are still places to be seen and matches to be wrestled, I'm thrilled with the amount of content I've accumulated in these first five days.

In addition to dodging porcelain-praying stomach viruses and wrestling in the mud with locals, I've had some time to think about the Iowa vs. Penn State match and the resulting shift in some polls. It's clear to me that I underestimated the Hawkeyes, and that my love for Matt Brown, while still not wavering, might have blinded me to the mustachioed talents of Mike Evans, as likely a wrestler to win the NCAA title at 174 pounds as anyone. However, in no way do I think that Penn State is anything other than the national champion in 2013, nor do I think that they should be ranked other than first in any poll.

I know that the USA Today/NWCA/AWN Division I Coaches Poll is for dual meets only, but without a true dual meet national championship isn't the poll misleading to casual fans? Without there being weight on these matches, there is little chance that coaches are peaking for these matches. Maybe that cancels itself out with teams like Iowa and Penn State, but maybe it doesn't. Either way the poll misleads fans into thinking that Iowa and Oklahoma State are the top two teams in the nation, a misguided assumption that will seem foolish if Penn State wins the NCAA championship by thirty points.

I'm all for expansion, but is it really more valuable to the sport to have rankings that are difficult to substantiate and that will be proven ineffective in March?

But then again, I'm also a homer for my guys at InterMat ...

To your questions ...

Q: A boring night of work had me surfing through YouTube and I came across the ESPN Sports Century piece on Dan Gable which aired a while back. Watching the documentary, mainly clips of old school wrestling, made me think about how the sport of wrestling has evolved. In Gable's final match with Larry Owings he was taken down in the first period with a cheesy wrist roll and then put to his back in the third period from a scramble, he looked lost in both situations. I can't help but compare the style back then to the more advanced techniques we see now. More scrambling, funk and counter wrestling. Even the Iowa style has evolved with discussions about guys like St. John and Evans showing some scrambling. Do you think the Gable of Waterloo High would dominate national high school events today? Would the Cyclone version of Gable dominate the Midlands and Scuffles of today?
-- James S.

Foley: Technique across all sports has improved over the past fifty years. Athletes today are bigger, faster, stronger and smarter than their counterparts of a few decades ago. They practice more, compete more, and train more. They have better nutrition and access to more information and coaching. In a time warp it would seem that the modern athlete would throttle those wrestlers of previous generations, but I think the real answer comes from something other than the output we see on film.

I've written this before, but I once asked Rob Koll this same question. We were sitting in a hot tub at NCAAs in 2007 (shit just got weird, huh?) bullshitting about topics like greatest of all time and the improvement of athletes through the years. At least some of my questioning came from having seen Koll pin Michigan's Joe Pantaleo in the 1988 NCAA finals with a double overhook throw. That guy, and everyone else in the stadium, knew that Koll had a torn ACL, but somehow he kept falling into this throw. Like you mentioned in your question, these techniques look RIDICULOUS by modern standards and yet seem to work like magic potion in every video before 1995.

Koll said something interesting about this phenomenon. He said that regardless of the time in which they were born, winners will always be winners -- that the emotional and intellectual aspects of competition, and the "it" factor that drives people to learn more, train harder, and dedicate their lives to winning, is a human trait unbound by time. Koll's a silly, effective salesman, and maybe I was getting lightheaded from the chlorine fumes coming up from the 105-degree water, but the man sold me. Dan Gable would win today just like he won in the 1960s because Dan Gable is a champion, a winner, a stone-cold bad ass. No matter if it's hitting wrist rolls, Granby's, funk, or Burroughs' blast double, given the same resources, or a few weeks to catch up, Gable would wrestle right alongside today's studs.

Q: Which of the wrestling polls/ranking matters for the seeding at the NCAA individual finals?
-- Reed K.

Foley: Nice question. None. The seeds are tallied and doled out on what claims to be a totally objective system on wins and losses. The committee is attempting to be fair to the numbers to avoid accusations of meddling.

This is the system you want.

Q: I was thinking about how tough it is to make a good living off of amateur wrestling. How many people in your estimation are making a good living, say $125,000 a year or more, off of amateur wrestling in America?
-- Eugene L.

Foley: These are just educated guesses that include total annual salary, camps, teaching salaries, outside businesses -- anything that can't be detangled from their wrestling jobs.

NCAA wrestling coaches: 36
High school wrestling coaches: 140
Club coaches: 56
Journalist/media: 6 (Not this guy!)
Apparel: 11
Non-profit executives: 4
2012 Olympic gold medalists: 2
Camp directors: 25
Total: 280

Your 20-Minute Halftime

Bring your tissues. Heavy stuff.

Q: You ever see this clip of Mark Schultz getting disqualified in the 1984 Olympics? How did he win gold after this? That obviously would not happen in today's rules. I know John Smith was beat in the '92 Olympics but it was a pool system, and the guy who beat him got beat, then Smith wrestled that guy and crushed him so he advanced. Any idea how it worked in '84? This move is so nasty. I used to hit it before refs knew what it was.
-- Frank C.

Foley: I get a little sensitive when people assume that moves were created in the months before they became popular. Nothing exemplifies this more than the Korean Zombia (Chan-Sung Jung) submitting Leonard Garcia with a "Twister" in 2011. Of course the move existed for almost 100 years in college wrestling and was even showcased in technique books from the 30s.

The refs might have been ignorant to the move, but it'd been around for hundreds if not thousands of years. Frank Gotch and the first line of catch-as-catch-can wrestlers and pankration fighters are responsible for cultivating and cataloguing moves like the "double wrist lock," which modern jiu-jitsu guys would just call a standing kimura. It's painful, it's dangerous and it should be totally illegal in non-catch wrestling.

The disqualification counted as a loss, not a tourney disqualification. Because Shultz emerged from his pool he was able to compete in the tournament and pursue the gold. The new system is imperfect, but it's much less corrupt and easier to follow for many sports fans.

Q: I am sure you will get flooded with emails about this, but can you recall a dual meet where all the matches were so critical and exciting as the Iowa vs. PSU meet? Hard to believe that the most boring match of the night was 165.
-- Nathaniel T.

Foley: Boring only because David Taylor is a human freak. Give it a few years and we'll find out that he and Dake are the first class of homo sapiens found to have mutated genetic code. Trust me, they'll be shooting laser beams out of their eyes by 2020.

The dual meet was insane! I watched it from a hotel room in Kuala Lumpur with two buddies, both of whom have absconded to Asia and wrestled in the states. After watching NIce and McD trade scrambles they were both hooked on the action. It was a good opening match, I mean these are two guys that could've easily spent those two hours burning their flesh by the poolside (free popsicles, too) but instead they sat riveted by wrestling!

It's probably not worth recapping the entire dual meet, for that I'm going to direct you to this week's Back Points podcast. But this was some of the best wrestling entertainment I've had in years. I still prefer to watch my Wahoos, but when the big bellies bump in the center of Carver Hawkeye it's impossible to look away. The ground will shake, tempers will flare and at the end you'll have a week's worth of postmortems to write and dissections to undertake.

Right NOW is the Golden Age of Wrestling.

Q: A lot of great wrestlers -- Askren, Chandler, Dillashaw, Maynard -- all made the smooth transition from wrestling to MMA. Will Henry Cejudo make the same smooth transition why or why not?
-- Gregg Y.

Foley: No.

Henry Cejudo retired from freestyle wrestling after falling short of making the 2012 Olympic Team at 55 kilos (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com)

Lets look at some anecdotal evidence that supports the idea that Cejudo is joining MMA as part of a money grab and might not have the same hard-fought, obscured pathway to the cage as successful fighters.

Cejudo made his announcement to go into MMA in front of 50k soccer fans in Mexico. Good Lord, why? He's had any number of endorsement deals and was fitted for his 2012 Olympic Ralph Lauren jacket even though he'd only wrestled twice in the four years since he'd won gold. He's written two books, one about his life and the other about wrestling. and in the oddest of twists he is very active in the promotion of a play about his life being acted in Arizona. If none of this convinces you of something being amiss, you need to watch the video of his retirement press conference.

Motivation makes all the difference in MMA. I like Cejudo's wrestling and have heard he's a decent striker (he flirted with pro boxing), but regardless of his mat talents he'll have to suffer OUT of the spotlight for a few years before ever making it big in MMA. However, Cejudo is an Olympic champion wrestler of Mexican heritage so it's possible, maybe even likely, that he'll get marketed into a UFC contract. It worked for Brock Lesnar. But fighting at heavyweight requires mass and a buzz cut, Cejudo will be squaring off at flyweight or bantamweight, weight classes filled with decent wrestlers who are much more proficient strikers and quicker than a hiccup in transitional positions.

Wrestling is the best segway in MMA, but because it's a hard fought skill and tough lifestyle that teaches you how to wallow in hardship and succeed. Cejudo doesn't know that life anymore, he's five years removed from significant daily training in freestyle, has never competed in a collegiate season, and doesn't currently train with top wrestlers or fighters. Though he might have explosive leg attacks and great finishes, those will matter little against a field of fighters who've (finally) learned to sprawl.

Cejudo is fishing for more money and a way to stay in the conversation. MMA will ensure that he has a little of both, but it'll be enough to keep him content, but too much to motivate him to do what he needs to do to win fights and become as good in the cage as he was on the mat.

Q: Andrew Long. What happened to this guy? I know he got booted from Iowa State and then Penn State for personal/legal problems. Is he done? It's a shame that a guy with so much talent washed out.
-- Matthew R.

Foley: Oh, he's long gone. Spending time in jail has derailed his wrestling career and all but evaporated his support within the wrestling community. He was talented, though.

Q: What ever happened to Corey Mock? It looked for him at UNC.
-- HHR

Foley: It's unclear who he's wrestling for, but Corey Mock is definitely wrestling. There was a court case in the spring, but he's been cleared of those charges. As you probably noticed he's not listed on the official UNC roster. We'll see next fall if he reemerges on a collegiate roster.

Q: There seems to be a huge numbers crunch for NCAA tickets this year. Have you heard anything from anyone about releasing any unsold tickets? I have been going to this for twenty-two years and I'm having a hard time finding tickets!!
-- Steven H.

Foley: This is one of the most common questions in the Mailbag. I'm totally dumbfounded by the decision to decrease the capacity of the NCAA championships venue. Wells Fargo Arena holds 3k fewer fans than Scottrade Center in St. Louis. Why move this event around in the first place? And if you move it, shouldn't it be to a bigger and better arean and city than the previous host? The best idea would be for someone (You? Me?) to start a petition of some sort that asks the NCAA to keep our championships in one place every year, preferably a place with 20k seats, convenient airports and hotels that aren't grimy.

I hope that the experience in Des Moines is better than expected, because right now there are plenty of wrestling fans whose cauliflower ears are red with rage. And I can't blame them in the least, but if all goes south we can at least hope that the wrestlers will compete with courage and that local restaurants serve their beer cold and often.

Foley's Friday Mailbag: Feb. 1, 2013

Fri, 01 Feb 2013 09:05:08 +0000

InterMat senior writer T.R. Foley answers reader questions about NCAA wrestling, international wrestling, recruiting, or anything loosely related to wrestling. You have until Thursday night every week to send questions to Foley's Twitter or email account.

Do you want to read a past mailbag? Access archives.

The wrestling community is buzzing about tonight's dual meet between top-ranked Penn State and No. 3 Iowa. I'll discuss the details and predictions below, but it's important to note that several non-wrestling heads have emailed me to share their insights and excitement. Some are former Penn State and Iowa students, while others are casual fans who've heard about the match from nut jobs like YOU and are now going to be watching. It's nice to know that among the constant bickering between coaches, fans and media, that we actually do have marketable dual meets.

I'm traveling through Asia the next few weeks writing stories about MMA and wrestling for a few magazines. I'll be sure to wrestle in the dirt with the Indians next week, but this week I'm in Singapore and Kuala Lumpur profiling EvolveMMA, the largest and fastest growing MMA gym in Asia.

At the heart of the MMA in Singapore is a love for Muay Thai. I can't explain to you why so many people love risking cracked ribs for the chance to kick another human, but on the Malay Peninsula, just south of Thailand, the Singaporean people love it. Despite the propensity to punch and kick, there is a burgeoning community of American wrestlers influencing the Asian fighting style. Former Greco-Roman Olympic team member Heath Sims heads up the wrestling program at the gym. He's the longtime friend and MMA coach of Dan Henderson, and has been out here working to develop the team's wrestling ability. This weekend he and the EvolveMMA team are headed to Kuala Lumpur to coach former Princeton wrestler and NCAA qualifier Jake Butler in his first MMA fight.

Wrestling is powerful connection and although I'm halfway around the globe it's been interesting to run into people with whom I share that connection. I'll be at Butler's fight and be sure to let you know how he does, and maybe even grab a podcast (backpoints.tumblr.com) with Sims. It's pretty exciting for this young team to compete at a large event in Asia, and a nice showcase foe the talents of an accomplished American wrestler.

If you're an MMA fan be sure to check out my latest article for ESPN on the Top 25 fighters under the age of 25. You'll be certain to recognize a few of the names on the list. If you're not then just imagine that the link is to a story solely about wrestling and help me earn some page views!

To your questions!

Q: Who ya got in PSU-Iowa? I bleed blue and white but worried Iowa could win dual meet? Thoughts??
-- @kingston1990

Foley: You have reason to be concerned. The 2013 Penn State squad might have enough top caliber talent to be as good as any team we've seen the past ten years, but in a matchup with Iowa they're vulnerable to an upset. Most pundits have the match score 6-4 with Iowa winning at 125, 133, 141, 157, 174, and heavyweight. Given that none of those wrestlers earn bonus points, Penn State would have to generate bonus points at 149, 165, 184, and 197. That, or score an upset at one of Iowa's favored weights. So, how do those break down.

The most contested weight of the dual meet will be 174 with No. 6 Mike Evans facing off against No. 4 Matt Brown. Though there is significant moaning about Brown being ranked in the top five, a similar argument might be made against Evans, whose late heroics against then-No. 2 Nick Heflin of Ohio State were impressive, but whose performance against No. 1 Chris Perry was underwhelming. Rankings are fun, but in this circumstance neither wrestler could be considered a huge favorite. Brown, who has losses to "Could he win it?" Robert Kokesh of Nebraska and Logan Storley of Minnesota, will need to work early to keep the action in the middle of the mat. He'll also need to be conservative from top. For his part Evans will need to withstand Brown's early attacks and find opportunities to score on the edge (as he did against Heflin) and look for scoring opportunities in scramble positions. No matter what is prognosticated, this will be a close match and one that could decide the dual meet.

The other factor is bonus points. Quentin Wright is every bit capable of sticking Nathan Burak, and though the young Iowa wrestler is posting big results I doubt his ability to keep the score close enough to stage another legendary Iowa comeback. Though others don't agree, I see David Taylor steamrolling Nick Moore. It's a big match and Taylor will feed off the energy.

I like Penn State by three.

Q: When a dual meet score is tied how do they decide who gets the criteria point? Is the same thing done in high school meets as well?
-- Gregg Y.

Foley: For NCAA competition, according to Rule 3.15, "When two teams finish in a tie in a dual meet or a team-advancement tournament,
the following criteria shall be applied to determine a winner:
3.15.1 Greater number of victories.
Note: Forfeits, defaults and disqualifications count only toward total number of victories.
3.15.2 Combined total of falls and technical falls.
3.15.3 Total match points.
3.15.4 First takedown."

Guy Trinetti Sr., an official from the Greater Cleveland area who has worked multiple state tournaments, forwarded this answer, which comes right from the NFHS rule book. Most matches end up coming down to E/F/G.

A) Flagrant or unsportsmanlike, etc.
B) Greater of team point deductions
C) Penalize greater number of match points
D) Most match wins (forfeits count)
E) Greater number of falls, defaults, forfeits and disqualifications
F) Greater number of tech falls
G) Greater number of major decisions
H) Team having greater number of first points scored
I) Greater number of points for nearfalls
J) Greater number of takedowns
K) Greater number of reversals
L) Greater number of escapes
M) Team penalized the greater number of points for stalling
N) Team warned more often for stalling
O) Team whose opponent has the greater number of points for all other infraction
P) Flip the disc

Multimedia Halftime

Cole Schrupp is a legend with the camera and editing software. I don't have time to watch a 15-minute video on Iowa vs. Minnesota, but I did anyway! This guy needs to be releasing every important promotional video for amateur wrestling.

The NWCA promo for the National Duals. What do you think?

The Iowa Way.

Q: I'll keep a complex question simple. How has Bloomsburg become so good?
-- Tom B.

Foley: I'll keep a complex answer simple. Head wrestling coach John Stutzman.

Q: What do you think about a high school team from Alabama already having close to 100 dual matches? Currently they are 59-38.
-- Mike C.

Foley: I think, "Roll Tide, Y'all!"

Alabama wrestling shows that amateur wrestling has the opportunity to expand and thrive in non-traditional marketplaces. It's exciting to know that we can have a prep team from a state with a relatively new wrestling traditional that has an almost 60 percent winning percentage. Though Alabama will be a football state well after the federal government bans it as a sport, the growth of wrestling is an indication that there were kids whose athletic needs weren't being served.

Success is an essential part of growing a sport in a non-traditional setting, especially in the Deep South where population centers lead to highly defined pockets of talent. In Tennessee it's the Chattanooga/Cleveland area, in Florida it's Oviedo and Brandon, and in Texas it was Bishop Lynch and now Allen -- home of the biggest high school football stadium in the country.

Any successful high school has a talent pool of young wrestlers to train. No matter where you are in the country, creating that talent pool takes dedicated coaches willing to sacrifice every minute of their free time to give their wrestlers the best training and competition available to them. Those guys are the heroes of the sport, and though we think about the big-time programs and coaches, it's the guys hustling minivans across state lines weekend after weekend that keep our sport alive and healthy.

Q: How were the automatic byes determined for the National Duals? I understand Minnesota getting one as they are highly ranked and defending champions. But how did Ohio State (ranked No. 6 by InterMat) and Illinois (ranked No. 8 by InterMat) get one while Oklahoma State (No. 2 and the No. 1 ranked team participating) end up traveling to Kent State? In my opinion, the integrity of the process in determining these and the eventual champion is somewhat flawed. Is this really what we want to decide the NCAA team champion?
-- Tony G.

Foley: There has been a lot of speculation about the National Duals and the system they used to select the teams invited to the championship. To understand a little better what is truth and what is fiction, I reached out to Pat Tocci NWCA for clarification. Tocci said that byes were selected last spring after teams submitted their potential lineups and points assigned to each wrestler listed. The points were tallied and the teams with the four highest point totals were given byes to the finals. He admitted that the "one problem with this method is that the lineups that were submitted at the time can often be different today and have wrestlers now in the lineup that were not even in school at the time."

Why did the NWCA choose to hand out byes? Last year the kerfuffle was that winning teams couldn't plan for travel, which would ensure low fan participation and ruin the event. The solution advanced by J Rob and the NWCA was to guarantee the inclusion of four top teams and add in another four who may or may not bring in fans. This way they can guarantee fans and media exposure.

Regional host schools were selected based on their availability to host the event, sell tickets, and create media buzz. The NWCA selected programs that could meet all these criteria in the hopes that the positive cash flow and attention would further their goal to make these meets a viable product worthy of future discussion.

Though I agree on the surface that it's suspect to see Oklahoma State traveling to Kent State for a meet, I think that the NWCA is doing the best they can with the resources and cooperation that has been made available to them at this point in the process. Hopefully their success will spur others to join and if there is significant cash flow it's also possible that some schools will make their gyms available.

The NWCA is operating in a confrontational environment that makes them vulnerable to criticism from both sides of the National Duals argument. Poor support, lackluster awareness and a suspect model for team selection certainly don't help their situation. Maybe we'll never come to love the National Duals, but many believe that if it were handed over to the NCAA the standards for participation and the quality of event would be much improved. One of the most interesting anecdotes offered during this summer's debate about the viability of a dual meet championship came from an NCAA committee member. He reminded everyone that "love them or hate them everything the NCAA touches turns to gold."

The difficulties facing the National Duals are not a direct reflection on the work of Pat Tocci, Tammy Tedesco, and others at the NWCA; it's a statement of fact about their limited resources in juggling this event plus another half-dozen of national importance. They simply can't make everyone happy, or foresee the consequences of every action. Until we get together and have another productive round of discussions, the wrestling community will continue to be fractured about how best to use dual meets to advance our sport.

Q: If you could put together a college dream team which wrestler would you have at each weight class and why and who would be the coach and why?
-- Gregg Y.

Foley: I love the idea of a dream team, but I hate that it'll likely uncover my biases.

There are two major issues with selecting wrestlers for this list. First, the weight classes have shifted so often that it makes it difficult to fit everyone neatly into their boxes. My solution was to keep 118 as its own weight and then stick with modern weight classes for the rest of list, rounding up or down to match older wrestlers with newer weights. The second difficulty is where to place those wrestlers who've had success at several weight classes. For those guys I chose the place that allowed me to feature another top-level wrestler at a surrounding weight.

Bring on the hate.

118: Barry Davis (Iowa)
125: Stephen Abas (Fresno State)/Yojiro Uetake (Oklahoma State)
133: T.J. Jaworsky (North Carolina)
141: Lincoln McIlravy (Iowa)
149: Kyle Dake (Cornell)
157: Dan Gable (Iowa State)
165: Pat Smith (Oklahoma State)
174: Mark Schultz (Oklahoma)
184: Greg Jones (West Virginia)
197: Cael Sanderson (Iowa State)
285: Kerry McCoy (Penn State)

Coach: Dan Gable.

Gable coaching himself? The time travel plot to Looper?

Q: Why aren't Travis Rutt and Andrew Howe wrestling? I know they are on Oklahoma's roster. Are they both taking redshirt years?
-- Anthony T.

Foley: Both are redshirting. Howe is stilling recovering from the ACL tear he suffered against Jordan Burroughs at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials.

Q: When someone trains at the OTC or the RTC before going to college how does it college affect their eligibility? How does one get accepted into one of these programs and do you think it is a wise choice to do it?
-- Gregg Y.

Foley: Accepted? I think it's up to the executives within the club overseeing the RTCs to decide who they're going to support during their training sessions. Much of that is decided by seeing who is available and if they'd be a good fit within your competition team and for your collegiate wrestlers. The Ohio Regional Training Center accepted Shawn Bunch and Reece Humphrey at the same time even as they were competing for the same Olympic position. That's a bold decision.

The Olympic Training Center. Stay tuned.

Foley's Friday Mailbag: Jan. 25, 2013

Fri, 25 Jan 2013 07:35:27 +0000

Ohio State's Logan Stieber won the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational with a victory over Nathan McCormick (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com)

Foley: Logan will have an enormous impact on the team when he returns to action. When that will be is a good guess. I talked with Reece Humphrey this week for the upcoming Back Points podcast and he said that Logan is battling a hamstring injury. Right now it's not serious, and certainly not season ending, but Tom Ryan and his staff are protecting him from any further damage. Like Humphrey said, the hamstring is a tricky injury that you need to protect because the recovery time can be brutal, especially when the NCAA tournament is only a few weeks away.

The major concern for Buckeye fans shouldn't be how quickly he's back for the dual meet, but how healthy he'll be at Big Tens and NCAAs. It's more important to win the NCAA title than keep it close against Minnesota.

But maybe I'm just being selfish. I took a bet with @muirorless on the number of NCAA titles the Stieber brothers would accumulate for their career. It was a large number.

Update from reader, Jerry: Hoping for February 1st return.

Q: So I just watched the Lance Armstrong interview and I started thinking about the "doping" issue as it pertains to wrestling. Should we as a wrestling community start getting in front of this issue now? Further, do you think that the prevalence of performance-enhancing drug (PED) usage in MMA (which has so many ties to wrestling) will begin to filter into the wrestling world?
-- Unknown #

Foley: I love that you brought up the issue of PEDs in collegiate and professional sports. It would be easy for wrestling to bury its head in the Resilite and avoid the larger issues. As we all know, the wrestling community rarely gets in front of an issue (age restrictions on weight cutting), but being proactive in thinking about change is an important first step to help grow and protect the sport.

Despite your vigilance, there is no PEDs issue in collegiate wrestling. Though there is plenty of talent that graduates from NCAA wrestling to MMA, the negative habits like PED use are picked up in the major leagues, not the minors.

MMA is more susceptible to PEDs for several reasons, but few are as consequential as the extended layoff between camps and the multifaceted training regiments that many fighters claim cause injury. It's easy for a fighter 10 weeks from a fight to be in a cycle, because they can wean themselves off as the fight approaches. For wrestlers the timetable is too crunched to handle the weight flux associated with the use of TRT and high-test PEDS. Wrestlers run a middle distance race and therefore become consumed with the idea of balancing weight with fitness.

To be clear, I agree that MMA is turned upside down with drug use. Over the years I've had several candid discussions with fighters about PED use and most claim that the numbers inside the UFC is well north of fifty percent. This week, our very own Ben Askren is so irritated by the culture of drug use that he became the first MMA fighter to volunteer and pass VADA testing before a main event. He won by third-round corner stoppage.

PED abuse in MMA is more serious than in ball sports because with strength, stamina and rage come real consequences. After years of speculation Rousamir Palhares got dinged for steroids after his TKO loss to Hector Lombard. The Brazilian jiu-jitsu expert is known around the world to be on drugs for many of the world's top grappling contests, and in 2011 his over-developed body and fried mind dislocated an opponent's knee well after the final whistle. You put trust in your opponents in BJJ and MMA, and Palhares, likely because of the roids, was unable to contain his rage. (If you're queasy, don't watch the end of the video. If you live for that shit, it's bookmarkable. If you love seeing dudes survive in impossible situations, watch this.)

On the note of unhinged rage, Vitor Belfort hardly hid his use of PEDs and TRT at his fight last weekend in Brazil. It's unlikely that the two-time former champion even cycled off -- confident enough that his hometown doctors would assist him. The entire event looked a little larger than normal and seeing that much drug use actually makes me hesitant to bet fighters in the future.

Until wrestling starts seeing freaks of this kind take the mat, I think we are still 99.5% clean with little room to worry.

Q: It seems like every week you get a question like "Where is John Doe? He was a four-time state champ and now I can't find him on his team's roster." Why don't you guys do a recruiting rewind feature similar to Rivals where you look at the top recruits from four or five years ago and see where they ended up, how their college careers went, and maybe take a look at some hidden gems that weren't ranked very high coming out of high school.
-- Bobby

Foley: That's not a bad idea. We've done it once before, in 2008, and I think it's a pretty interesting article. Would you want to see it for this year? I can definitely tell you that with the exception of Eric Grajales, the Class of 2009 has been spectacular on the top. I mean, really impressive.

Foley's Friday Mailbag: Jan. 18, 2013

Fri, 18 Jan 2013 08:06:05 +0000

Q: Why was there no Division I National Duals? I'm sure I missed something.
-- @The_Joe_Wood

Foley: They're coming, brother! From what I gather Feb. 17 is the regional round with 16 teams competing in four regions, and the finals are being held on February 22-23 at the University of Minnesota.

Q: Do you know what happened to Jeromy Davenport from Sallisaw, Oklahoma? He verbally committed to the OU Sooners in 2011. He was a four-time state champion. He is not on their roster. I have look on all Division I rosters and can't find him. I was just wondering if he is wrestling anywhere?
-- Jim S.

Foley: Davenport wrestles for Labette and is currently ranked second in NJCAA. Last year he placed fifth for Labette wrestling at 149 pounds.

Q: Do you think Joe McFarland and his University of Michigan staff are disappointed in Eric Grajales and his four-year career so far? So far his body of work is weak. No Big Ten championships and no All-American honors. I thought being in Joe McFarland's program he would thrive.

On TV, when I watch this kid, he wrestles "not to lose." He is a bore to watch. On Friday night, at home, during the Nebraska dual, it came down to Eric. Last match the team needed a major to win the meet, and he crapped the bed. I swear -- even the Big Ten Announcer mentioned, "He seems like he does not want to be here." I concur. I think he is disinterested in wrestling and is just hanging around getting a great education; I have no patience for this and would broom him.
-- Paul L.

Foley: I think that we'll need to see what happens with him at the NCAA tournament. College wrestling ain't easy, and though some guys make the jump with ease, others don't. I met him in 2006 when he was still a youngster in high school and remember him being very kind and with great manners. Tough to be hard on the kid, though I agree I'm sure he and his coach have wanted more production.

I'm a betting man, so I won't tell you what I think will happen at NCAAs, but let's just say I'm pulling for him to finally make the podium.

Did you know that Grajales was the No. 2 overall recruit coming out of high school (by InterMat), behind only David Taylor and ahead of Kyle Dake, Ed Ruth, and Chris Perry? That's pressure.

Q: How do collegiate wrestlers interact with Clubs/ RTCs? Is Metcalf wrestling with St. John and Evans every day? Do they have to do it with no coaches present? Not during the season?
-- Bryan R.

Foley: Good question. The rules change every year, but last I checked Olympic-level athletes training at regional training centers were allowed to wrestle with the collegiate athletes anytime outside the arranged practice time. This translates to some members of the team getting their training in with the club guys on certain days, and their teammates others. Still, legal or not, it's common for club guys to be present at official practices.

There are a plethora of positives in having access to these top-level athletes. Their presence enriches the program by increasing the available knowledge base and by allowing for practices to be held by coach-quality athletes before the official season even begins.

Talking to Jake Herbert and other athletes at regional training centers I find it obvious that the RTC program is improving the U.S. National Team's performance in international tournaments. Some schools might have a competitive advantage, but they're mostly locked in the Big Ten Conference and forced to compete with each other.

Yes, Metcalf is in the room and is wrestling with DSJ and Evans almost every day.

The project continues ...

Don't worry, it's Daniel Cormier's ...

Foley's Friday Mailbag: Jan. 11, 2013

Fri, 11 Jan 2013 17:11:35 +0000

InterMat senior writer T.R. Foley answers reader questions about NCAA wrestling, international wrestling, recruiting, or anything loosely related to wrestling. You have until Thursday night every week to send questions to Foley's Twitter or email account.

Do you want to read a past mailbag? Access archives.

This week Twitter earned another customer when NCAA oddsmaker Brian Muir opened up account as @MuirOrLess. The entendre should speak to the idea that he more or less gets you the odds you need to bet with your friends. The service is free and for podcast listeners (the ranks are swelling each week!) those numbers come in every Wednesday, which means you have ample time to sucker your friends into a terrible bet.

Muir assures me that he'll post the lines for the Iowa vs. Oklahoma State dual on Twitter tomorrow. If you're so inclined to join another social network -- albeit one that you can enjoy voyeuristically and without handing over your high school graduation date -- then look up the InterMat family of Tweeters and read up on wrestling all day long via your mobile device.

Last week's articles on Dake and Taylor took a lot of energy out of the wrestling world this week. We're all falling back into our pre-holiday routine and without the Magic Man and Kid Dynamite to talk about many of us have given up on wrestling for a few weeks. It's understandable, the NCAA wrestling season is far too long. We all reach our saturation point.

But keep your hopes up for next month. We'll be well inside the conference dual meet schedule, with matches that impact seeding at the conference and national tournament start to materialize. And soon after that the most anticipated NCAA tournament in modern history.

Stay tuned, mailbaggers.

To your questions ...

Q: Iowa vs. Oklahoma State. Who are you picking?
-- Brandon H.

Foley: Iowa.

As podcast listeners know I recently acquired a renewed admiration for Hawkeye head wrestling coach Tom Brands. His post-match news press conference following his team's 11-point win over Ohio State was one for the archives. Not only did he admit to an ANGER MANAGEMENT!! problem, he blamed himself for the team's lack of performance. I know that 99 percent of our coaches look in the mirror when things go awry, but how many would self-diagnose a psychiatric issue?

We live in a society where 80 percent of people who show up to a 9-5 office job bite their tongue once a day rather than risk a lawsuit for calling another human a dumbass or for smacking the office print boy for making your cup of coffee too weak. (What's the line on this percentage @MuirOrLess?) Brands is fresh air because he doesn't hold back his emotions. He's like Mike Tyson in that way, nothing inauthentic can pass through his lips. He's honest, and since I started to pay attention, it's become his most endearing quality. In fact, my objective 31-year-old self would send my weakling 18-year-old self to be coached by Brands, I'd have learned how to hand fight and wear yellow without becoming washed out.

I know that you can't smack the copier kid, or stomp your boots when things don't go as planned, but there is a sincerity in holding true to your highest value. Brands' highest value is dominating, and when that eludes him or his team, he doesn't skank roll with his emotions, he plods forward and gets it dinged for stalling.

Kids still want a slick-haired coach to coddle them and tell them that (insert university) will be the springboard to a beautiful wife, picket fence and job at a Fortune 500 company. I only see Brands telling me that I'd have to work my ass off and zip my lip, because "That's how you learn! ... That's how you get better!"

I might poke fun at him on occasion (it's too easy), but I like me some Tom Brands.

Iowa wins 17-16.

Q: So I signed onto TrackWrestling.com the other day to keep up with things at the Southern Scuffle. I'm really excited to watch (in static red and blue animation) Alan Waters take on the Mega-Nico. But wait. I can't find Waters in the brackets. So I scroll through all the comments about President Obama on the Southern Scuffle blog and see that Waters is out for either grades or an injury (no one seemed to know which, but they all seemed to be pretty sure they hate President Obama).

Fine, I think, I'll see what's going on with the Alton brothers. They're always fun to watch. But Holy Smokes, they've weighed in but are not wrestling! From what I find (after a Google search), they've been charged with assault!! (My theory: they've taken to pinning random strangers on the streets.)

So, OK, at least I can watch Dake and Taylor go at it ... several days later on Flowrestling.com.

Then, last Friday, I kick back with a beer and some popcorn, switch on BTN, ready to watch Tony Ramos attempt to stare down Logan Stieber. What the heck?!? Logan is sitting on the sidelines (looking just fine by the way) and poor Ramos is reduced to putting the stink-eye on some guy who looks like Henry from the comics.

What the Sam Hill is going on here? What's the lowdown on all these guys and when will they be back on the mats? And, one more thing, why do I have to go so many different places to figure out what's going on in this sport?
-- John G.

Foley: I would normally trim a question of this length (cough, cough, rant, cough), but you're a nifty little writer. And you have a point.

We here in the wrestling media are still very much in our adolescent phase. There are things that we want to do like the big boys covering the NFL, but budgets are small and therefore our time is limited. As you guys keep buying our services and frequenting the pages, we can make some extra money and send back to you with up-to-the-minute information.

I'm sure we here at InterMat could be a faster and more flamboyant with the dispersal of information, but releasing that information has consequences and therefore can't be done without solid sourcing.

For example, we might have heard from someone that Waters was out of the lineup because President Barack Obama had asked him to consult on a five star panel to discuss new crop-growing methods for farmers in Latvia. However, if we can't confirm that news with a coach, sports information director, and White House Press Secretary Jay Carney, then we can't publish the information. I'd love to be the guy to break the news that Logan Stieber is out 1-2 weeks so that he can complete the final requirements of his Eagle badge, but if I can't get Tom Ryan to confirm the details we are all left to wonder.

In the future, if you email me as questions as they are occurring I can put in a few calls and then post the information in the mailbag. I do favor-based journalism and will seek out solid information on behalf of my readers.

Why? I'm just that sweet.

Q: What's the best wrestling clubs in the U.S.?
-- @BrandonfrmNJ

Foley: The best wrestling club in the nation is The Edge run by Ernie Monaco. I don't do second places because then I'm forced to do a third and fourth place, which would require me list all ten. To be honest, I don't know the high school clubs all that well. However, I can say that for more than 20 years The Edge has been pumping out megawatt superstars.

And here's a little more information. Dave Esposito, one of the smartest wrestling minds I've ever been around, has a second location open in Hoboken, N.J. Along with a staff that includes former DI NCAA qualifier Brandon Kinney I'd expect to see some serious talent finding its way out of The Mile Squared over the next few years.

Q: Majority of college "underachievers" are a result of early physical maturity? Man vs. boy? Or is there a better reason?
-- @eclipsegut

Foley: Recruits can fail for any number of reasons. Your question came after several wrestling pundits on Twitter chirped that we thought Kyle Snyder with be the Harlem Globetrotters of NCAA wrestling. It's always tough to predict how an all-world kid will react once he's in college. In my experience it's as much about psychology as it is talent.

No college wrestling team should seek to have thirty No. 1 wrestlers. It's too many egos with no natural balance. Youth, middle school and high school teams breed role wrestlers and all-stars because the natural separation of talent in a pool of athletes occurs naturally and is reinforced in social circles being developed for the first time. There are bit players, role players, major players and the leader. Like a season of the Real World you can see the same cast in every season.

However, because college wrestling is so competitive sometimes teams with huge superstars can't socially accommodate the egotistical needs of a talented newcomer. The role has already been cast and filled. You might best recognize this psychological theory in the cliché, "The town ain't big enough for the both of us." It's the lack of recognition by wrestlers and coaches that an athlete can't bear to be out of the spotlight that has ruined DOZENS of careers over the past ten years. (This problem is more prevalent in big men because their physical standing often makes them the most popular person at their entire school. Height matters, George Washington wasn't the best general of the 1770's, but he was just the tallest.)

The other reason some all-stars don't work out is their personal inability to deal with defeat. You come from a state where you lost eight or nine times in four years and suddenly the backup two weights down is destroying you in practice. Wrestlers are a strong bunch, but we're very sensitive and it's that vulnerability which can sometimes translate into the cliché known as, "Screw this, I'm out."

High school heroes and the inability to adapt to losing are the two big principals, but the third is technical deficiency from bottom. High school kids and first-year college wrestlers are just bad from bottom. When you can't get out from bottom it can use all types of frustrations, and many more losses than the pundits predicted.

As for the physical disadvantages, it's certainly possible. It's not far fetched that it could impact these guys, but weightlifting is advanced even in high school and many of these bigger kids might not have MAN STRENGTH quite yet, but they can toss another human about with ease.

YOU MUST READ THIS WEBSITE.

http://www.outofedenwalk.com

Any ideas on how we could do something similar for wrestling?

Foley's Friday Mailbag: Jan. 4, 2013

Fri, 04 Jan 2013 07:44:17 +0000

Foley's Friday Mailbag: Dec. 28, 2012

Fri, 28 Dec 2012 15:40:22 +0000

Foley's Friday Mailbag: Dec. 21, 2012

Fri, 21 Dec 2012 06:35:25 +0000

Jack Pinto

Jack Pinto was a Newtown wrestler and member of USA Wrestling. He was a sports-loving kid, who may have one day become a household name for his talents on the mat. He could have been Connecticut's version of Robert Hamlin, a stud from an unlikely state, the standout with a cool nickname. Or maybe he was out next Jordan Burroughs. There's no telling what could have been in Jack's future. It's just as likely that he would have stopped wrestling and pursued lacrosse and gone on to John Hopkins where he'd captain their national championship team. It's all unknown, because his life's story won't be written, it was cut short by the insane actions of a gun wielding lunatic. The loss of every child is a tragedy, but even more so when it comes as the result of a preventable action.

I don't own guns, and I don't really enjoy shooting them. If I did, I'd probably see this tragedy as a cause to stand my ground. Defending constitutional rights is an American past time, and keeping the 2nd intact is as selfish as wanting to personalize a tragedy. After a mass shooting, gun owners buy more guns, larger clips of ammunition, and launch offensive riffs on nighttime TV (Smith & Wesson, Glock, and others have all reported massive profits in 2012). In the Meta sense it's puzzling that death by guns would cause people to want more guns, but on a personal level it's a defensible reaction. You are taught that gun ownership is a right, and now there is a hint that it might be taken away. Preparation is the best defense.

Guns control is a divisive issue, and I know that the wrestling community is filled with avid hunters, including Oklahoma State head wrestling coach John Smith all the way down to my high school coach. But across the spectrum of opinions on gun control from "more is better" to "Melt 'em all" we can probably agree on a few simple and broad statements. There should be fewer military style weapons on the street, elimination of secondary gun sales, and increased penalties for gun-related crimes. They're all important first steps to take.

I'm not a zealot. I live in Chicago, a city soaking in the blood of gun violence, and if I had children I can't say that I wouldn't consider owning a gun for my home. Many proponents of gun control would agree too -- guns are necessary for home protection and rifles are an integral aspect of preserving our country's hunting culture. But AR-15's and semi-automatic rifles with 100 bullet clips? Those are less-defensible, since they're mostly used in military combat, for self-amusement and in the case of Newtown, the mass slaughter of children.

What can be done? As always, innovation should be the answer. Gun technology has stayed primarily unchanged since the 18th century. The guns have gotten way bigger and more advanced, but the simple technology of pulling a trigger to drop a hammer on a bullet has remained static. Could some modernization of the weaponry result in fewer accidental deaths, suicides, crimes of emotion, and mass killings? What if every gun purchased could only ever be fired by the person who purchased that gun? Like in James Bond you could develop a palm print recognition, or other identification techniques. When you want to sell that weapon you have to send it back to the manufacturer before it could be put back onto the market. The killing sin Newtown would have been prevented if that technology was in use.

There are other ideas as well. Make the waiting period for guns 28 days. Mandate two personal references on every application. Broaden the mental health network to include restricting gun sales to those who've shown signs of increased instability. There are plenty of workable solutions to allow for law-abiding gun owners to keep their weapons, but to limit the number of deaths occurring due to gun violence.

I just keep thinking about watching a high school-aged Jack Pinto wrestling. What would he look like? What would be his style? Aggressive and dominating, or tricky and great on top? Would he dye his hair the same color as all his teammates for districts and states? Would he be the team leader, a guy that all his buddies wanted to be like? Would he be popular?

We'll never know. But in the meantime we can work to make something productive come from the tragedy, we can work to become better friends to those in need, and to those who might have lost their grip on reality. We could sacrifice just a touch of our personal freedom in the hopes of saving thousands of lives a year.

If we all agree that something has to change, and that we all would prefer to see Jack Pinto winning a state title than being buried this week along with 19 of his classmates then now is the time to create productive conversations about gun control and mental health. Think about new technologies, new outreach programs, new, new, new.

Leave comments below, but stay reasonable and respectful. We're here to create a positive dialogue, not tear each other down.

Hudson Taylor

Q: I remember a few years back Hudson Taylor had and GLBT sticker on his headgear to show his support for equal rights. That got me thinking ... Has any other wrestler to your knowledge made a social or political statement during competition?
-- Anon

Foley: I don't recall if there were any bold political or social statements made in recent years. However, Taylor has kept with the promise to see equal rights for the LGBT community. He recently established the non-profit "Athlete Ally," which uses the athlete community on campus to create a welcoming atmosphere for LGBT students. You can check out his site, or his twitter at @hudsonism.

You can also check out Taylor at this year's MIdlands where he'll be competing at 197.

Q: Who came up with these matchups for the Grapple at the Garden? Why weren't the upper-ranked teams wrestling other teams of the same caliber? Sure there were a few good duals, but why was Iowa wrestling Bucknell and Hofstra? Or Ohio State vs. Maryland and Hofstra? I feel that the powers that be really wasted a great chance to showcase top notch wrestling.
-- Jefferson T. B.

Foley: The other most emailed topic of the week was the Grapple at the Garden. I wasn't able to make it out of Chicago for Sunday's meet, though many who went reported the same criticism. But let's first look at the positives.

We wrestled in Madison Square Garden. Regardless of the critiques the wrestling community was able to put on an event inside the country's most famous arena. That's just cool. The event showcased some of the best teams, and was able to generate good amount of secondary media coverage, most notably a front-page write-up in the New York Times of Kyle Dake and his pursuit of four titles at four weight classes. Again, that's the NYT and MSG all rolled into one weekend in the middle of the collegiate wrestling season. Very, very good stuff.

I wrote this last week, but wrestling is in its Golden Era. We've never had better access to information, or larger, brighter, more fulfilling events. Just this calendar year we'll have the NWCA All-Star Classic, Grapple in the Garden, Grapple in the Big Apple, Midlands and Southern Scuffle, in addition to the NCAA Tournament. That's an incredible amount of hard work that is resulting in marketable events that have undoubtedly grown our fan base. Wrestling is heading into uncharted territory, and I couldn't be more excited.

As for the critiques ... Yes, the matchups could have been a touch more compelling. I think everyone would have loved to see Okie State and Iowa face off, or Cornell take on Iowa. But these matchups are the ones we were given and while not the VERY best that we could have scheduled there were some exciting matchups.

Others were a little salty about the production value once the matches started. There was difficulty figuring out who was wrestling on which mat, when and what the score was. I think the Olympics have is pegged by displaying a few big screens. I think we should adopt for all out big matches, including the Grapples and NCAA.

Some were a little concerned about the blandness of the interviews being broadcast during the event. I wasn't there, but I assume it's not easy to get compelling, dynamic answers for 9k people from a media-trained athlete on the big screen in MSG.

I'm sure that the committee that ran the event saw some of their own flaws, or places where improvements could be made. The Grapple series will (hopefully) be an annual event and as we grow use to its existence we'll increase attendance and the operators will increase the quality of the product. But out of the gate, I think they're onto something wonderful.

As for the NCAA tournament heading to NYC? That might be too much sticker shock for many fans, though I agree it would be worthwhile to see this guy coaching his team towards a national title.

Happy holidays, wrestling fans. Your questions and comments have made this an exciting and challenging time to be a writer for the wrestling community.

Stay present.

Foley's Friday Mailbag: Dec. 14, 2012

Fri, 14 Dec 2012 08:16:17 +0000

Cory Clark (Photo/John Sachs, Tech-Fall.com)

Foley: Cory Clark went out against the then-No. 2-ranked kid in the country and beat him 6-1. That's not an altogether close score, so I'll assume he can repeat the feat against Delgado, but I don't think he's the second best. That honor belongs to Alan Waters, in my opinion.

However, Clark does prove that if you have to wrestle with that maniac McDonough every day you will get better. You have to get better. McDonough is his reality and being that he's wrestling at Iowa and is likely walking up Carver-Hawkeye on his hands right now, he's a tough little monster. He's not breaking for McDonough.

I wonder if that win will be enough to make him the preseason No. 1 in 2013. That would make Ricky T. (first question above) lose his mind!

Q: My son is a 12-year-old sixth-grader and has been wrestling for the past three years. What do you think the appropriate level of involvement in the sport should be for a kid his age? (I believe in a previous mailbag you addressed this topic and if so, I apologize, I cannot find it). We live in New Jersey and the best kids at his age wrestle year-round. That said, I question whether success at the youth level has a high correlation with success at the high school level. Moreover, burnout and overuse injuries seem to be significant risks with year round training in any sport, particularly in a sport such as wrestling.
-- Tom C.

Foley: Jim Harshaw believes that his kid should run wind sprints after practice, so ... (Subscribe on iTunes!). I'm kidding.

My favorite J-School professor -- the man for whom Aaron Sorkin indirectly used as inspiration for his Newsroom character Charlie Skinner -- once gave our class the best piece of advice I've ever heard about how to handle a moral conundrum. Find a friend. Make that friend your lifelong ally when matters of the morality come up. Call that friend and lay out what's bothering you and then when you ask their opinion, don't listen to their response. Instead, pay attention to what YOU are actually saying to that friend. The best advice is your own, and it sounds to me like you're letting the pressure of the NJ system influence future decisions, or make you doubt older ones.

Wrestling isn't easy. I'm not a parent, but unless my kid is flinging himself at a wrestling mat and sleeping in a headgear, I'd rather him stick to ball sports until his 11th birthday. I think -- and maybe this is where you should tune me out -- it's silly to push your kids into too many practices and summer camps at too young an age, especially if he's uncertain if he likes the sport. Wrestling is right for some kids, but the high school and college wrestling seasons are awfully long and filled with injuries and frustrations. Why put that on a kid who probably just wants to hang out with his friends and kick a soccer ball?

Wrestling is a contact-heavy sport. Oddly, I'd recommend jiu-jitsu for young kids interested in grappling. There is a ton of discipline, kids stay humble, and it stretches a child's problem-solving skills. He or she will also be able to defend themselves for a lifetime, increase their flexibility, and be a monster on top should they ever choose to wrestle.

Whatever you decide, don't allow this to happen ...

More Multimedia Halftime Videos ...

Cutting weight? Jesse Thielke (Wisconsin) posted this on Facebook. It looks like the Japanese women's team is helping one of their athletes lose the last bit of weight via hip toss. I don't know how that works, but it brings up two very interesting discussion topics. Should 16-year-olds of any nationality or gender be cutting this much weight? And what does this video tell us about why the Japanese are the best in the world?

Lots of good judo grips on display. The Ukraine: Pretty much one of the worst countries to find yourself in a parliamentary brawl.

Q: Do you think the MHSAA's (Michigan High School Athletic Association) restricted mile rule of 300 miles (including no team can be at the event that traveled over 300 miles) hurts their wrestler's scholarship potential at all? With so many large tournaments in the Midwest with teams from all over the country (that Michigan teams cannot attend) it seems like wrestlers from other states have a better chance at being seen.
-- Tom B.

Foley: Restricting the travel of high school teams to out-of-state tournaments, or placing mileage limitations on travel absolutely hurts their chances of earning a scholarship. The rule exists across the country, and it seems inspired by Footloose, where memory of long ago car accidents and rumors of bad stuff happening impacts the child's ability to expand their boundaries.

Is there an appeal process?

Q: You have featured questions about how deep 165 and 184 are going to be this year. Here is a link about how deep 285 is going to be this year. Perhaps an argument could be made how deep every weight is, every year.
-- Eugene L.

Foley: You can certainly make an argument for any weight you like, but 165, 184 and 197 stick out to readers because they have more than one NCAA champion at the weight. And in the case of the first two weights they also have very deep rosters filled with multiple-time All-Americans and NCAA finalists.

Q: In past years the Big Ten Network's (BTN) coverage of wrestling was somewhat respectable and seemed to get better each season. However, this season's coverage by BTN is pretty pathetic; two PSU matches, two Iowa matches, and only one or two Minnesota matches (others included but only those for the top tier programs of the conference). Sure, they have an online package, but it costs additional money, even if you upped your TV package to get BTN (more money for something they should televise anyway). It's crazy that I have to see other sports so overdone (basketball, football, and women's volleyball), but the sport that the Big Ten dominates year after year gets such little respect from its own network. Is there any way to organize a coordinated effort to lobby BTN to up their coverage?
-- Ryan P.

Foley: I posted your question on Twitter and received several types of responses. Many thought that the BTN should air more coverage on the broadcast channel, and most scoffed at the idea of paying more for the online coverage.

The BTN is a big company that's driven by profits. When I reported this story last season their PR person made some salient points about viewership numbers across sports and how the viewing habits of wrestling fans impact their need to show matches live. Unfortunately, it seems like not much has changed over the past year. The sports that make money are still given first run and after that they spread the remaining time slots fairly evenly across the sports.

Wrestling is not going to be covered in prime time on any cable or satellite channel, with the notable exception of the NCAA tournament. We need to be realistic about what we can achieve and then develop a plan to cater to that market. Is spending an extra $10 per month for three months ideal? No. But you get what you want relatively cheaply.

Also, I know that BTN's Student U broadcasts can be atrocious. The journalism kids aren't always wrestling junkies, but on the level they do a good job, and since part of the deal is to have the students run some of the broadcasts, they aren't going anywhere soon.

We should voice our displeasure in a respectful way and see where that takes us. But for now lets be understanding of the learning curve, appreciate the access we do have, and find new ways to enjoy our favorite teams compete.

Q: Boehner v Obama?
-- Tom C.

Foley: "Charisma" and "Big Balls."

Foley's Friday Mailbag: Dec. 7, 2012

Fri, 07 Dec 2012 15:34:53 +0000

Keitani Graham and Jake Clark

Keitani Graham, a Micronesian Greco-Roman wrestler who competed at 84 kilos in the 2012 Olympics, died earlier this week of undisclosed causes. The Chuuk native was home working as the executive director of a non-profit. Graham was a close friend and training partner of Minnesota native Jake Clark. The duo trained in Hawaii, where Clark had moved a few years ago to train and start the Hi-Flyers Wrestling Club. From Clark's Facebook:

Nearly every photo I have of Keitani Graham is one of him talking to or working with kids. As you can see by the looks on everyone's face, Kei was an amazing person with such a kind heart! Gone way too soon... Miss you Buddy, Kinnisou (thanks in Chuukese) for all that you've done for our sport, and for all that you did in helping build the Hi Flyers!!!

RIP, Keitani Graham.

Foley's Friday Mailbag: Nov. 30, 2012

Fri, 30 Nov 2012 15:59:25 +0000

Shawn Bunch (Photo/John Sachs, Tech-Fall.com)

Foley: I recently traveled to San Jose to profile Daniel Cormier for the cover of FIGHT! Magazine, and spent some time watching Bunch train at American Kickboxing Academy (AKA). What struck me most was how dedicated he was to making a quick, but solid transfer from wrestling to MMA. He lives with Mo Lawal in San Jose and from all my conversations that weekend with Bunch and later with Mo, it's apparent that he and Bunch spend all their free time watching old fights. Lawal is the most well-educated, well-versed fighting expert I've ever met (not just "for a fighter," I mean overall). He has instant recall of 4k fights and with many of them on video he's showing Bunch that to win you have to be a student of the sport.

Bunch's standup seemed to be coming along. Like many wrestlers he'll go out and at least look like he can throw a punch, but without more time in the cage I'd expect that Bunch's first match with be a few jabs, a few parries and a big double leg attack. From there I'd expect some ground and pound and possibly a choke. He's a talented competitor and should do really well in the sport.

Q: I saw Taylor Massa wrestle a number of times throughout his high school career. He dominated most of his high school competitors ... but will have to get quite a bit better to be a top-flight college wrestler. I see he lost earlier this season to a then-unranked wrestler. Have you seen him wrestle?
-- Jim C.

Foley: Only on video. Taylor Massa is the future and wrestling fans are always excited about young talent challenging the more seasoned competitors. I commend Massa and the Michigan staff for keeping the kid at 165. I know there was probably a little temptation to see him bump to 174 and take on a less crowded field, but instead they've chosen to let him hash it out in arguably one of the toughest weight classes in the history of the sport. If Massa responds and finds a place anywhere on the podium, it'll signal the real possibility that Michigan will have another three-time All-American and two-time NCAA champion-caliber wrestler on their roster.

Q: Is Kevin Jackson on the hot seat this year? The Cyclones do not appear to have gotten much better under his tenure and I would think a loss to ODU wouldn't help his cause. Is Steve Martin a coach who could be considered for other openings at bigger programs based on what he's done at ODU?
-- Daniel L.

Foley: The wrestling community is tight knit and talking with coaches and wrestlers there is an army of top-flight wrestlers that are loyal to Kevin Jackson and point to him as the man who led them to success on and off the mat. He's got a great reputation as a leader, so it's tough to write, but you're probably correct. The 2012-2013 season would need to turn around in a hiccup from Jackson to have any real chance of keeping his job for another season.

The life of a college wrestling coach is no longer just technique and discipline. The CEO coach is the new norm, and though I have no idea how Coach Jackson conducts the business of Iowa State wrestling, I can see plainly that the product they're producing isn't up to the level that many Cyclone fans have come to expect. However, it is totally possible that he's been able to create a wider, more proactive fundraising base giving himself more time to sort out the on-the-mat issues the team seems to be enduring. He also may not have done that type of work.

Like with any sport that receives media attention, it never seems too early to speculate on who might replace a head coach, but I don't want to trek that path right now. Coach Jackson deserves the rest of the season to focus on creating a competitive team for the Big 12 and NCAA tournaments.

MULTIMEDIA HALFTIME

I can't post the following video of my appearance on MMA Live without acknowledging it's totally self-aggrandizing. However, it's about wrestling so it's relevant to the mailbag. We rundown Chuck's list of the top five MMA wrestlers as a way to introduce my article on the top ten MMA wrestlers. It's an ESPN Insider piece, which means it costs about the same as an InterMat Platinum subscription to sign up, but with it you get access to all types of info on baseball, football, betting, etc. If you decide to invest, make sure to sign up from the landing page of my article -- makes me look good to the higher-ups.

I CHOOSE not to take the stairs ...

Q: Any word on the fate of the EWL after the departure of Pitt and WVU? Joining the MAC would make some sense.
-- S. Greida

Foley: The EWL might be in some trouble. When Pitt leaves next season the EWL will have five teams remaining: Bloomsburg, Clarion, Cleveland State, Edinboro and Lock Haven. That's enough for the NCAA but in the times of mega-conferences and consolidating overhead costs, it might be prudent for the EWL to fracture and send teams shopping or new organizations.

Though I'll try and predict where each goes, know that there are internal dynamics at work in the athletic administrations of most colleges. The athletic directors or school president might be besties with a conference president, or more likely wrap the wrestling team into a larger deal to find profits in football and basketball. It's an almost impossible Jenga to solve with so many pieces missing.

Cleveland State should go to the MAC. It's a regional affiliate and will help boost their recruitment of local talent by giving them a more competitive conference affiliation.

Lock Haven and Clarion should join the EIWA.

Edinboro and Bloomsburg should head to the SoCon.

Yes, you read that last part correctly, the Southern Conference. Adding a few Pennsylvania schools to the mix will increase the national competitiveness of the conference. It's a regional nightmare, but with prestige comes attention, comes money. It's a bold move, but it could really work well to distribute talent across the eastern seaboard.

Q: First: I have noticed that another Rosholt brother has broken the barrier of the top 20 national rankings. Seeing this an opinion-based question came to mind (kind of with a static and factual answer), but who would you say is the most successful wrestling family in most recent years?

Second: Seeing the success of so many families/brothers in recent years in the sport, who would you say is the most successful group of wrestling twins competing today?
-- Christian O.

Foley: The Rosholts are a good choice. I know that right now there are a few dozen of them sitting in house for John Smith to call and give 'em a pre-match slap on the rear.

Though there are actually only three Rosholt men (Jake, Jared, and Blake), I think that an All-American performance or two by Blake would make them the most successful family in terms of numbers of family members. However, in terms of All-American and NCAA titles the top family from the past 15 years is the Sandersons family, led by Cael (four time NCAA champion), Cody (two-time NCAA runner-up), Cyler (two-time All-American), and Cole (four-time NCAA qualifier).

Twins? Oy. Let's go with the Trent and Travis Paulson. I like 'em and they're still on the freestyle circuit!

Q: Do you know anything about an Illinois high school wrestler named Ronnie Sribniak? I see on YouTube Ronnie had quite a spladle move (which I enjoyed seeing Nick Simmons use during his college career). I wonder if Ronnie has since gone on to college to wrestle? I know he was a pretty good pole-vaulter as well. Just wondering.
-- Jim C.

Foley: I don't think I've heard of Ronnie. However, I do love a spladle! At Virginia our starting 141-pounder decked dozens of guys with his own version of a spladle. In fact, it was such a popular move that head coach Lenny Bernstein even named his dog Spladle.

Q: Just curious about what has happened with Pat Downey? I am a wrestling fan in Maryland and he was quite the hot topic on the forums. Last I heard, he was done at OTC and committed to Nebraska. I looked on their roster and he is not there. I also heard Oregon State was in the mix, but do not see him there either. Is he staying at OTC or becoming wasted talent?
-- Joe P.

Foley: He committed to Nebraska last week.

Foley's Friday Mailbag: Nov. 23, 2012

Fri, 23 Nov 2012 14:01:41 +0000

The Chinese women -- who I've seen practice -- are incredibly, almost scarily, intense. In a nation of 1.3 billion people the opportunity to become an Olympic athlete is extraordinary and the women here are all fighting for that glory, recognition and financial windfall. There aren't many employment opportunities for Chinese women from the country that have the type of respect, income and independence enjoyed as an Olympic-level athlete. That national competition has created better international athletes.

The Mongolians are bull strong bad-asses who work insanely hard and enjoy the support of a country obsessed with wrestling. I love wrestling, but when practicing with the Mongolian women it was obvious that their affection was obsessive. At one of the open practices with the men's and women's national team the women were on the mat for an extra hour drilling, sharing moves and
otherwise enjoying their time together. Did I mention they're bull strong? It's unreal.

Success breeds imitation and each of these countries has seen the positive press that comes from their women doing well and have upped their investment via coaches and salaries for the wrestlers. For the Mongolians it's a good opportunity to win World and Olympic medals, something that isn't easy for a nation of 3.5 million people. The Japanese want to continue to be the best and will work hard to protect that stature. The Chinese are grinding away, playing the numbers game and hoping for an internationally competitive team year-in and year-out.

This answer only touches on all the reasons why the Asian women are out-competing the world. Any further explanation would require all of 15k words, which is too much reading for Turkey Day!

Q: My daughter and I really enjoyed your selection of Teddy Roosevelt for your hypothetical Thanksgiving dinner. We are big fans, including of his Man in the Arena quote. Still, given the choice, I would have picked our greatest president, Lincoln. Did you consider Lincoln when you were making your selection?
-- Bill R.

Foley: Thanks, Bill! I did consider Lincoln, but with the new Spielberg movie and all the hype around Lincoln's wrestling career, I thought he'd be too obvious a selection. Looking back on the choices I really just went with my gut feeling. However, you're right and after some reflection I agree that the tall man should have enjoyed a place at the table. If I'm not allowed to add any more seats to the table then I'd be forced to push out a diner. Give the premise of your original question, I'm going to ask Bourdain to leave. That loss would leave us with nobody to comment on the food. I'd be devastated.

Q: I am from Michigan and this year St. Johns High School has four seniors who have verbally committed to Big Ten schools. There is a fifth who is leaning towards Big Ten as well. Last year they sent three other wrestlers into the Big Ten. Which high school has sent the most wrestlers into Division I wrestling in the past few years? Which high school has sent the most wrestlers to Division I in one graduating class? Which high school has sent the most wrestlers into the Big Ten in the past few years, and which has sent the most to the Big Ten in one graduating class?
-- Steve B

Foley: I gave this gem to our in-house high school wrestling specialist, Josh Lowe.

St. Johns' 2013 Commitments:
Josh Pennell to Michigan State
Brant Schafer to Indiana
Payne Hayden and Ben Whitford to Michigan
Jacob Schmitt to Northwestern

St. Johns' 2012 Commitments:
Travis Curley and Jordan Wohlfert to Michigan State
Taylor Massa to Michigan

St. Edward's 2013 Commitments:
Colin Heffernan to Central Michigan
Markus Scheidel to Columbia
Edgar Bright to Pitt
Domenic Abounader to Michigan
Dean Heil to Oklahoma State

I would say that it is extremely rare to have five from a single school in one year and/or eight in two years move on to wrestle at the Division I level, especially in a power college program setting.

Q: Any comment on all the sets of brothers currently wrestling for the same team and doing well? There seem to be a lot.
-- @dmarble33

Foley: Wrestling is the world's greatest family tradition. Whether it's a shared bloodline that gives brothers their toughness, or it comes from an urge to compete with each other on a daily basis, wrestling is always filled with great examples of successful brothers.

There are too many wrestling brothers to name without missing some giants, but I always think about brothers in terms of the twins. My closest experience with twins on the mat was wrestling with Scott Moore at Virginia. He transferred from Penn State where his brother remained to finish out his eligibility. Scott was 141 and Josh 133 and though they never wrestled each other in competition, every pin (and there were something like 248 between the two that season) and every ranking was measured against the other.

Scott Moore (Photo/Danielle Hobeika)

Scott was so used to direct competition with someone that when he got to Virginia he pressured me to compete with him in almost everything. We were in the same grad program, so suddenly every test score was compared to his score. Though he'd go on to set the NCAA record for falls that season, he actually had me trying to compete with him for falls in a season! It's laughable now, because I had no chance to ever win, but I did earn more falls in my senior season (13) than I had in the previously four years (12). I also got better grades. In fact, if it weren't for Scott and his incessant urge for brother-like competition I don't know that I would have achieved my goals that season. The two are that impossible to separate.

Scotty was a big reason I had success that season, but my brother was also on that squad! He was a redshirt, so it wasn't a directly competitive relationship. In fact, I think that having him around helped balance and mature me for the season, someone who knows when you're full of horse crap is always helpful in keeping you modest and grounded.

I have four brothers and can tell you that each had a significant impact on my career. They are all uglier, shorter, less-athletic versions of me, but they're still pretty great guys! I kid, I kid.

Brothers and family are what make the wrestling worthwhile. Fans forget and newspapers don't remember your name. It's family, your brothers, who will celebrate your sacrifices and keep you honest.

Foley's Friday Mailbag: Nov. 16, 2012

Fri, 16 Nov 2012 08:04:29 +0000

Dan Gable: The most obvious answer on the list, but also the last personality I thought to add. In recent years Gable has been a scion of unintentional comedy with his short videos training and talking. But I wouldn't invite him for humor, or even to tell me stories of wrestling matches, I'd just want to know about how he raised his children while becoming the greatest coach in NCAA history. It's fascinating that he found time and probably did a decent job balancing those commitments.

Teddy Roosevelt: I think a lot about the history of wrestling and Roosevelt's perspective (and his rundown for rules of his time) would be beneficial to my Wrestling Roots project. Teddy helped commission the NCAA and it would be interesting to see what he thought of the organization's most current iteration. I'm assuming he'd find the nitpicking both annoying and at odds with the association's original charter. I also dig his initials.

Ottavia Bourdain: She's a blue belt jiu-jitsu fighter under Renzo Gracie in NYC. I'd use my superpowers to invite her, knowing that she'd likely bring her husband, former chef, world traveler and television host Anthony Bourdain. I believe every man should be allowed a professional crush, and mine is on Bourdain. His new show "Parts Unknown" begins next April. In the meantime, if you don't know much about him, find the time to inform yourself and pick up one of his books (My favorite was "A Cook's Tour") or queue up old episodes of his Travel Channel show No Reservations, including this rather timely one.

Alexander Karelin: How did it feel to lose to Rulon Gardner? How did it feel to go home and not enjoy the parades, and to read the newspapers and watch the television? I'd sit the big fella next to Gable. They'd certainly have a lot to chat about.

Butch Foley (right) has a place at the Thanksgiving table

My Dad: He didn't compete in college, but like many wrestling fathers, he was the person that kept me focused and motivated -- often without being too pushy. (GO BEARS!) Wrestling in Vegas, St. Louis, or just in Charlottesville, my dad or mom would always show up, and often an hour or two early just in case I needed a drink or some food after weigh-ins. Hell, he even worked to pay my tuition when I wasn't on scholarship. It was a lot of time and money spent on my career and I think the least the man deserves is a nice dinner with a former president, a couple Olympic champions and, of course, Anthony Bourdain.

Q: Is the NWCA really going to keep Minnesota as the top team in the country?
-- Frank W.

Foley: By "they" I think you mean the coaches.

I agree. There is the undeniable stench of retribution in the NWCA rankings. Maybe it's just me, but it seems irresponsible to demote the defending NCAA champions without having them lose talent (aside from Frank Molinaro), suffer an in-season loss, or be the victim of some other troubling development. Penn State has only gotten better in the offseason. So what gives?

The working theory is that Penn State is being punished by eight of the ten coaches who vote on the rankings, for having been the main cheerleaders against the dual meet championships. Minnesota was eager to get the ball moving, and since the NWCA has oversight of the rankings, may have wink-wink'ed the panel into reflecting their anger towards Penn State. It's a tough thing to prove, and is tenuous (if only because wrestling coaches don't like being told what to do), but can you come up with a compelling argument to rank Minnesota over Penn State?

The only rationale is that Penn State lost to Minnesota at the start of last season, but that was 12 months ago. And Cornell beat Minnesota 12 months ago, leaving little objective proof that Minnesota should outrank Penn State.

But the fear for many in State College is that because they do not have a dual meet against Minnesota this season, the Nittany Lions will miss out on the NWCA's recognition as dual meet champion, even though they are (on paper) the superior team.

Let the season play out and if the coaches are really aligning now I'm sure we'll have a much clearer vision of which team is No. 1 after both teams compete at the Southern Scuffle in January.

Q: What's your prediction for UVa. vs. Iowa?
-- James M.

Foley: I'm guessing 24-12 in favor of the Hawkeyes, but don't be surprised if the 'Hoos win in some unexpected spots and make a run at the upset. Of course if they drop the close matches it could end up the other way, but I trust in my pal Steve Garland to bring the heat on Brands and company.

Q: What is your take on high school wrestlers moving to a different school for athletic reasons? Like kids going from the East going to Blair and Wyoming Seminary, kids in Minnesota and North Dakota going to Apple Valley, kids in Michigan going to St. Johns and Detroit CC, etc. What is there to gain? What do they lose?
-- Steve B.

Foley: I've answered similar questions in the past and think this is pretty consistent.

Though I understand it's annoying to be in the district of a school that recruits wrestlers, I can't fault parents for wanting to seek out the best for their children. Like it or not, amateur athletics has become semi-professional, and with the rising cost of tuition, a parent who has the flexibility to accommodate their son's (or daughter's) wishes to be the best is partly doing so to trim off some of what could be a $150k tuition bill. If I were a parent and my son (or daughter) had a legitimate shot to earn a college scholarship by moving schools, I think I'd find a way to make it happen.

However, if we are talking about a kid who is .750 in high school and probably won't get a scholarship, but wants to be on the area's winning program? That's a little less tasteful. But again, whatever is best for your child is what's right.

MULTIMEDIA HALFTIME

Are you having a tough week? Tom Brands dancing at age 2. (Do yourself a favor and watch the entire clip. The ending is a tribute to the power of self-assurance.)

Chase Pami entered the NYAC International. Chase Pami won the NYAC International. Chase Pami's face lost at the NYAC International.

Q: A couple of weeks ago I did some research on the men's Olympic medalists, 56 medals were awarded to men. As near as I could figure 30 of them came from the area between the Black Sea and Caspian Sea and a few 100 miles north (Southern Russia) and South (Iran) that area. It looks like an area not much bigger then Texas. Can you uncover any reasons why this small area is so successful?
-- Steve G.

Foley: Many of the Olympic wrestlers were from North Ossetia, South Ossetia, Chechnya and Dagestan, the four southernmost Russian states and home to inarguably the greatest wrestlers in the world. The talent pool is so deep that other countries came in and recruited them to compete under their flag.

Prepare to be shocked, but the Olympics aren't quite as nationalistic as you'd hope. Many wrestlers have recently decided to forfeit their Russian citizenship in order to earn spots (and cash) wrestling for countries like Georgia, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, and Turkey. It's a gamble, but for many it's a decision that can earn them tens of thousands of dollars and a real chance at earning Olympic glory. The most successful of these Ruskie expats is heavyweight Artur Taymazov who in 2012 won his third Olympic gold in freestyle for Uzbekistan.

The trend doesn't seem to be slowing down, and it's certainly not limited to wrestling in the Caucuses. Countries have the prerogative to add any citizen they believe will add to their relative greatness, and though you and I might want to call bullshit, take a look-see at America's 2012 Olympic roll call. We all have our motives.

Jordan Frishkorn

Q: Any word on whatever happened to Jordan Frishkorn out of Great Bridge High School several years ago? His older brother Daniel was an All-American at Oklahoma State as a freshman, and then Jordan committed to Oklahoma State as well but never surfaced. I know Daniel had a career-ending car wreck (from what I heard), but Jordan was still in high school then. What happened to him?
-- Daniel L.

Foley: As recently as 2011 he was wrestling for Shorter College, even making an appearance at the Adam Frey Classic. According to some friends he's now coaching at Cave Springs High School in Roanoke, Va.

Q: Do wrestlers despise Thanksgiving? While others are pigging out and indulging, many wrestlers have to be cautious. Was Thanksgiving ever fun for wrestlers when you competed? How did your team handle Thanksgiving and competing when you were in college?
-- Matt K.

Foley: We enjoyed a fairly lenient Thanksgiving break. Many of my teammates were from New Jersey, New York, and Virginia, which meant relatively short drives home, or to family members' houses. I spent every Thanksgiving with my parents, though I usually chose to leave on Friday morning to find a workout on grounds.

For me being back at school was as much a matter of keeping a somewhat consistent schedule as it was about trimming weight. Like many wrestlers I also believed I'd gain an edge on my opponents by sacrificing just a little more than them, that when the close match came I'd have more to protect from losing -- "I didn't miss Thanksgiving for five years just to lose now ..." That might have been the case, but looking back I would have benefited ten-fold had I just done some squats and learned some solid defense before going into my funk. Sprawling works.

I think wrestlers look forward to Thanksgiving. Yes, there is the sacrifice many make to not go back for seconds, but we do have a chance to see our relatives and friends from home. Thanksgiving is about indulging in food, like Christmas is about being spoiled with material gifts. I seriously doubt that Thanksgiving is the only big meal for many of our readers, just like Christmas isn't the only time our loved ones give us gifts.

Thanksgiving is one of the few times that our entire work-crazed country agrees to take a moment from work and spend time with each other. Make of it what you can. Eat if you can eat, but always remember to hug your father, kiss your mother, and spend time with loved ones. Just please be careful when
frying the turkey.

Foley's Friday Mailbag: Nov. 9, 2012

Fri, 09 Nov 2012 17:37:37 +0000

All Chinese are not peaceful Kung-Fu artists with an aversion to violence. I saw more street fights in one month in China than I have in 31 years in America.

All Asians are NOT the same and don't look alike. In fact, many don't like each other, namely the Chinese and the Japanese and the Chinese and the Mongolians.

Please don't think of putting up a photo of the Karate Kid and Mr. Miagi, it will only make you look like an asshole.

Not super related, but we did change the presentation of K. Undrakhbayar's name in our rankings to the more familiar patronymic structure. The first letter represents his father's name and leaves his name as the stand-alone. If you cheer for him at NCAAs, and it looks like you will after he beat No. 9 Zach Neibert last week at the Hokie open, just can just call him "Ugi."

Q: Unfortunately, I am underway at the moment and couldn't stream the All-Star video - bandwidth for 3,000 of my closest friends on a ship is not so great. I will be pulling into a foreign port relatively soon so I hope something is still up and we the Internet to support it. I was able to get onto InterMat's live blog, which was the next best thing; it was awesome for guys in my situation! Big thank you to you guys!

Do you think Dake did just enough to win, lucky even? Seemed to me like Taylor was the aggressor; do you think Dake should have gotten hit for a second stalling call? Who got the most out of this match?
-- Kelin F.

Foley: Thanks for reading. We had an impressive number of readers following along and though we had some trouble keeping a few knuckleheads from posting inappropriate or annoying commentary we were pleased to deliver our readers the action in real time.

As for THE MATCH, I don't think Dake was passive enough to get dinged with another stall call. When the momentum shifted and it was obvious Dake would play defense on his feet in the second overtime he took a shot that -- though half-spirited -- eliminated the stall call. Point protection isn't a bad thing and though he was blocking off Taylor's offense, it wasn't yet a true stall. Just my opinion, though I see how it might have been called in the NCAA finals.

After the event Dake talked about the match and said that they both had stayed in good position which limited their offensive opportunities. I thought Dake looked a little nervous and that Taylor was more comfortable through the match, changing levels and finding holes with which to attacks. But ultimately neither could break out and create more than the one scramble for offensive control.

Overall, I think Taylor comes out with some momentum. He was stunned by Dake's flurry, but he seemed more confident after this match than he did after the Olympic Trials. I'd have to talk to Muir but I think if they meet at the Southern Scuffle the line will be a pick 'em.

We should also take a moment to remember that Tyler Caldwell of Oklahoma State will also be wrestling for the crown this season.

Q: My feed didn't work and cancelling my Flo subscription is a pain in the ass.
-- Eric H.

Foley: Many of you guys wrote in to ask to me to comment on the live feed. Muir and I streamed it at my apartment, drank beer, ate skirt steak and had a good time with the feed. The lighting was bad, but I thought announcer Ian McCutcheon did an excellent job describing the action. As for the color commentary, I subscribe to the Joe Rogan School of Commentary that states the second announcer should bring the technical ruckus and choose his moments wisely. Get excited, but don't yell. (Rule No. 3 would be to where a dark button-up shirt sponsored by Affliction.)

The other issue you emailed about was cancellation. I can only go by the emails forwarded to me and looking through those I agree that the process seems frustrating, and a little irritating especially when asked to re-send portions of your credit card number via email. I'm sure Martin and the crew will get around to the job this month, though it's surprising there wasn't a better system in place. I know that they wanted to roll out some new series right after the match and were hoping people would stay. Maybe delaying cancellation extends that opportunity.

Streaming is getting better and less expensive, which means several more companies will be making the move into NCAA wrestling. I'm not sure they'd ever do wrestling, but the best stream in combat sports is Budo Videos (apologies to USA Wrestling who also does a killer job). On the Sunday following the All-Star Classic, Budo offered a simultaneous nine camera feed of the IBJJF No-Gi World Championships. The video quality on all mats had an option for HD, and there was one mat that had "featured commentary" from two funny and informed hosts. The cost was $10.95, which I paid in the form of a one-time PayPal fee and allowed me to watch the feed for more than six hours. I never had any issues and loved the content, so I was floored the next morning when they sent me an email giving me access to any of the matches I wanted to see again! Videos I'd paid to watch yesterday available to me the next day and forever more. That is an INCREDIBLE learning tool and certified to me that I'd made an intelligent investment.

Wrestling can get there soon. Competition will dictate an improvement in services and a more open pay structure. And despite some major bumps, Flo is helping us get to a point where eventually we can enjoy wrestling in the types of feeds that Budo creates.

Q: It's funny how I am using my scholarship checks from OSU to pay for my student loans from OU.
-- @TCaldwell165

Foley: These gems are why you need to be on Twitter.

Q: How many of the teams in D1 had an NCAA qualifier last year? Do you think there is more parity in D1 now or 10 years ago? Do you think more parity would be a good thing for wrestling?
-- Tom B.

Foley: 2012

64 of 77 Division I teams had an NCAA qualifier in 2012

32 teams had at least one All-American

College wrestling seems to be trending towards parity, but it's tough to know how deep that parity extends without going through the past fifteen years and counting how many programs existed, and then seeing how many had NCAA qualifiers, All-Americans and champions.

Here is a list of the teams that have placed in the top four since 2002 along with how many times. (Please excuse if I'm incorrect about your team. It's an honest mistake, but my glasses are broken and I am getting old.)

(7) Iowa
(5) Oklahoma State
(4) Minnesota
Iowa State
Oklahoma
Cornell
(3) Penn State
(2) Lehigh
Ohio State
Nebraska
(1) Missouri
Northwestern
Michigan
Wisconsin

There have been 44 trophies handed out to 14 teams over the past 11 years with an average pool size of 82 teams. Pure parity would mean that each team would earn a trophy once every six years. However, only 14 have which means that 68 teams haven't. Not great parity, but comparable at a glance to many professional sports.

MULTIMEDIA HALFTIME

Havre de Grace for $10 million. Unreal. I ask you: Which wrestler would earn the highest bid for studding?

Q: With all the Dake/Taylor talk Matt McDonough seems to be flying under the radar, even though he is looking to be a three-time champ and four-time finalist, something that's been done all of three times (excluding Cael and Pat Smith). Where do you put him in the pantheon of greatest lightweights ever alongside Brands, Davis, Guerrero and Abas, as well as anyone else I've forgotten? It's mostly that we have possibly the greatest lightweight to ever wrestle who is going totally unnoticed. Your thoughts?
-- Joseph N.

Foley: You are completely correct. It's kinda bullshit that we stopped talking about McDonough when the Dake vs. Taylor match bubbled up. McD is already an NCAA and Iowa wresting legend, and I fully expect that he'll become a three-time NCAA champion this season. I'll do my part to make sure we recognize him a little more this season. Unfortunately for Iowa wrestling fans, the sport's two biggest stars in the same weight and wrestling for East Coast teams make it tough for McD to get the recognition he deserves.

Q: As I read the write-up about the PSU intrasquad meet, I noticed that Andrew Alton did not compete at 149 pounds, or at all for that matter. Why was that? Was it because he was with his twin brother, Dylan, at the NWCA All-Star Classic? Or because he is already a lock at that weight? If so, why did other locks such as Ruth and Matt Brown wrestle? Also related to the PSU intrasquad meet write-up: Gullibon was noted to be "probably" redshirting. Does this make sense given the fact that he could likely be the best chance at points each dual and tournament for the team? Think of what his teammate at 125 did last year as a true freshman. Thoughts?
-- Ryan P.

Foley: Don't fret. Andrew Alton was just nursing a minor injury. He'll be ready to go for the Big Ten season.

I emailed with Cael a few weeks ago regarding Gulibon. He thinks he should take a year to redshirt, and I tend to agree with his decisions. Megaludis is a freak and had an incredible NCAA tournament, but what made him appealing last year was a lack of any viable options at 125 pounds. From what I understand there are people in Happy Valley that think Jordan Conaway or Frank Martellotti could wrestle themselves into the NCAA tournament. Would Gulibon definitely be a big improvement? I guess they'd rather just wait a year and get him stronger.

Foley's Friday Mailbag: Nov. 2, 2012

Fri, 02 Nov 2012 06:22:46 +0000

Q: Your thoughts on Ian Paddock winning Ohio State's wrestle-off at 141 pounds and being named one of the team captains in Columbus? It seems the "easy" choice would be to redshirt Hunter Stieber, but it seems the Ohio State staff hasn't quite decided that yet. Again, your thoughts?
-- Jason R.

Ohio State's Ian Paddock battles Penn State's Andrew Long at the 2011 Big Ten Championships in Evanston, Ill. (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com)

Foley: You make those decisions with care. What if Paddock gets hurt and Stieber gets bloated in redshirt and can't drop down to compete? Doubtful, but Ohio State has a trophy-worthy team and with competition for the top places at NCAAs tightening up very year with increased parity, you can't afford to have perfectly good points sitting the bench.

As for Paddock? Good for him winning the starting spot away from a returning All-American. Though I don't put too much into wrestle-offs between teammates, Paddock also earned Tom Ryan's approval to be a team captain, which is a role that I know Ryan takes very seriously. Whoever is in there, I don't think there is much of a competitive difference. If Stieber does redshirt, it'll mean big things for the Buckeyes in a few years.

Multimedia Halftime!

Dance, Dance Revolution. I now do this while I cook. The results aren't nearly as impressive. (H/T Cliff)

Election Truths by Tom Brands

Q: Do you think Kyle Dake will win his fourth NCAA title this year and if he does will he go down as the greatest collegiate wrestle? Or will Cael Sanderson still hold that title?
-- Gregg Y.

Foley: I do think he'll win a fourth title this season, but it'll be difficult for him to overtake Cael as a unanimous selection as greatest of all time. I do think that you can make a compelling argument based on the competitiveness of his weight classes, that he never would have redshirted, did it from the Ivy League, and of course competed at four different weight classes in four years. However, what was remarkable about Cael as a wrestler was that he never lost. Not once did he slip up, fall down or break. I don't know if he ever got sick or injured, but if so those impediments did happen, they certainly never got in his way. I think that Dake and his supporters will find an appropriate title should he win a fourth championship. He's already had a record-setting wrestling career and I'm sure that those records he's broken will remain in his honor for years and years to come. In fact if he wins four at four weights he'll not only be the first to do it, but it'll be an unbreakable feat.

Q: The reports I have followed had Mark Grey, Alex Cisneros, Brian Realbuto, Gabe Dean, and Steve Congenie all going to Cornell this season. What happened? They're not on the roster.
-- Jim F.

Foley: I haven't had the time to ask, but I'd imagine they are taking a semester or two at Ithaca College and looking to transfer over to school next year. They might also be sitting out the first or second semester in order to qualify for a fifth year at Cornell. Of course there is no redshirting in the Ivy League so the wrestlers there have to find creative ways to sit out a season when necessary. It's not uncommon and I don't think it's wrong. College wrestling is an enormous adjustment. The Ivy League is a difficult place to take classes. Some kids need more time, and I think that Cornell and other schools in the Ivies are right to find ways for some students to take an extra semester to finish their work and get a full four years on the mat.

Q: Dake or Taylor?
-- Andrew H.

Foley: Dake.

I think it'll be by two or more points. I just can't build a hypothetical match in which Taylor can get a lead and hold that lead for an entire match.

A touching anecdote about Jeff Blatnick:

I wrestled and coached at Springfield College (Jeff's alma mater) from 1994-1999. Jeff was in short one of my heroes. Every time I entered the wrestling room I walked by his national champion plaque and I must of touched it 1000 times. He came to train with me (as I was a heavyweight as well) on several occasions -- something which motivated and inspired me to work hard and achieve my goals. Jeff was always humble and we treated him like a celebrity which he was never comfortable with. But my story about him that truly speaks to the type of man he was is not a wrestling story at all. One of my classmates at Springfield (who was friends with several wrestlers on the team) contracted the same type of cancer (Hodgkins). Because she was a friend of the team, word about her condition got to Coach Arroyo, who mentioned it to Jeff. Jeff wrote her an amazing and inspirational letter that she shared with me. He took time to share his story and provide hope for this student going through the toughest match of her life. Jeff was a good man I will miss seeing him at wrestling reunions.
-- Joseph Gaboury

And for those who want to see just how involved he was in the early days of the UFC and MMA ...

Foley's Friday Mailbag: Oct. 26, 2012

Fri, 26 Oct 2012 18:06:17 +0000

The new Podcast was scheduled to premiere this week, but will instead come in next week. Interviews are done, but the sound quality is subpar. I'm going to try and fix it (It sounds like I'm calling from the headquarters of MIB). If all goes well I'll be improving the sound quality AND adding a second, late week podcast.

Q: Did Cody Wiercioch drop to 170 to face Chance in PA finals or for college next year?
-- Chuck F.

Foley: I reached out to the very best high school analyst in the country, our very own Josh Lowe. This is what he wrote ...

Cody was an in-season 170 last year, and I sense he would be favored to win AAA state at either 170 or 182. That obviously presumes Chance Marsteller stays at 160 again this year. I am hearing that is more likely than not to be the case.

If Wiercioch stays at 170, which may just be an optimal weight for him, we saw the de facto state final in the Super 32 final; Wiercioch beat Brett Harner (Norristown) 5-3.

Up at 182 in AAA is fellow Super 32 champ Jacob Taylor (Bald Eagle Area). 195 in AAA has two-time Super 32 champ Matt McCutcheon (Kiski Area), who won state last year, as well as returning runner-up Jake Hart (Hampton). Two-time state champion Thomas Haines (Solanco), only a junior, is up at 220.
At 160, Marsteller is likely to have yet another state champion in his weight with

Garrett Peppelman (Central Dauphin). Remember that Chance beat defending state champ Brian Brill 17-7 in last year's state final.

In what should not be breaking news to anyone, the quality depth and breadth of talent in PA (class 3A in particular) is staggering.

Q: I follow Jordan Burroughs on Twitter and he can sometimes come off as a little arrogant about his abilities and accomplishments (i.e. alliseeisgold). Do you think he should tone it down a little and be more humble about his accomplishments or do you think the sport of wrestling needs a flamboyant and colorful personality (similar to Muhammed Ali and the sport of boxing).
-- Casey L.

Foley: I absolutely think he comes across as arrogant, but heaven bless that man and his accomplishments! Burroughs is a rare talent and though he has been very honest about his abilities, I find it refreshing that he does it WITHOUT the humblebrag. I hate the #humblebrag. Though it's linked right above these words, I will go ahead and explain by linking to a funny video.

His post last night read: "It's flattering to see how many wrestlers out there want to be me for Halloween. Thanks guys!"

Humblebrag: "I wrestle for the love of the sport so it's still weird for me to think someone would dress up as me for Halloween."

Burroughs is an honest and I think sweet man. We should let him live it up. He also posted this photo on Twitter last week. I'm sold.

Foley's Friday Mailbag: Oct. 19, 2012

Fri, 19 Oct 2012 05:51:40 +0000

There are always empty prime viewing seats during critical rounds, like the semifinals and finals, of the NCAAs? (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com)

The other theory is just what constitutes a sellout. For more information I turned to "Man, Economy & Sport," a blog that breaks down the financials of sports using statistics and lesser-known laws and regulations. According to ME&S the term "sellout" only refers to what the primary vendor is selling. For instance, if the host venue has 18,000 tickets and they sell all 18k then the venue is technically a sellout. However, those tickets are sold to secondary markets like fans from Ohio State or Virginia or Wyoming, and tertiary markets like eBay, StubHub and TicketMaster. Anyone who has tried to buy tickets a week before NCAAs knows that the tickets on the tertiary market are expensive and sold above face value. However, they don't sell all those tickets. To make a profit they might only need to sell sixty or seventy percent of their stock to turn a profit. Therefore you'd get a portion of the premium tickets which go unsold.

MS&E did a nice write-up on the elasticity of the NFL marketplace for tickets after the Jets were recently scared into thinking that they might have a mostly empty Meadowlands. The political and economic issues are more complex, but it's an interesting read.

Marshall Peppelman

Q: What is the word on Marshall Peppelman? Will he be in Cornell's lineup at 174 pounds?
-- Andy P.

Foley: Yes. I'd expect that he'd wrestle the whole year and I'd expect him to make the NCAA tournament. He's a top fifteen wrestler.

Q: Are there too many college rankings?
-- Jason S.

Foley: No. Who am I to stop everyone from ranking their own wrestlers. It's a horribly difficult job because as the ranker worries about 770 starting wrestlers fitting correctly into 200 spots, the invested reader is worried about how ONE wrestler fits into a range of about ten wrestlers. Good rankings are very difficult to master, and though I'm biased, InterMat has the most trusted rankings every week of the season.

It's also important to remember that rankings often have a stench of geographical biases. No harm, it's natural to rank the guys you know and have seen above those that you haven't.

But like I said, we are the best in the business and have been for a very long time.

Q: What do you think of Flo hosting the NWCA All-Star Classic?
-- Brian H.

Foley: Flo isn't hosting the event, but they are carrying it on their site. I LOVE the idea of Flo on the job. Last year was awful. Fans couldn't get the feed and when you the feed arrived it was choppy and mostly unwatchable. Assuming that the guys at Flo get the technical aspect correct I think it'll be a big success for their site and for fans. Video and video streaming are what Flo does and they do it better than any other company in wrestling. I think they're offering it to their Technique Wave subscribers, though I'd assume they'll let viewers buy a one-month subscription in order to watch the event.

Another reader directed me to the Flo message boards which were filled with fans complaining about the company's business practices. Even a cursory glance at the 150+ comments showed frustration with Flo not only for charging $20 fee,but for doing so after so many years of talking about how they'd "do this for free." I'm more than willing to pay for the NWCA All-Star Classic, but I'd prefer not to give my credit card to the company and risk forgetting to cancel and being charged $20-a-month. That's the same business method as FreeCreditReport.com. But they have singing pirates on commercials during "American Idol" so maybe it'll create some cheddar for the Austin-based video company. I'd think the company will respond to the backlash by offering a one-time option as well, though I also read that some of their Tech Wave subscribers felt that they weren't getting enough value in the past and that this event would help make up for it. Tough business decisions ahead for Flo.

What is more compelling to me is how much the NWCA earned in exchange for the rights. Will let you know if that answers bubbles up soon.

Q: Haiku about Trev Alberts incompetence?
-- @theawesomegood

Foley: Leader's blonde crew cut
Self-loving, narrow-minded
Fire Trev Alberts Now

Foley's Friday Mailbag: Oct. 12, 2012

Fri, 12 Oct 2012 07:27:37 +0000

Freddie Rodriguez originally committed to Michigan State (Photo/MichiganGrappler.com)

Foley: (Work, work, work.)

I looked at this message board post and was convinced that every answer might be right, and guess what, most of them were!

I called Iowa City High School head wrestling coach Cory Connell on Thursday morning to ask him about Freddie Rodriguez and learned that he IS enrolled in the school. He did NOT graduate from high school in Michigan. He is NOT currently eligible. He DID fight an MMA fight in 2011. The school is in an appeal process, but they won't know anything for few weeks. Rodriguez is signed up to wrestle at 126 pounds at the Preseason Nationals in Iowa.

Q: What is the status of Austin Ormsbee, the Blair grad who went to Oklahoma State and did not make it to the wrestling season?
--Dave D

Foley: According to Kutztown assistant wrestling coach Kriss Bellanca, "Austin Ormsbee, Blair Academy, 2011, has signed a scholarship letter and enrolled in school at Kutztown University, Pa., and will have four years of eligibility left."

The Monroeville Four: Logan Stieber, Hunter Stieber, Chris Phillips, and Cam Tessari (Photo/Mark Ransick)

Q: I was wondering if you knew anything about what's going on with Chris Phillips? He's arguably the greatest upperweight in Ohio history, and from what I understand has really gained his fire back while training with Ohio State. I could really see him as someone who would make a massive impact for the Buckeyes at either 165 or 174. The thing is he's not listed on their roster. Do you know what's up with that?
-- Mike, Cleveland

Foley: My guy in Ohio (I HAVE A GUY) tells me that the dream is over for Chris Phillips. He saw all his pals wrestling in Columbus and gave it his best shot, but ultimately grades became an issue. He won't be wrestling for the Buckeyes and regardless of the reason, it's unfortunate because he was a big talent and will be missed.

Q: Over the years, there seems to be a recurring question that is almost always asked to my college wrestling coach John Oostendorp at the end of his interviews. If he had the opportunity for an MMA fight pitted against Rulon Gardner, would he take it. They had some history with one another in college and after in Greco. Call me biased, but I have to go with Coach O! Thoughts?
-- Kohawk Tough

Coach O was a hammer at Iowa

Foley: Ha! I don't know Coach O, but I like his chances. Being good in wrestling isn't always an indicator of future success in MMA. In Rulon's case although he actually has the very best background for entering MMA (NCAA and Greco-Roman) but I think he lacks the athleticism necessary to carry him past another wrestler. If Coach O is anywhere from 190 pounds to 280 pounds and has even a modicum of mobility I think he'd come out on top. Ooh, does Coach O know BJJ?

Q: I just wanted to thank you for saying what you did about Trev Alberts. We need more writers like you letting the public know what a snake he really is (snake being the nicest word I can use). I asked Craig Sesker to write an article about the whole UNO situation, but there seems to be a hold up on that. I think there is book that could be written about it also, there is a lot of stuff that has been hidden to the public and if it got out he would be done. Thanks again for words about Trev.
-- A.M.

Foley: My pleasure.

Fire Trev Alberts. He's a no-good, cold-hearted wimp.

Foley's Friday Mailbag: Oct. 5, 2012

Fri, 05 Oct 2012 08:41:12 +0000

Alan Waters earned a No. 3 seed at the 2012 NCAAs at 125 (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com)

Foley: I don't want to shine too bright a light on my dark horses this early in the season, but there are always a handful of guys that could make a run at the NCAA title that are sometimes left unmentioned. First on my list is Alan "Running" Waters who has Sammie Henson devoting 12 hours a day seven days a week to making him an NCAA champion. Yes, Mighty McD is an almost lock to repeat, but if someone can creep in there and make this a finals to watch, I think it's the Bull's Waters.

My upperweight pick will be Matt Brown. It's not as sexy, because by now we all kind of expect that he'll be in the hunt, but I have a sneaking suspicion we are looking at an undefeated season heading into Big Tens and likely the NCAA tournament. To win the title after only being back on the mats for one-plus seasons would, in my opinion, put him in the hunt for postseason awards.

I don't often get too homerish about my beloved Cavaliers of Virginia, but I think you'll see as many as four All-Americans from them in 2013. It's a lofty expectation, but they've improved almost every year as a team and are loaded with talent, much of which might be labeled dark horse.

Look out for heavyweight Derek Papagianopoulos.

Q: Round-Robin Open Weight Battle of the Children's Television All-Stars

-Bill Nye the Science Guy
-Barney the Purple Dinosaur
-Mr. Rogers the Human
-Pee Wee Herman
-Steve from Blues Clues
-Levar Burton the Readin' Rascal
-Big Bird the Big Bird
-Wishbone the Jack Russell
-- Willy D.

Foley: After last night's debates I can only tell you that nobody has the popularity of the big yellow bird. Yowza. That upright bird has been entertaining kids for 30+ years and has a good enough reputation to not only be tossed about in a presidential debate, but to then trend and tweet on Twitter.

Second place goes to Bill Nye the Science Guy for his incredible rants. Note: I love the bow tie.

Dora the Explorer took third. She knows 27 dialects of Mandarin and once crafted a canoe from old backpacks and shoelaces.

You really entered Pee Wee Herman? Sick bastard!

Foley's Friday Mailbag: Sept. 28, 2012

Fri, 28 Sep 2012 07:02:31 +0000

Why did Duke make this video? The wrestling program been working hard with Coyte Cooper at the NWCA to create a marketing campaign to get fans interested in the team. This video wasn't Cooper's creation, but the official team account on Twitter has been very active in promoting the video and it's viral success, so it's safe to assume head wrestling coach Glen Lanham approved the video prior to distribution.

The second influence is Flowrestling and that stupid, ridiculous, childish, half-perverted social networking ploy they pushed this summer called #bulging. For those who live in the utopia of a pre-#bulging world, it is essentially the website asking high school kids to romp around public in their singlet in an effort to garner attention for themselves. It's a wildly misguided attempt to earn some type of broader respect, but fell flat. It's sophomoric idiocy, far below the proud tradition of wrestling in America. The Duke team seems to have been emboldened by Flo's moronic bullshit.

The Duke team has a lot to be excited about this year. Hiring a new coach means that they can change the direction of their program. Coach Lanham is one of the good guys in the sport, somebody who has earned universal respect from the coaching community. They will move past this kneecapping of their respectability and hopefully put a few guys into the NCAA tournament.

You should still look at their resume! Though they lack the social skills of their neighbors in Charlottesville, but I remember recruiting plenty of bright teens that chose Durham over Morningside Heights. Honey, you're just angry right now ...

On a somewhat related note, I first heard this song in Hawaii a few months ago and thought to myself "It's sooo much different here than the mainland."

Q: Now that Kyle Dake and David Taylor have accepted the matchup, what are two more matches you'd want to watch? I want the rematch between Logan Stieber and Jordan Oliver.
-- Harold E.

Foley: Greed! The wrestling world gives you gold and now you want platinum. Shame on you.

I'm very grateful to Dake and Taylor for providing us such compelling early-season fodder for the mailbag, but I'll go ahead and go with you, Harry. Time to make some more dream matchups!

1. Jordan Oliver vs. The OTHER Steiber: There are so many excellent stories of revenge, but rarely does it happen that those who've been maligned must find their solace in the destruction of their enemy's family. I'd take JO all day long, but it would be a super compelling storyline and because JO is headed up to 141 pounds, it' the only way those two names are going to meet up.

2. Ed Ruth vs. Steve Bosak: Just a pair of defending NCAA champions who aren't scared to wrestle the same weight class. We are rarely treated to more than one NCAA champ in a weight, and though waiting until later in the season (possibly Southern Scuffle) might happen, it won't be under the same spotlight.

3. Matt McDonough vs. Nico Megaludis: A rematch to kick off the event would be, uh, sweet.

Q: Does Kyle Dake feel pressure to bump to 165 for the year in order to win the Hodge?
-- @Rob_SwagginU

Cornell's Kyle Dake gets interviewed by ESPN moments after capturing the NCAA championship at 157 pounds (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com)

Foley: Kid Dynamite isn't scared, pressured, cajoled, shoved, intimidated, or MADE to do anything he doesn't want to do! Somebody should start making "Kyle Dake is NOT Impressed" memes? Unshakeable towhead, that Kyle Dake.

I don't know Dake at all, but he seems to love wrestling and embrace the competition. He wants to win and seems pretty good at doing so year to year. Dake's motivation for the bump isn't known, but a Hodge can't be the cause. The Hodge is a lock for any four-time NCAA champion and his chances of winning that award were much better at 157 pounds where there wasn't a defending NCAA champion, Taylor, and 2011 NCAA finalist Tyler Caldwell of Oklahoma.

I'd guess that Dake made the bump for any number of reasons, but it had to occur to him that if he wins four titles at four weight classes in four years he could be in contention as the greatest of all time. And that ain't no small thing.

Q: What happens if Taylor/Dake doesn't make the finals at 165 pounds? Will the wrestling world take a hit?
-- @BrandonfrmNJ

Foley: Not me. If one of those two guys doesn't make the finals I win $200. I'm not telling you which one. I don't want to move the lines.

Q: You talked about whether Jon Jones' improvement in MMA is enough to carry him in the Midlands, and basically said it won't.

While that may be true for Jones, how about some other examples. Mark Schultz did gymnastics (and was pretty good) and only started wrestling his junior year of high school. He won California states his senior year, and followed it with three NCAA titles, and Olympic gold, and two World titles.

Schultz is obviously an extreme example, but Jimmy Pedro is another good one. He is a superstar in judo, and was also able to pick up an EIWA title for Brown.

If an athlete pushes himself to excel in one sport, don't you think that can translate to success on the mat?
-- David, Massachusetts

Foley: I absolutely think that great athletes can translate their talents into several sports, especially brothers like judo and wrestling, and distant cousins like gymnastics and wrestling. The translation is much less apparent if you tried to jump from basketball to wrestling, or football to gymnastics. But those that have some crossover, even gymnastics and wrestling, can mean the best athletes in those sports can make a lateral move. Just ask Michal Jordan!

Foley's Friday Mailbag: Sept. 21, 2012

Fri, 21 Sep 2012 07:01:19 +0000

Jon Jones (Photo/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)

Foley: Man, that would really cheapen my comeback from last season. Why can't Jon Jones just give me that ONE thing? He's got the belt, the bank and the Bentley.

Jones was a great wrestler in high school, placing fourth at the NHSCA Senior Nationals. He owns a redshirt season win over eventual NCAA champion Max Askren. Those credentials make it obvious that he was a talented wrestler with every chance to become a multiple-time NCAA champion. However, it wasn't to be, and Jones took up MMA and became the sport's biggest star. I think that signing with Nike makes it obvious he made a pretty good life choice.

The potential was there, but can Jones go back and recapture that glory? Is his ascendency and physical betterment in MMA equal to what it would have been in wrestling?

No.

Jones is a transformational talent in the octagon and had he chosen to make a career of wrestling he might've been a legend. But if he steps on the mats in late December he'll get destroyed by younger guys that have the tanks for seven minutes of collegiate style wrestling -- no fear of being choked, punched, kicked, or eye poked (Josh Koscheck reference to the uninitiated). And though 15 to 25 minutes of fighting is likely more physically strenuous, there is nothing that will compare to seven minutes of using muscles meant solely for wrestling. Dude's also risking a major injury by putting his health in the hands of college opponents.

Jones is a big boy, weighing as much as 225 pounds between fights. Assuming he doesn't want to cut to 197 pounds, a full eight pounds lighter than his fighting weight of 205 pounds, then he'll be wrestling at heavyweight and giving up as much as 60 pounds. Also, the BJJ and lack of on-the-mat wrestling will ultimately doom him to be stuck beneath some 19-year-old kid for seven minutes. Northwestern heavyweight Mike McMullan would ride him out of the gym.

I love the idea of Jones showing up at Midlands. His appearance would mean incredible press for the sport and one of the premier events. I just think that he'd be risking too much to gain far too little.

How about a grappling match versus Ben Askren? Now that's an idea.

Q: Please talk about what skills need to be developed to successfully progress through the different levels of wrestling. What are the actual differences between high school state champs, high school all-Americans, Division I starters, NCAA All-Americans/champs and Olympians. What are the skills/technique differences that one needs to be successful at each level. I ask because it is really difficult to gauge why world-beaters at say the high school level don't always translate. Obviously, some lose interest or were just more physically mature than competitors at the prior level but I'm interested in the more specific item like the ability to get out from bottom, counter-wrestling. I hope this question is clear. It's just hard to tell as an interested fan of the sport what the skill and technique differences are that allow say a Jason Welch to totally dominate across the country in high school while not being nearly as effective in college.
-- Bryan R.

Foley: American folkstyle wrestling demands an immense amount of courage from its participants. We don't have teammates to carry loads, or pads to hide beneath. Every move we make is our choice, every mistake is only ours to suffer through. When you increase the stakes, you ask more in the way mental toughness. Wrestlers in college are, on average, way tougher than guys in high school -- they've seen more, survived more, battled more. Like you stated, some make the leap because they are mentally tough enough to deal with the failures.

As for technique, every college coach in America will tell you that the biggest issue with freshmen is that they can't get off bottom. It's not a secret that the ability to ride is fine-tuned in college, which means that no matter where you wrestled in college, you've never been under more duress than when you wrestle your first leg-rider in college. That right there can break a wrestler. And every season it does.

The other technique that can make or break a career is hand fighting. It's ironic I say this because I'm a horribly inconsistent hand fighter, but its nonetheless true. It sucks to get your head snapped. It sucks to have a sore neck and to be scrambling back into good position for the majority of a two-hour practice. Kids who don't learn to hand fight make the sport a lot harder on themselves than is necessary by constantly battling with their bodies to stay in good position.

Despite those two techniques it really does come down to desire and at least a modicum of athletic ability. Wrestling isn't difficult to figure out. It's a battle of will. That simplicity makes it so appealing to some and bland to others.

Q: I'm reading that we are going to have video replay. I think this is a bad idea. It's going to slow down matches and give wrestlers a break!
-- Derek M.

Foley: You are one-hundred percent correct. The modern collegiate wrestling match would grind to a halt. Wrestling coaches would argue every point that they think mattered and use the review as a manner for a timeout, or just to relay information to their wrestler. Were I coaching I'd absolutely go to video review if my kid needed a breather. Winning trumps all.

I'm all for a more lenient seven-minute match. (I think that much of the "hustle-first" mentality is nothing but dramatics and devalues skill.) But you can't give wrestling coaches the keys to a review system. They'd waste time and for the poorer schools it would be an unnecessary financial burden.

Simply put, instant replay in wrestling is a monumentally shitty idea … Except if only used at the NCAA tournament. Here's why.

Not every wrestling match in a season matters, that much we know from recent bantering between the opposing armies of our sport's recent war over the schedule. Dual matches and early season tournaments? Blah. Who cares? Don't waste our time. But the NCAA tourney? That matters.

Instant replay is an addition to the current format, a way to make sure that nobody is getting hosed at the exact wrong moment. Not having instant replay at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational isn't reductive, it's passable, and normal, and won't have the slightest impact on the rest of the season. Adding it to the biggest event would only ensure that we have the correct outcome of a match and the correct outcome of a tournament.

A horrible, awful, boring idea for the sport to adopt, except in the case of the NCAA Championships. There, I'm sold.

Q: With the news that Missouri will be joining the MAC in wrestling for the upcoming season, is the current plan for the remaining Big 12 teams (Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Iowa State and possibly West Virginia?) to continue to have a four-team qualifying tournament for the NCAA tournament? What are your thoughts/opinions on a four-team qualifying tournament and are there any rumors of a change in the future?
-- Dave

Foley: The fact there are only four teams doesn't figure into the qualifying new system as much as it did the old. The way the system works now is by individual performances. Only if the Big 12 earned four spots at a weight class would you possibly see some funny business. However, chances are that most weights will only qualify two wrestlers with a select few of the tougher ones managing three.

The change would only come with a total change to the system of college wrestling, which would only come about if the NCAA/BCS changes to a regional system for college football. That, or we could get all the coaches together to create a proposal for a new regional system where ... yeah, that'll never happen.

Longtime rivals Dom Bradley (Missouri) and Jarod Trice (Central Michigan) are now in the same conference (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com)

Q: The MAC just got a lot more interesting. Haynes vs. Kilgore, Larson vs Bennett, Bradley vs. Trice, Loder vs Bennett. #MatchupsGalore ... Missouri for the title?
-- @Will_J_157

Foley: The only one of those that made me jump out of my seat was Jarod Trice vs. Dom Bradley. I can't wait. What a matchup. These two guys are entertaining dudes and physically talented wrestlers. I'd love to see the back-and-forth between them on the mat during the match and afterwards on the sidelines.

Does the MAC have distribution network yet? Because I want to see this go down!

Q: RG3 vs. Cam Newton ... in Greco-Roman.
-- @brantleyhooks

Foley: RG3 is the new Cam Newton, right? But Cam Newton is still the original Cam Newton only a year older, wiser, stronger, faster, and better? Look, you take the original before you even think about jumping to the imitator.

I know very little about football, but I know that Newton is supposed to be the most athletic quarterback to ever play the game (yes, over Mike Vick). So I have to assume that he's going to find a way to win a Greco match against RG3.

Dan Snyder would find a way to influence the outcome and only end up hosing his own athlete.

5-1, 1-0 Newton.

Foley's Friday Mailbag: Sept. 14, 2012

Fri, 14 Sep 2012 07:38:03 +0000

The cabinet voted to refer the concept back to the Wrestling Committee for additional development. Specifically, the cabinet wants additional feedback on how the proposed championship would affect the current championship, information on the views of the NCAA's media partner(s), and an analysis of the budget impact related to the championship's current budget. In addition, the cabinet requested results from a survey of Division I wrestling coaches and input from student-athletes.

You have to read into this and assume that one of the wrestling coaches against the proposition got into the ear of their administrator and said "Hey, you need to get them to release the survey results, because it only passed by a single vote ..."

How inflammatory and possibly detrimental is the implication that the NWCA falsified the results of the survey? Very. If the NCAA isn't given that original survey they might withhold future judgment, and if for some reason that survey wasn't one-hundred percent accurate there will be serious questions to face. Right now there is no evidence to support the idea that anything was falsified, but for the NCAA to compel the NWCA to see he survey shows there are some accusations being made and that more than one person has questioned the validity of the NWCA's last-minute survey.

One of wrestling's most pressing problems is the abysmal communication between many coaches and administrators. Several Division I head coaches admitted that they hadn't addressed the possible change with their bosses until late last Thursday, and at least one said that he did so only because he heard on Twitter of the unresolved issues. But it's not just coaches living in solitary confinement that created the issues of the last month. The leadership class within wrestling can't be allowed to shut itself off to critique or discussion. To have good PR you need to grant access and help build support for a system that employs natural checks and balances. Had it not been for social media there is almost no chance that the dissenting opinions would have made it into articles and onto forums. The NCAA committee members and NWCA board members were quoted to me by coaches as having said something to the affect of "you are either for this proposal, or against wrestling" and "We have to all stand together, there can't be any disagreement."

That's a preposterous and headstrong way to go about politicking. Shutting your doors to the press and to debate is nothing but obstinate and shortsighted. The NWCA and the NCAA needed to embrace an open process from the beginning to not only ensure that all the stake holders had a chance to voice their opinion, and that ideas were vetted by more than a single back room of characters, but because wrestling fans and coaches are the very last people on the planet to take kindly to having change rammed down their gullet.

Hopefully these lessons have been learned. The coaches' convention in late October should give everyone enough time to relax and regain their composure, but doubt remains. Will the NWCA bring new data to the meeting? Will coaches who were against the proposal or had better ideas also present them? Will media be allowed access? Will the results of the survey be published?

I hope that the spirit of cooperation prevails because the nastiness and poorly executed politicking of the past month has left our sport damaged and fractured. For the sport to grow we'll need to create a better atmosphere.

Also, wrestling in an arms race?

Now, your questions ...

Q: Saw the video of Chance Marstellar's injury in Baku. Have you heard anything about how bad it is or when he will be back?
-- Douglas O.

Foley: How awful. Chance is one of the nation's top wrestlers and I think everyone, even the teams that won't end up with him on their roster, want to see him make a full recovery.

I have no insight on how long he'll be out, but it's rare that any injury takes more than a year to recover from and that timeline speeds up when you are an in-shape 17-year-old wrestler. I'd expect that he'll be back for midseason, if not before. But that isn't based on insider info, and I am sprinkling that answer with my hopes for his health.

Q: Virginia is about to go to seven state championships. Your thoughts?
-- Joe S.

Foley: First, let's all give respect to the finest Commonwealth in the nation by recapturing the brilliance of this anonymous quote. (I vote on it having been Thomas Jefferson!)

To be a Virginian, either by birth, marriage, adoption, or even on one's mother's side, is an introduction to any state in the union, a passport to any foreign country, and a benediction from the almighty God. -- Anon.

That's right, "a benediction from the almighty God." We win.

My brother is a wrestling coach and teacher in the state of Virginia and he informs me that the seven state titles are being debated by the coaches. The counter plan by coaches is to shift the divisions into the traditional three state titles by grouping similar-sized schools. If it remains in the current format you'd have six public school champions and a private school reaction. The worst part? There are only EIGHT wrestlers in the bracket. Virginia is the greatest state/commonwealth in the country, but this a really stupid idea.

Q: What's the story with Max Askren moving back to Wisconsin?
-- @ZachLambertski

Foley: No real story. He's still wrestling, just training in Wisconsin.

U.S. wrestlers Joe Betterman and Deanna Rix recently welcomed the birth of their first child, Mason

Q: Have the men wrestlers at the USOTC been known to hit on or date the female wrestlers? Somebody told me that Henry Cejudo dated Clarissa Chun for a while.
-- Nick T.

Foley: Yes, they do. Clarissa Chun actually dated Stephen Abas before Henry Cejudo, making for one hell of a potential love triangle. As for more recent love interests that are confirmable and not complete gossip, Joe Betterman and Deanna Rix just welcomed the birth of their first child!

Also, 2004 Olympic bronze medalist Patricia Miranda married her college teammate Levi Weikel-Magden, who later became one of her coaches on the U.S. National Team.

I don't think there are any rules against fraternization, nor do I think there really should be. All's fair.

Q: Heavyweight is going to be absolutely loaded this season in Division I! We have NCAA champion Tony Nelson returning, plus All-Americans Bobby Telford, Jeremy Johnson, Mike McMullan and Nick Gwiazdowski. Then throw in Russian stud Alan Gelogaev and a couple All-Americans coming off redshirt, Dom Bradley and Jarrod Trice. Oh yeah, I almost forgot about Chad Hanke, who beat Gelogaev! Who knows, maybe Jimmy Lawson can get in the mix! It's going to be an amazing weight class! Who are your top four finishers at heavyweight when the dust settles in Des Moines?
-- Mike C.

Foley: Not often we get to talk about a loaded heavyweight class. What I find most interesting is that these guys are all exceptionally athletic heavyweights, which means they are a little more watchable than some of the more lumbering and dominant heavyweights of last decade. I'm taking my boy McMullan!

Speaking of heavyweights ... two-time NCAA champion and undefeated MMA heavyweight Cole Konrad retired from the sport yesterday to pursue a career in trading.

Q: Just curious what you thoughts are on the following 3 teams: Iowa, Missouri, and Virginia?
-- J. Nickal

Foley: In one sentence or less.

Iowa will finish in the top ten, but will be the most vulnerable they've been since Brands took control.

Adding Sammie Henson will result in three All-Americans for Mizzou and at least one NCAA finalist.

Virginia has a team that will challenge for the ACC title and should put six wrestlers into the All-American round.

Q: Who's the favorite at 174 pounds with Howe redshirting?
-- @BrentParkey

Foley: Penn State's Matt Brown.

Foley's Friday Mailbag: Sept. 7, 2012

Fri, 07 Sep 2012 06:22:22 +0000

Foley in college

As a walk on I was put in this position against one of the program's big-time recruits. I earned the spot in my sophomore season, but as late as February I was held out of a major dual meet because the coach thought it was entirely possible my wins were flukish..

Frustration certainly builds for walk-ons, but take it from the coach's perspective. He's placed ten percent of his program in an 18-year-old kid's hands. When that investment is floundering he's warranted to be hesitant in shelving the scholarship kid in favor of a backup -- it's a risk of ruining his investment. It can be clear cut that the backup is better, but most of the time due to injury and the length of the season it takes a while for one wrestler to outdo the other, and if you have an investment in one corner and a walk-on in the other, it could be seen as better business to throw good time and energy at bad money.

When I wrestled at Virginia we were a partially-funded program. Then the university went through a manic six months where they tried to cut our program, but instead chose to fully fund us and everyone else. That cash helped level the money game on the team and coach was able to accommodate the producers on the team who were probably being under-compensated for their performances.

Q: If the dual match format becomes the official NCAA championship event, could you see college coaches lifting wrestlers redshirts to give themselves more flexibility in duals?
-- Eugene L.

Foley: The discussion of the new format generated plenty of what-ifs in regards to a coach's plan for redshirts. Like with much of the proposal there are way more questions than answers.

In football you can dress a redshirt and pay for him to show up on the sidelines. (They're the chubby kids wearing the No. 99 jersey and chewing on unmolded mouthpieces.) If the football player never gets his pants dirty, then he maintains his eligibility, if he's called in to do even one play then it's a goner. ("Coach, you have 105 guys on the roster and you need me to go in on punt return?") You might be able to do this in wrestling, especially for duals, but I know that you can't pay for redshirts to travel to tourneys, and because I coached in the Ivies and can't remember college, I can't tell you for certain. Maybe there's a preexisting prohibition? Assuming there is a rule against paying for redshirts to travel on duals, then I'd think the home team in the first round would have the advantage of pulling redshirts off the bench.

But which redshirts would hold their weight down, and keep cutting in the very slim chance they get pulled from the stands to save the team? You'd have to weigh in an hour before.

Like I said, plenty of what-if's. Probably too many.

Q: I personally don't think the dual meet champ and then tourney champ is a good idea. I think more could be done to promote the existing NCAA tournament ... and smartly promote the existing various conferences (Big Ten, etc.) in conjunction with that.

But if you have to do it, then do top three from each conference. That creates your tournament bracket.

I think the key is more focus on the NCAA tournament. Promote it better. Have MMA stars attend to watch the finals ... good hype. Have unique exhibition matches. Bring a Russian or two over. Have them wrestle folkstyle against graduated All Americans (not competitors for existing year) ...now THAT would be something.
-- Mr. Juice

...

Q: I'm still having a hard time trying to comprehend what the NWCA is trying to fix! The individual tournament is a one-hundred percent success! Why is the NWCA trying to screw with it? Dual meet tourneys at the high school level are not well attended. Why would college be any different? The only college duals that are well attended are when there are great (and several) head-to-head matchups (same with high school). Fans of the eighth-seeded team will not travel to watch their boys get hammered by the No. 1 seed.

On another note, I was involved with college coaching for seven seasons (Division II) and the NWCA is not very popular with my friends that are still sitting in the corner chairs. It is felt that the NWCA forgot the fact that they are an association for coaches and now is a group of fellas in Manheim that is in bed with the NCAA and likes to dictate to the coaches. I feel it is time for Moyer to go!
-- Jeff B.

Foley: I let these two questions run together because they are essentially coming from the same angle of 'Why change a good thing?'

Wrestling needs money and we are dying a slow death. That realty should prompt change, but what change is still unclear. I suspect we'll see a revamped regional duals system brought forward next year with more data and more answers to difficult questions.

Brian Smith and Mike Moyer (Photo/NWCA)

Look, I blame the coaches for this foul-up, not Mike Moyer. He is just the representative and was doing what his membership and committees told him they wanted. Did all of them really want it? No, of course not, but they had a chance to be at the table and denied that chance. It reminds me of "The Other Guys" when the lowly cop keeps asking everyone to vote on the new hedge fund strategy for the police pension, and everyone ignores him only to later find out it's going into a Ponzi scheme. The NCAA isn't running a Ponzi scheme and the NWCA was only doing what they were charged to do, so it was a bit troubling to see that some coaches, Cael included, were so vehemently against the proposal at such a later date. He might have had great points, but they needed to be expressed much earlier.

Let's see where this goes in the future. I think the NWCA is about to find that they'll have a much more active membership base.

Q: I know the sun is just coming up, but what would it take for Penn State to be known as the greatest wrestling program of all time?
-- Rick

Foley: Penn State will need to win 10 straight NCAA title to outdo the Hawkeyes. They'll then need to win another 15 in streaks of five, six, or seven.

Do you think that's doable over the next 30 years?

Q: How big are clouds?
-- My 6-year-old nephew

Foley: The single greatest failure I have shown as a human is the inability to actualize the real size of cloud. To be specific I'm talking about large towering puffy clouds (you might just call them cumulus or cumulus congestus.

I just can't find the right way to scope out one of these clouds without one of my senses being severely distorted. From the ground most clouds look MASSIVE, they block my tanning neighbor's source of light for hours at a clip. When clouds lumber by and from a distance look like they might be the size of mall in Gaithersburg, Md., but that all changes once you are on a plane IN THE SKY. Once I'm jetting by at 450 mph enjoying an oversized single serving bottle of cabernet I always think the clouds look like nothing more than a few hundred feet of marshmallow fluff.

My wish is that one day a single cumulus (or cumulus nimbus) cloud will descend slowly from a distant mountain range and past the practice fields for the Steelers to measure in 100 yard increments. I could then understand -- I mean KNOW -- just how big they are. Outside of that, and the easy-does-it Google search, I'll never find true understanding. Never. Well, maybe.

And yes, I realize that had nothing to do with wrestling.

Q: I tuned in to the Georgia Tech vs. Virginia Tech football game just in time to hear one of the announcers make the assertion that he'd like to see the game played without pads. After a few inquiries to friends who actually follow the game, I learned that the announcer who made said comment was an NFL superstar before becoming an announcer. Is it possible that this guy gets it? What a compelling statement, especially given the recent hullabaloo over concussions in football. Is football finally getting the long, hard look from the outside that it has needed for so long?
-- Joe S.

Foley: I was reading a Facebook post at the Safari Coffee shop in Chicago when suddenly the fallacy of football became clear. The moment was sudden, like I knew a truth that few others had grasped. It was like the ray of divinity Jake and Elwood felt in Blues Brothers "THE BAND!" "DO YOU SEE THE LIGHT?!"

I can and will write about the bullshit of football every week. The game as it's played now is unsustainable and leads to marked effects of the health of youth players and adults. When it comes to forward passes, tackling (wrestling at a run) and strategy, I'm totally sold. When it comes to watching 350-pound men blindsiding defensive backs on punt returns, I think it's disgusting. It's a game of meaningless brutality and staid, nasty old men profiteering on the labor of a poorly represented working class. There are literally books worth of serious incriminations to be leveled against organized football and I can't cover them all.

Played without pads, football would return to some normalcy (and yes I know that players used to die in those massive 15-person scrums). The normal behavior I seek is one where there is self-preservation trumping the desires of coaches and fans to see a player rattle another's cage, or as my defensive back's coach in high school said, "Knock off his little man." Rugby has beautiful tackling. Sure, the guys get some concussions, but they are dealing solely with their own natural movements, and because technique matters the pace is slowed and becomes safe.

I'm not a fool. Americans are paying for the car crashes, the moments where the retired buffoons who sit in pinstriped suits on Sundays from the comfort of the studio can yelp and holler about big hits. We don't watch NASCAR in celebration of their accomplishing a ding-free 500 miles. It's the drama of the impact. Americans want simple brutality and football and the NFL packages it better than anyone, including the turncoats in the booth who know the dangers firsthand.

I'm going to stop writing about this to leave you with a must-read by J.R. Moehringer from last week's ESPN the Magazine. I was first introduced to Moehringer by a professor in J-School who rightly thought I'd love his memoir "The Tender Bar." I was taken with his writing five years ago, and the feeling remains after he expertly outlines football's problems in the future. Please, I beg you, don't get distracted. Don't go watch a cat video on YouTube. Give yourself 23 minutes and learn up on this debate surrounding football. Learn about where this discussion is headed. Learn about the deaths and the harm this game can cause to children.

J.R. Moehringer's "Football is dead. Long live football."

Q: With recent movie redux in the spy genre I pose this question for you. Who wins in a four-man round robin bracket consisting of James Bond (your choice of all Bonds, personally I'd still go with Connery), Ethan Hunt, Jason Bourne (I would allow a last-minute substitute with the new spy in that series Aaron Cross) and Carl Hauser (again, your choice with Arnold or Colin Farrell ... I'd pick Arnold). Taking into consideration all the competitors' talents using 007's spy gadgets, Hunt's gadgets and Cruise's already-established sprinting abilities, Jason Bourne's supreme training, and genetic enhancement and Arnold's roided-out brute strength (or Farrell's drunk Irish boxing skills if you go that route), I challenge you to determine the Olympic-styled gold, silver, and bronze medal winners.

In the words of Mills Lane: "Let's get it on!"
-- Michael S.

Foley: Can you believe I haven't seen "The Dark Knight Rises" or "The Bourne Legacy?" We will revisit this next week once I spend an afternoon catching up on these movies.

"No, honey, I'm not being lazy. "The Dark Knight Rises" has EVERYTHING to do with wrestling!"

Foley's Friday Mailbag: Aug. 31, 2012

Fri, 31 Aug 2012 16:37:20 +0000

Michigan coaches Donny Pritzlaff and Sean Bormet have been instrumental in Andrew Howe's development (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com)

Foley: If you only knew how scared I am of Donny Pritzlaff -- I'm feeling equal parts fear and embarrassment. Yes, Pritzlaff was Howe's biggest influence in college and to not mention that role was a major oversight. Bormet and Pritz are now together and taking an equal role, there is no distinguishable difference in influence, at least from my seat in Chicago.

The bigger oversight was not discussing further the influence of the Oklahoma coaching staff on his future output. Let's not fudge the facts too much, but the OU coaching staff did produce two Olympians, and assuming they are both back, then Howe is well-positioned to make some type of attack on the reign of Jordan Burroughs.

Q: What is the Jeff Buxton story? Although you can say "he resigned" end of story, I am sure there is a lot more to it and not "I want to spend more time with my family." I realize Intermat is not the National Enquirer, but inquiring minds want to know. Why does a dedicated coach that claims the development of the wrestlers he coaches as human beings is the most important thing to him just all of a sudden drop out and turn his back on all that he built?
David D.

Jeff Buxton gets interviewed (Photo/Rob Preston)

Foley: When I write a story I have to be careful to not write something that can't be verified by reputable sources. I'm also close to coaches and sources and need to always make sure that I am respectful of their position within the community and the anonymity they request.

The details are all but impossible to verify in a story like this. The moment it hit I got dozens of texts and emails claiming to have insider information and even more asking for details. I don't have any details to report. However, you answered your own question. Coach Buxton has given his life to coaching and to resign in August is indicative of a foul up on his part and a disagreement with the administration. The school made their decision to not retain his talents, gave him the choice to resign, and he took it. I highly doubt that we won't see Coach Buxton at another program in due time. He's a great coach and leader of men, and when the time comes to for a big time high school program or college team to hire a coach they will look at Buxton.

Q: Since Jeff Buxton is too young to ride off into the sunset, where do you think we'll see him turn up next?
-- Richard D.

Foley: I'm expecting a college program starting in 2013-2014. Just a guess, because there is still a lot that needs to come out.

Foley's Friday Mailbag: Aug. 24, 2012

Fri, 24 Aug 2012 14:49:06 +0000

NBC did not air Coleman Scott's bronze-medal match at the 2012 Olympic Games (Photo/John Sachs, Tech-Fall.com)

Wrestling was one of the first sports to be in the Olympics, and yet you're right it received next to no coverage on NBC's flagship channel. Part of the issue has to do with how many of us watched online versus how much the American people care about wrestling. Coleman Scott earning the bronze was an enormous accomplishment, but to the average sports fan it probably seemed blah, especially placed next to the more marketable stories of Olympic gold medalists Jordan Burroughs and Jake Varner. Even Clarissa Chun's bronze was more marketable to the general public based on her gender and the mind-spaz many people have seeing women (GASP!) wrestling in the Olympics. I agree that Scott should have been given some airtime, but I can also understand WHY the network didn't feel compelled to air his match.

As for why they aired Jake Herbert's match? Likely because there was the stench of an international conspiracy behind Herbert's loss to the Azerbaijani and the suits at NBC all want to sell you the viewer some extra drama to go with your sport.

Tangential to all this talk of coverage, is a quote I recently read that kinda stuck. It was an aside about the corruption within African sports administrations, that I only remember in paraphrase and of which I can't find the original document.

"Wrestling was fine until they decided to turn a game into a sport."

Wrestlers cringe when we hear our sport referred to as a game, because we associate basketball with being a game, and thus the word "game" becomes frivolous. But really all communities started with wrestling as little more than a game. Wrestling in the purest form was a GAME well before it was ever a sport. Tribal communities use wrestling as they do dance, as a way to represent certain aspects of their culture's values. Compare the expressionism of a tribal GAME with the structure and profiteering within a SPORT and you can see the distinction.

Football is the biggest SPORT in America because it makes the most money and has the largest audience and media following. Wrestling is the most popular GAME in the world because every person on the planet has, or will at one time, participate in their own way. It's the struggle we face in getting more air time on NBC or respect at the NCAA level, wrestling is such a stripped-down version of a sport it's difficult to add enough marketing to the event to make it turn a profit.

Q: I knew that the countries of the former Soviet Union dominated international wrestling, but didn't realize how much until I looked at the medal count from London.
-- Matt L

Foley: Former Soviet Union (all): 7/18 gold; 10/18 silver; 17/36 bronze; 34/72 total
Former Soviet Union (men): 6/14 gold; 9/14 silver; 14/28 bronze; 29/56 total

YOWZA!

Q: Usually wrestlers are hit with stalling warnings and stalling points to late in a match to affect the outcome. After watching the Olympics, I think folkstyle should do away with stalling and incorporate the use of pushout points? This would make things less subjective, force wrestlers to engage, and create better mat presence.

How do you get over not drilling or live wrestling? I haven't stepped foot on a mat since 06 but go to tons of matches and wish they'd put a mat down at the la fitness I go. All I want to do is drill, can you convince la fitness to have mats?
-- Tim J.

Foley: I do some privates and teach wrestling at a BJJ school in Chicago, so I get my fix of drilling and live wrestling. The other trick was to pickup jiu-jitsu, where I learned that in addition to learning the craft I could on occasion invite in some old college wrestling buddies and get in some light drilling.

There are gyms that will allow you to buy some blue mats, or a wrestling sectional and put it in a corner, but I'd recommend reaching out the BJJ community. They need better wrestling and are usually cool about using their facilities.

Q: Did you see how Jason Chamberlain handled Mr. Molinaro at University World Team Trials?
-- Russ T.

Foley: There WILL be a full redo of the 149-pound projections for the 2012-2013 season. Maybe no weight class is more primed for debate. Others would be 184 pounds and possibly 133 pounds. Jason Chamberlain has the resume in freestyle. It'll be interesting to see if he can carry the momentum into the folkstyle season.

Q: C'mon Foley end the age-old debate. Positives/Negatives? Before you answer, put down your maitai (MAN CARD check!)
-- Marcus N/

Foley: Lordy, me. Could you imagine what would happen if the NCAA changed their rules to include pushouts? The controversy surrounding the PROPOSED change to the NCAA Championship format has been uproarious -- a pushout rule would result in pitchforks descending upon Oz (Indianapolis).

I enjoy the idea of anarchy and think a ruse like a pushout might be fun to try in exhibition matches. Folkstyle is a lot about transitioning from your feet to the mat and the mat to your feet so there would need to be some rules added. For example, pushouts could only be in effect when the wrestlers were started in neutral, or only after there was a restart on the feet. Let's say I can't turn someone, I wouldn't be able to cut them by the side of the mat and give them the ol' bar room shove to gain back my escape point.

T.R. Foley and his Mai Tai

There are other situations in which wrestlers might try and steal points (play the edge and ole' out of the way?), but let us assume that this rule passes, what will it do to cheering sections and video review? Iowa would be as silent as a city snowfall without their ubiquitous chant of "STALLING!!" that comes bellowing from their cheering section within the first 30 seconds of a match. Would referees be subject to video review to see who touched first? Were video used could we then assume it would be done by Flo and subject to their edits? SO. MANY. QUESTIONS.

For now I'll leave you with this, a photo of me and my Mai Tai. It was a delicious, though toxic, mixture of light and dark rum. Add in too much sun and I retired to my room for a midday siesta shortly after this photos was taken.

I apologize for nothing.

Foley's Friday Mailbag: Aug. 17, 2012

Fri, 17 Aug 2012 12:03:41 +0000

Clarissa Chun after winning the Olympic bronze medal (Photo/John Sachs, Tech-Fall.com)

I'm offering a free InterMat T-shirt to the best 250-word submission of what Clarissa Chun has meant to USA Wrestling. I don't care if you don't think you like women's wrestling, the chick can roll and has earned our community's respect.

Now for your mail ...

Q: Regarding the proposed change to the NCAA Championships: What is the major problem that the NWCA is trying to fix?
-- Jefferson T. B.

Foley: The NWCA is battling the ongoing contraction of NCAA wrestling at the Division I level by creating new and profitable ways to grow the sport. It's an old school problem without many new solutions. The new format is a proposal for BIG change.

The NCAA tournament is one of only five NCAA championship events that makes money for the NCAA. The NWCA and the NCAA recognize that an additional event -- especially one that crowns the team champion -- would pump out cash for the NCAA and provide the possibility of trickle down interest that could result in programs earning more money and ginning up interest in their team on campus.

Wrestling will always be in danger, but until this proposal there hasn't been even a feasible new idea that could curb the reduction of schools at the Division I level. Think about it, our best defense has been large individual gifts by wealthy alumni, which is akin to using. Today, with more opportunities for advertising dollars and a the growing interest thanks to MMA the sport is positioned to make some money for programs of all levels.

Look, I love the format as it stands, but if we want to maintain the 77 programs we have right now, or possibly add a few more, we'll need to find new solutions. The dual team format could be the solution.

Q: what prompted Cael Sanderson to not compete for an Olympic spot? What are your thoughts on the potential of Kyle Dake?
-- @Rweezy02

Foley: I'm not sure why Sanderson sat out, but I think he just didn't find an Olympic run as compelling as continuing his career as a coach. Judging by his work with Olympic gold medalist Jake Varner, it was a selfless choice that paid off well.

As for Kyle Dake and his future, it's obvious that he has unlimited potential. If he could make 66 kilos the USA team would be in position to win the next Olympic Games. (We finished in third in the unofficial team standings, two points behind first-place finishers Russia and Georgia.) Overall, I like Dake's chances of becoming a constant presence on the international scene.

Q: One wrestler you failed to mention at 149 is one who I think is as dangerous as any of the others. That would be Donnie Vinson from Binghamton. He went 40-5 last year but more impressively wrestled all the way back for third at the NCAAs after losing his opening round match. In that string he beat Osterman, Jantzen, Terrazas, Grajales, Lester, Nauman, and Tessari. He might have some transitional issues with the coaching change there but he was clear peaking as the season drew to a close.
-- Christopher E.

Foley: To be honest I knew that I missed on Vinson after I pushed SEND on that article. Sometimes my brain can access all the fun facts and names it needs and other times it fails me. (Brain, don't fail me now!) You'd think that the Olympics would give you so much material, but really it just made me obsessed with learning how to pronounce the names of the dudes from Georgia and Azerbaijan.

Vinson's drive through the semifinals was f$%^ing unreal! I remember sitting next to my esteemed editor and talking about the winner of the Tessari/Vinson match being the Ironman Award winner -- Tessari had also lost his first match. Vinson is a scrapper and it'll be interesting to see what new Binghamton head coach Matt Dernlan will do to progress his game. My guess is that he'll make the NCAA finals. Mark it.

I think 149 will be one of the most contested weights. As of right now we don't have the clear-cut stud of the weight, which means a season with several wrestlers occupying the top spot and plenty of conjecture on who should earn the top seed at the NCAA tournament. Should be an awesome seeding meeting.

Multimedia Halftime

Jordan Burroughs on Leno ...

Jake Varner billboard ...

This should motivate everyone to pick up a pair of shoes and hit the mats ...

Q: Enjoy the insight on the weekly mailbag feature. I've often heard U.S. wrestlers mention a different 'feel' they experience when wrestling foreign competition. What exactly are they describing? Tieups, pace, counters, or body hair? Jordan Burroughs mentioned how his match up with Gentry at the Olympics was like wrestling an American, I suspect the 15+ years of scholastic style background has a lot do with it. Is there really a big difference between U.S. wrestling style or 'feel' in freestyle than international competition? Or is it perhaps a lack of actual mat time/familiarity with opponents that causes U.S. wrestlers to describe this experience? How do the rest of the Olympic freestylers wrestle that our guys don't experience wrestling other U.S. guys?
-- Geoff S.

Foley: Body hair. I like that.

Gentry is going to wrestle like an American, because the dude is an American. You bring up an interesting point that the description of an international "feel" is rather ambiguous. Not to worry I have your explanation.

A few months ago I wrote a cover feature FIGHT! Magazine on new UFC middleweight signee Hector Lombard. The 200-pound Lombard was a judoka and competed in the 2000 Olympics for Cuba and upon seeing my ears wanted to tie up and grapple on our feet. Fine, I'll do anything for a story, but it was odd to wrestle a non-wrestler. His instinct was to GIVE ME THE UNDERHOOK and because I thought I wanted an underhook I obliged him.

Wait ... WHY was he letting me have an underhook? Do I REALLY want this underhook? Oh no ...

Lombard's past was in judo, mine was in American wrestling, so when we met in the middle it was a confusing interaction -- especially as we had no ground rules in place. Wrestlers from Iran, Russia, Turkmenistan, and Mongolia all have an entirely different physical tradition than we do in America. Our style is incredibly physical and unique -- our rule set is such that it adds a level of tenacity and angst to our every motion. We wrestle with our muscles tense because giving up a takedown in folkstyle results in the potential of giving up back points, riding time and the pace of the match. Not so in freestyle.

Let's take a look at the Dagestani wrestler whose been rolling cine he was six with other children inside a physical tradition that is ONLY freestyle wrestling. The Dagestanis have crafted their bodies under the rules of freestyle. They're limber in some areas where we are tense and unbothered when we might become frantic. They are coming to us from a singular tradition and one that is HIGHLY regional, which is the same exact individualism of styles can be seen in Japan, India and Egypt -- every country has their physical tradition and when it shows up on the mat it varies wildly from our own.

International feel is the physical reactions of opponents and how they contract to that of Americans.

By the way if you throw an easy underhook against a Cuban judoka prepare to be thrown. It's a trap. I got tossed.

Q: What is your take on the format of the Olympic bracket? I personally think that once you're at the Games, wrestle a full bracket with a full wrestle back. Since they don't seed the tournament, a difficult draw could be the end of your day in spite of having the talent to advance and get more Olympic experience under your belt. My second rib with the format is the dual bronze medal being awarded. What's one more match? This just seems hokey on the awards stand.

I understand the rational of trying to fit the tournament in to a single day, but at what cost? I still believe in a bracket of up to 32 wrestlers you could run though a true double elimination format bracket, 31 matches in the championship and 29 in the consolations. I think rolling this in to two days and wrestling out to maybe even sixth or eighth place, just like an NCAA bracket, would be ideal.
-- Nate T

Foley: I covered this issue in the past two mailbags. You could never convince me to endorse an international seeding meeting. It would be insanity. Have you ever played RISK with family members? Shit gets real. You could never control the corruption, and the Americans would ALWAYS be given the shittiest draw imaginable.

What separates many of these top athletes is so minor that seeding is unnecessary. Yes, 96 kilos and 84 kilos got a little wacky, but it's preferable to knowing that the draws were due to luck and not a conspiracy. Repechage takes care of most of the worst draws.

You want to wrestle a full 22-person bracket? Eh. I think that would get equally corrupt with countries buying off advancements more than they already do. However, having the two bronze medal winners wrestle isn't a terrible idea, though I think that they have four medals because there used to be 30 medals across ten weight classes and this way they can have a comparable number of medals (28) across the seven weights.

Q: I read your story on our inability to win any kind of medals in Greco. I myself have come to distance myself from these two styles of wrestling as this governing body keeps changing the rules every year. It start with weights an amount of weights changes, the clinch to decide a match is horrible. But worst of all is the pushing out of bounds rule. I watched some of our Greco guys and two in particular lost because of being pushed out of bounds. I mean it one thing if you are in a hold and you get taken out of bounds, but what was happening something like a sumo match. Our styles I believe conflict mentally for our guys who attack but stay in mat.
-- Ismael M.

Foley: Greco just isn't that interesting to many wrestlers in college, and with rule changes, few places to train, and matches that come down to reverse lifts no American talent is going to dedicate themselves. For us, it's a broken sport.

As for the pushout, I think it works well in freestyle where it promotes action. Also, saying "it's like sumo" is not a good argument. Other styles around the world have boundary rules and since freestyle is meant to be a collaborative style among the various traditional styles around the world a pushout is perfectly rational. Also, it's not too dissimilar from stalling in American folkstyle, except it's not administered with subjectivity. It's more complicated than JUST punishing the less-aggressive wrestler, but functions to keep action going and prevent too many ball grabs.

I LOVE THE BALL GRAB.

Foley's Friday Mailbag: Aug. 10, 2012

Fri, 10 Aug 2012 11:06:38 +0000

Foley's Friday Mailbag: Aug. 3, 2012

Fri, 03 Aug 2012 12:53:20 +0000

Channing Tatum

You might be undecided on the casting of Channing Tatum as Mark Schultz in the upcoming Bennett Miller movie, "Foxcatcher," but know that when one of the world's most photographed people wears the logo of your governing body, it has an impact.

Himbo Tatum has been seen around the NYAC mats and even stopped in and grabbed wrestling tips from two-time Hofstra All-American and undefeated UFC middleweight Chris Weidman. For now, I'm giving Magic Mike some props for learning the techniques. The dedication of an actor like Tatum gives me confidence not just in his performance, but in the overall quality of the film -- Miller must be pushing the right buttons.

Q: While I love the idea of Harry Lester winning a gold I am amazed that you don't have any Georgians in your medal winners for Greco... Namely "The Other Manuchar" (the first being the monster known as Manuchar Kvirkvelia. May I submit this. At 120 kilos in Greco the Cuban Mijain Lopez has to be the favorite, the only way he loses is when he gets bought. He is a beast out there!
-- Larry L.

And ...

Q: If Mijan Lopez (CUBA) did freestyle, he would easily be one of the best in the world.
-- @Will_J_157

Foley: Mijan Lopez is a total stud, and the "Other Manchur" made Lester look weak, which he most certainly is not.

Lopez is as much a lock to win the gold at 120 kilos in Greco as Michael Phelps was to come away from London with the all-time medal count. The Cuban wrestler has a Karelin-like intensity and with the loss to the Turk seemingly meaningless (Was he bought?), Lopez will cruise.

Q: Who was the last wrestler to wrestle both Greco and freestyle in the Olympics? The last wrestler from the United States to do it? The last wrestler to medal in both during the same Olympics?
Mark M.

There is a lot of Wikipedia involved in this answer. The consensus for the first and ONLY person to ever win an Olympic gold medal in Greco-Roman and Freestyle is Ivar V. Johansson of Sweden who pulled it off at the 1932 games in Los Angeles. His freestyle weight was 72 kilos while his Greco was 79 kilos. No mention as to when they weighed in, or how many days separated the competition.

I'll go ahead and submit a nomination for Johansson's double gold to be included in any top ten list of Olympic wrestling achievements. Others??

Q: Do you think that either Taylor Massa or Jason Tsirtsis will make an impact next year?
-- @mattlinder1

Foley: Freshman are all the rage. Taylor Massa will be at Michigan under the tutelage of Sean Bormet and Donny Pritzlaff. Though it's tough to know for certain if he'll start, Massa will be a multiple time All-American and a title contender. Out of the box AA? Maybe, maybe not. I just see him as a guy ready for a great career.

Jason Tsirtsis would be a top 15 wrestler within a month of starting the season, but is expected to redshirt this coming season at Northwestern. He recently had surgery on his labrum and can't be on the mat for a few months.

I'm excited to watch both these guys.

Q: How good was the 1984 U.S. Olympic freestyle team? Obviously the U.S. winning seven golds and nine total medals is not something we will ever see again. However, the Soviets, Bulgarians, East Germans, Cubans, Poles and North Koreans, all of whom had World champions in '83 and/or '85, boycotted the games. I know wrestlers peak for the Olympics and often retire after winning gold, so how do you think the U.S. would have done on home soil with the wrestling heavyweight countries in attendance?
-- John P.

Foley: More than most sports, wrestlers that appeared in the 1984 Olympics and won medals have to wonder what would've been. As I've covered earlier, and as you put in your question, many of the top wrestling nations in the country boycotted the Olympics in 1984. This wasn't Brazil, Argentina and Peru missing the action, this was the best team in the world and three more that were in the top ten. Obviously the Americans wouldn't have won as many medals had those countries competed.

However, they didn't compete, meaning we simply can't say with certainty. On the positive side of the argument you have the case of Dave Schultz who won gold without facing the Soviet, but who beat the Soviet the very next time they wrestled. It's not admissible in a court of law (Speculation, Your Honor!), but it's safe to assume he could have done the same in 1984.

Let's leave it there. Let's walk away with warm feelings about how well our team did in 1984 and the knowledge that should he have faced his Soviet nemesis, Dave Schultz would've prevailed. Because let's all agree, Dave Schultz was the man.

Q: I was wondering what you know about the fact that two people get bronze medals at the Olympic/World championships these days. It looks like the first time they did this was at the 2005 World Championships. Do you know why FILA started doing this? Judo and Boxing have been awarding two bronze medals as well, but why is it only these combat sports that have two third place winners? This whole thing just doesn't make sense to me. Does it have something to do with the repechage system? Why wouldn't they just have the two wrestlers who win bronze in the current system wrestle each other for the actual 3rd place?
-- Dave B.

Foley: I feel totally fine with the idea of two bronze medals. Though I don't think every place deserves a trophy, I do think that an additional few medals doesn't invalidate their significance.

You did well to point out that judo has been doing this for years, and the reason FILA adopted the idea is simple enough. Wrestling as a two-day event, which meant another weigh-in for the athletes and a more expensive and less friendly viewing experience for fans. The new format is quicker. With repechage the action can take place within a six-hour day giving fans the finality they're seeking, and doesn't force any extra meaningless weigh-ins. Also, didn't pool wrestling just kind of FEEL ridiculous? We're not soccer.

I Facebooked with Jason Bryant of USA Wrestling about the system and his thoughts were a little meatier, "There was a lot of match throwing when guys were 1-1 in the round-robin pool. There were guys not showing up as to give their opponent more classification point." He added, "I don't care for the repechage and it wouldn't be so bad if they actually seeded the tournament."

Seeding would be difficult and the current system does allow for some perilous first-round matchups, but overall the system seems to be putting the right wrestlers on the medal stand.

Enjoy the Olympics and please send in any questions you have and I'll try and get to them in each mailbag. Also, be on the lookout for the podcast. With some luck we'll be doing them once-a-week starting in September and running through the collegiate season.

Foley's Friday Mailbag: July 27, 2012

Fri, 27 Jul 2012 11:12:41 +0000

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Foley: I saw that too. Seems like he should be better by the time they compete. I was mostly concerned that he and Jordan Burroughs tied up and probably exchanged germs. HANDS OFF THE GOLD MEDALIST, SQUIRREL!

If this mailbag is worse than normal I will be blaming the random virus that just won't leave me alone this week (I'm down 10-2 over the last three days.) Like Coleman, I can't control when I get sick in comparison to when I have to perform (we can call it "writing") so here it is Thursday night I'm wrapped in sweats, snorting ibuprofen and reheating day-old pho. Agreed that there is a *touch less at stake, but I GET the feeling of helplessness a sick Olympic athletes must endure. But like our heroes in Red, White and Blue, I too will forge ahead ...

Q: How does Tom Brands' new contract compare to other high profile coaches in wrestling like J Robinson, Cael Sanderson, Tom Ryan, and John Smith?
Also, how do you feel about a young coach, although a multiple national champion coach, earning that kind of salary compared to other longer tenured coaches with similar results?
-- Jeffrey M.

Foley: Tom Brands' new contract seems to not include some of the fringe benefits and incentives that eventually work their way into the final contract. However, even before we add those numbers, he is pretty solidly the second highest paid college wrestling coach in the nation. But to clarify, that is the amount they are paid in base salary, and for some of these guys that doesn't include endorsements, use of car, or the biggest windfall of them all: camp dollars.

John Smith, Oklahoma State: $284,980
Tom Brands, Iowa: $250,000
J Robinson, Minnesota: $210,498
Cael Sanderson, Penn State: $150,000
Tom Ryan, Ohio State: $110,025.36

This list lacks consistency. Cael's numbers are nowhere near what he made last season, nor does this number reflect fringe benefits. If I had to guess twelve of his monthly paychecks add up to something like $280k, which is likely why Brands enjoyed a significant bump. You must keep up with the Jones.' What makes researching the Penn State system more difficult, nay impossible, is that they aren't actually a public institution. It's a complicated process that has everything to do with tax liability and the funds from football, but Penn State isn't required to file the salaries of their employees. Only after a Right to Know was filed did the top 25 earners from Penn State have their salaries exposed, namely Joe Paterno. For now you just have to take Cael at his word, and then add thirty to fifty-percent to that number.

These guys all run excellent programs that contend for NCAA titles and should be compensated for their work. Overpaid? Nah, I feel that each of them has earned their paychecks and might even be a bit underpaid. Having been there, I can tell you that being a coach is not a 40 hour-a-week job, it's a 24/7 commitment to the future of student-athletes .

Q: How do high schools like Apple Valley, Brandon, and other top schools get away with all the recruiting that goes on? Everyone knows they do it and knows it goes on. Take Mark Hall or Mason Manville for example. These kids are in middle school and wrestling at Fargo and winning it. How is that even fair for kids who stay the right age and have to wrestle them when they are 19 years old wrestling a 17-year-old or a young 18-year-old? Mason Manville was recruited all the way from Virginia and Mark Hall from Michigan, and how is it that Mark Hall can wrestle under Team Michigan but go to Apple Valley? It seems like anyone is too scared to do anything just because they are the No. 1 team in the nation. Why doesn't anyone crack down on them and try to stop it? But all it takes is there parents to say that they have been transferred or something. I have heard of schools actually housing kids and they don't live with their parents and stay with another wrestler. How is that right or even fair? No team will be able to compete against a team who can just stack up every year. It's like they are already college wrestlers in high school. Do you think it is right for teams to do this?
-- Jake

Foley: You put way too much passion into this email for me to even think about ignoring it. Is transferring in high school "fair?" Blargh. Probably not when you think of sports in a regionalized sense, but sports have become something much more financially motivated, which means that even high school athletes have a "right" to become free agents. If I thought that taking my kid to Apple Valley would earn him a $200k college scholarship, and the upfront cost (risk) was minimal or at least manageable, I'd have to consider the option.

College costs are simply out of control. If a student takes on even $100k of undergrad debt, they become tied to a number so large that it restricts their future life choices. I know medical students with a total estimated post-graduation debt exceeding $500,000, including undergrad. This is for the HEALERS, not even the dirty, low-down lawyering types, but the people we ask to save our lives and treat our illnesses. Do they deserve to be in for a half-million bucks? Stop yourself before you reply they make it back, because in fact they don't.

So, yes, it is unfair to a system that ranks regionalism as the root of all competitive sport. However, this is America and regionalism is not nearly as important as straight cash, homie.

Reader update on Josh Budke from Chad ...

I always laugh a little bit when my friends watch "The Season" and mention "that Budke guy" when talking about the story. I know him quite well actually.

After graduating from Iowa, he accepted a job in Cedar Rapids (25 miles north of Iowa City) selling insurance plans/benefits to large and small businesses. Shortly after, he became a volunteer assistant coach at my high school, Cedar Rapids Washington. Ironically enough, I soon found out that his younger brother became engaged to my cousin who lives in the Waterloo/Cedar Falls area. Needless to say, our families became close and I got to know Josh very well.

He joined the coaching staff my sophomore year and basically served as my personal coach during my junior and senior seasons. At the time, his wife became pregnant with their second child and he was going to walk away from coaching to spend more time with his family. He decided to stick it out for two more seasons until I graduated and, to this day, I am still thankful for that. I graduated from high school in 2006, by the way.

Josh and his wife just had their fourth kid and I believe he helps out in the room when he gets a chance. It took me awhile to gain the courage to ask him about his senior season at Iowa. Both Josh and his father will tell you that he didn't quit the team, although ESPN portrayed it that way.

A couple interesting facts/tidbits:

In "The Season" when they are talking about Josh and show him packing up all of his brackets at his parents' house, they show a rural farm house in the middle of the winter portraying that Josh was a "country boy." His father was once a very successful dentist in the Cedar Falls area and patented a couple dentistry tools that allowed him to retire much earlier than expected. I can assure you that Josh didn't grow up in an old farm house.

Josh is one of the most straight-laced and dedicated people I know. At the end of "The Season" he is shown marrying his high school sweetheart. She once told me a story about how Josh drank his first full beer after the end of his career as a Hawkeye. Pretty crazy to think about.

Q: Olympic wrestling predictions? Predictions for the coming Division I college wrestling season?
-- Mike

Foley: We can hold off on the Division I stuff for a few weeks or months, but here are the picks that I've been submitting around the Internet. Please note that my picks would cost Mike Novogratz $750k. I hope he's on the hook for more.

Also, for those of you who like a good bet, there is some great value on the field picks at this Olympics. Many of the books are putting a money line for/against a wrestler to win the gold medal. Think Burroughs is coming home with the hardware? The line is set at +140, meaning you bet $100 for $140 profit. Hell, maybe that's Novo's plan to pay for all those gold medals?

Women's Freestyle:
48 kilos: Hitomi Sakamoto (Japan)
55 kilos: Saori Yoshida(Japan)
63 kilos: Nasanburmaa Orchibat (Mongolia)
72 kilos: Ekaterina Bukina (Russia)

Greco-Roman:
55 kilos: Shujin Li (China)
60 kilos: Omid Noroozi (Iran)
66 kilos: Justin Lester (USA)
74 kilos: Roman Vlasov (Russia)
84kilos: Nazmi Avulca (Turkey)
96 kilos: Artur Aleksanyan (Armenia)
120 kilos: Riza Kayaalp (Turkey)

Men's Freestyle:
55 kilos: Djamal Otarsultanov (Russia)
60 kilos: Franklin Gomez (Puerto Rico)
66 kilos: Yabrail Hasanov (Azerbaijan)
74 kilos: Jordan Burroughs (USA)
84 kilos: Jake Herbert (USA)
96 kilos: Reza Yazdani (Iran)
120 kilos: Chuluunbat Jargalsaikhan (Mongolia)

Q: What is the record for consecutive Division I wrestling championships, and by what school?
-- R. Smith

Foley: No big surprises here. Though looking through the list of champions it's pretty clear that it only takes a minor hiccup to offset a nice streak.

1: Iowa, 9, 1978-1986
2: Oklahoma A&M, 7, 1937-1942, 1946 (not held from 1943-1945)
3: Iowa, 6, 1995-2000

Q: In the United States, a fifteen-year-old freshman in high school can weigh up to 285 pounds and wrestle. However, an adult in the Olympics must weight no higher than 265 pounds. What's up with that?
-- W. Taft

Foley: I'd blame fast food and football. We Americans are growing larger by the year, and since high school sports are about inclusion, we've upwardly adjusted weight classes to reconcile our tubbiness.

Our size just isn't easy to replicate on a massive scale (pun intended) outside of our borders. Polynesians tend to grow large, there are certainly a few sizable Russians in the mix, and some scattered enclaves of enormousness exist exists elsewhere in the world. However, nobody does average weight on a large proportion than the American people.

This is the most fun you can have with your weight on the Internet.

What is so interesting about this graph is how the oil-rich countries of Qatar, Kuwait and UAE are among the ten heftiest in the world. No question that this has something to do with the wealth within this area of the world. Add rich foods together with the lack of exercise that companies extraordinary high income levels, and voila you have some porkers. As previously mentioned, the graph also sites Micronesia, Samoa and Tonga representing the Polynesians. I'll withhold comments on the Croats and the Greeks for fear of Hellenic retribution, but I think we can all make our own assumptions as to why the Greeks might be a bit heftier than even their Italian neighbors.

I know what you're thinking right now ... " some dudes brainwashed Derek to off the prime minister of Micronesia." Yes, the simple mention of Micronesia equates to Zoolander.

For your viewing pleasure ...

Foley's Friday Mailbag: July 20, 2012

Fri, 20 Jul 2012 08:14:11 +0000

Mike Zadick was recently replaced on the Iowa coaching staff (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com)

A week after removing Zadick from the coaching staff Tom Brands signed a five-year, $1.25 million contract extension with the Hawkeyes. (That's NOT including incentive bonuses.) You don't have to be brilliant to know that there was some give-and-take during the contract negotiations. It's conceivable, though not confirmed, that the AD asked Brands to make some changes to his staff. The team hasn't won the NCAA team title since 2010, which signals to higher-ups that a change, even a minor re-composition of the coaching staff, is needed in order to generate new results.

I don't think Brands made the decision lightly, but I also don't think he thought he owed anything to Zadick. Remember ... "Don't feel sorry for him ... He doesn't deserve anything. The only thing you deserve is what you earn."

Pop Culture/Hate Mail Halftime

Wrestling is in Fargo this week and because I know that you can't think of our beloved host city without conjuring up an image of Peter Stormare shoving a leg into a wood chipper ... (NSFW)

Foley: Readers respond to my prediction that Anthony Robles would beat Jack Cuvo. Here are a few responses ...

"As always, I LOVE your mailbag column on InterMat. However, you are CRAZY if you think Robles would ever beat Cuvo. If you ever saw Cuvo wrestle, you'd know that he would run Robles into the ground, GUARANTEED!! Cuvo wins, 10-6, in a good bout."
-- Mark S.

"Wow. Cuvo vs. Robles? Remember Cuvo was a beast on his feet. How does he take Robles down? I gotta go with my fellow PA brethren."
-- @CoachPrebes

"Cuvo may have been the best conditioned collegiate wrestler ever. He always found a way to win. Down by 8 going into the third period it was a win for him. However he wasn't able to get out on bottom at times. That makes this a great match up. Could come down to the coin toss, when Robles gets on top and how a ref calls stalling."
-- gutfirst

Q: What do you think of this graph?
-- @Derek_Sickles

Foley: The first thing I noticed was how short the financial indicator is for the future success of wrestling. I'd bet that the exact opposite is true, that the likelihood of excelling in wrestling is correlative to a LACK of money. Every team I've been on has had wealthy kids in the lineup and they typically don't make it nearly as far as the guys who had less growing up. Not to say they aren't as tough, its just that there is less to fight for when the cards come up ACES regardless of how well you do on the mat or in the classroom. That bleeds into their wrestling output.

The graph is a little misleading. Each host country in wrestling is given at least four spots in the Olympic wrestling portion of the games. There is a lot that can factor into performance at the Games, but putting a decent athlete into the wrestling portion, especially at weaker weight classes with random draws, and you're bound to get a few place-winners. That likelihood increases when you consider that three of the last four Olympic Games were in countries with strong wrestling credentials (USA, Australia, Greece and China.) Home crowd, less travel, weaker weights, random draws and kinder officiating will help most host countries, though the British are TOTALLY SCREWED.

Q: I know I am late to the game on this since changes are constantly being made to allow "more champions" in high school sports, but what do you think of states adding additional classes in a sport like wrestling? I am from Illinois and a few years back we went from two classes to three and I didn't even like the idea of two classes. Wrestling at its core is an individual sport and most of us remember our career marks much more vividly then we remember our team records. I just can't get behind a state saying that a kid from a bigger school has an advantage in a sport where team size has nothing to do with anything. Not to mention the muddying of the recruiting waters by adding more "state champions" every year. (As a disclaimer I went to a high school with under 600 students total.)
-- Eric C.

Foley: Everyone being a winner is what will eventually lead to the implosion of America. China, India, and Russia are not nearly as dangerous as our own decadence and apathy towards excellence.

At one misguided point in my life I was pursuing a Ph.D. in higher education -- the pedagogy of learning and all that nonsense. I'd already earned the master's degree, but two weeks into my new program I knew that it wasn't right when I had the following exchange with my professor:

Prompt: Several of the 10-year-old boys in your school are suffering from weight issues. What steps can be taken to curb their weight gain while also making sure that they feel confident in their body image?

Prof: Does anyone have any ideas on programs we could introduce at this school?
Me: Strap them to a treadmill and push the "INCREASE" buttons.
Prof: Well that isn't going to show him how to live a healthy life ...
Me: Yes it will. He'll lose weight.
Prof: He'll hate running and lose self-confidence.
Me: He really shouldn't have too much self-confidence; he's an obese fifth-grader. And who the hell doesn't like running around when they're in fifth grade?
Prof: Nothing is possible without self-confidence, Mr. Foley.
Me: Maybe. But we can't hand this kid a pill for skinniness. He's consumed too many calories and now he needs to work them off. This isn't complicated.
Prof: Well what do you ...
Me: (interrupting) I know plenty of self-critical people who've done just fine. I like miserable people.
Prof: Anybody else with ideas on how to make sure our fifth-graders don't find themselves losing self-confidence or getting bullied.
Girl: We could construct a series of marginal goals and give him a consistent diet of affirmations ...

Affirm ... what?! (head explodes)

I shut my laptop and never came back to class. No official dropout, no explanation, I just never came back. It seemed I was being indoctrinated into the idea that education wasn't about learning new things or correcting behavior, but it was about making sure we taught the kids to lie to themselves. Fat? No, sweetie you're a big-boned victim. Bad at math? We'll give you easier questions. Oh, and here is your day's Ritalin.

We don't need more divisions for wrestling or any sport. I can see that the playoff system might become a little difficult, but making it higher on the rung would just take on more meaning rather than devaluing the title of "state champion."

You are NOT a snowflake. You are NOT special.

Foley's Friday Mailbag: July 13, 2012

Fri, 13 Jul 2012 07:50:39 +0000

Chris Weidman, who wrestled at Hofstra, improved to 9-0 (Photo/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)

As for Chris Weidman, I think that given the chance to fight for the middleweight title he'd be my personal favorite to beat Anderson Silva. He's less experienced and might not posses the same acumen on his feet as the current champion, but in wrestling, conditioning and jiu-jitsu the 28-year-old Weidman has the upper hand.

That Weidman has better wrestling than Silva isn't surprising. Sonnen exposed the Brazilian as often being slow to sprawl. Assuming he takes down the champ, Weidman becomes a threat to submit. Believe it or not, Weidman is downright nasty at jiu-jitsu and where Sonnen couldn't avoid a triangle or attempt his own submission, Weidman has extensive international experience finding the finish. Weidman's movement inside the guard and his INCREDIBLE guard passing skills will mean less time with his hands tied up by the prone Silva. His hands will have to go somewhere, and I suspect they'll end up in Silva's jaw.

Should Weidman Submit the Spider, Cain KO JDS and Johny best GSP the only weight left in order to complete your dream would be featherweight where Chad Mendes would have to knock off Jose Aldo.

Q: Over the years wrestling has truly evolved, especially in terms of technique. What are your thoughts on the rise of popularity with moves like the super duck? Can the fancy nature moves like it hurt the next generation, especially on the senior level & against Russian/foreign defense?
-- D.B.H.

Foley: Is the super duck popular with the kids these days? I need to start drilling.

Techniques evolve rapidly and what worked in 1999 is not necessarily going to work today. Fortunately our young wrestlers have coaches to guide them towards the techniques that are beyond fads. But what you're getting at is something quite different: The perception that wrestlers are valuing FLASH over SUBSTANCE.

Flashy play corrupted basketball in the later 90s and early aughties that ended with massive international embarrassments for Team USA. The theory was that SportsCenter highlighted dunks which motivated attention-hungry players to drive the hoop instead of pass, and subsequently fewer players also wanted to play good defense. (Who would want to be the guy forever immortalized on a poster with Lebron James' crotch in their face mid-dunk?) USA Basketball realized that they would keep losing to Puerto Rico and Greece unless they found a way to wrangle in their petulant media-hungry stars. They hired Coach K to teach the how to pass and play defense and otherwise ignore for a few weeks the impulse to be on Top Plays. Their problem has been solved, at least temporarily.

Wrestling is starting to become more media friendly, even if only within our own community and in random clips on SportsCenter. Highlights on video sites like Flo ABSOLUTELY perpetuate the type of flash-first mentality in wrestling that has been prevailing in basketball. This is almost certainly NOT a good thing. When I was looking for videos of T.J. Williams to post in this week's Top Ten piece, it was shocking how many of his matches were defined by simple sprawls and double leg re-shots. None of his offense would make today's OMG!! World of Twitter that emphasizes high-risk moves. (You can follow me @trfoley.) Ellis Coleman's Flying Squirrel almost broke the Internet, and because it was viewed so often it lead to imitations, including Shawn Bunch who lost a period when his attempt ended in a five-point move for his opponent Coleman Scott. I'm pretty sure he'd like to have that one back.

Flash is something to be done in moderation. I think a recalibration of techniques towards only super ducks, flying squirrels, spinning back fists, and cartwheel doubles would harm us internationally. But we have a stable of guys RIGHT NOW who are smarter than to gamble their Olympic gold on the hopes of landing a high-risk move. What is interesting about wrestling is that the younger generation won't reach the international level if all the do is attempt saltos and lateral drops. When it comes to technique and winning competitions, wrestling is inextricably Darwinistic, while other sports, like basketball, have long periods of technical flat lining.

Wrestling in pop-culture media break (I consider judo to be in the wrestling family.)

"You make a sex video with some guy and that's all your famous for ..." -- Ronda Rousey, person who would NEVER use sex appeal to get attention.

Q: Did you watch the Franklin Gomez-Besik Kudukhov match? Gomez looks like a beast. Coleman Scott-Franklin Gomez for the Olympic gold medal!
-- Andrew H.

Foley: Yes. Unreal.

Q: Considering the level of assumed "badassery" among fans/spectators at the NCAA DI tournament each year, isn't it something that almost no fights break out in the stands? I have my own thoughts about this, but am curious to hear yours. After watching the coverage of Russian Nationals on Flo, and seeing the melee that broke out after one of Saitiev's matches, I wondered why we don't see that more in the U.S.? Are the Russians ... rednecks?
-- Joe S.

Foley: Let us not lower ourselves to name calling, especially when those we malign are specifically outfitted with ass-whipping skills. (Dagestanis are also "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest' crazy. And who do you never, ever fight? The crazy guy.)

The lack of fistfights in the stands is mostly a matter of coincidence, rather than overt classiness. The NCAA wrestling tournament is a mostly alcohol-free event populated primarily by parents, girlfriends, and alumni groups with an average age of "mid-life crisis." The rapscallions who attend the tournament and would gladly throw their paws in anger are either on the mat, at the bar drinking, or have slept through the session due to an unconquerable gut-twisting hangover. The NCAA also limits the interaction of fan groups they suspect might not blend well or have a long history of angst (i.e. Iowa/Penn State, Oklahoma/Oklahoma State, Princeton/Harvard)

The organizers of Russian Nationals put Satiev's face on a banner above the mat to promote his PROBABLE finals matchup with two-time world champion Denis Tsargush. Promotion is awesome, Beat the Streets did the same with Shawn Bunch before the Grapple in the Big Apple. But hen Satiev got throw for three in his semifinal matchup, yet inexplicably was given a point, the crowd saw that this wasn't promotional, that the fix was in. The crowd was hyper-regionalized, mildly intoxicated, and consequently expressed their displeasure.

Who could blame them? Russia is crooked and in countries where the government is constantly hosing you these outbursts by citizenry act as release valve for frustration. Its as true in Russia as it is in China, where last year the Georgetown men's basketball team got DEMOLISHED during a fight. All the Chinese players needed in order to turn a friendly game of roundball into full-scale mob was the slightest spark, then ... BOOM! GOES THE CHAIR TO THE FACE.

No booze + No intermingling + No corruption = Peace.

Q: PSU's recruiting class is not highly regarded. Just a function of so few scholarships this year or a problem in your opinion?
-- Michael K.

Foley: Probably just a little down on scholarships, but I also don't think Coach Cael is as committed to landing the ABSOLUTE top guy NO MATTER WHAT.

I think Coach Cael understands that the best recruits don't always make the best wrestlers. He wants guys that will buy into his system and won't cause trouble. At the end of the day he believes that plugging even a marginal wrestler into that system will be more than adequate as long as they pay attention, give their full effort, and enjoy their time on campus. Essentially he doesn't need finished products and might even prefer to make them himself.

Q: I would like to see UFC fighter Chael Sonnen go up to light heavyweight. Thoughts?
-- Tom N.

Foley: I would like to see him retire and become a full-time announcer. Incredible.

Q: 1989 118-pound NCAA champion Jack Cuvo (senior) vs. 2011 125-pound NCAA champion Anthony Robles (senior). Both went undefeated, but watching Cuvo in his videos back in the day, I couldn't see anybody touching him. Who wins and score?
-- Robbie P.

Foley: My instinct was that you were screwing with me. Since I was a kid I'd heard of the Jack Cuvo single leg and this seemed like a prompt that wanted me to talk about the advantages and disadvantages of Robles competing with one leg. I now see that it's just a great question.

Robles by a major decision (13-4) and here's why. If you've never wrestled Robles it is VERY difficult to understand his unique leverage and angles of attack. How about the second meeting, or maybe the third? Sure, you increase your chances significantly. However, by his senior season Robles had refined his technique so much that even guys he'd faced before had no answers in their rebuttal matches.

Jack Cuvo is a legend, but I'd put Robles up against any 125-pound wrestler in NCAA history and give him the nod a majority of the time, much less a 118 lber. Robles was just that dominant his senior season.

Foley's Friday Mailbag: June 29, 2012

Fri, 29 Jun 2012 08:06:00 +0000

OSU had five NCAA champions in 2005 (Photo/Jeremy Cook)

The first squad (since 1961) to accomplish the feat was the 1986 Iowa Hawkeyes Brad Penrith (126) Kevin Dresser (142), Jim Heffernan (150), Marty Kistler (167) and Duane Goldman (190). (Note: Four of these men are or have been Division I head coaches. Impressive stuff.)

Next was the much-documented 1997 Iowa Hawkeyes. The NCAA champs that season were Jesse Whitmer (118), Mark Ironside (126), Lincoln McIlravy (150), Joe Williams (158) and Lee Fullhart (190).

The other team to capture five individual championships at the NCAA tournament was the 2005 Oklahoma State Cowboys who did the deed with Zack Esposito (149), Johny Hendricks (165), Chris Pendleton (174), Jake Rosholt (197) and Steve Mocco (285)

It's interesting that in an era of parity one school could be so dominant as to have five champs. But it seems to be the case that we are coming into a cycle of mega-programs with a sea of equally matched also-rans. As for the next team to have five champs? Well, if you believe in patterns, you might want to lay some money on Penn State having five champs in 2013, which was eight years after Okie State and 16 years after Iowa's second team to accomplish the feat.

Q: Worst description of wrestling in Hollywood:

A. A.C. Slater's girlfriend on SBTB almost passing out in a wrestling match due to her much larger male opponent's standing full nelson?

B. Vin Diesel's pin (I guess flat stomach on the mat is considered a pin) of Everyone Love's Raymond's brother in "The Pacifier"?

C. Louden Swain's coach wearing a singlet (over his T-shirt) during wrestling practices?

D. None of the Above.

-- D. Tompkins

Foley: I'll eliminate the singlet over the T-shirt because I'm certain that at least one of our readers had a wrestling coach that dressed that way on occasion. In fact, my assistant wrestling coach wasn't scared to pull it off, but I can't remember if it was a joke or not. I'll choose to remember it as something he did to motivate us for dual meets.

Did I miss something when I passed on the chance to watch "The Pacifier?" If you locked me on a plane for 14 hours and made me choose between sitting in first-class where I HAD TO WATCH "The Pacifier" on repeat, or else occupy a middle seat in coach between an arguing couple, I'd gladly choose to play Dr. Phil. However, if the first-class movie was Vin Diesel's "Fast Five" I'd be SOLD. I watch that movie by accident once a week, and each time I'm shocked by the attractiveness of the Brazilian female cop. Yikes. She needs more work.(Unfortunately, she's married to that enormous Australian dude who plays Thor.)

That leaves me with "none of the above" or Slater's girlfriend almost going night-night from an illegal, albeit improbable, hold. I have to go with "None of the Above" because I'd never want to anger the SBTB overseers, or discourage them from including wrestling as often as they did. How many football games did we watch at Bayside? Basketball? Wrestling was their sport of choice, and though they flubbed the move in this situation, they DID get right that Slater wanted to wrestle at Iowa instead of going to West Point, where presumably he wouldn't be wrestling (Would hiring Joe Heskett have changed Slater's mind?).

To my SBTB geeks: On how many episodes of SBTB was wrestling featured? Other sports? Well-researched answers get an InterMat T-shirt and the gratitude of our readers.

Q: I like to compare wrestlers from different decades. Wrestling has clearly advanced significantly over the past 20 years (more funk). That being said, I give you this match: 2012 133-pound NCAA champion Logan Stieber (freshman) vs. 1992 134-pound NCAA champion Tom Brands (senior). Who's your pick?
-- Robbie P.

Foley: Are you challenging me because of my perceived (and not at all real) man-crush on Logan Stieber?

Tom Brands

Unfortunately a "young" Stieber wouldn't be a match for 23-year-old Tom Brands, who won the OW at the 1992 NCAA Championships. Stieber's victory over Jordan Oliver was significant (although a *touch controversial), and though his wrestling style might have frustrated Brands briefly, I don't think anyone was going to stop that monster in 1992. Hell, imagine if Brands had the opportunity to wrestle on the entire mat? Stieber would've passed out from exhaustion. I think that Stieber may end up being more accomplished and his older self might've slaughtered Brands, but not the 2012 version.

Brands by two.

Q: Any more jiu-jitsu and I'm going to stop reading the mailbag.
-- Jim D.

Foley: You just opened the door. Adios, hombre!

Jiu-jitsu is relevant to wrestling. Cael Sanderson knew that the value of learning more about grappling he invited black belt Ricky Lundell onto his Iowa State squad. That anecdote might not have ended with Lundell winning an NCAA championship, but it shows the power that the sport has in influencing wrestling. The sports are closer cousins than many people imagine. (It's NOT just for people looking to start their MMA career.) What compels many former wrestlers to take up the sport is the sustainability of the act (fewer injuries) and the attractiveness of a more technical and calculated set of skills and game planning. In many ways wrestling is checkers and jiu-jitsu is chess.

Just this week comedian and UFC announcer Joe Rogan earned his black belt from 10th Planet jiu-jitsu in LA. Watch his promotion and listen to his speech and you'll hear the themes I've touched on in the mailbag and that many jiu-jitsu choose the sport: camaraderie, self-awareness, and physical conditioning. Rogan isn't a guy proud to get his black belt because he thinks it might score him extra points with women, it's just a minor recognition that he's dedicated his life to self-improvement through jiu-jitsu. Why should we stop learning about ourselves after our wrestling career is over?

Jiu-jitsu is also an example of the type of healthy sport that I'd encourage my kids to practice from a young age. If he picks it up he'll also be able to dork up all those bully lineman and tight ends filling high school and college campuses with their false machismo. "You're wearing pads and you play four seconds at a time. CALM DOWN BUTKUS"

Please note: Foley's Friday Mailbag is taking next week off in the expectation that you'll be wakeboarding and NOT sitting at your desk reading about wrestling. Feel free to send in questions and Happy Independence Day. See you back here on Friday, July 13.

Foley's Friday Mailbag: June 22, 2012

Fri, 22 Jun 2012 06:59:20 +0000

Jordan Oliver was close to securing a takedown in the closing seconds (Photo/Kevin Schlosser, BuckeyeWrestling.com)

Foley: Blargh. I don't really want to answer this question because I know that there are too many people that think I'm irrationally high on Logan Stieber, but I'll give this question my best bi-partisan effort.

My contention has been that Stieber's chest lock kept his position active, and that with Oliver's head stuck in Stieber's crotch no takedown should have been awarded. Even when you look at Oliver's grip, his left arms seemed to be wrapped around Stieber's extended right leg, but Oliver's right arm was around Stieber's left shin and ABOVE THE PLANTED FOOT. Stieber's chest lock, Oliver's head position and the way his hands were locked are what I think prevented his final shot from being called a takedown.

The edge of the mat argument employed by those who thought Oliver had a takedown I think reflects on our conditioning as fans and wrestlers more than it does actual rules. The edge of the mat usually creates big scrambles with the popular kick-turn-kick three-step used by defensive wresters to avoid giving up the takedown. When offensive wrestlers hang onto one leg and then REEEEAAAAAACHH for the other both fans and the referees are ready to call an immediate takedown. Hell, even the defensive wrestler tends to give in a little when his second ankle is finally nabbed. Reaction times are truncated and both fans and referees understand the second ankle to indicate immediate control.

In this way wrestling in the middle of the mat is significantly different than wrestling on the edge. Stieber had more options to pursue and as with all middle of the mat takedown attempts was given a wider berth in exploring those defensive options. The takedown wasn't happening on the edge of the mat so Stieber wasn't conditioned to sense that he'd given up a takedown. Also, with Oliver's head lodged in his crotch and with his thighs flat against the mat, Stieber reacted like a wrestler in a scrambling position which was essentially perceived by the referee(s) as the case. There was no need to declare finality to the action because not only were they not n the edge but Stieber's back wasn't exposed AND the referee wasn't acknowledging the clock.

(Side note: John Smith and Eric Guerrero stayed on stage after the match to shake Stieber's hand. I KNOW that is what we EXPECT as fans, but in such a difficult time they showed class to congratulate the opposing wrestler even as theirs jumped from the stage in disappointment.)

Q: Sounds like Ed Ruth is bumping up to 184 next season and Matt Brown will wrestle 174 for PSU. I have a two-part question: How do you think Ruth does at 184 in both the Big Ten and NCAAs. What about Brown at 174?

Ed Ruth was the InterMat Wrestler of the Year this past season (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com)

Foley: Heading into next season Ed Ruth is my selection as best overall wrestler in the country. Confident as I am in his ability, Ruth will face a stacked weight class including defending NCAA champion Steve Bosak (Cornell) and 2011 NCAA runner-up Robert Hamlin (Lehigh), both back for their senior campaigns. Still, if Ruth can maintain his dominance next season then he'll not only walk through Big Tens and NCAAs, he'll also earn InterMat Wrestler of the Year honors again and also claim the Dan Hodge Trophy.

Matt Brown will do just fine and could easily contend for both the Big Ten and NCAA titles. His teammates (most of whom are PRETTY GOOD) think of him as some sort of superhero with limitless amounts of conditioning and incredible athleticism. Another year of technique and I don't see why he's not top three at the NCAA tournament. (Remember before this season Brown spent two years in Africa completely removed from wrestling.) He could very well do much better than third place, which could result in another NCAA team title for the Nittany Lions who will be in position to put as many as five wrestlers into the finals.

Five wrestlers into the finals? You're right to be shaking your head. The Nittany Lions could squeeze in a sixth. Yes, they're that loaded.

Q: What do you make of Sammie Henson to Mizzou? It'll be weird seeing him coach against Tyler Caldwell.
-- Andrew H.

Foley: Sammie Henson has experienced one of the most frustrating careers in college coaching. Absolutely no assistant coach has a more immediate impact on a program with more consistency than Sammie. He's a genuine dude, family man and a tough-as-nails leader, but when its come time for the increase in responsibility he's gotten some tough breaks. My hope for non-Mizzou fans is that we'll see a big-time program extend him the opportunity and until then I'm on the Sammie bandwagon screaming to AD's: GIVE THIS MAN A HEAD COACHING JOB!

Henson will do wonderful at Mizzou. The team had 10 NCAA qualifiers and no All-Americans in 2012 and I'd predict -- depending on which conference they land in -- that we'll see eight NCAA qualifiers and three All-Americans in 2013. Sammie has THAT type of impact on a program. Look for returning starters Alan "Dirty" Waters, Kyle Bradley and Drake Houdashelt to make big gains in the first semester.

I love that you mentioned Tyler Caldwell! Neither of these guys will let their admiration for each other get in the way of a good competition. If Mark Perry would coach against Chris Perry, I wouldn't doubt for a second that Henson would corner his Tiger against Caldwell.

Q: You posted up some cool videos of Marcelo Garcia. Have you gone back and done any wrestling recently? Was there a big difference?
-- Mark B.

Foley: I have. Yesterday I wrestled with Minnesota's Chris Dardanes for 45 minutes and though I outweigh him by thirty pounds and stand six inches taller my neck is so sore from being bullied that I'm staring at my computer screen with my head on a tilt. I much prefer being choked out by Marcelo Garcia to being head snapped by a Big Ten All-American wrestler.

One significant difference between the sports is the pace and the anxiety you feel while competing on your feet. I can "pull guard" in jiu-jitsu (go to my back) and be in a better scoring position, whereas in wrestling I HAVE to stay on top or else I'm losing. That variable alone decreases the anxiety of of a match by eliminating that necessity of aggression on your feet. And remember, in jiu-jitsu you are only ONE move away from an equalizer, even if you're on your back.

Q: Bo Jordan committed to Ohio State even though his father, uncle, and cousin wrestled at Wisconsin. I think that this shows us it's all going downhill in Madison, don't you?
-- Aaron M.

Foley: Alarmist. Would you wrestle for Tom Ryan? I would, especially if I lived in Ohio.

That 'Little Jordan' chose to compete for Ohio State isn't surprising and isn't indicative of a larger problem at Wisconsin. Yes, Barry Davis has been going through a tough streak as of late, but he's one hell of a good coach and I suspect that given this year to prove his wrestlers can compete at the NCAA tournament we'll see an influx of talent for the recruiting class rankings in 2013.

Too much is made of what family members do in comparison to their familial predecessors. That we've had high profile brothers (Chris and Mark Perry) choose different schools is actually indicative of a very healthy family life. Supporting your children on their individual path to success seems to me like one of the highest ideals you can achieve as a parent.

That written, my kids WILL ATTEND the University of Virginia.

Q: I was wondering your opinion on what was the best individual rivalry in wrestling. Collegiate and international?
-- Brad H.

Foley: The best collegiate rivalry of the past 20 years: Brent Metcalf vs. Darrion Caldwell or Mark Perry vs. Johny Hendricks.

The best collegiate rivalry going forward: Tony Nelson vs. Mike McMullan.

The best international rivalry of the past 20 years: Keith Sieracki vs. Matt Lindland.

The best international rivalry going forward: Denis Tsargush vs. Jordan Burroughs.

Q: Battle of the Batmen Tournament Edition: Val Kilmer vs. Michael Keaton and George Clooney vs. Christian Bale?
-- D. Thompkins

(Semifinal results: Michael Keaton dec. Val Kilmer 6-1. Bale tech. fall Clooney 18-3, 2:26).

Foley: Who is the Batman?

Let's start with the one sure best-of in the Batman franchise: Heath Ledger playing the Joker is the best villain of the franchise and has a claim to best overall acting performance in the franchise. Can we all agree on this?

Michael Keaton, who as we've discussed has had a so-so career since the late 90s, introduced audiences to the idea of Batman. His success in portraying Bruce Wayne's ass-kicking side was something he did well enough to spawn the Spiderman movies. Christian Bale has taken the role and elevated to a new potential, which also may or may not have given incentive to other superhero franchises (like Spiderman) to simply start over. Do you over-credit Keaton by saying that his original incarnation was the only thing that made possible Bale's role? Or do we treat it as an inevitability?

Bale has an argument as one of the top ten actors of the past 15 years. If you want a passionate portrayal of a complicated character you seek out Daniel Day-Lewis (greatest living actor) or you find Bale. He's dedicated himself to his craft and created believers out of studios and fans. Even his role in Terminator Salvation could have flopped, but his detail and professional approach (NSFW) to the art of acting might have carried him past all his competitors.

As Bale has become one of the biggest actors in the world, Keaton has struggled to find work and leave an impression on younger audiences. And I REPEAT: Bale lost 60 pounds for a role. That type of caloric restriction appeals to the wresting community and gives him the win.

It WAS a foregone conclusion, Bale maj. dec. Keaton, 12-1.

Foley's Friday Mailbag: June 15, 2012

Fri, 15 Jun 2012 07:14:52 +0000

Information, especially when it comes from experts like Josh Lowe and Mark Palmer, should be at a premium. InterMat values a reader's experience, which translates into choosing an aesthetic that isn't saturated with ads. I think we can all agree that too many ads would diminish the quality of the site. However, this is a business and when you hire writers to do several hours of research, analysis and writing, the costs add up. It's obvious that Lowe, Palmer, and I don't work for compliments, which means our bosses have to support our paychecks while creating enough to also pay webmasters and the rest. When the information warrants it, they take it off the free site and put it behind the Platinum pay wall.

I know that it's frustrating for users to land on the site to check out something they want only to be bested by a pay wall, but wanting to access the information in its own way validates that you should pay for it. The guys who run InterMat are already incredibly generous with the content they give away for free. The same type of specialization and analysis in lacrosse, golf, and basketball costs money for readers, usually big money. Even users of ESPN find themselves on the wrong side of the Insider when trying to learn more details about sports like MMA and college baseball.

Trust me, I KNOW that you don't want to pay for news, information, and analysis. I GET IT. But buying Platinum is also a free-market exercise in showing your support for the sport. Guys like Lowe could make MUCH better money analyzing the bond market, or New York real estate prices, but he instead entertains us with his insane analysis of high school sports because he's passionate about the sport.

We are always looking to add more value to the Platinum service without making the site off-limits to passer-bys. Should things go as planned, we'll be launching a new Platinum series that will be sure to cause some great debate and include factoids and research you won't want to miss. The high school rankings, Fargo breakdowns, and recruiting updates will also be updated throughout the year, along with exclusive interviews and the best analysis on the Web.

At less than $1 per week I'm sure you'll find that platinum is a low-cost a service you'll use enough to find valuable.

(This was the same argument that worked for my mother ... )

Q: What did you think about the Grapple in the Apple? Any thoughts on Coleman Scott and Shawn Bunch?
-- Trevor L.

Foley: You can read all about my thoughts once you get Platinum!

The gist is that wrestling promotions are doing well to grab primary, secondary, and tertiary forms of media coverage when they host the BTS events in NYC. For example there was the actual taping of the event, then the stories about the results (local and national), and then analysis about what it all means or even just the guys who are responsible for running the show. The event also generated a bunch of dosh which will help expand BTS to LA, which in turn creates new wrestlers, new media and new fans. Overall: Winner, winner.

Is it OK to go back in time and write that I KNEW Coleman Scott was going to win it all? I want to do that, because I thought he would, but statistically he seemed like a long shot. Maybe John Smith said it best when he told me that the reason Scott would win it is because he's had the toughest road. True, he did, but I have to think it also has something to do with having that much talent and dedication being ON. Zeke Jones, independent of Smith's comments, said before the wrestle-off that he expected the 60-kilo spot to be a highlight for the 2012 Olympic Team regardless of the representative for precisely the same reasons Smith thought Scott was going to achieve: TOUGHEST ROAD. By wrestling with what Jones called a "chip on their shoulder," Scott will be in position to take a home medal. Don't get me wrong, it's a long shot in a stacked weight class that includes four-time World champion Besik Kudukhov of Russia, but Scott is now part of what makes that weight stacked.

Coleman Scott defeated Shawn Bunch with a five-point move in the third match (Photo/John Sachs, Tech-Fall.com)

The final move against Bunch became one of the most dramatic finishes to any wrestling event I've ever attended. You can't script the drama of wrestling (which is part of why scripted wrestling does so well -- you can guarantee the drama), so when Scott lifted Bunch for the win AND the Olympic spot it was tough to not cheer. I felt like I was cheering the event itself, that I was somehow enraptured not because I have any connection to Coleman Scott (I don't) but because EVERYTHING FELL EXACTLY INTO PLACE. Wrestling isn't known for catching a lot of great PR breaks, but that moment was a big break and would there have been a highlight by Universal Sports I think we would have seen it on SportsCenter's Top Ten plays. We could have at least hope for it to be passed around the Internet in much the same way as the Flying Squirrel.

I also feel heartbroken for Bunch. He's talented and with some training and patience could hold off for another four years. My prediction is that we'll lose him to MMA, and while that hurts America in the short term, it does allow another young stud (LOGAN STIEBER, LOGAN STIEBER, LOGAN STIEBER) to earn more mat time with the coaches and earn better money once he's out of college.

Final note on Bunch. His loss was horrific enough, but became even more so when he ran off the mat to be alone (force of habit for losing wrestlers everywhere), but found himself standing in the middle of Times Square. It's a nightmare sequence and I still feel bad when thinking of what he (and Reece Humphrey) must be going through right now. They gave it their all, and while they fell short, I'm sure I speak for many in the wrestling community when I say we are proud of their efforts. It's their competitive spirit that will help elevate Scott to a higher place on the Olympic podium.

Final thought: Has there been a more likable cast of characters assembled for a U.S. Olympic Team?

Q: Is Zain Retherford going to have a high school to wrestle for next season?
-- @Bobbylit20

Foley: Word is that he'll be wrestling at Benton.

Q: Did you see the Pacquiao-Bradley screwjob? Can you think of a wrestling match where someone got jobbed that bad?
-- Geoff W.

Foley: There is a significant difference in the structure of a boxing match which makes it much more offensive when someone like Pacquiao gets robbed. There are JUDGES, where in NCAA wrestling we just have a referee. Single humans can miss action, two judges seeing a fight the wrong way is almost certainly indicative of collusion. Americans can forgive mistakes. We have a tougher time forgiving people who intentionally try to screw us.

Before I answer the wrestling portion of the question I did have friends place HEFTY bets on Bradley before the fight at +450 and walked away with enough money to buy 545 Platinum subscriptions. Another friend bought out of his Bradley bet in the 12th round because he was certain that Pacquiao had won. Ouch! (Secretly it makes me happy.)

Many believe Johny Hendricks was pinned by Ryan Churella in the NCAA finals in 2006 (Photo/John Sachs, Tech-Fall.com)

The worst screwjob is recent NCAA wrestling probably belongs to Gary Kessel's non-call in the 2006 NCAA Division I finals at 165 pounds. Ryan Churella (Michigan) decked Johny Hendricks (Oklahoma State) in the second period, but Kessel was out of place, or just had a brief lapse in concentration and missed the call. Kessel caught some bad attention for his mistake because Churella went on to lose the match. But it was actually Hendricks who came out having lost the most. Maybe because Okie State was wrestling well, or his brash demeanor rubbed fans the wrong way, but Hendricks became the most hated wrestler of the aughties.

Since then he's transitioned into MMA where he's one of the top welterweights in the world and fans don't just like him, they LOVE him (his nickname is the Happy Beard Guy). The reactions of the fans in 2006 might have cost wrestling something in the long term as well. In a recent interview with
FIGHT! Magazine, the two-time NCAA champion said that the reason he didn't pursue the Olympics was because of the way he was treated by our fans. Why would he sacrifice his career for people who didn't respect his commitment?

Internationally there have been so many American wrestlers hosed by Russian and European referees that it would be difficult to narrow it down to just one. I seem to recall that Mo Lawal was absolutely robbed in the semifinals of the 2005 World Championships where he eventually placed seventh. Lawal became so disenfranchised by the flippant way in which decisions were made in international wrestling that after a failed run at earning the Olympic spot in 2008 he moved over to MMA, and recently he also signed a contract with the professional wrestling organization TNA. He seems happy.

Mixed martial arts aren't immune to bad decisions either (though most of them seem to surround Cecil Peoples). The biggest robbery in recent MMA history was Nam Phan vs. Leonard Garcia. Phan DESTROYED Garcia for three rounds, but Garcia was handed a split decision. The fight was so bad that it prompted UFC president Dana White to give Phan a rematch the next year, but only after he railed against bad decisions.

On the whole, bad decisions in judged sports are rare. If Pacquiao had won maybe we'd finally get to see the fight with Floyd Mayweather Jr. As it stands now, he'll have to re-fight Bradley and keep his fingers crossed that Mayweather makes it back from prison. Should that happen we could be in for quite the main event, though one has to suspect the fix is already in. The estimated takeaway for the two fighters is expected to break $100 million.

(If you want a pretty cool explanation of where the Bradley-Pacquiao fight ranks against other boxing jobs, check out the animated podcast by Slate and Deadspin.com.)

Battle of the Batmen Tournament Edition: Val Kilmer vs. Michael Keaton and George Clooney vs. Christian Bale?
-- D. Thompkins

(Note: Last week Michael Keaton dec. Val Kilmer, 6-1, and moved into the finals.)

Foley: Lets start by looking at Christian Bale's dedication to his craft. The sometimes cantankerous actor shed 60 pounds to play the insomnia-ridden Trevor Reznick in the Machinist. A few years later he repeated the feat when he trimmed 40 pounds to play crack head boxing trainer Dicky Ecklund in The Fighter.

With the vision of Christopher Nolan, Bale has changed what it means to be Batman. The movies are dark and meaty, but the Oscar winner turned a stale character in what could be the best superhero depiction of all time during his performance in the Dark Knight. He also has THE best gravelly Batman Voice.

Did I mention he also once LOST 60 POUNDS FOR A MOVIE ROLE. Wrestlers rejoice. We are not alone.

Batman and Robin was George Clooney's turn in the cape. Look Down and Shake.

Clooney was simply awful.

Bale tech. fall Clooney, 18-3 (2:26)

Next week: Christian Bale vs. Michael Keaton!

Foley's Friday Mailbag: June 8, 2012

Fri, 08 Jun 2012 07:29:25 +0000

InterMat senior writer T.R. Foley answers reader questions about NCAA wrestling, international wrestling, recruiting, or anything loosely related to wrestling. You have until Thursday night every week to send questions to Foley's Twitter or email account.

Want to view a past mailbag? View archives.

Q: Thinking of entering a tourney after six years away from competition. Good or bad idea?
-- @jongaffney

Foley: How old are you? Do you have health insurance? Can you train at full speed? If you answered: Younger than thirty, YES, and YES, then you should take up cycling.

If you want to compete in wrestling after college then you need to try out jiu-jitsu. The sport is just wrestling with a few finishing holds and way less cardiovascular work. Technique, patience, strategy, and trickery outperform brute strength, meaning you have a level playing field with guys of all sizes. Plus you have an advantage on the other newbies because you've wrestled in the past.

I've been training and competing for 18 months and love the way I feel. I can honestly say I've never felt healthier. I'm addicted. In fact just before I headed to the Grapple in the Apple, I took time to visit five-time BJJ World champion Marcelo Garcia. I got WHIPPED, but it was an excellent learning experience. Check out this video below. Even a guy with immense talent like Ben Askren has found that wrestling is no match for Garcia's superior technique.

With a gi versus Jake Shields ...

But the real benefit is the emotional connection you can make at a jiu-jitsu school. I know "how sweet?" But being a part of something larger is what drives humanity, and jiu-jitsu schools are little clans of athletes who genuinely care for each other. My teammates at Valko BJJ in Chicago are about my same age as me with similar goals, which keeps me interested in attending class. Compare an adult BJJ school to visiting a high school or college wrestling room, where you share little in common with the social life of an 18-year-old, and you'll see the benefit of making friends when you wrestle. The guys at Valko BJJ were some of my biggest supporters when I traveled to wrestle in Mongolia. After being gone three months I missed those guys so much that I literally got off a 14-hour flight from Beijing and took a taxi directly to the 6 p.m. class.

If you want healthy and sustainable I'd say train and compete in BJJ. If you want to see if you still have "IT" then by all means hit the mats. Just try and remember to HAVE FUN ... and buy supplemental insurance.

Q: The University of Minnesota has had a history of some pretty solid heavyweight wrestlers: Vern Gagne, Brock Lesner, Cole Konrad, and now hopefully Tony Nelson. While Cole seems to have been the most dominant at heavyweight for a longer period, Tony is quite young and has two more years to go. Brock only wrestled at the University of Minnesota for two years and is all over the program's record books. And let's just say that Vern Gagne was no slouch!! So my question is ... Who wins in a round-robin tourney between the four of these beasts?
-- Tom G.

Foley: I liked watching Tony Nelson wrestle this season. He's the type of heavyweight most coaches seem to want recently -- tall, athletic and with lean-ish muscle mass. Nelson's build is a little like two-time NCAA champion Tommy Rowlands, though I do think he's considerably heavier. What works in college wrestling, especially at heavyweight, will always be changing and like we've seen in MMA, more maneuverability, flexibility and power are essential to success.

The newest heavyweight prototype might be a guy like Northwestern's Mike McMullan, who placed third this season as a freshman and weighed AT BEST 240 pounds. "Glasses and Muscles" (greatest nickname in wrestling?) can scramble with strength. He also has sneaky setups to leg attacks, where despite his size, he seems to finish with consistency.

All that said, I think you have to take Cole Konrad. He's too massive and much, much too talented!

Q: What do you think of Steve Mocco heading into MMA? How do you think he'll do?
-- @BrandonfrmNJ

Foley: I'll keep it brief because Mocco has never fought. I met Conan Silveira, the heavyweight coach at ATT in Coconut Creek. If the article I read was true, that ATT made him a respectable financial offer, then I'm trusting Conan's judgment was that he could MAKE MONEY OFF MOCCO. To do that they must think he can win fights. I'd like to see him take at least four fights in the next calendar year then get an invite to the Bellator tourney, or if he feels marketable and the timing is right possibly push him over to the UFC where he can be serviceable.

The parting wisdom on this comes from Rob Koll. We were having a debate about the technical maturation of wrestling over time and if a guy like Gable could technically hang with comparable athletes of this generation (assuming we have better techniques, training methods, breadth of experience). He made the point that winners win, no matter the generation. Gable, or Lee Kemp, any champion wrestler of the past would be able to come into modern-day world and adapt -- winning is a mindset and a habit. Mocco KNOWS how to win and win on the biggest stage and there is not much of a reason to think he won't be able to adapt his winner's mentality to his new endeavor.

I've always been a big fan and can't wait to see what he does in the cage.

Q: Rumor is that Atlanta is putting in a bid for 2015, and the Georgia Dome would the location. What are your thoughts? What are the chances this goes through?
-- Chase V.

Foley: I LOVE the idea that we can go to the NCAA tournament in a city that doesn't serve fried ravioli. Don't flip out. I enjoy some St. Louis, but some time in the Deep South might do well for wrestling fans and all those fake tanners from Ohio State won't look as silly walking around the lobby of their hotel ... to be fair, there are others out there (look to State College).

What wrestling needs is consistency. Put us in the same city every year so that we can build a habit out of the tourney. Like Omaha hosting the College World Series for NCAA baseball we could make Atlanta (or Pittsburgh, or Dallas, or ...) THE HOME OF COLLGE WRESTLING! WE could build statues and erect monuments. It's an enormous revenue source for a city so there is little chance they'd deny the consistent income, though I think that some cities hedge because they might also want to host a round of NCAA basketball, also a moneymaker.

WE are waiting on the NCAA committee to make an announcement. It's just a rumor, but I've been told that coming off the success of releasing a bracket every 30 for FIVE HOURS, the NCAA is considering hosting a hangman competition where we get to guess the letters that make up the name of the host city. One letter a day for a minimum of 14 days. STAY TUNED!

Q: Battle of the Batmen Tournament Edition: Val Kilmer vs. Michael Keaton and George Clooney vs. Christan Bale?
-- D. Thompkins

Foley: Let's first agree that you are everyone's hero for creating a format that we will be using from here-forward. Is it me or are there several movie franchises that have several actors playing the same role? Even the following Part 1 Breakdown of Batman will have to add another name in a few years -- Christian Bale is done after the "The Dark Knight Rises". (Who is the next Batman? Jon Hamm? Ryan Gosling? The part is going to be changed drastically and likely mirror some future angst in pop culture.) In addition to Batman we could debate the various Spidermen and Hulks. If we branch out we can analyze the various Bonds, or even Jack Ryan. The rumor WAS that Matt Damon had been replaced as Jason Bourne in the Bourne series of movies, but he wasn't. Instead the next Bourne is about the OTHER rogue asset from Blackbriar played by Jeremy Renner. When will the movies start remaking dramatic films every three years? Is it too soon to start the remake of Atonement? What about comedies? Could we remake Step Brothers with Aziz Ansari and Kal Penn? If you went down that rabbit hole, what would be considered off limits? What is the timeframe before a studio produces a remake?

As to your original question and the establishment of the tournament; it seems, have seeded this tournament, which means you think it's (1)Kilmer, (4)Keaton, (2)Clooney and (3)Bale? I'm not going to argue -- it is YOUR question. But you should never be asked to seed the NCAA tournament. EVER.

For this mailbag I'll focus on just the first matchup. The Grapple in the Apple is about to start and I gotta Tweet some results!

Val Kilmer's best role was as Jim Morrison in the movie "The Doors." Don't try to argue for his role as Slider in "Top Gun" because all he did there was spike his hair, chomp his teeth and play beach volleyball in jeans. With "The Doors", Kilmer made us all think (NAY, BELIEVE!!) he could be the next great character actor in Hollywood -- a blonde Daniel Day-Lewis, a half-sane Mickey Rourke, a sober Robert Downey Jr. Five years later we'd all be left shaking our head.

Before Batman, but after "The Doors," Kilmer took sweaty, pasty misogynist Cowboy to a new level by portraying the TB-ridden, heavy-drinking and sharp-shooting Doc Holliday in Tombstone as a lovable and loyal partner to Wyatt Earp. ("I'll be your Huckleberry" is being quoted in wrestling rooms right now.)

What seemed like a budding career then met "Batman Forever."

AWFUL. That movie was so bad that it made my brother leave me in the theater to finish it by myself as he cruised Stafford County Virginia in his special edition 1978 Camaro Z28. Perhaps it's the scar from seeing my ride leave me at the movie theater, or it was having to sit through the obnoxious, unwatchable cat-shrill that is Chris O'Donnell but "Batman Forever" FOREVER broke my bond to Val Kilmer. Or right up until "MacGruber" -- a top ten funniest SNL-adapted movie.

Somehow Kilmer got your top seed while Michael Keaton dropped to the fourth seed. I have to start with my Michael Keaton disclaimer, that all-but jeopardizes my legitimacy as an impartial observer. His movie "The Paper" convinced me to stay in journalism instead of going to work in sports PR. I could've been massaging some big athlete's ego, or screaming at some local sports reporter for asking questions about his personal life, but instead I'm with the men and women that matter most -- wrestling fans.

There was nothing innately inspirational about the story in "The Paper", but it as strong message during a time of weakness (What if instead I'd flipped over to "Jerry Maguire"?) had six weeks left in grad school and I was seeing the financial implications of becoming a journalist and weighing that against living in California and attending yoga studios with my multi-million dollar athletes. I thought I'd like to drive a convertible and maybe get it valeted at a nice sushi restaurant. Anyways that never happened because I sat and watched a bunch of dialogue between Keaton, Glenn Close (my favorite), Marissa Tomei, Robert Duvall and Randy Quaid. Almost none of it was going to be applicable to me, a guy headed to online and magazine journalism (Again, the movie is called, wait for it ... "The Paper," but I'm a sucker for determination and journalistic ethics, so when Keaton's character saves the lives of the two boys being set up for murder I decided to stick out the journalism thing for a while. At least until I make my millions writing a book about fey teenage vampires.

Keaton's career ALSO took a hit after his failed role in Batman. (Save his performance in "The Paper.") Seems there might be a Batman curse. Keaton's Batman was stale next to Jack Nicholson's Joker. ("Never rub another man's rhubarb!") Batman felt hokey from the opening credits, but it was the FIRST major attempt at the series, so some leeway has to be given for having spawned an entire multi-billion dollar franchise. I guess in some way you have to give the credit to Keaton for that. Also, Keaton KILLS in "The Other Guys." Don't go chasing waterfalls.

Keaton dec. Kilmer, 6-1.

The only movie that matters this summer ...

Love is Blindness.

Foley's Friday Mailbag: June 1, 2012

Fri, 01 Jun 2012 07:13:22 +0000

Ed Ruth (Photo/John Sachs, Tech-Fall.com)

Foley: The seeding committee did do a good job in 2012, though seven No. 1 seeds winning the tournament doesn't outperform the historical average. My absolute DISGUST with the NCAA actually lies somewhere else in the process.

It's interesting you mention the seeding at 174 pounds. I was one of the loudest opponents to placing Amuchastegui down in the No. 3 seed. He'd beaten the hell out of Ruth in 2011 and was undefeated, making the case, at least to me, that he should have been the No. 1 seed. However, the seeding committee NO LONGER looks at historical data, so they weren't going to be compelled by the 2011 NCAA quarterfinal matchup. Instead the committee only had quality and quantity of wins in the season before the 2012 championship to go by, making it difficult to argue against granting Ruth the top seed.

Overall, I thought the seeding was average. It's always easy to look back and point out the weight classes where the committee obviously failed to fill out a meaningful bracket outside of a top seed. For example, 149 pounds and 165 pounds. But their methodology isn't publicized so it's difficult to know which weight classes were argues illogically. We could go back and try to reconstruct which matchups were utilized to make decisions but that's a fool's errand. The system was supposed to use the parameters of coaches rank, RPI, winning percentage, head-to-head results, common opponent wins, and quality wins (wins over guys in the tournament). When they eliminated last year's results the selections were, from what I've been told, pretty easy.

The part that pissed me off was that the NCAA took five hours to release the brackets. The half-hour delay was to ensure that the NCAA's Facebook account could receive more "Likes." I have two major problems with this type of fan manipulation.

First the NCAA isn't dealing with a team sport, which means that they are evaluating the in-season accomplishments of INDIVIDUAL student-athletes. The wrestlers are already forced to wait three days for the announcement, so why make it worse for them by teasing out their dreams so you can pump up your online numbers? Obviously the lady who does the online work for the NCAA has no empathy for what these guys are going through and probably thought herself a delightful marketing whiz by profiting from the emotional turmoil of several hundred dedicated college athletes and their families. But she really just proved that the NCAA WILL ALWAYS PUT PROFIT FIRST. In this case it was Facebook adoration they sought on the backs of individual, hard-working wrestlers. Tomorrow it will be something more conniving, more deceptive and likely just as harmful to the student-athletes.

The second of my druthers is that it was unfair that the committee knew Tuesday night but because of the almost 24-hour delay cost the at-large bids an extra day of distraction-free workouts.

If you have the information then release it. Stop trying to be so cute. You're not. It's annoying, cruel, and counter-productive.

Q: I am an avid wrestling fan and will watch anything and everything being broadcast on TV or Internet but I find myself wondering what would make a casual or non-wrestling fan stop on that channel to watch? The answer I usually come up with is not much. A lot of that, in my opinion, is due to a lack of charisma from the broadcast team. Now, I can't knock the wrestling credentials of a Dan Gable or whatever multiple-time AA or national champion they use. But I do question their ability to carry the broadcast. I believe that bringing in some younger more exuberant personalities during TV broadcasts would potentially bring in more fans and hold their interest. Anyone who has ever watched the Big Ten Network knows what I'm talking about. To a non-wrestler the broadcast comes off as being very dry, and somewhat biased and confusing depending on who Iowa is wrestling while Gable tries to articulate, coach, and cheer simultaneously. I think some young blood with wrestling savvy and a little more emphasis on production would do a great service to any TV broadcast.
-- Donald C.

Foley: I was at the NCAAs this year so I didn't catch it, but I think ESPN hired Anthony Robles for the color commentary. Some people on Twitter thought it was so-so, others enjoyed it, but most everyone agreed he just needed more time to learn the format.

You're right ... Stations do need an on-air balance and I don't think that sticking with the crews from the 1980s is going to cut it much longer. The rub this season was with the production value of the student-produced matches for the Big Ten Network were comically, woefully bad (I'd link their worst performance, but the BTN had it scrubbed!). The network sent out one of those half-apologies for the production, but stopped short of guaranteeing it would never happen again, leaving many fans wanting them not to just come out with a full apology, but with a statement saying they want us to know that they WANT to do a better job.

The argument for Gable and those with NCAA titles is that management doesn't know better and accolades are thought to impress common viewers. Gable might be dull to some people, or fumble some stuff, but on the opposite side, you certainly can't hire the guys from Flowrestling to do a broadcast. Television audiences need someone willing to describe the action not shout into the camera. They also need someone to deliver larger storylines for dual meets and tournaments.

Jason Bryant

Were I to take control of a hiring at the Big Ten Network I'd grab Jason Bryant. He has a clear voice, can speak to the expert and the newcomers, and displays genuine excitement. He has history with some of the wrestlers but not the long-winded asides we're used to hearing describing wresting room matches from 1978. Those personal interactions are interesting but rarely to the broader audience.

My guess is that we will see an improvement in the on-air talent and that with Robles we're already making our way.

Q: How competitive do you think the South would be if there were more programs?
-- @AS_myth

Foley: What do we mean by "The South?" I think the schools of the ACC and SoCon count in terms of Confederacy South, but what I think you meant was in the Deep South. Good question!

There used to be some Deep South schools with NCAA champions. In fact, current Iowa State head wrestling coach and Olympic gold medalist Kevin Jackson actually wrestled at LSU in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Alabama had a program until the 1980s where major wrestling supporter Steve Fisher competed. (Interesting side note: Silver's friend Jeff Levitetz sold what was for the majority of 2011 the most expensive piece of real estate in Chicago. The Internet says he kept his other place in Florida worth $12.5 million. Levitetz sells food and beauty supplies. I now want to sell food and beauty supplies. He's also a MAJOR supporter of wrestling as well creating scholarships, clubs and foundations.)

There are several mores schools and wrestlers to list, but they all competed in a different age. Let's create a world in which Silver and Levitetz get a wild hair and decide to start a men's wrestling program (with a women's program for Title IX balance) at the University of Alabama. Could they recruit? Would wrestlers leave Pennsylvania to compete in the Deep South?

Yes. The only proof you need comes from women's college lacrosse.

The University of Florida started their women's lacrosse team in 2010. This season they were undefeated and top-ranked headed into the NCAA tournament. (They lost in the semifinals to Syracuse.) THREE SEASONS and they went from ZERO players to one of the best in the country. Forgiving that female athletes tend to be better when they first get to college and that women's lacrosse is a relatively new sport, what factors allowed them to catapult over so many other schools that had new or developing programs?

LOCATION. Who in their right mind wouldn't want to go to school in Gainesville? Same goes for Tuscaloosa. Every red-blooded American male drops his jaw 11 times each commercial break when CBS pans the sidelines for a delightful scan of the SEC cheerleaders. Recruits make decisions for lots of reasons, but trust me one of the major factors that creeps into their minds is quality of life. One of the major contributing factors to "quality" can be as simple as how many cute coeds they spot on their stroll to the library. Were I to take the head coaching job at Gainesville I'd just offer my recruits a lawn chair, some Diet Coke and a brand new shar pei puppy and let them have at it. I'd have No. 1 classes until the NCAA made it illegal for me to own a puppy (and they would do it), or until Tom Ryan caught wind of my tricks and did the same on campus in Columbus.

Given a budget and a coach these schools could be extraordinary, it's really just a matter of the right people making bold decisions. Given that Alabama made $75 million from their football team last year you'd almost have to assume that the time is approaching where they'll begin to offer everything from wrestling to badminton just to prove their regional sporting dominance. I've written this before but it bears repeating, the SEC (and Ivy League) are essentially governed by a very complicated trouser-pulling contest. If Alabama decides that they need to have the country's best wrestling program don't be surprised if Auburn, LSU, and Florida are right there to challenge that assertion.

Q: Sean McMurray (Michigan State) is rumored to be looking at transferring to a different school for this upcoming season. As a Gopher fan it would be great to add him to our middleweights as a potential starter but I am sure he has some options. What, if anything, can you shed on Mr. McMurray and his intentions for the future?
-- Kevin W.

Foley: I can tell you that McMurray has been granted his full release by Michigan State and has started taking recruiting trips. There are plenty of colleges interested in his services and I'm sure he'll be a welcomed addition to any program, possibly even the Gophers.

Q: Tom or Terry Brands in college and now?
-- @mikesimerson

Foley: Nice question! I'm going to tread lightly here, rather than be maimed by the Flannel Shirt Mafia (they exist).

Tom and Terry are two of the more inspirational, if not talented, wrestlers to ever strap on the boots. In college Tom was a three-time champ and Terry a two-timer. Tom won a gold at the 1996 Olympics and Terry took the bronze at the 2000 games. Terry has two World titles, while Tom has one.

Terry Brands was a two-time World champion

Were it not for one of the most dramatic matches in Olympic Team Trials history, Terry might very well have been a gold medalist in 1996. As it was Kendall Cross, the man who bested him in the Trials, did go on to win the gold. To me, that's compelling.

I think there is a definitive answer to who got the better of who in the Iowa wrestling room, but I don't have that answer so I'll just take a guess. I'd imagine all things being equal except for size, which favored Tom, that Terry would probably have taken a few lumps. However, TODAY I'd almost guarantee Terry gets the better of Tom. Here's why.

Tom is the head coach of the Iowa Hawkeyes and while I'm sure he mixes it up, it's more of Terry's responsibility to hit the mats with the guys. Tom raises cash, visits recruits, and rips off his shirt. Terry beats the hell out of everyone from Montell Marion to Derek St. John. I'd imagine that he's crisper, in better shape, and having never won that Olympic gold probably the type of competitor that's a bitch to take down. Tom might have that Big Brother Syndrome from all the years he was larger and better, but today, RIGHT THIS SECOND, I'll take Terry Brands, 3-2. No need for overtime.

What about when it's time to cut a rug? Tom is definitely the better dancer.

Foley's Friday Mailbag: May 25, 2012

Fri, 25 May 2012 06:18:16 +0000

Dan Gable and Cael Sanderson both wore robes at one time

So ... robes? I think we can get back to some of that flair. Hell, like you wrote, Dan Gable wore a robe. Also, to be honest, robes keep you warm. To the fans who don't like robes, I ask you this: When you get out of the shower in a nice hotel, or treat yourself to a massage, what do you wear? A robe! Why? Because it keeps you warm when you ain't wearing a lot. Not sure if you've ever stood in a cold gym wearing nothing but a half-pound piece of lycra but it's not going to get you through the long, cold winter.

On to your other brilliant insight which is that save a few schools, the college wrestling dual meet as an event can be pretty hokey. I like what Penn State and Cornell do, and I've heard that Minnesota can put on good show. Of course Carver-Hawkeye is one of the more intimidating places for anyone to wrestle. Also deserving credit for putting a lot of energy into their dual meets is best-dressed coach Tom Ryan who had a record crowd for Ohio State's dual meet with Michigan. I lost three dual meets in college, one to injury, one to someone who had my number, and one to Troy Letters at Grace Hall. I remember that place was rocking, but I never felt intimidated. I was actually MORE excited to wrestle, possibly because the fans there didn't seem to have a vitriolic disgust for the other team as much as an appreciation of effort. However, as a coach, I remember Cornell being the most intimidating place to wrestle. The fans are LOUD and they are right on top of the mat. There was the Redman guy doing pushups, music blaring, and they were wailing us. Overall it's probably pretty similar to what it feels like to be tortured. I'm sure that there are others that I'm missing, but for now that'll have to do. (I'm betting Michigan will also be rowdy in a few years!)

Q: Jon Jones just got a DUI. Do you think it will affect his fighting career and endorsement deals?
-- Lilly L.

Foley: The action of young sports stars is one of the most popular topics in many other mailbags, and for good reason. There is NOTHING that people enjoy more than seeing the captain of the football team take a nose dive. We are culture that builds up personalities, seemingly so we can turn around and tear them back down. (You should definitely blame the media and Internet for this behavior.) But what Jon Jones did last Saturday morning wasn't some betrayal of trust for all the 6-year-old fans in America, it actually showed us two important things: 1. He's an idiot. 2. The media was already interested in your question almost without considering what could have happened to the passengers in the car.

Jon Jones (Photo/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)

I'm not a preacher (Jones' dad is), but let me riff for a second about the seriousness of drunk driving. People die. People die every day, in fact they die every 10 minutes because they or some bozo can't call a cab. It's obnoxious behavior for anyone, but especially somebody who could've afforded to call-in a helicopter to lift his Bentley from point A to point B. It's selfish and ignorant behavior for anyone, but for the rising star of the UFC it was extra careless.

To your point, no he won't lose out on endorsement deals in the long term. Nike and Gatorade will come knocking in a few years to have him endorse their products. I guess he'll either become more real (his lack of genuine behavior irks fans) or he'll become more religious and be "humbled" by the experience.

Honestly, I don't care if he signs with GEICO, for now he will have to suffer the PR fallout that directly assaults his character. Jones deserves it, he deserves ten-fold, but in the end we will all forgive him, because the only thing we like more in this world that to see the jock stumble, is to see him rise again.

Q: Ivan Drago vs. Conan the Barbarian.
-- @fullConcentr8

Foley: Location: Our combatants meet deep in the Ural Mountains, in a valley so narrow that the trees on the hillsides obscure it from being discovered by satellite. The property is owned by Alexander Karelin and the year is sometime mid-Hyborian. In case you were wondering, Karelin is also capable of time travel and brought along his dear friend Drago for the epic fight.

Rules: No swords. No steroids. Hand-to-hand

Roundup: Conan is NOT superhuman, though, according to Wikipedia he has killed scores of men with his back against the wall. That is not to say that he also hasn't been defeated, and even took a drumming at the hands/paws/mitts of Thak the Ape Man. Conan's popularity is likely derived from that fact that while he is physically gifted, he also excels as a tactician and wins battles by intelligence.

Drago is a man-killer. His brutal slaying of Apollo led to his eventual downfall, and to that of the entire USSR. (How would we have recovered as a nation had Rocky lost? Answer: Poorly. We'd all be wearing the Hammer and Sickle, not just the 99-percenters.) Drago's power comes from drugs. He's an artificial creation, a lab rat.

The fight starts with Karelin killing a Russian black bear with his bare hands as Vladimir Putin stands shirtless chanting poems he wrote as a grade-schooler (As I'm sure you know, Putin is nothing but Karelin's political puppet). With the blood of the black bear spilled on his land, Karelin asks the fighters to march forward. Conan bows in appreciation of Drago. The boxer returns with nothing but a nose-wrinkled snarl and grunt.

Alexander Karelin is a man-killer

The fight is bare-knuckled and neither combatant wants to risk an early knockout, so they dance around each other for several minutes. Drago, under the encouragement of Putin, throws a haymaker with his right which Conan blocks with his left arm. The warrior then reaches down his back and unsheathes a sword which he then uses to lop off Drago's head then screams "Conan doesn't play by anybody's rules by Conan."

Disappointed in the actions of his guest, and suffering from the loss of his friend, Karelin reverse lifts Conan dropping him mid-throw and breaking his neck.

Winner: Alexander Karelin

Wrestling in Hollywood: Joaquin Phoenix's new movie, The Master, has a clip of a beach wrestling tournament. Cool.

Foley's Friday Mailbag: May 18, 2012

Fri, 18 May 2012 05:32:44 +0000

Greg Urbas of St. Edward (Ohio) is a coaching legend (Photo/Bob Tuneberg, BuckeyeWrestling.com)

I also believe it's difficult for Blair to sell every quasi-interested 16-year-old wrestler to leave his teammates, his mother's cooking, and his girlfriend for the opportunity to live in a dorm room and wrestle year-round. Boarding is a benefit, no question, but if you've been to Blairstown you know that there is NO CHANCE they could field a whole team on local kids.

Coach Urbas is a legend and St. Ed's is an impressive program. Also, the majority of the guys I've wrestled with from St. Ed's have been great people in addition to being technically proficient wrestlers. YES, they are all from the Cleveland area, and NO there is not a boarding option, but I don't think you can equate St. Ed's with just another public school.

Q: Any reason why Troy Letters was named interim coach and not given the job outright? It seems like he would be a "win/win" for all involved. Also, I watched a Chance Marsteller match last year in mid-December then attended the Midlands shortly after? Am I dumb for assuming he would have placed at 157?
-- Jason R.

Foley: I was excited to break the news on Monday that Troy Letters was going to be named the interim head coach at Clarion. Letters and I actually wrestled each other in 2004, with him getting the better side of a 5-4 decision. It was a fun match, and though I was upset at the time to not get the last-second takedown (I felt like I was so close!), Letters went on to win the NCAA title that season, taking off a little of the sting. He's a tough, tough wrestler and really nice guy.

Troy Letters (Photo/Clarion Sports Information)

Universities have very particular standards for hiring new coaches. It could be that Clarion wants to open the position for a national search, or that they are still trying to figure out the internal logistics of ceding power to Letters. By making him the interim head coach they give themselves the grey area where bureaucrats find the room to exert control. Also, it's been my experience that athletics programs tend to move slowly, mostly to make sure that they follow all the NCAA regulations as well as any bylaws the university has in place to safeguard against nepotism, or good 'ol boy promotions. The position could become full-time in a matter of weeks, or it could be interim for an entire season. It's just up to the AD. Judging by the language in their press release, I think Letters will be hired as the full-time head coach very soon.

As for Chance Marstellar? Well, yeah, he's a stud. I've never seen him wrestle in person, but you're probably right that he could've placed at the Midlands this year. Maybe he'll enter the 2012 tourney?

Q: What is your take on the new coach here at Binghamton, Matt Denrlan? Also, are you still feeling comfortable about your Barry Davis prediction from last week?
-- Josh Z.

Foley: Matt Dernlan is a great hire for Binghamton. He's been at enough successful programs to understand the complexity of creating a winning formula. When we talked Monday he told me that his goal is to eventually compete for a team title. He said that the BU administration made promises that would ensure he'd receive the type of support that would make a title run possible in the future. It seems obvious, but when your coach is openly discussing what it takes to win NCAA titles, you've made the right decision. It might sound surprising, but not all coaches vocalize their goal to win an NCAA team title. The dirty little secret is that most know it's impossible for their programs to compete with those in the top ten and try and do their best to just crack into the top fifteen at the NCAA tournament. That outlook might seem defeatist or depressing, but most coaches make those goals because they see the rational limitations of their budgets and scholarships. WE ARE not all Penn State.

I still believe in Barry.

Q: What do you think of Mark Cody snaring both Andrew Howe and Travis Rutt? Pretty amazing to me.
-- Mark S.

Foley: Boomer Sooner! What a pair of transfers. The mood in Norman, which had been abuzz with the Olympic team qualifications of assistant coach Jared Frayer and former Sooner Sam Hazewinkel, had dimmed ever so slightly when Tyler Caldwell announced he'd be making the leap upstate to wrestle for John Smith. But that didn't last long as the Sooner staff added an NCAA champion and an All-American in Andrew Howe and Travis Rutt.

Why Oklahoma? I'd guess that the move had as much to do with Frayer being on staff as it did with the significant and impressive recruitment capabilities of Oklahoma head coach Mark Cody (One head coach told me he thought Cody's best recruiting was luring in transfers.) Here it seemed to be a combination of Frayer's pre-existing relationship with the boys, his making the Olympic Team, and a little bit of Coach Cody's considerable charisma. I'm sure that having Michael Lightner on staff didn't hurt either.

Q: I'm really excited to hear that Jay Borschel is back in the college wrestling world and glad he is at Northwestern. How do you see him fitting in with the Wildcats? Also, who on the team do you think will benefit the most from having him in the room?
-- Betty G.

Foley: Biggest benefit? The man's piano playing ability!

To have an NCAA champion as your full-time volunteer is a BIG deal. What's interesting about Borschel is that he also seems exceedingly intelligent, which allows him to help the kids at Northwestern unwind whatever is being thrown at them in class. I've seen the ball of stress that the academic-minded wrestler can put themselves under and another voice to help them untangle the complexity of it all is valuable.

Let's not over-analyze this too much. As likely as Borschel is to understand some math problems, the biggest advantage is that he's a stud former NCAA champion and for once a true upper-weight coach who is committed to coaching. (Herbert was on staff but traveled for competition, which of course paid off well in 2012.)

Q: Coleman Scott just went undefeated at the World Cup in Azerbaijan. What's the plan for who makes the U.S. Olympic Team at 60 kilos? Are they still wrestling a round-robin?
-- Geoff D.

Coleman Scott is the hot hand right now at 60 kilos (Photo/John Sachs, Tech-Fall.com)

Foley: Cowboy Up! Coleman Scott is the hot hand right now, begging the question: "Should there even be a wrestle-off?" Of course, but he did win the World Cup. It's natural to want to "play" him when it matters most. Even if Bunch or Humphrey beat him, I think most fans would agree it wouldn't be as meaningful as what Scott was able to accomplish last week. That doesn't mean America should institute a system that favors the discretion of the coaching staff and fan base, but I'll admit it's tough to look at the situation and not want to see Scott representing America in the Olympics.

The plan is for USA Wrestling to host the matches during the "Grapple in the Big Apple" on June 7.

Q: With the recent signing of top recruit Devin Peterson, and a handful of other accomplished recruits, how would Iowa Western's recruiting class rank compared to its peers in Division I.
-- Mark M.

Foley: There is only one person to consult when discussing recruiting class rankings, InterMat's Josh Lowe.

Based on the InterMat commitment list, Iowa Western has seven
committed wrestlers.

Two of those committed wrestlers are Top 100 recruits (Peterson inside
the Top 50, Dunlap outside the Top 50). Both of those wrestlers are in
the top ten of their respective weight class. None of their other
wrestlers were weight class ranked.

As of now, 14 Division I schools have brought in three-plus Top 100 prospects, while another 8 brought in two Top 100 prospects. That does not account for the fact those schools may have brought in additional wrestlers that are weight class ranked.

Additionally, there are programs with one Top 100 but multiple others
in the weight class rankings that would merit Top 25 consideration.

I would say it fits clearly in the upper half of Division I programs for sure
and possibly right around the upper third.

Don't mess with Josh Lowe! My boy's wicked smaht.

Q: Each time I go to Google News and type in "wrestling," I get stories about obese men wearing a cape and elf shoes. As a journalist for the sport of wrestling, does it bother you when people get confused between wrestling and 'rasslin'?
-- A. Stevenson

Foley: I have the news alert for "wrestling" and have noticed that the stories are very streaky. One day it's articles in the New York Times about Iowa and its "losing streak" and the next day it's a blog post by a guy in Connecticut about the '14 Things to Look For at Royal Rumble.' The best is when an unrelated news story pops up, like, "North Korea Wrestling with Trading Nuclear Material for Food." That's when you and I learn the most, isn't it? (Trivia fact: The highest wrestling attendance is 190,000 at the Pyongyang Stadium, Pyongyang, North Korea for the World Peace Festival April 29, 1995.)

I'm surprisingly not that upset by the constant confusion between the amateur and professional ranks. There was a professor of mine who always said "You know something is wrong when it's on the cover of TIME Magazine. He didn't mean that breast-feeding toddlers is necessarily wrong just that there is a market for a journalist when he can look around and recognize when everyone agrees (or disagrees) on one thing. Though admittedly this cover was meant to be controversial, rather than widely agreed upon, I just added it for shock value.

There are few truths in the world, and if everyone thinks that professional wrestling is the only meaningful form of the sport, it means that we as a community, and I as a journalist have an opportunity to redirect the conversation. You'd be surprised how many books are written every year about professional wrestling, and there are some that are interested in the roots of the sport.

My current book project (October/November release) addresses just this phenomenon. I tell you a lot of things you never knew about Mongolia, but I spend the bulk of my time connecting what you've experienced as a wrestler to the fundamentals of human nature. I answer questions like "Why do wrestlers tend to be so sensitive?" "Why is professional wrestling so popular?" "Why do so many quality wrestlers come from PA?" I've included some pretty compelling science and theories and I hope it'll be an entertaining read for anyone interested in the sport -- even that dimwitted cousin we all have who just can't understand why we don't just use folding chairs.

Q: I know that there have been many professional football players who were accomplished wrestlers (Jim Nance and Carlton Haselrig, to name two multiple-time NCAA Division I wrestling champs who were, respectively, an AFL MVP and NFL Pro Bowler, and who grew up in hometowns within 30 miles of each other). Which current professional athlete do you think would make the best international wrestler? I think that tennis player Rafael Nadal could be great at 84-kilo freestyler. He's got great upper-body strength, and has such fast-twitch explosiveness that I think he'd have an awesome double leg.
-- Ronald M.

Great freestyle wrestler?

Foley: Rafael Nadal? Agree to disagree. He's a winner, and had he focused on wrestling from a young age he might have been a quality competitor. However, he's Spanish and wrestling success tends to have significant ties to geography. Tennis players do have big 'ol legs, though. So, yeah, maybe a win or two at the World Championships.

I have to go with a pretty safe pick. Georges St. Pierre. Courage? Check. Hardworking? Intelligent? Athletic? Yes to all. Had he not dorked around in the dojo as a kid he'd be a World and Olympic champion wrestler.

Q: How do you see a Kyle Dake vs. David Taylor folkstyle match being different than what happened at the 2012 U.S. Olympic Team Trials?
-- Mike S.

Kyle Dake won by fall over David Taylor in the second period (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com)

Foley: I don't see how I could construct an argument that would create a different outcome. You can win and lose in freestyle and never be at a risk of losing the same way in folkstyle (push outs, funky exposure), but what I saw was a whipping.

Ask yourself this? Who can ride Kyle Dake? I'm willing to bet that nobody this side of J.P. O'Connor has a chance in hell and even he would find the task difficult. Top control would strike me as Taylor's best chance for victory, and without it he just loses at his own game, he's outgunned and outmanned ... he loses that battle, he loses that battle nine times out of ten.

Q: Who would win in a wrestling match: Seth Rogan or Jonah Hill?
-- Jake H.

Foley: Didn't they both lose a bunch of weight? Jonah Hill looked like shit running around in his police uniform on 21 Jump Street, partly because he was co-starring with mega-male himbo Channing Tatum, but partly because he has the athleticism of my 55-year-old aunt.

Seth Rogan seems solid. He apparently also just showed up in Hollywood one day, auditioned and got a quasi-leading role in a big budget movie. You should be thankful for his success though, not jealous. Rogan's is the kind of insta-success story that ensures LA will never run out of gorgeous baristas and screenplay-carrying waiters.

I gotta take Seth Rogan with a VERY quick fall in the first.

Foley's Friday Mailbag: May 11, 2012

Fri, 11 May 2012 06:07:50 +0000

How would you cast Carla in a remake?

How would you cast the Carla character in the remake? The way I see it she has to come down a few years in age. In the mid-eighties it felt improbable that an oddball, leather jacket wearing woman of Carla's ilk would be interested in a rather stringy Louden. But today?! If you sign up for the Google news alert "Hot blonde female math teacher arrested for having sex with underage male student," you'll essentially be committing yourself to getting spammed (Save the math teacher part, this actually happened at my high school!)

Writer math: If police make an average of 50 of these arrests a year and incidents are reported at a clip of 1-100, that means there are 5000 of these interactions going on across the country RIGHT NOW. Who would want to create that type of media firestorm around their movie? It's a bee's nest that's not worth the honey. Can you know how many mini-van mothers already slip into the local Regal Theaters to take a peek-a-boo at Lautner's vacant eyes and prodigious chest? Now can you imagine if they watched a movie with themes of pedophilia? (I recognize that Carla was not a teacher and Louden was 18 years old, but that wouldn't matter.) Not to mention the come-ons by the traveling salesman/tai-chi expert. But hey 800 million Chinese can't be wrong.

Vision Quest as we remembered it could never be made with Lautner. If they make the movie and he's cast it's not because they want you and me to watch the movie, it's because the studio wants to appeal to the Twilight gals. The wrestling themes would be diminished, the love angle pumped up -- though to a fellow girl, as Carla would be eliminated altogether -- and we'd be left with a disaster of a film.

But that's a moot point, as its probably not getting made. For now we can all look forward to the Bennett Miller movie Foxcatcher, which has the potential to be a great film about American wrestling hero Dave Schultz.

Q: Do you think that Blair Academy would be the No. 1 team in the nation if it were not a private, boarding school? St. Edward was within points of beating Blair Academy this year and, while St. Edward is a private school, it is not also a boarding school. The same goes for schools like Apple Valley (Minn.), St. Johns (Mich.), and Brandon (Fla.). I know that Blair Academy has an amazing wresting program, but do you not think that it is at the top nationally year after year because of recruiting? If Blair Academy's recruiting capabilities were not a factor, which high school team do you believe would be the best nationally over the past decade?
-- Kristin F.

Foley: Blair Academy has several advantages over a traditional public school, but none is bigger than the talent of the programs' head wrestling coach Jeff Buxton. The school has excellent facilities, significant administrative support, and the ability to board their wrestlers, but when it comes down to how they got there and how they manage to keep winning national titles, nothing is more significant than the head coach.

Jeff Buxton (Photo/Rob Preston)

Do they recruit? Not in the traditional sense. I've never heard of Buxton making a home visit, or flying in students to check out the campus. Rather he attracts top wrestlers from so-so public school programs who are hoping to attract the eyes of a college coach (I can tell you that Buxton-trained wrestlers have a rubber stamp -- they typically "get it.") I've never thought there was anything unethical about a wrestler willing to move to a remote-ish part of New Jersey to attend school. If he's talented and works hard it will improve his chances of wrestling in college.

All of the other schools you mentioned have "recruited" out-of-state, out-of-area wrestlers to join their programs. In fact, regional relocation happens all the time across the country. When Colonial Forge head wrestling coach Bill Swink moved to Virginia, my high school program and others in the area lost a few state placers of Division I quality. Why? He had a track record of creating state champions, and many parents in the region thought that a state championship might earn their kid a DI scholarship. It's as much a best-for-my-kid decision as it is a financial one.

I imagine that as a parent I'd try to give my kid the best of everything, and would consider relocating him/her to the best field goal kicking academy in the country, if I thought it gave them a chance at succeeding in attaining their dreams.

Q: It seems every national tournament, wrestling fans talk about how classy a wrestler is. Have you ever noticed, the "classy" wrestler is always the one who lost? I think this thought is overblown. If a wrestler loses, we feel empathy for them, so we watch how they handle themselves after a match. If they shake hands, pat the winner on the back and keep their composure, they are classy. If they get mad, show they are upset or show emotion, they are not classy. Why is the loser only classy? No one focuses on the winner because since he wins, he's expected to be jubilant, happy, jumping for joy. How come the winner is also not classy? I think winners can be classy too but we focus on the losers because we feel bad for them. Also, I think fans focus too much on how a person reacts in the seconds after a tough, grueling match. What do you think?
-- Matt K.

Foley: Maintaining your emotional composure is a pretty common theme within sports. If you play beach volleyball at the Olympics, lose in the quarterfinals, and then punt the ball into the ocean like Pele, you'll have earned some "classless" coverage from the media (likely Deadspin.com).

Same goes for all sports, but in wrestling you have 17k eyes trained on a guy wearing nothing but a single piece of lycra. If he reacts, even if he makes a face, we're likely to see it and judge him. Football players have teammates and helmets, same with baseball players. But in individual sports where every eyebrow raise is caught in high definition reactions are much clearer to witness.

But really what you're asking then is why in sports do we care how a loser of a contest acts, and why after suffering a life failure should we expect him or her to remain as composed as a Hindu bovine. That's difficult to unwind, but I'd guess it's been ingrained in us since we were little and playing tee ball.

The truth is that games are less fun when the loser freaks out; anger turns what should be fun into something of higher importance. I'd need a psychologist to state that with authority, but I think I really FEEL like this is true. Think about it. Who is the last player you'd want to play 18 holes with? The rage-a-holic. Hands down. I once saw a guy throw his Blackberry into the water after missing a 10-foot putt. Why? Now you're going to have to relive that stupid putt for the next 48 hours as you replace your phone. You know ... "It's only a game, Focker!"

As for the winners, I've written before that I think wrestling should allow for a little more post-match celebration. It would attract fans and grow the sport, band give these young adults to happy-happy joy-joy feelings after accomplishing a lifelong goal.

As for what's classy and what's not? It's tough to be the arbiter of those things, but my advice is to not BOO any wrestler. Chances are you can't whip the ass of the winner, or the loser, so unless he pushes his opponent off the platform, stabs him in the chest or declares a voodoo curse, it's probably classy for all of us to simply cheer, take photos, and then write something snarky about them over email with our college buddies.

Q: I think 184 is going to be loaded next year with two national champions (Ed Ruth, Steve Bosak) and two multiple-time AAs (Robert Hamlin, Kevin Steinhaus). What's your early prediction? I say Ed Ruth by major decision over any one of the other three.
-- Ronald M.

Foley: Are there preseason lines for 2013 NCAA champions? I'd put thousands of fictional dollars on Ed Ruth to not give up an offensive point next season. He'll be a three-time NCAA champion, even if he wrestles the next two seasons at heavyweight.

Q: What is the best post-match tournament food you've ever had? It could be a meal that was more sentimental than good (for me: Mustard's Last Stand after Midlands is up there) or just straight up awesome food (Peter Luger's Sunday lunch ... yeah).
-- Derek S.

Foley: The only meal to come to mind was one I shared with my parents at a small restaurant outside Albany, N.Y., after I was knocked out of the 2002 NCAA tournament.

Like most guys, I was cutting a lot of weight that season and was in search of that first post-season meal to enjoy free of guilt. We'd spent what felt like an hour driving around in search of a familiar sign post, but it was snowing and I was getting hungry so in frustration we stopped at a small restaurant inside a converted early 20th century house. I think they served American fare like steaks, lobster and the such.

The NCAA tournament had been the capstone of my three-year journey from walk-on to starter. I'd been a marginal high school wrestler, making all my dreams of starting more like the green light at the end of Daisy's dock than something attainable. Still, no matter how complicated my dreams made those three years, my parents had been there to support me.

Missed gatherings? "We understand."

Weight-cutting on Christmas Eve? "Can we drive you somewhere?"

As I started to succeed, however modestly that was, they never added expectations to my career, or pressured me to do more. Their self-worth wasn't connected to my win/loss record, just the effort I was putting forth.

My parents were visibly proud that night. I was upset I hadn't placed and even more troubled that in the round of 16 I lost to a wrestler I'd lost to five other times in college. They would hear none of the negativity and just kept repeating to me how proud they were for having made it this far. I should've known that they'd respond like that. That they'd be supportive, but it still gave me comfort to know they were on my side.

As for the meal? I remember it was cold in the restaurant and that I wore a jacket. I remember that my dad ordered a martini to celebrate and my mom encouraged me to order "anything off the menu." I couldn't tell you what I ordered that night, but I know that it was my favorite post-match meal.

Q: There are tons of transfer rumors about all of Wisconsin's top redshirts and they recently lost the commitment of Devin Peterson. What is the fate of Barry Davis going to be?
-- Josh Z.

Foley: Coach Davis and his supporters have to be concerned about what's gone on the past two seasons, first with losing his top assistants, then with the uncertainty of his lineup heading into the 2012-2013 season. The timing has been plain awful.

However, I'm more than a little optimistic that Barry will be given a very long leash in turning around the program. Since the last mailbag when we discussed Wisconsin, fans that were very passionate in their support of the program have contacted me. Each of them said that they expected Tyler Graff to "one-hundred percent" be wrestling for Wisconsin next season. Their numbers were then eighty percent for Rutt and fifty percent for Howe. I'm doubtful on Howe, but a team with All-Americans ~~Travis Rutt~~ and Tyler Graff, plus talented heavyweight Connor Medbery, seems like a point-scoring machine at the NCAA tournament. (It was announced Friday morning that Howe and Rutt have officially decided to transfer to the Univ. of Oklahoma.)

Can Barry Davis right the ship at the University of Wisconsin? (Photo/Mark Beshey, The Guillotine)

Wrestling isn't football. The coaches in our sport will always have ups and downs because it's impossible to improve every season. Unlike pigskin which is as much about play calling and management as it is actually coaching, being a wrestling coach requires technical know-how, swagger AND the ability to directly manage the often-schitzy emotions of 18-22 year-old wrestlers. Sometimes the coach strikes a balance (Wisconsin in 2009) and sometimes things briefly falter (Wisconsin 2011).

I'm Team Davis.

Q: Joan Jett vs. Pat Benatar UFC rules ... Who Wins?
-- Phil K.

Foley: Love is a Battlefield!

Pat Benatar is a hit-making machine. Joan Jett is a talented lyricist and hard-core rocker. Lock those two in the cage and anything can happen. Do we know for certain that they wouldn't just drop the gloves, pick up the microphone, and collaborate on a new hit? Because if they did that we'd all be winners. All of us would win, Phil.

If they find a reason to scrap I'm going to say that Joan Jett's anger will carry her to a dominating first-round submission via guillotine choke.

Foley's Friday Mailbag: May 4, 2012

Fri, 04 May 2012 07:26:39 +0000

Scott Goodale (Photo/Tom Ciszek)

The lack of All-Americans in New Brunswick has bothered Goodale, that much I've seen first-hand. He's a passionate coach and not finding the podium has put a on the staff, his wrestlers and much of central NJ.

Maybe it' because I like Goodale and the coaching staff, but I'm optimistic about their upcoming chances to place. In fact I think they'll be in a position soon to have All-Americans on a seasonal basis.

Dresser was in a similar predicament for the past three seasons: big classes, great regular seasons, subpar performances at NCAAs. Now, after a two All-American season which saw his former high school team Christiansburg honor its first Division I All-American (Devin Carter), the program seems on solid ground and positioned for even better outcomes in the years to come. The same will happen fro Rutgers.

Goodale and Rutgers will be producing AAs very soon (especially if they land little Ashnault) and all the worry will dissipate. They've hired NCAA champion Frank Molinaro, which should add some fire to the room, but it'll still ultimately come down to Goodale.

Good coaches are good coaches even if they're in a slump. Expect Goodale to right the Grease Trucks and start cranking out the hardware over the next three seasons, especially if they land Little Ashnault.

Q: What happened to Derrick Borlie? He seemed to drop off the face of the wrestling planet this year. I know that he left Wisconsin and heard a few murmurs/rumors that he might end up at Virginia Tech, but nothing since and nothing official. This kid wrestled extremely well in Trevor Brandvold's injury absence a couple seasons ago at Wisconsin. Can you offer any insight into why he left Wisconsin and if his wrestling career if over or just on hold one year due to NCAA regulations regarding school transfers?
-- Merris S.

Foley: Word 'round the Commonwealth is that we can expect to see Borlie wearing the Virginia Tech singlet in 2012-13. I don't think he'll have to sit out a season, unless he has an academic eligibility issue, which can arise when you transfer credits between schools.

Q: Who do you see in the starting lineup for Ohio State next year with Chris Philips and Nikko Triggas back and some more good freshman coming in?
-- Tom S.

Foley: How many young dudes can Tom Ryan stuff onto one roster? Yes, Chris Phillips has reemerged with the Buckeyes after a short-lived stint outside of wrestling. As one Ohio observer noted to me when Phillips was in high school, "He could place right now at NCAAs." Phillips was 16, but I nodded in agreement.

Nikko Triggas is expected to return to the Buckeye lineup after back-to-back redshirt seasons (Photo/Kevin Schlosser, BuckeyeWrestling.com)

Whatever had been driving Phillips to compete in high school seems to have been misplaced the past two years. Now reunited with Team Monroeville, and under the tutelage of a very serious-minded head coach in Tom Ryan, Phillips should be motivated to compete this year, or next. I'm no longer in the coaching business and I'm not sure what was holding Phillips back from competing, but I trust that Coach Ryan will make the right assessment and either place him directly into tough competition to reignite that competitive spark, or hold him back and let him regain his bearings. Either way, I'm happy to see such a talented wrestler coming back to the sport. I imagine he's still a threat to place at NCAAs.

Nikko Triggas will be competing next year as the oldest non-LDS wrestler in Division I (fact check me). The 2010 All-American has taken consecutive redshirts, the first was the common NCAA-allotted redshirt, followed by his Olympic redshirt. There was significant grumbling in 2008 when several wrestlers took Olympic redshirts, even as they seemed far from competitive. Triggas finished fourth at the Trials.

Overall the Buckeyes are a stronger team with Triggas in the lineup, while 2011-2012 starter, freshman Johnni Dijulius will benefit from time spent on the redshirt circuit. Triggas scored 15 falls in 2010 and with an extra few years of training, fans should expect him to come up with bonus points in many of their toughest matches.

Q: What do you think Penn State's starting lineup will look like next year? With Molinaro and Wade graduating and the transfer of Lawson plus the incoming freshman, it should be interesting. My guess is Nico Megaludis, Jimmy Gulibon, Luke Frey, Andrew Alton, Dylan Alton, David Taylor, Matt Brown, Ed Ruth, Quentin Wright, Jimmy Lawson/Jon Gingrich.
-- J.T. Patkalitsky

Foley: Your guess is as good as mine, and I like your guess.

Q: Any word on Josh Dziewa of Iowa? Will he have a chance to make the lineup next year or end like the Moore brothers?
-- Robert S.

Foley: He's in a tough spot, but if Hawkeye fans think he's the answer at 149 pounds they might be misled. I've talked to a few coaches who wrestled against him this year and they all kinda said the same thing, that they think the best weight for him is 141 pounds. Yes, but is he willing and/or able to make the cut? I don't know, but Dziewa is certainly gifted. But in the Iowa system you advance not by talent, but by being more hard-nosed than the guy in front of you. So far Dziewa hasn't shown the type of gumption that earns the ass slap and "go get 'em" from the Brands bros.

Next year is a another chance for Dziewa crack the lineup, and I hope to see him competing for the chance to wrestle at Big Tens and NCAAs..

Q: I heard Fresno state might try to bring back wrestling, Have you heard anything on this?
-- Eric B.

Foley: Former head wrestling coach Dennis Deliddo and the Fresno State alumni are always working to find solutions to bring back their program, but from what I've been told nothing new seems to be in the works. I hope I'm wrong. The whole thing is sad, Fresno was a great program the provided educational opportunities to lots of California men who otherwise might not have had the chance.

Q: Has there been any college wrestling teams that has had three or more of its wrestlers go undefeated during a season? How many times has it been done?
-- Rick S.

Foley:You, of course, are referring to what Frank Molinaro, David Taylor and Ed Ruth were able to accomplish this season fro Penn State. Yes, they were the first trio to pull off such a feat. I did some research to make sure and this is what I found.

The closest trios I could find were on the 1992 and 1997 Iowa Hawkeyes. The 1992 team as led by undefeated performances by Terry Steiner and Terry Brands. However, Tom Brands was pinned by Alan Fried at Midlands. (Please turn on the volume and listen to Sandy Stevens! Hall of Famer!)

In 1997 the team was also very close with undefeated NCAA champions Lincoln McIlravy and Mark Ironside. But it was Joe Williams who upended your dream, losing to Ernest Benion of Illinois in the Big Ten finals.

In 1998 Joe Williams and Mark Ironside were both undefeated NCAA champions, but Jeff McGinness had four losses on the season.

(**If you really want to talk about incredible, read this stat. Among the Penn State trio that went undefeated only Frank Molinaro had a match closer than three points, his 6-5 defeat of Oregon State's Scott Sakaguchi at NCAAs. The trio was 95-0 and only that once did an opposing wrestler come within a takedown of the upset.**)

Q: Better wrestler: Louden Swain or Kyle Timmons? Better Wrestling Movie: Vision Quest or Win Win? Best use of singlet: With a collared shirt or to show your man strength?
-- C.B.

Foley: Kyle Timmons ALL DAY.

Don't mess with Coach from Vision Quest

Vision Quest. I see it as a motivational piece with wrestling in the foreground, while Win Win was a movie about family and money troubles in middle America set with the backdrop of wrestling. I think of it like this: Exchange basketball for wrestling in both movies. In Vision Quest it makes no sense, but in Win Win the story could survive.

Collared shirt, whistle and clipboard means "I didn't come here to f&@# around!" Don't mess with that man. Do not do it.

Q: The Mullet vs. The Mohawk
-- Jason B.

Foley: Anyone can grow a mullet. Italian soccer players grow them because they think it'll land them bed with Spanish models. It takes real commitment to grow out your hair, buzz your sides, then use product to spike your hair. I like commitment, therefore the easy winner is the mohawk (Also it's essentially Joe Dirt versus Mr. T and Mr. T, well, he ain't no fool.)

How about the coifed combo created by this Portuguese heartthrob. Might his hairstyle defeat them both?? The faux-hawk mullet.

Yes, that just happened.

Foley's Friday Mailbag: April 27, 2012

Fri, 27 Apr 2012 06:30:32 +0000

Sam Hazewinkel (Photo/John Sachs, Tech-Fall.com)

What made the Okahoma connection interesting to me was that both the wrestlers were from Florida ... Frayer having grown up in Clearwater and Hazewinkel in Pensacola. Also interesting is that both wrestlers had a reputation for being bridesmaids, consistently coming up short in championship performances. Frayer lost to Minnesota's Jared Lawrence in the 2002 NCAA finals and to Brent Metcalf for a spot on the 2010 World Team. Hazewinkel finished third at NCAAs three times before placing second in 2007. He finished second in the Greco-Roman Olympic Team Trials in 2008 and second in the 2011 freestyle World Team Trials. Being second is something Hazewinkel is very conscious of, telling ESPN.com, "I don't even remember the last time I was No. 1."

So what changed in 2012?

Both have personal lives and off-the-mat motivations, and both are veterans facing the prospect of 2012 being their last chance to make an Olympic team. But motivations exist for everyone on the cusp of making an Olympic team and several other wrestlers nearing the end of their career had similar motivations to make it happen in 2012.

The difference? In my opinion it was Oklahoma head coach Mark Cody. The first-year head coach was in the corner for both Frayer and Hazewinkel, who train in Norman. He's not as celebrated for his freestyle coaching as he is collegiate success, but when you're the commander-in-chief, winning (and losing) are easily associated with your guidance/presence/coaching. It's unclear what he did to motivate his wrestlers, but for me effective coaching comes from confidence, and it's evident in all of Cody's wrestlers that they compete with his full trust. This is anecdotal, but I remember watching Ganbayar step off the mat after his last match at the 2011 NCAA tournament and give Cody a full-on, head-in-the-shoulder hug. Ganbayar loved his coach, and when imbued with that type of confidence from someone who demands respect, wrestlers tend to perform.

Whatever the X factor, one thing is certain: Frayer and Hazewinkel wrestled their asses off last weekend.

Q: My question for you this week is do you think our current Olympic team qualification process ultimately provides us with the team with the greatest potential for success at the Olympics? I hate to raise this question because one of my favorite aspects of wrestling has always been the fact that one controls their own destiny. More specifically, one has complete control over making a team unlike in many other sports where making the team is at the sole discretion of the team's coach. With this being said, I wonder if we would be more successful at the Olympics if were to combine the current qualification process with some sort of discretionary component. The discretionary component could basically be structured as a panel consisting of the nation's top coaches or former athletes that would vote to determine the wrestler with the highest potential in each weight class. If a wrestler were to receive an overwhelming majority of the panel's votes, he would be given the spot on the team, regardless of his final placement at the trials. My concern with the current structure, which lacks a discretionary component, is that an athlete could have the worst tournament of his career at the trials and lose to an athlete with far less potential to medal at the Olympics. With a discretionary component, we would also limit situations where our most capable wrestler at a given weight class loses to an inferior competitor simply due to a bad matchup of styles.

I would like to note that this question isn't directed at the results from any specific weight class from this past weekend and my hat is off to all of the athletes that competed in the tournament and especially to those who will be headed to London. I just think this could be an interesting concept for discussion.
-- Rick T.

Foley: USA Wrestling did a lot to adjust the rules after the team's disastrous performance at the 2008 Olympics. The best-of-three format and mandate that a returning medalist must also be out-competed at an international tournament were adjustments that eliminated some of the fallout from guys losing due to a bad matchup.

Nick Simmons defeated Henry Cejudo in a wild three-period match (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com)

Don't shrink away from a little controversy! Right or wrong, there are some people who saw this weekend as a setback for 55 kilos. Henry Cejudo seemed capable to place on the World stage, but he isn't going and Nick Simmons, who can score bunches in bunches, lost to eventual Olympian Sam Hazewinkel. The former Greco wrestler has some people doubting he can make an impact on the international stage. I'd think that your panel would have been employed to "right" this weight class. Maybe send the two overseas for another competition? Select Simmons outright?

The better question might be: How would a panel affect the motivations of our wrestlers aspiring to compete for a spot on the World level? Would it de-motivate those trying to climb from No. 2 or No. 5 to the top spot? Wouldn't it seem silly to compete if you knew that No. 1 was being selected regardless?

Let's assume Cejudo had stayed active in wrestling over the past few years, we'd have seen a vacant 55 kilos weight class. Cejudo is too popular (profitable even?) to USA Wrestling to not take him to London should the opportunity arise. The same can be said for Jordan Burroughs at 74 kilos. Who in America, given the chance, wouldn't have sent Burroughs to the Olympics if he'd lost to Howe in the finals? Howe had Burroughs breathing hard, but ultimately I could never see an Olympic panel choosing Howe over Burroughs.

Those type of big brother selections disincentives our athletes from competing, which in turn would lessen our stars' in-country competition, and ultimately make for a weaker team. Not to mention it seems wholly and completely un-American. This isn't Russia!

Wait, maybe that was your point ... ?

Q: As a former college wrestler, you know the importance of administrative support in building a wrestling program. However, how come when a program is not succeeding, it's always about the lack of administrative support the program gets? Is this really a reason some programs don't succeed or a part of a number of other issues? Sure, when a program does not have the full allotment of scholarships that can affect a team, but, do you think administrative support is overblown? What exactly is administrative support anyway? Is it the AD showing up at wrestling meets? Is it helping the team get a bigger budget? What role does the administration really play in a program? And for those who don't succeed, is it really the administration, the coaching, the kids or a combo of all?
-- Matt K.

Foley: I think that the heart of your question is essentially a definition of the idiom "administrative support," and once defined, can we determine whether or not it impacts a program.

In my opinion administrative support comes down to how often the associate athletic director looks at the head wrestling coach and says "Yeah, I think we can push for that." That's a simple answer, but for programs that aren't in the top five, the main frustration for many coaches is having an excellent idea squashed by a pear-shaped bureaucratic. Everybody needs an advocate and a wrestling coach's job is much easier when they have a direct boss willing to push for their needs to the head athletic director. I've seen administrators willing to double leg higher-ups to get a few grand extra into the wrestling budget. Likewise, I've seen admins who reflexively reply "no," often as a misplaces exertion of their power, or to show the AD that they know how to "manage" their coaches. The programs with advocates tend to do better, and those advocates tend to fall under the umbrella of "administrative support."

Wrestling coaches tend to be entrepreneurial and their ideas are aggressive and unique, without an advocate those ideas become stymied, but with administrative support they can create an atmosphere where they feel comfortable and fulfilled, which should lead to more wins for their wrestlers.

Q: I currently live in Florida, but despite high school wrestling being quite popular and competitive in Florida, the college wrestling programmatic scene, other than at the club-NCWA level, is practically non-existent. Yet, many DI, II, and III teams sponsor or participate in tournaments and duals in Florida each year, e.g. The Citrus Duals and the UCF Open. Do you foresee any kind of progressive evolution in Florida college wrestling? Do you see, or have you heard anything, about change?
-- Scott C.

Foley: Florida has had five Division I wrestling programs (year dropped in parenthesis): UCF (1986), Stetson (1986), Florida (1979), Florida State (N/A), Jacksonville Univ. (N/A).

That's the history of Division I wrestling in the state, now the question becomes how to regain traction. Football is king in Florida, they produce some of the highest quality players in the nation and the college teams win NCAA titles, which are highly lucrative for the state-run universities. The Univ. of Alabama is reported to have net more than $75-million in profits this season, which if used wisely can help reduce the financial burden on students (or just go into building a bigger stadium). The problem with Florida is that while many people living outside the state think of it in terms of Orlando, Miami and Naples the reality is that much of the state is impoverished. As recent at 2010 the state had one of the five lowest-ranked educational programs in the nation (public). Of course money helps solve educational woes and the best way many of these schools can think to improve their financial health is to roll the dice on a creating a profitable football program.

The University of Central Florida is a good example of how wrestling is challenged in Florida. The school has one of the most successful club wrestling programs in the country (Oviedo High School, one of the best in the state is five minutes from campus), but receives no support and has been given no indication that it'll become a sanctioned sport. Meanwhile UCF football an also-ran and habitual under-performer has received tens of millions in support, starting with their top-dollar pursuit of head coach George O'Leary in 2004 (I lived in Orlando when he was hired and remember being confused when I saw a life size cut out of paunchy O'Leary at a local Dominos ... showing me an overweight man is not the way to get me to buy a pizza.)

Since hiring the once-maligned coach, UCF is 50-51 in nine seasons and is paying O'Leary an annual salary of $1.4 million dollars. His online profile proudly boasts that the ball coach was also instrumental in having "lobbied for new facilities." You can bet those came at a price tag in the millions.

Wrestling doesn't generate income. Money means influence in college athletics and because the UCF program can't show the administration that their program would be value-added, they'll never earn a fair shake at becoming a full Division I program.

The problem exists not just in Florida, but across the country and the enemy is football.

I know that's not a popular assertion but the problem with the reduction of men's sports isn't Title IX, but football expenditures and the appeal of making massive amounts of money from viewership, attendance and bowl game appearances. Title IX is flawed, but it's the money grab of football that plays a large role in distorting the priorities of a university.

If the powers within college athletics suddenly decided to eliminate the relationship between football and the university system, the educational system would have the incentive to focus on promoting lifestyle-based sports. They'd do it at a loss, but that loss would be an investment in the final product: healthy and happy students. A non-football sports university could provide students a diversity of athletic opportunities on campus by promoting healthy and sustainable sports like swimming, track and wrestling. Instead, with costly entertainment sports like football driving the decisions of administrators little is done to promote healthy living among students. When you factor in the booze, sugar water and processed foods consumed in celebration of a football program (not to mention the needless weight gain of football players, concussions, lifelong injuries ...) the sport is in sum unhealthy for both fans and participants.

America has an obsession with football and its allowed that passion to muddle what should be a focus on the founding principles of physical education. Profit should never be what guides the decisions about athletics in education, but it's become the only factor. Until that changes we'll keep seeing .500 coaches with million dollar salaries at football programs nobody gives a damn about.

Q: If you could wrestle any one person from history who would it be?
-- Matt M.

Foley: Cael Sanderson. I'd love to feel the pressure on his ankle pick and find out if my shot has a chance of scoring (it doesn't).

Since you probably meant historical figure, I'm going with Milos of Croton. Yes, he is rumored to have off'ed a few wrestlers, but I'd love to see how much wrestling had progressed since the 6th century B.C. Also, Milos of Croton was rumored to have been killed by a pack of wolves while trying to upend a tree.

I repeat: A pack of wolves while trying to upend a tree ...

Q: What have you heard regarding the rumor that David Thorn of Minnesota will attempt to go down to 125 pounds?
-- Kevin W.

Foley: I can confirm that David Thorn has decided to make the cut to 125 pounds. He's committed, but it's going to be a bit of a cut. He hasn't made the weight since high school.

Q: Do you think Slippery Rock will ever re establish their wrestling program?
-- Richard R.

Foley: Unfortunately, no. The competition for athletic dollars is too high and there are still issues at Slippery Rock with complying to Title IX statues of proportionality.

Greg Warren

Q: Can you look at Wes Wesley's (Greg Warren) march to becoming an All-American? He beat top high school coaches Roy Hall of Michigan State (Metcalf, Reader, etc) and Sean Bormet of Michigan (Overtime, Jake Herbert). Shows how awesome wrestling is when a future comedian can beat two of the most intense coaches currently in the sport.
-- Robert S.

Foley: That's pretty incredible. I'm a big fan of Bormet and what he's able to do with his athletes and Hall has produced some of the best prep wrestlers in the country. Greg Warren deserves some respect!

Q: I'm not certain many wrestling fans are into pop culture, that's why they're wrestling fans. If they liked popular things, then they would probably be watching basketball. With that said: Who is the best wrestler in MMA today? Not necessarily the most accomplished because we can all look that up, but who would you currently have at the top of your list? Me, in the UFC probably Johny Hendricks but in all of MMA, it's tough to ignore Askren.
-- Trena H.

Foley: You're being tough on our little niche, Trena. It's true that the wrestling community isn't always the first to adopt popular trends, but our conservative approach to change can be to our advantage. Point in case would be the premise behind your question regarding wrestling in MMA. If collegiate wrestlers were more liberal with what they enjoyed many more would be hopping to their backs in an effort to look as cool as their Brazilian counterparts. Instead wrestlers, always the last to change, have decided that they'd prefer to just wrestle, ground-and-pound and throw haymakers from their feet. So far it's working out pretty well for our boys (and girls).

Who is the best MMA wrestler? No question it's Ben Askren. I wrote a list of the best MMA wrestlers last year for FIGHT! Magazine and put Askren No. 2 behind Georges St. Pierre (remember it's effective MMA wrestling, which GSP has executed on the very best wrestlers in MMA, including Josh Koscheck). Now, I would absolutely promote Askren to No. 1 on the list. The Bellator champion could change MMA with his wrestling dominance. He blankets opponents, guys who normally earn submissions from their back or else escape with ease have spent entire fights on their backs. Two weeks ago Askren embarrassed Douglas Lima by staying on top of the Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt for the full 25 minutes of their title fight. That's simply ridiculous.

Here's a prediction for you. Put Askren in the cage with GSP, and the former would be walking away with the UFC belt. He's that good at wrestling in the cage.

Q: Fantasy match: Tom Cruise vs. Jose Reyes.
-- Frank P.

Foley: I don't know if it's that I don't see the relation between Reyes and Cruise, or if it's that I'm envisioning Reyes in full Mets (now Marlins) uniform and Tom Cruise dressed as a German officer in "Valkyrie" but reading this matchup had me belly laughing.

As with all matchups, we'll need a Tale of the Tape to help us breakdown the physical forms of the MLB All-Star and legendary actor.

Reyes is the younger of the two, coming in fresh-faced at 28 while Cruise is six months shy of his 50th birthday (we share the birth date July 3). The Marlins shortstop is significantly larger than Cruise, weighing in at 195 pounds and measured at a height of 6'1," while Cruise is rumored to be 5'7," 170 pounds. Those are significant athletic advantages for Reyes. Can Cruise overcome the younger Reyes' strength and athleticism?

If Cruise can overcome Reyes athleticism it'll have to be from better technique. Lucky for Cruise, he was a high school wrestler at Glenn Ridge High School in New Jersey. Not much is written about his record, but we do have this awesome photo and rumors that he knows how to "hit a high crotch."

From what I could find, Reyes has a limited wrestling background. However he is from the Dominican Republic, where recently discovered cave drawings showed wrestling among the indigenous people of Hispaniola.

As a celebrity Tom Cruise is as well known for his odd behavior off-screen as he is his impressive resume of hits. He's a renowned scientologist, has an awkward marriage to Katie Holmes and once jumped up and down on Oprah's couch. But, he's also an action hero and on several occasions has performed his own high flying stunt, like running down the outside of the Burj Khalifa -- the world's tallest building -- for "Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol."

In addition to his wrestling career in New Jersey, Cruise is arguably the greatest sprinter in movie history. Don't believe me? Did you see "Far and Away"? A chilled and desperate Tom is dashing through the New York City winter to save his darling Nicole Kidman from the clutches of a Irish crime boss Colm Meaney? "Ghost Protocol" has Cruise running from -- then through (!) -- a sandstorm. As Mitch McDeere in "The Firm" Cruise outlasts the Quaker Oats guy on a dash to the window of his Memphis law practice, where he eventually jumps into a truck filled with recently plucked cotton, a commodity I highly doubt is toted around downtown in the back of a single pickup truck.

Not enough to prove he's the greatest movie runner of all time? Cruise also scuffs KEDS in "Collateral," "War of the Worlds," "Minority Report," "Knight and Day," "Days of Thunder," "Born of the Fourth of July," and all the previous "Mission Impossible" movies. He's sprinted in all but 9 of his almost 40 movies! The guy even found space in the "Jerry Maguire" script to break into his patented nose-breathing gallop. (The definitive history of Tom Cruise running in the movies).

So what does Cruise's incredible history of sprinting on film have to do with wrestling? Nothing, but where else will I ever be able to write about my obsession with Tom Cruise's habit for running on screen?

Who wins: The all-star baseball player with youth and vigor on his side, or the famous movie actor with a wrestling past?

Cruise is expecting early aggression by Reyes, who he's figured will try and earn an early lead. As someone who understands the physical limitations of sprinting, and the cardio necessary to be a good wrestler, Cruise plays it safe. A head snap by Reyes puts Cruise's head on the mat and Reyes grabs what looks to be a front headlock. He whips back and forth, but Cruise maintains good positioning, though Reyes ultimately spins behind for the takedown. One minute into the first period and Reyes is up 2-0.

Cruise is taken out of bounds, but on the restart explodes into a standup and escapes with little problem. Back on their feet the actor and the ball player are both battering heads with open palms. Reyes' mouth is now open, the strain of the match is already wearing on him. Cruise circles, Reyes mimics, but as the period comes to a close, there's been little action. It's 2-1 Reyes headed into the second.

Reyes defers and Cruise chooses bottom. Again, Cruise escapes.

On their feet with the score tied 2-2, Reyes reaches up to snap Cruise's head but get's too high and the smaller Cruise sees an opportunity for offense and hits an ugly, but effective high crotch. Cruise sits the shortstop to his butt and finishes off to a double. It's immediately clear that Reyes is extremely uncomfortable on the mat.

Cruise stays on top and with :45 left in the period begins working an arm bar. Reyes, who initially tried to maintain a base, is now riding out the period on his belly, unaware of the dangers this might cause him should Cruise run the arm bar. Cruise looks to nudge the arm bar into place, but gets too excited when Reyes sits into the pressure, and the actor looks for an arm bar stack. It proves too ambitious as Reyes sits out, causes a minor scramble and gets an escape. The score is 4-3 heading into the third.

Confident he can escape, Reyes chooses bottom. He looks to stand up off the whistle but Cruise snags an ankle and a waist (that crafty bitch!), and drives Reyes to the mat. Once flat, Reyes takes a deep breath and puts his forehead on the mat. Cruise dawdles on top, grabbing wrists, but staying parallel, eventually earns a stalling warning near the edge of the mat. With one-minute remaining and with 1:30 of total ride time advantage on the clock, Cruise and Reyes head back to the center of the mat for a restart.

Reyes escapes! Cruise is taken off-guard by the sudden burst of energy and can't get to Reyes' ankles. The duo are now back on their feet, the score tied 4-4, with Cruise expecting a ride time point. Reyes is told he needs to score to win and begins to mount a furious hand fighting attack. Cruise, with a stalling call against him tries to avoid the danger and simply drops his stance and controls Reyes' elbows as he slows down.

Reyes reaches for Cruise's leg with 15 seconds remaining, but Maverick avoids the danger zone and executes a perfect down block. Time ticks to zero, and Cruise is awarded the 5-4 victory.

The celebration would have to combine stunts and running. Preferably lots of running.

Another note on Cruise. Jay Mohr told his podcast a few months ago that Cruise claims his dream role is to play Dan Gable in a biopic. Playing a 20-something Olympian might've sailed for the 49-year-old actor, but his heart is in the right place.

Foley's Friday Mailbag: April 20, 2012 (Trials Edition)

Fri, 20 Apr 2012 07:26:13 +0000

Last week's winner for best question goes to "Wrestling Mom" whose insightful query into scholarships in wrestling prompted me to create a team at Alaska State Fairbanks. It's chilly up here. This week's winner will have an asterisk by their name and receive an InterMat T-shirt.

Here we go ...

Has there been a stated reason that Cael Sanderson is not competing in the Olympic Team Trials? Is there a consensus of "conventional wisdom?" I can think of a number of potential reasons (not physically one-hundred percent, lost ambition, graciously giving someone else a shot at the "Olympic Dream," etc.), but I am not aware of a stated reason.
-- Andy F.

Foley: Cael was initially pretty vague about his reasons for sitting out of the 2012 Olympic Team Trials. In talking with people around the program it seemed that he just didn't desire to be back on the world stage, and if he hadn't caught a wild hair in 2011 (and oh, by the way, place fifth after not training full time) he'd probably not be facing questions. Last week, in an article in The Centre Daily Times, Cael said that to compete at that level you have to really want it, and that he, in essence, didn't.

The interesting part of Cael's story is the frustration it has created with some wrestling fans. Most of us don't follow all the international results and find it difficult to distinguish between the Azerbaijani and the Ukrainian. For athletes wanting to compete in the Olympic games, those names will have arms, legs, and faces along with years of technique and aggression. If Cael wanted to compete like he did in college, like he did in 2004 and even like he now coaches, he'd have to dedicate himself completely, which means taking time away from his team and his family. He’d have to once again obsess over something he’s already conquered.

It's off base to assume that Cael is sitting out to protect his image, or because he was discouraged by his performance in 2011. Wrestlers wrestle because they have something emotional they're trying to work out -- a devil they need to shake loose, a dark patch in their soul that needs to be mended rather than coddled. Some wrestlers are able to set goals, achieve them and then discover that the emotional weight they carrying has disappeared. I've certainly felt that way. I have teammates that have voiced the same relief -- some achieved that balance after high school, others after college. Cael's journey was really over after the 2004 Olympics.

To coach is to serve, and Cael seems to be most comfortable in his role, as the leader of young men. He can show them technique, train them to compete or just be their role model. He's been successful and from the outside it looks as though Coach Cael might be the most contented and comfortable version of his personality we've seen.

If Reece Humphrey & Shawn Bunch are overseas trying to qualify the U.S. at 60 kilos, what happens when they're back? Will they have a three-way wrestle off with the winner of the OTT?
-- @dannyrube

Foley: Humphrey and Bunch will both be missing the trials in an attempt to qualify the spot at 60 kilos, first in China, then possibly in Finland.

From what I've been told (and this could change), the wrestler who qualifies the spot is assumed to be the top choice, leaving the OTT champ and the non-qualifier to compete in a wrestle-off. The winner of that wrestle-off would then face the qualifying wrestler in a best of three.

What is unclear is if the qualification happens in Finland and the qualifying wrestler is Humphrey, but he loses his best two out of three. USA Wrestling has mandated that if the returning U.S. World Team member loses, then the wrestlers head to an overseas event and whoever places higher is the team selection. I simply don't know yet if there is another tournament where both wrestlers can be entered. I imagine that there might be something out there (Mongolia perhaps?), but it's just too early to tell. I also believe that Humprey will be sent to China next weekend, which could eliminate this scenario.

What happened to the hype around the club team race? I remember when it was all Sunkist wrestlers, and now it seems to be a lot of NYAC guys. Is there a reason for the switch?
-- Todd B.

Foley: Money. This is a sport with little financial support and there are two clubs with deep pockets, Sunkist (supported by Art Martori) and the NYAC (supported by the NYC donors). Sunkist was dominant because they had more money to give their athletes ... not just cash, but training opportunities and entry into overseas tournaments. That support hasn't waned as much as the NYAC has started supporting their athletes in a similar fashion, increasing the pay of many athletes and sending them on trips, etc. (One has to assume that major donor Mike Novogratz was part of the rebirth.)

Does anyone care which club wins anymore? Not really. American wrestling, unlike that of our overseas competition, isn't loyal to clubs as much as they are collegiate programs, especially now that training facilities have been green-lit at the largest and most financially stable institutions. For example, the story behind Jake Herbert isn't that he's sponsored by the NYAC, it's that he trains at Michigan. It's the same with his practice partners and the cadre of studs killing themselves at the Ohio RTC on the campus of Ohio State.

Clubs are awesome support structures not just for athletes, but for coaches, and without them USA Wrestling wouldn't be as competitive internationally. With more money and support the clubs could become more regionalized and possibly create minor rivalries again, both of which would be good for the sport. However, right now if one club team wins it means little to the overall scheme of USA Wrestling. What's mostly important is that we tip our hats to the clubs, and the benefactors that support our wrestlers' Olympic dreams.

Who ya' got in a wrestling match, Jon 'Bones' Jones or Rashad Evans? Or do you feel that Phil Davis would have beaten Evans in the semifinal match and would therefore be facing Jones in the championship match Saturday night?
-- Trena H.

Greg Jones has been helping Rashad Evans train for his fight against Jon Jones (Photo/WVU Wrestling)

Foley: In addition to wrestling, I dabble in some MMA journalism. This month I wrote the cover feature for FIGHT! Magazine on Rashad Evans, which meant that in February I was down in Florida meeting with the former champ and interviewing him and his new team, The Blackzillians. Evans, who has a victory over three-time NCAA champion Greg Jones (2002 NCAA tournament, 174-pound wrestlebacks), still follows NCAA wrestling, and had his finger on the day's storylines. His pedigree extends further, as he's coached by former Iowa State All-American Mike Van Arsdale.

Jon Jones was a state champion in New York and was eyeing up a chance to wrestle in Division I before he was recruited to compete in MMA. As we saw against Stephan Bonnar, he also knows how to throw another human. Jones has wrestling skills in the Octagon and could be one of the best MMA wrestlers in the game, but I'm taking Rashad in tight 3-1 match. Evans is getting the first period takedown (shoots in a double converts to an outside single on the sprawl, drives in and secures the backside hip), escapes from bottom and neutralizes late attacks by Jones.

Evans has been in a college wrestling room and knows how to handle the specific technical issues that arise in a seven-minute match. Also, were it to happen today, I know that Evans still has full-on wrestling practices, while Jones treats it as more of another series of techniques to learn.

However ... in a fight? We'll find out Saturday night.

Do you have any sleepers for the U.S. Olympic Team Trials this weekend? (I don't mean college kids that everyone talks about like David Taylor, Kyle Dake, Ed Ruth, and Matt McDonough. I'm more referring to wrestlers who are tough that seem to fly under the radar.)
-- Mike C.

Foley: The sleeper picks are always risky because in freestyle there aren't too many surprises. The weight classes are deep and the wrestling is at such a high level that is someone could take the spot we're already likely to be chatting about them. That said, there is at least one "sleeper" wrestler that I think can, and will, win the trials: Kellen Russell.

If you buy into the logic that our international success by recent college graduates (Herbert's silver medal in 2009, Burroughs' gold medal in 2011) is worth something then it's difficult not to think Kellen Russell will make it through the Olympic Team Trials as the champion. He's wrestles 30-plus matches and won back-to-back NCAA titles. I think his defensive style, with explosive takedowns, is perfect for international competition. With Sean Bormet and Donny Pritzlaff in his corner he'll also have good strategy.

Not sure if he qualifies as a sleeper, but to me he's the leading candidate to emerge from the Trials that won't include Bunch and Humphrey.

Who are your choices for winning the Olympic Team Trials in men's freestyle?
-- Brian M.

Foley: Angel Escobedo. This means that I'm not choosing 2008 Olympic gold medalist Henry Cejudo. I'm not, and the reason relates back to Cael Sanderson. I don't know that Cejudo is wrestling to extract demons or because he has the burning desire. What he accomplished in 2008 and how he's parlayed that success into sponsorships and book deals is really impressive. He's a fantastic ambassador for the sport, but will being on weight effect his performance? Has he been getting the training necessary to compete and beat guys who've put in a few years of solid work? I guess we'll see, but I'm putting my chips behind Angel Escobedo.

Kellen Russell. See above.

Brent Metcalf. I believe he will end up being one of America's great Olympians. Passion and positioning define the Metcalf wrestling style and should he find his way through the Trials I'm expecting him to medal in the 2012 and 2016 Olympic Games. Crazy talk, but there is something about the way he's wrestling that has me believing.

Jordan Burroughs. I'm looking forward to a possible matchup with David Taylor and/or Kyle Dake, but Burroughs is on a different planet right now.

Jake Herbert. He'll have to keep focused and make sure he keeps up the pace against Keith Gavin, but a renewed sense of purpose and home in Michigan seemed to have prepared the World silver medalist for a run at the Olympic gold.

Jake Varner. Again, he's almost unthreatened. The returning bronze medalist shouldn't have much issue in maintaining his march towards London.

Tervel Dlagnev. He took silver in the Yarygin Tournament in January and has been consistent on home soil. Look for the 2011 World Team member to keep his position and make the U.S. Olympic Team.

With the Olympic Team Trials coming up, do you think anyone can emerge from this year's college ranks and have the type of impact that Jordan Burroughs had a year ago. In other words, do you think there's anyone currently in college that can not only emerge as our Olympic representative, but threaten to medal?
-- Hank K.

Foley: This would go along with my sleeper pick of Kellen Russell. He's got everything you want in a top-level competitor and if he earns the spot he's as much a threat to place as any other wrestler on the roster.

The Living the Dream Medal Fund seems to be keeping at least some of the talent around for the Olympic Team Trials. Is the program a success? It seems like we are losing the best guys to MMA (Ben Askren after 2008). Who else is going pro?
-- Jeff L.

Foley: Think about wrestling in terms of financial resources only and you find your answer. MMA is filtering out talent, but that's a good thing. Take Ben Askren, for example. He made the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team, earned a win, but ultimately fell short of medaling. In the two years between graduating from Missouri and hopping a flight back from Beijing you can assume he cleared, on average, a little more than $60k a year for his post-collegiate wrestling career. He was committed to the task full time, even though he'd only have one tournament to compete in that mattered. So when Askren looked at the finances of MMA and saw the ability to make $40k or $60k a fight plus sponsorships, he was likely sold. Askren could control his destiny more in the Octagon than on the mat, earn a better paycheck and ultimately have a higher standard of living with the potential for making millions in the future.

Now let's take a look at 74 kilos in 2012 with returning World champion Jordan Burroughs. Let's assume that he's making more than $60k a year to compete. That's largely due to the fact that resources aren't being split between him and Ben Askren. With fewer wrestlers vying for the limited resource (money), there is a higher concentration of dollars headed toward the best athletes. They're also receiving better coaching, training in better facilities, and reaping all types of secondary and tertiary benefits of having fewer big names drawing from the same limited pool of funds. More money means more wins, and with less internal competition for those dollars, I think we'll continue to see improvements on the international stage -- oddly due to MMA and its appeal.

Money isn't the only motivating factor for many athletes, but for some it does hold an appeal and directs their post-collegiate choices. That Bubba Jenkins went into MMA and Brent Metcalf stayed in wrestling seems to match their public persona. Jenkins very much likes attention and the appearance of fame, while Metcalf does well to shrink into the bleachers between matches only to emerge and rip off his opponent's limbs.

MMA is an excellent career for many of wrestling's finest athletes, and I for one am happy to see them out there growing the sport and earning the type of widespread respect if deserves.

Godzilla vs. King Kong in Greco. My gut tells me that Godzilla's stumpy arms would put him at a disadvantage. However, with his gigantic tail, he has such a natural low center of gravity. Who wins?
-- A. Burr

To the tapes!

The basic problem we face in a Godzilla v. King Kong matchup is that we would have to convince the beasts to attack each other, but then to not bite, eye gauge or blow fire on one another. Additionally, we’d have to convince them to not use their legs (or tails) for offense. Assuming we can do this (and I have serious doubts that we can) a battle can take place.

According to the 1950's trailer above, rife with adjectives and awful pyrotechnics, an interlude between "scientists" claims that Godzilla's brain is but the size of a walnut, while King Kong, the primate, is equipped with a large, "thinking brain." The trailer also wants us to trust fully the assertions of our 1950's scientists when they tell us that the hope for humanity is being tethered to the theory that "brains triumphs brawn." (The announcer also tells us that Polynesians believe in ritual sacrifice and that all women when trapped in the clutches of King Kong would flail their arms dramatically while screeching desperately.)

Full-length fight!

In the second video we see the full battle between King Kong and Godzilla. The scene opens with the Japanese carrying a reluctant Kong to a remotes battlefield via ... yellow balloons? Like the house in the movie UP, the protagonist is hitched to a bundle of helium-filled plastic, and being trailed by a helicopter of excited Japanese scientists (though they might also be filmmakers). Once near the battlefield (and the waiting Godzilla), Kong is cut loose and sent tumbling down a mountainside. Kind of a cruel delivery for the ape you want to save the planet from the destruction of a dinosaur.

On the battlefield Kong immediately attacks a fleeing Godzilla (This will count towards the pre-match psychological advantage.) Kong pulls his tail and throws boulders at the lizard's back. Once Godzilla engages we see that he utilizes his fire-breathing ability and several times knocks back an advancing Kong. Then, as though he was being coached by Steve Frasier, Kong hits a NASTY high dive. The duo tumble down the hill and the Japanese scientist/filmmaker/voyeur tells Kong to "hold his tail." I imagine that even if he heard the man’s coaching from a helicopter that Kong’s response would have been "this coming from the guy that dropped me on the side of a mountain ... "

(A very odd series of self-inflicted wounds, followed by a boulder burial seem to doom Kong. When Godzilla unleashes his fiery breath we hear the know-it-all in the helicopter respond, "Oh, Godzilla is roasting Kong!")

The pilot then mentions that there is an electrical storm ahead!

Right. On. Time.

Apparently electricity makes Kong (a primate) stronger. No explanation needed or given!

6:33: Godzilla hits a knee tap and sends Kong flying, earning the takedown and possible exposure.

6:55: High-amplitude arm spin by Kong! You can't come back from a five-point move in Greco. You just can’t ... or can you?

7:25: Godzilla gets an over-under and pancakes Kong. Huge turn of events. (They've also destroyed a mid-size Japanese village with their feet.)

8:06: Godzilla hits a tail-sweep -- an illegal low-attack that doesn't count towards the final tally.

8:12: High dive by Kong nets him another takedown, though in retaliation it looks like Godzilla has decided to burn down a section of the village.

Godzilla tries to hide behind the village's largest building, but is thwarted when Kong, apparently with no sense for the value of human life or Japanese heritage, begins dismantling the structure swipe-by-swipe, floor-by-floor until he can finally reach Godzilla.

The pair tumble off the cliff and into the water causing ... oh, boy ... an earthquake. The town is completely swallowed by the earth (because that happens). We're talking billions in property damage.

Kong emerges as the champion, swimming home across the specific. There is no answer given but we're left to assume that Kong managed to drown Godzilla (didn't he come from the ocean?) The American reporter then tells the audience that he wishes King Kong a safe trip home. Do you?! He just destroyed a majority of coastal Japan, send him the bill.

I find myself pulling for Kong. Yes, he wrecked New York, but he can be taught. Kong is essentially representative of tribal man's struggle for a balanced life in a civilized world, one where he can relax and finally enjoy the comfort of a female partner in a safe, Godzilla-free world. As a wrestler I can relate to that desire, like Kong I think we've all felt like we were the only hunters left in a world increasingly run by gatherers.

My instincts tell me that Kong can be a better man ape and if that’s true then (channeling Rocky) you can change, and I can change, then we can ALL change.

Like the ethnocentric doctor said in the preview, nothing is more powerful than the mind, and it’s because Kong can game plan that he beats Godzilla 6-1, 4-1.

Foley's Friday Mailbag: April 13, 2012

Fri, 13 Apr 2012 08:22:34 +0000

You have questions, we have answers. InterMat has launched a new feature called Foley's Friday Mailbag. InterMat senior writer T.R. Foley answers reader questions about NCAA wrestling, international wrestling, recruiting, or anything loosely related to wrestling. You have until Thursday night every week to send questions to Foley's Twitter or email account. Answers will be posted in Friday's column. Keep the questions challenging and insightful!

Foley's Twitter: @trfoley
Foley's Email: foley@intermatwrestle.com

You guys play rough.

Many of the questions I received were about the movements inside particular programs. Some of you wanted to know which wrestlers would be transferring and which coaches might be shifting to new teams. That's always tough information to verify. Others had questions about Penn State's lineup, the future of the Big 12 and even the toughness of past NCAA tournaments. Regardless of the question, almost all of the submissions were challenging.

My only complaint is that there were no pop culture questions. I'll entertain anything so long as there is has even the loosest connection to wrestling. Maybe we can play the game, "Do you think (name actor) wrestled?" or "Who wins in a folkstyle match between Channing Tatum and the kid from Twilight?" I'm ready to provide a minute-by-minute breakdown of their hypothetical match (Tatum maj. dec. Lautner, 13-4).

There were dozens of awesome questions, but only so much space, so some of the questions were bumped. Next weekend is the Olympic Team Trials in Iowa City so I'll be writing a special OTT Mailbag (plus pop culture).

Management has also decided to reward each week's best question with an exclusive InterMat T-shirt. The winner will be highlighted below and contacted.

Q: I enjoy looking through old NCAA Division I brackets and happened upon a very interesting weight class, which may go down as the most decorated (and likely toughest) in history -- the 149-pound weight class in 2008 in St. Louis. This weight consisted of six eventual national champions (Brent Metcalf, Jordan Burroughs, Dustin Schlatter, Bubba Jenkins, Darrion Caldwell, and J.P. O'Connor) and three others who lost in the national final (Ryan Lang, Josh Churella, and Lance Palmer). Furthermore, all eight All-Americans at 149 in 2008 appeared in a national final and six were national champions (1) Metcalf, (2) Jenkins, (3) Burroughs, (4) Churella, (5) Caldwell, (6) O'Connor, (7) Schlatter, (8) Palmer.

Six of the eight All-Americans at 149 in 2008 were eventual national champions (Photo/Danielle Hobeika)
The question: Can you think of another weight class that meets or exceeds six eventual national champions or nine finalists (the previous year (2007) at 149 comes closest in my findings with five national champs and eight finalists)? Has there ever been another weight were all the All-Americans appeared in a national final? Do you think the 149-pound weight class in 2008 would qualify as historically the toughest?
-- Sid V.

Foley: Love this question. My roommate and I wrestled at Virginia and though we are approaching Bert and Ernie living status we've stayed together because we thoroughly enjoy these types of superlative discussions. Your question actually starts with a pretty compelling statistical analysis, one that's hard to objectively refute -- six eventual NCAA champions and all eight All-Americans were finalists! That's insane. If you look down the bracket you find that two of the All-American round losers were eventual All-Americans, Adam Hall (Boise State) and Jake Patacsil (Purdue). The other two were tough-as-nails starters who never placed, Brandon Carter (Central Michigan) and Will Rowe (Oklahoma).

Does anyone object to making them some type of honorary All-American statue? Can we whittle them a small wooden plaque? Tough draw.

The only additional point to make about the bracket is that wrestling is a sport where competitors tend to get better as they get older. Though all the guys eventually showed the talent to be in the NCAA finals, they weren't necessarily at the same level as freshman and sophomores that they were when they climbed the stairs as seniors. I think that wrestling historian Jay Hammond probably has a weight class he feels was the toughest ever and I invite him to throw in his opinion for next week. My gauge would be which weight class had the most dominant set of competitors, regardless of eventual placing.

Using that metric, the toughest weight class in history might be next year at 165 pounds. Expect the mailbag to be flooded with what-if's should Andrew Howe, Kyle Dake, Tyler Caldwell and David Taylor all end up in the same weight class.

Q: Who are the leading candidates to join the ISU coaching staff?
-- George J.

Foley: It's difficult to say who the candidates are until something is announced, but my guess is that Kevin Jackson is pursuing Sammie Henson. He's the best available assistant coach and if he lands in Ames the Cyclones will have an NCAA finalist in 2013. Sammie has his critics, but I ain't one of 'em. If he and Coach Jackson get along and the Iowa State administration is willing to find the money, then this is Sammie's job.

If not Henson, then I'm left a little stumped on who else would make a significant enough impact to redirect the program. Iowa State needs something to get excited about, and hiring Sammie would definitely get the fans, the wrestlers, and the media pretty jazzed up.

Q: There are a lot of quality wrestlers that took a redshirt last season who are believed to be looking at transferring or committing to different schools (Andrew Howe, Tyler Caldwell, Travis Rutt, Destin McCauley, etc.). What light can you shed on this?
-- Kevin W.

Foley: Let's start with Destin McCauley because he seems to be set on wrestling for Iowa State in the fall. Kevin Jackson and Yero Washington (who has since left to start Beat the Streets: Los Angeles) successfully recruited him after he took what amounted to a gray shirt year in 2011-2012. He signed his NLI, and I haven't heard anything about him stepping out of his commitment, especially if Iowa State can get the money together to woo Sammie the Bull.

Tyler Caldwell was scheduled to wrestle for Nebraska, but if Sammie were to make the commitment to Iowa State I'd be shocked it Caldwell didn't attempt to make the jump. However, I don't know the particulars of his transfer and whether or not he's enrolled at Nebraska. If he is, I doubt that the NCAA would let him transfer to a third Division I school, particularly if the only compelling reason he can provide was to follow an assistant coach (great as he might be).

Travis Rutt and Tyler Graff are the last two big question marks in Madison. They're playing their cards close to the chest, but if the online roster is any indication they're leaving. Neither is an active member of the program right now. Rumor has been that Graff may leave, but where he ends up is anyone's guess. Rutt has fewer years remaining on his eligibility and may have to weigh transferring with potentially losing a year.

Andrew Howe seems to be in a particularly weird situation. From what I understand transferring to Michigan is possible, but he'd need two years to finish school and only has one year of scholarship available. I'm sure that Joe McFarland, Sean Bormet and Donny Pritzlaff would love to see him in the lineup next season, but it might be tougher than just changing singlet colors. While he'll almost certainly remain in the Michigan room in some capacity I wouldn't be shocked to see him make the short commute to Eastern Michigan. Just guessin' ... but I feel confident that coaches Derek DelPorto and David Bolyard wouldn't mind getting him into school and graduated in one year.

Q: My question is how many scholarships are given on average year to year for the sport of wrestling. I'm not talking "books" and the kid is paying $30,000 and telling everyone he is on scholarship. How many legitimate scholarships are out there for Division I (minus the Ivy League), II, III, NAIA, junior college. How many Division I schools out of the 78 are fully funded with 9.9 scholarships, and what schools are they? Same for Division II, III and NAIA, JUCO?
-- Wrestling Mom

Foley: Not taking it easy on me, are you?

There are a few points to remember about wrestling scholarships. First, very few schools give out full rides anymore. With the possible exception of Taylor Massa and Destin McCauley (and eventually Chance Marstellar), the common thinking among Division I head coaches is that incoming freshmen don't get more than 70 or 80 percent, which I think is good business practice. There are maybe five wrestlers a year that you can feel confident will be three-time All-Americans, and maybe one or two you can assume will make a national finals. The rest have an increased element of risk. Scholarships are a powerful thing and you'd hate to waste one on a wrestler who doesn't perform.

For head coaches in charge of 9.9 scholarships there is an enormous risk in giving, for example, the sixth-ranked 145-pound kid a full scholarship headed into his freshman season. Not only might that wrestler not make his own team, but as freshman they tend to have difficulty getting out from bottom and generally learning about college life ... neither of which lends confidence to the idea that he's placing out of the gate. I say better to give him 70 percent and incentivize his performance. The remaining 30 percent can be put towards a quality backup.

The exception to this rule might be heavyweights, which many coaches are willing to spend more on because it tends to be a weak weight class. Good heavyweights score dual team points and tournament points and they tend to be really good when they're young. If they're growers (coming up from 160 pounds as a high school freshman) they may even be athletic enough to become a dominant heavyweight. Not to put too fine a point on the quality of competition, but Pitt's P.J. Tasser was a 174-pound wrestler who bumped up and made NCAAs at heavyweight. If this were a financial market, the largest profit area is with the big boys.

How many schools have the full allotment of scholarships? Yikes. Programs tend to keep this information confidential unless they are fully funded and use it as a selling point with recruits.

Some quick writer-math: There are 78 programs, meaning there is a potential for (roughly) 780 full scholarships. We know that all the Big Ten and Big 12 are fully funded, as are five schools in the ACC, three schools in the Pac-12, probably six in the EIWA, and another four or five in the CAA and EWL combined. Add in another half dozen between the West Region and SoCon and you have something like 45 schools with full scholarships, or 450 individual scholarships. The remaining schools could cobble together another 150. Let's assume a 10 percent cut to accommodate my typically Pollyanna assessments of such things and you end with about 540 potential full scholarships in NCAA Division I wrestling, or roughly 70 percent of the potential maximum.

Now there are several points to make about that number. Most schools don't allow for all their scholarships to be out-of-state. For example, if I were the head wrestling coach at Alaska State-Fairbanks and my school agrees to give me the full NCAA allotment of 9.9 scholarships, they wouldn't necessarily give me the amount of money equal to 9.9 out of state scholarships. Let's say full out-of-state tuition at Alaska State-Fairbanks is $38k (we're nasty on top, by the way), the athletic department doesn't necessarily hand me $380k. More likely they give me $250k, a slap on the butt and say bring home some medals. With limited funding, I now have to recruit within Alaska because at say, $20k in-state tuition local wrestlers become a much better value. I can get better kids by setting up a card table at the Pennsylvania state tournament and handed out scholarships like Hershey Kisses, but I won't have a full team. In fact, I'll only have 6.5 kids on my team. While the PA studs might occasionally be worth the investment, if I do that too many times I'm assuming too much risk by not filling out my roster. I'd also tick of the administration who would likely want to see native Alaskans on the roster.

Back to your question: Getting books paid for is a big deal! I was a walk-on in college and only earned a partial scholarship after I won the ACC tournament and two matches at NCAAs. I was the top returner headed into the next season and still only got an 80 percent scholarship. That was a tremendous help, but averaged over four years it came out to roughly 20 percent per year, roughly the cost of books and meals at a state school. My fifth year was full and that was admittedly pretty incredible. Overall, I probably earned $25k for five years of college wrestling.

Parents love to brag on their kids, and if my offspring were offered money for being one of the best in the country at slamming other humans to the ground, I'd probably share it with poll booth operators, second cousins and my gastroenterologist.

Though I don't have children so I really can't say that for certain.

Q: How do you see West Virginia competing in the Big 12 next year? Do you expect this move will improve their recruiting?
-- IndyWVU

Foley: I like the idea of WVU in the Big 12 because the conference needed the team. However, I'm pretty concerned about the distance traveled. Someone posted online that Caracas, Venezuela is actually closer to Morgantown than any of their Big 12 opponents. I'm sure that's an exaggeration, but it hammers home the point that travel costs are going to rise, which means other parts of a likely static budget will suffer -- possibly the recruiting budget.

Overall, the Mountaineers are probably going to take a few lumps in their first few seasons. Hopefully as recruits see that they can earn bids from Morgantown through the Big 12, the coaching staff might find some top-level recruits.

My biggest concern is if the football team wins (or loses) the Big 12 Conference championship game, West Virginia students have been known to torch cop cars for far less.

Q: Who would win in a folkstyle match, Ed Ruth or David Taylor?
-- Mike C.

Foley: Why do this to me? Answer: Fans.

Ruth.

Q: Brian Smith has done an excellent job at Mizzou over his tenure. With the move to the SEC in all other sports, does the replacement for exiting assistant coach Matt Pell need to be a "name" hire? Does this program need a bit of juice to get over that next hump and back into the top five again?
-- Tim B.

Foley: Top five is not an easy charge for any coach right now. You have Penn State, Iowa, Ohio State, Minnesota, and Cornell with very talented, very young teams. It almost seems like the sport has gained parity, but in two tiers: Them and Not Them. (Oklahoma State would be a sixth team.)

Missouri could get back in the mix, but it will take a while. I don't know that role of the assistant coach in the Brian Smith system, but I can say that the success of his program in the last decade had a lot more to do with Ben Askren than my friend Matt Pell. Askren's skill and presence made those around him better and drew in recruits, without him the program has been in a lull.

Q: After their worst performance in modern history, what should the Big Eight do to stop their decline? How should their conference tourney be constructed so as to be more competitive? Should they align with another conference? If so, which one?
-- Hank B.

Foley: I love that you called it "The Big Eight." It's like when I call Sean Combs "Puff Daddy" in front of my niece.

Conference realignment is bullshit. Football has polluted the relationship between academics and athletics/physical fitness. It's a numbers game now and the entirety of college sports rests on the whims of wealthy college board members looking to swindle a few extra bucks from consumers. Wrestling shouldn't have to deal with these types of questions, but we do. (sigh)

I think the Big 12 is committed to keeping Missouri in the conference tournament for wrestling. Adding in West Virginia gives the conference a fifth team which recertifies its pre-existing exemption with the NCAA. However, someone should look to for a deep-pocketed donor to start up a team at another program and see if that doesn't create some competitive jealousy among the schools.

Please steal this idea: Get Alabama to reestablish its wrestling program, have Nick Saban endorse it, and watch the rest of the SEC start ordering Resilite. Trust me, they are as bad as the Ivy League when it comes to measuring contests.

Q: This is the same in most sports, not just wrestling, but why do you think some of the top coaches at other levels, such as DII, DIII or NJCAA or NAIA, are not usually hired for the DI openings? Every spring DI jobs open up and it doesn't seem if there are many coaches who switch divisions throughout their careers, or are even considered. Why do you think this is? Do you think coaches at the other levels pursue the DI jobs? Why or why not?
-- Matt from Minnesota

Foley: You're mostly correct, though there have been a few exceptions. Drew Pariano came to Northwestern from Cornell College (though I guess he was an assistant for a few years). Kevin Dresser was the coach at Christiansburg High School before moving over to Virginia Tech, and Old Dominion's Steve Martin was the coach at Great Bridge High School. In some respects wrestling has been abnormal. How many other sports promote directly from high school? Not many.

I've always wondered why the most successful DII and DIII coaches didn't get DI jobs, though I also don't know if they even applied. Does winning several DIII championships at Wartburg mean something less than winning a Division I title at Oklahoma? Maybe not. It's a personal decision for a lot of these guys and some just like where they live and are content winning at home.

Q: Does PSU have any kind of inside track in recruiting Chance Marsteller?
-- @BobbyLit20

Foley: Cael Sanderson. Chance Marsteller. Sounds about right.

Q: Do you think PSU can repeat as national champs next year?
-- @dmehcsg

Foley: Yes.

Here is an example of the type of article I should have been forwarded, but wasn't. Next time I suppose: http://blogs.miaminewtimes.com/cultist/2012/04/competitive_underwater_leg_wre.php.

For the record, I'd count this as a "real" sport and look forward to it replacing trampoline in the 2024 Olympics.

Foley's Friday Mailbag

Mon, 09 Apr 2012 17:40:26 +0000