An ILLINI-Centric Midlands Preview

[ILLINIWrestlingBlog]

Midlands caught us all with our guard down. It's just two days away. You can get an idea what's about to go down at these two links:

125-157

165-285

Here's a fun sample:

A DAY IN HISTORY

Mariah Carey topped the charts with Don't Forget About Us. At the box office, The Chronicles of Narnia, the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe was number one in 3,853 theaters nationwide. Top video games were Age of Empires III, Call of Duty 2 and World of Warcraft. 

It was December 30, 2005. 

On that same day, the #2-ranked ILLINI won their third consecutive Midlands title with placewinners Alex Tirapelle (1st), Pete Friedl (1st), Mike Poeta (2nd), Tyrone Byrd (2nd), Donny Reynolds (6th), and Troy Tirapelle (7th). Kyle Ott didn't even make the trip. 

By the time the ILLINI held up that Midlands team trophy in 2005, The Matrix was already 6 years, 8 months and 29 days old:

[ILLINIWrestlingBlog]

It looks like the second link goes to the same story as the first link. Is there no way to edit these posts? Can I speak to a manager? No, now! Wake him up if you have to!

 

Anyway, here's the corrected link:  165-285

[ionel]

14 minutes ago, ILLINIWrestlingBlog said:

It looks like the second link goes to the same story as the first link. Is there no way to edit these posts? Can I speak to a manager? No, now! Wake him up if you have to!

 

 

He died a year ago, rest his soul, sorry you'll have to manage this on your own.  

But twas a good day you speak of in the first post. 

Edited December 27, 2022 by ionel

[Formally140]

26 minutes ago, ILLINIWrestlingBlog said:

It looks like the second link goes to the same story as the first link. Is there no way to edit these posts? Can I speak to a manager? No, now! Wake him up if you have to!

 

Anyway, here's the corrected link:  165-285

You got 15 minutes to edit. Thus says lord Dole. Rejoice and be glad, it minimizes chicanery.  

[ionel]

38 minutes ago, Formally140 said:

You got 15 minutes to edit. Thus says lord Dole. Rejoice and be glad, it minimizes chicanery.  

if anyone knows how to deal with chicanery its Bob.  

[ILLINIWrestlingBlog]

According to Christian Pyles, who is dreamy, 133 at the Midlands got electro-magma-supercharged with the addition of unattached wrestler Kyle Burwick of Nebraska. If you are an organizer, all of the entries should be placed on the bracket by random draw, after proper seeding, except that Burwick-Lamont must be a first-round match.

Other big names at 133 include two-time All Americans Lucas Byrd, Michael McGee, and Chris Cannon, along with Round of 12er Micky Phillipi.  One of those fellows is 8-1 against the other three. Can you guess who?

Heavyweight and 125 are shaping up to be great brackets. Yay for the wee folk and the fatties. 

I've checked Twitter and haven't heard of any teams missing flights because of weather or Southwest Airlines. This is the one benefit you can point to for having few wrestling teams in the South. When it comes to snow, Southerners act like a volcano has erupted.

Back to Burwick: Should he confront the Badger staff with a blank NPO? My belief is that Wisky should sign. My definition of participation might be different from yours.

What the Badger staff did was, after not telling Burwick about the portal deadline, then going behind his back to recruit an AA over him, expect to handcuff Burwick and Lamont in the practice room together for a year with people Kyle couldn't trust, lay a saw on the floor between them and say, "Participate!"

But that might be taking the analogy too far, maybe.

Edited December 28, 2022 by ILLINIWrestlingBlog

[Fadzaev2]

On 12/27/2022 at 9:48 AM, ILLINIWrestlingBlog said:

Midlands caught us all with our guard down. It's just two days away. You can get an idea what's about to go down at these two links:

125-157

165-285

Here's a fun sample:

A DAY IN HISTORY

Mariah Carey topped the charts with Don't Forget About Us. At the box office, The Chronicles of Narnia, the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe was number one in 3,853 theaters nationwide. Top video games were Age of Empires III, Call of Duty 2 and World of Warcraft. 

It was December 30, 2005. 

On that same day, the #2-ranked ILLINI won their third consecutive Midlands title with placewinners Alex Tirapelle (1st), Pete Friedl (1st), Mike Poeta (2nd), Tyrone Byrd (2nd), Donny Reynolds (6th), and Troy Tirapelle (7th). Kyle Ott didn't even make the trip. 

By the time the ILLINI held up that Midlands team trophy in 2005, The Matrix was already 6 years, 8 months and 29 days old:

Are you in reference to a former NCAA Champion from Iowa State (as a wrestler and as a coach) using this quote when he broadcasts????

[ILLINIWrestlingBlog]

37 minutes ago, Fadzaev2 said:

Are you in reference to a former NCAA Champion from Iowa State (as a wrestler and as a coach) using this quote when he broadcasts????

Yes. It is a reference to that immortal phrase. Cheers!

[Wrestleknownothing]

3 hours ago, ILLINIWrestlingBlog said:

According to Christian Pyles, who is dreamy, 133 at the Midlands got electro-magma-supercharged with the addition of unattached wrestler Kyle Burwick of Nebraska. If you are an organizer, all of the entries should be placed on the bracket by random draw, after proper seeding, except that Burwick-Lamont must be a first-round match.

Other big names at 133 include two-time All Americans Lucas Byrd, Michael McGee, and Chris Cannon, along with Round of 12er Micky Phillipi.  One of those fellows is 8-1 against the other three. Can you guess who?

Heavyweight and 125 are shaping up to be great brackets. Yay for the wee folk and the fatties. 

I've checked Twitter and haven't heard of any teams missing flights because of weather or Southwest Airlines. This is the one benefit you can point to for having few wrestling teams in the South. When it comes to snow, Southerners act like a volcano has erupted.

Back to Burwick: Should he confront the Badger staff with a blank NPO? My belief is that Wisky should sign. My definition of participation might be different from yours.

What the Badger staff did was, after not telling Burwick about the portal deadline, then going behind his back to recruit an AA over him, expect to handcuff Burwick and Lamont in the practice room together for a year with people Kyle couldn't trust, lay a saw on the floor between them and say, "Participate!"

But that might be taking the analogy too far, maybe.

You misspelled Burwikk.

[ILLINIWrestlingBlog]

Ermak Kardonov is at the ILLINI RTC and is in the Midlands bracket at 184. Still no Sadulaev at Midlands. Quack.

[ScarletKnight]

5 hours ago, ILLINIWrestlingBlog said:

According to Christian Pyles, who is dreamy, 133 at the Midlands got electro-magma-supercharged with the addition of unattached wrestler Kyle Burwick of Nebraska. If you are an organizer, all of the entries should be placed on the bracket by random draw, after proper seeding, except that Burwick-Lamont must be a first-round match.

Other big names at 133 include two-time All Americans Lucas Byrd, Michael McGee, and Chris Cannon, along with Round of 12er Micky Phillipi.  One of those fellows is 8-1 against the other three. Can you guess who?

Heavyweight and 125 are shaping up to be great brackets. Yay for the wee folk and the fatties. 

I've checked Twitter and haven't heard of any teams missing flights because of weather or Southwest Airlines. This is the one benefit you can point to for having few wrestling teams in the South. When it comes to snow, Southerners act like a volcano has erupted.

Back to Burwick: Should he confront the Badger staff with a blank NPO? My belief is that Wisky should sign. My definition of participation might be different from yours.

What the Badger staff did was, after not telling Burwick about the portal deadline, then going behind his back to recruit an AA over him, expect to handcuff Burwick and Lamont in the practice room together for a year with people Kyle couldn't trust, lay a saw on the floor between them and say, "Participate!"

But that might be taking the analogy too far, maybe.

Glory at 133 as well as Ryan Crookham.  

[ILLINIWrestlingBlog]

35 minutes ago, ScarletKnight said:

Glory at 133 as well as Ryan Crookham.  

Great weight!

[Mr. PeanutButter]

52 minutes ago, ScarletKnight said:

Glory at 133 as well as Ryan Crookham.  

Is Glory's move up to 133 permanent, or does the coaching staff simply not wish to over-stress him with a tough post holiday weigh-in (smart move, he looked bigger than everyone at 125 last year)

[Fadzaev2]

3 hours ago, ILLINIWrestlingBlog said:

Yes. It is a reference to that immortal phrase. Cheers!

Among a few other phrases....and cheers to you as well....keep your belt buckle shiny and your shoe laces tied.

[bnwtwg]

7 hours ago, ILLINIWrestlingBlog said:

According to Christian Pyles, who is dreamy

I thought we were friends.

[bnwtwg]

1) Poeta is a coward

2) Cannon as a 5 seed?

3) Midlands has had such a hard fall from grace. It went from THEEEEE preeminent tournament to... Edmond Ruth as a 1 seed?

[ILLINIWrestlingBlog]

41 minutes ago, bnwtwg said:

1) Poeta is a coward

2) Cannon as a 5 seed?

3) Midlands has had such a hard fall from grace. It went from THEEEEE preeminent tournament to... Edmond Ruth as a 1 seed?

1. I want to be as cowardly as Mike Poeta.

2. Your second point contradicts point three.

3. Edmond Ruth is 21-1 in his last 22 college matches and has won three of the last four tournaments that he's entered. He is basically the returning champion. 2x PA State Champ, 3x Finalist. I'm good with his seed and what that means on the grander, cosmic scale.

[bnwtwg]

55 minutes ago, ILLINIWrestlingBlog said:

1. I want to be as cowardly as Mike Poeta.

2. Your second point contradicts point three.

3. Edmond Ruth is 21-1 in his last 22 college matches and has won three of the last four tournaments that he's entered. He is basically the returning champion. 2x PA State Champ, 3x Finalist. I'm good with his seed and what that means on the grander, cosmic scale.

You want to be so cowardly as to duck? I can’t support that. Where is Maximo? Where is Luffman, or eithe of his backups? Why is a HS state champ many years removed with minimal college results the #1 seed at a previously top tier folk style tournament?

 

We are quite literally on the same team but even I can’t deflect Ducks Unlimited. And Cannon being a 5 seed is a travesty.

Edited December 29, 2022 by bnwtwg
ETA: before you have a counterpoint about Luffman, tell me why Ridge Lovett is showing up.

[ILLINIWrestlingBlog]

54 minutes ago, bnwtwg said:

You want to be so cowardly as to duck? I can’t support that. Where is Maximo? Where is Luffman, or eithe of his backups? Why is a HS state champ many years removed with minimal college results the #1 seed at a previously top tier folk style tournament?

 

We are quite literally on the same team but even I can’t deflect Ducks Unlimited. And Cannon being a 5 seed is a travesty.

Luke Luffman had surgery. In other words, a duck conspiracy so vast it involves the ILLINI Athletic Department and a team of medical professionals.

I'm disappointed that Maximo isn't there, and I don't know why. It surely isn't to duck competition, though, as he needs some wins to pad his NCAA resume before facing Spencer Lee and Eric Barnett in duals next week.

As for Edmond Ruth as the #1 seed, I've explained that sufficiently. Blame Nolf or Cenzo or McFadden or Iowa or Nebraska for not showing up, the slackers! 

Finally, I agree that Cannon should be the #4 seed over Heilmann even though Cannon is 4-3 this year while Heilmann is 11-1. Cannon has a proven track record in big tournaments. I would keep Glory at number three ahead of Cannon, at least until Cannon shows that he is past whatever injury he suffered at Cliff Keen.

[ILLINIWrestlingBlog]

Four ILLINI in the semifinals to include Lucas Byrd, Danny Braunagel, Edmond Ruth and Zac Braunagel. These guys were all the higher seeded wrestler in the quarters except that little Brawny got a big upset against Peyton Hall.

By the way, I haven't seen trick knees like Peyton Hall since Tyler Nixt. What an incredible defensive resource. 

PREDICTION:

I think in the next couple of years there will emerge a new kind of wrestler: The stud who only has a loss on his record to Lucas Byrd and Edmond Ruth. 

THAT'S ENTERTAINMENT!

Ermak Kardonov is a Russian wrestler who is really good at freestyle. He's at the ILLINI RTC now. Watching him deal with bottom and top wrestling at the Midlands was both tense and hilarious. Go Ermak!

KAREN-TYPE WHINES:

If you are going to stream a tournament, you need to also have a dashboard or brackets that a body can click on to take you directly to the match you want to see.

Having one company stream while another company carries the live brackets and dashboard sucks. I almost swatted BTN Headquarters because of this.

A second peeve is the lack of nudgers. Apparently none of these companies can find or afford to hire someone to nudge the camera when the action moves to the side of the mat. ALL I'M ASKING FOR IS A NUDGE. ARE NUDGERS SO HARD TO FIND? IT WOULD TAKE THREE SECONDS TO TRAIN A NUDGER IN THE ART OF NUDGING!

ONLY FOR HARDCORE ILLINI FANS:

I was really impressed with Dylan Connell and Danny Pucino. Connell got beat 1-8 by Pitt's Reece Heller in the dual, then turned that into an SV loss at Midlands. He's still in the mix for a placement. Same with Pucino.

These guys are wrestling their first full years at ILLINOIS, and will be forces for good in the future.

Really disappointed that nobody at 125 or 157 from the team could show up and pick up their teammates. 

 

[MPhillips]

15 minutes ago, ILLINIWrestlingBlog said:

Having one company stream while another company carries the live brackets and dashboard sucks.

Dumb.

15 minutes ago, ILLINIWrestlingBlog said:

ARE NUDGERS SO HARD TO FIND?

COVID.

[ILLINIWrestlingBlog]

I forgot to mention Trey Sizemore (and probably others). Sizemore has been a revelation. He's still in it for a podium finish, and he's wrestled real well.

Another thing I noticed was that Danny Braunagel was called for potentially dangerous during his first takedown attempt on Peyton Hall. (It was a good call).

But Danny learned.

During his second takedown attempt, he passed the leg quickly and got to the waist lickity-split. That shows smarts and natural instincts.

Finally, @MPhillips, what can be done about this lack of NUDGERS? It's not like it takes much skill to NUDGE. There are no special schools that teach NUDGING. And still there are no NUDGERS! HARRUMPH!

[MPhillips]

1 hour ago, ILLINIWrestlingBlog said:

Finally, @MPhillips, what can be done about this lack of NUDGERS? It's not like it takes much skill to NUDGE. There are no special schools that teach NUDGING. And still there are no NUDGERS! HARRUMPH!

Sadly, the original Nudgers have grown old and the new Nudgers aren't interested in Nudging...

[ionel]

2 hours ago, ILLINIWrestlingBlog said:

But Danny learned.

During his second takedown attempt, he passed the leg quickly and got to the waist lickity-split. That shows smarts and natural instincts.

is that similar to freaky-fast or perhaps Danny likes ice-cream after a sub.   

 

[ILLINIWrestlingBlog]

About that Lucas Byrd comeback win, I'm still pissed. Here's what happened:

At the start of the third period, Byrd gets a caution on the start. The table says, :03 is off the clock, but they don't take the time to change the clock. I'm actually cool with that because Byrd was wearing the hell outta that Penn wrestler.

What I'm not cool with is that the table and the refs forgot about that :03 at the end of the match.

That :03 equals the final takedown that was disallowed because "time" ran out. 

On top of that, I don't want to sound like Jombo, but stalling barely made an appearance in that match. It should've had a starring role, above the title. So instead of an "L," in my mind it was a miraculous comeback. 

And anybody who disagrees goes to the top of my enemies list.You see, even Jombo agrees with me: