ILLINI v. MIZZOU PREDICTIONS

[1032004]

9 minutes ago, ionel said:

Knee ... don't think there was any contact second time.  I'm sure Smith would've been all over it if head bump. 

Ah you’re right in re-watching…he was wobbly afterwards and I thought it could’ve been from head injury but was probably just from the knee.

Looks like BTN put most of the matches on YT btw

 

 

 

[ILLINIWrestlingBlog]

2 hours ago, flyingcement said:

Byrd up 3-0 with about a minute of RT after the first period.  

Byrd starts down in the 2nd, flaps his wings into a standing position, Moore holds on too long and gets the stall.

Moore chips away at riding time (down to 33 in favor of Byrd) by concedes the escape.  Byrd gets his worm with another takedown with one second left in the second. 7-0 Byrd after 2 with one stall against Moore.

3rd period starts with Moore on bottom.  Byrd applies forward pressure and spiral ride, gets a bit over aggressive, and Moore slickly reverses him.  

Cartwheel by Byrd on bottom and he re-reverses.  Then allows Moore to escape.  Grabs another three for himself, shoves Moore out of bounds, and earns a stalling point.  Byrd's pushing for a tech here.  Goes for a low single, shelves it, gets around Moore's Funk.  17-4 with riding time.  Byrd proudly goes back to his nest.

YOU ARE THE FIRE! 

[ILLINIWrestlingBlog]

About the Scoles/Steed match, it did seem like a head injury for a time, then a knee injury. Steed has a brace on one leg and a sleeve on the other. I never boo when a wrestler takes an injury timeout, as I used to pretend to have been hit in the groin area all the time, and I'm a very convincing actor. But my resolve to be a good fan was seriously challenged when Steed got up and hit a lightning-quick double on the restart. 

Later, you could see him limping around. 

Steed won the battle on the feet, but Scoles' relentless pressure and riding abilities and the injury were too much. ILLINI fans get to see the Webster and Scoles show for four years. Wow! For Scoles' ELO and rankings, I will be a Cam Steed fan for the rest of the year unless they meet again. 

As for the dual itself, I had a blast! This is IMAR and AOC talking to some VIPs after the match (I can't camera very well):

 

[ionel]

11 minutes ago, ILLINIWrestlingBlog said:

 ... and I'm a very convincing actor.  ILLINI fans get to see the Webster and Scoles show for four years. I can't camera very well:

  an actor?  Here we all thought comedian but certainly not production crew. 

Yes we are gonna get four years of new dictionary definitions plus a little scoles on the side. 

[flyingcement]

5 minutes ago, ionel said:

  an actor?  Here we all thought comedian but certainly not production crew. 

Yes we are gonna get four years of new dictionary definitions plus a little scoles on the side. 

[ILLINIWrestlingBlog]

3 minutes ago, ionel said:

  an actor?  Here we all thought comedian but certainly not production crew. 

Yes we are gonna get four years of new dictionary definitions plus a little scoles on the side. 

Thanks for the play-by-play for everybody who couldn't watch. It was fun to relive the match in my mind with what y'all posted. 

The team came to wrestle. Loved their fight! I was skeptical of a wrestling meet in a tent, especially since it snowed in Champaign this morning, but with tailgaters for football, they've got it down to a Science. Saw your pickleball buddy Zane Richards tonight. He is impressive every time. Big smiles from me after that dual! 

[flyingcement]

We obviously need to refer to Scoles as being "a pinch better" in all future matches that do not result in injury default

[flyingcement]

12 minutes ago, ILLINIWrestlingBlog said:

Thanks for the play-by-play for everybody who couldn't watch. It was fun to relive the match in my mind with what y'all posted. 

The team came to wrestle. Loved their fight! I was skeptical of a wrestling meet in a tent, especially since it snowed in Champaign this morning, but with tailgaters for football, they've got it down to a Science. Saw your pickleball buddy Zane Richards tonight. He is impressive every time. Big smiles from me after that dual! 

Was it my imagination or was it Chael Sonnen on the mic?  Sounded like a version of him that was not going on crazy rants

[ionel]

19 minutes ago, ILLINIWrestlingBlog said:

Thanks for the play-by-play for everybody who couldn't watch. It was fun to relive the match in my mind with what y'all posted. 

The team came to wrestle. Loved their fight! I was skeptical of a wrestling meet in a tent, especially since it snowed in Champaign this morning, but with tailgaters for football, they've got it down to a Science. Saw your pickleball buddy Zane Richards tonight. He is impressive every time. Big smiles from me after that dual! 

Looked like a great environment.  I agree with Mike, everybody wrestled hard but there were some key mistakes.  Wasn't expecting the half time team event, good to see video of those guys but my good coffee buddy MJ looking a little older.  Related, talked to Jimmy Kennedy out in Utah last Friday.   

[ILLINIWrestlingBlog]

36 minutes ago, flyingcement said:

Was it my imagination or was it Chael Sonnen on the mic?  Sounded like a version of him that was not going on crazy rants

LOL! That was my podcast partner Brian "Voice of the ILLINI" Swaw. He was really good last year, and he sounded even better tonight. Brian used to do talk radio, so he's a real pro. He has energy, is super knowledgeable about wrestling and a great sense of humor. 

The student announcer sounded like the same undergrad from last year. He has also gotten better. There was one "play" in there, but for the most part, he was on top of things. Plus, he's got Brian to shepherd him through the process.

[ILLINIWrestlingBlog]

27 minutes ago, ionel said:

Looked like a great environment.  I agree with Mike, everybody wrestled hard but there were some key mistakes.  Wasn't expecting the half time team event, good to see video of those guys but my good coffee buddy MJ looking a little older.  Related, talked to Jimmy Kennedy out in Utah last Friday.   

I wanted to ask a bunch of people for interviews, but those guys from the 2005 Big Ten Championship wrestling team were there to celebrate their season, and you just know that every second they get to spend together is gold. If by MJ you mean Mark Jayne, I've been trying to get an interview with him for about 2 years! LOL! 

[flyingcement]

6 minutes ago, ILLINIWrestlingBlog said:

LOL! That was my podcast partner Brian "Voice of the ILLINI" Swaw. He was really good last year, and he sounded even better tonight. Brian used to do talk radio, so he's a real pro. He has energy, is super knowledgeable about wrestling and a great sense of humor. 

The student announcer sounded like the same undergrad from last year. He has also gotten better. There was one "play" in there, but for the most part, he was on top of things. Plus, he's got Brian to shepherd him through the process.

oh man I wasn't even joking but now I feel like an ass for asking haha. the voice sounded like it for some reason.  he did an excellent job anyway.

[ionel]

21 minutes ago, ILLINIWrestlingBlog said:

I wanted to ask a bunch of people for interviews, but those guys from the 2005 Big Ten Championship wrestling team were there to celebrate their season, and you just know that every second they get to spend together is gold. If by MJ you mean Mark Jayne, I've been trying to get an interview with him for about 2 years! LOL! 

No wrong MJ the top dog MJ but do have good memories of Jayne's mom at duals etc taking pics. 

[MidwestMan]

Congrats to our neighbors to the east for their current "right to brag" with their win last night.  Win or lose, I enjoy the spirit of the rivalry and tradition that passes with each generation.  

Much like how Illinois was going through a transitional year in 22/23, I think Mizzou is having one of those years in 23/24.  Lots of room for growth and fairly young roster.  

Crossing my fingers Cam Sneed's injury is not a "season ender!"  Mizzou has been a rolling ambulance since towards the end of last season.  Northern Iowa is coming up and is always tough as they seem to embody the "Schwab ethos."  If the Tigers don't get their lineup in tack and everyone healthy, they could very easy fall to 1-3.

I know it's early in the season, but I also said that last year, and last year just got worse.  Division 1 wrestling is "Tough Stuff!"

Edited 1 hour ago by MidwestMan