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“Because what we see… is so hard to see… that we lose faith or … a vision… of those things we cannot see … but must know.” https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTFuFf3BH/ got it

For example: you want to dismantle the electoral college and do away with the Senate and give all the power to popular vote and thus a nation controlled by large cities. As such they could vote to take away property rights in rural states, confiscate land, water, minerals, food etc. Some have even suggested this but its hard to do with our current Republic. But sure you and Tim will keep trying.

Totally stole that line from scouts…. but how can you trust the media when they edit darn near all the content you see https://www.foxnews.com/media/cbs-60-minutes-airs-two-different-answers-from-vp-harris-same-question.amp we are living in the novel 1984 ironically only seems that right wing outlets are reporting…. https://www.snopes.com/news/2024/10/11/60-minutes-edited-harris-answer/ without a free and accurate press what are we?

ILLINI COACHES The ILLINI are coached by Mike Poeta, Jeremy Hunter for the wee ones, and IMAR and AOC for the bigguns. Do we need to spell out their full names, biographies and favorite movies? No. This is the best staff in the country. That's all you need to know. Add in Director of Operations Bryan Medlin and Christian Kanzler, starring as Director of Player Operations. We do wish athletic departments, and, yes, it is a problem with every single athletic department in this great country of ours, would not use the word "player" when referring to a "wrestler." Brian Swaw was the "Voice of the ILLINI" last year, and we hope he's back. He kept the student announcers from using "player" instead of "wrestler," and for that we are grateful. EARLY LOOK / TEAM RANKINGS This early look at the ILLINI Wrestling team is based on the lineup reported by Wrestlestat.com and the schedule provided by FightingILLINI.com. We do expect fire at any public or private wrestle-offs that may occur in the future. Moreover, the team has tournaments on the schedule that will allow multiple wrestlers from the same team at one weight. As a tournament team, ILLINOIS is ranked #19 by Wrestlestat.com and #14 as a dual squad. Intermat has the good guys as the #19 tournament team, #12 in duals. That shows a strong lineup with no "holes" or weak spots. FloWrestling has the Orange and Blue in the #23 spot as a tournament team. The individual rankings listed below are (Wrestlestat.com/Intermat/Flo). INDIVIDUAL STARTERS 125. Ramazan Attasauov (#21/#19/NR). The transfer from Iowa State has wrestled at 133 for the previous five years. Of course, the ILLINI already have Lucas Byrd at that weight, so his transfer was conditioned on wrestling at 125. He won the U23 National Tournament at 57kg back in 2020 beating RayVon Foley and Patrick Glory on the way to the title. He has qualified for NCAAs at 133. Ramazan will be huge at 125. He's already tall and strong. He is a super-quality wrestler that must answer two questions: (1) Can he be effective at 125, and (2) Russian-born, has he become fully integrated in Folkstyle wrestling? Our newest ILLINI looked good on picture day, so maybe he will be effective at 125. If things don't work out, the ILLINI have Caelan Riley and Joey Ruzic available. In fact, it might be wise to give Ramazan a few "weight breaks" over the season and let the young guys catch a dual or two. For a more detailed look at Attasauov, check out our previous story here. 133. Lucas Byrd (#7/#3/#9). Everybody loves to watch Lucas Byrd wrestle. The Byrd is the Wyrd! Out last year with an injury, he will be especially pissed off this season. A two-time All American (5,5), you always expect him to win. He didn't earn AA honors in his last NCAAs, but he still had a very strong tournament, losing to Daton Fix and Jesse Mendez by one point each, with the Mendez match going to TB-3. Lucas has the talent and ability to be a National Champion this year. He is right there. The question that remains is if he has completely healed from his injury. If so, watch out! We've seen pictures from his Media Day, and, wow, he looks like a tank. The ILLINI also have Kole Brower (occasional starter) and Brian Beers at this weight. Tony Madrigal graduated. Joey Ruzic will be on redshirt. The young feller who's ranked ahead of Byrd by FloWrestling and Wrestlestat.com but not Intermat, and who Lucas has beaten three out of four times, is the subject of this Wrestling Art, which we call "The World's Greatest Blood Round Takedown": 141. Danny Pucino (#36/#19/#21). Danny was a NCAA qualifier last season. He has beaten some serious All Americans on his journey so far, including Cole Matthews of Pittsburgh, Vance Vombaur of Minnesota, Parker Filius of Purdue and Dylan D'Emilio of Ohio State. He has a large repertoire of funky moves and a crazy misdirection ankle grab/single that are very entertaining. When he hits one of those, we like to say that his opponent got "PUCINO'D." Danny also has one of the best gas tanks in wrestling. He should have gotten a wild card to the Big Dance two years ago, even after having a poor B1G Tournament, but he improved and had a good BTT this past season. Will the improvement continue? He always seemed a little slight for the weight, but with age comes weight. Will the extra weight be an advantage or slow him down? The ILLINI could have a fantastic wrestle-off mini-tournament at this weight. Others at or near 141 include Will Baysingar and Hudson Goebel, two proven tough guys, as well as likely redshirts Jayden Colon, Jackson Herman and Olin Walker. 149. Kannon Webster (#9/#11/#12). ILLINI fans have been waiting for this addition to the lineup. We thought he was going to forego his redshirt last year. Coach Poeta and Kannon tricked us! The multiple Fargo winner and Pan Am Champion will be a force at this weight. We believe he is seriously undervalued thus far. He went 20-1 last year as a true Freshman. With wins in the Iowa and Ohio State duals. He won the Greyhound Open and Zingo Nationals last year. Heck, as a high school Senior, he won Kaufman Brand beating the Indiana University fourth-year starter in the finals. Also at this weight, the ILLINI have a previous starter and tough guy in Jake Harrier. Charlie Fifield is here as well, along with stud Ohio recruit Ryan Bennett. Webster finished third at the Midlands, with his one loss on the season to Ty Watters in a very controversial match. Watters ended up on the podium in the 4th position at NCAAs. Here is a Law and Order investigation into that controversial match: 157. Jason Kraisser (#29/#23/#24). The second transfer from Iowa State is there to fill the spot left by Joe Roberts, who has retired from wrestling because of injuries. Jason started out in college at Campbell where he was an all-SoCon Freshman with a 21-8 record. He transferred to ISU, and two years ago, qualified for the Big Dance as the #25 seed. He made it to the Round of 16. Kraisser ended up with a 22-15 record. Last year, it was only open tournaments and a 16-6 mark. He is a real leg-rider, which is not something the ILLINI has had in some time. For more detail, check out this earlier article. True Freshman Logan Swaw got the start last season after the injury to Roberts, but he is ready for a redshirt year. Danny Nini is a transfer from North Carolina. Antonio Alvarado and Tegan Chumbley fill out the roster at 157. 165. Braeden Scoles (#50/NR/NR). Another rookie in the starting lineup is this Fargo winner and four-time Wisconsin state champion. He has the pedigree but a really tough weight in conference. The top three in the Wrestlestat.com rankings are all in conference and all on the ILLINOIS schedule (PSU, Iowa and OSU). Braeden was 10-4 last season, but that was in part due to battling injuries. Near the beginning of the year, he got the start against North Carolina and beat a National Qualifier. The ILLINI have a surfeit of riches at this weight with last year's true freshman starter and National Qualifier Chris Moore taking his redshirt, as well as tough guys Caden Ernd (occasional starter) and Cooper Wettig (occasional starter). Both Ernd and Wettig have filled in for injured ILLINI in the past even up a couple of weights. Scoles ended last season on a winning note with four straight wins, a championship and a "Jersey Chain" at the Zingo Nationals. Check out the original post to see Scoles in action and to find out what a "Jersey Chain" is. It's pretty funny. 174. Danny Braunagel (#14/#20/#10). The first twin in the lineup is a 3x NCAA Qualifier, 2x ILLINOIS State Champion, 3x Finalist and a Pan Am Champion with 63 career wins for the Orange and Blue. Our Christmas Wish this year is for Danny Braunagel to go through an entire season without a debilitating injury. He did it as a redshirt Freshman, finishing with a 23-9 record, while qualifying for the NCAA Tournament and earning Covid-year Honorable Mention All American honors. [LOOKING AT THE CAMERA] Is that too much to ask for? One year. No injuries. We've been good this yea--okay no more Deadpool--let's get back to the Brawlnagel. He has just finished up an Olympic redshirt year placing in the OTT Greco trials. He now knows as much about hand-fighting as Tony Stark knows about metals. You can bet he is ready to feast on some leg attacks. Over the years, Little Brawny has beaten a lot of great wrestlers, including Izzak Olejnik, Peyton Mocco, Kennedy Monday, Ethan Smith, Peyton Robb, Bubba Wilson and Gerrit Nijenhuis both by major, Holden Heller, Peyton Hall (x2), Caleb Fish, and he's undefeated against Cameron Amine (2-0). You can go back through his record and see exactly when the injuries occurred. As one example, he beats Maxx Mayfield 8-1 at Midlands. Less than three weeks later, he loses to the same wrestler 3-8. If he can get through the season uninjured, we expect him to AA again. Colin Kelly is the blue chip recruit waiting in the wings. Chris Moore (last year's starter and NCAA qualifier), Caden Ernd and Cooper Wettig can take a few dual matches if needed. 184. Edmond Ruth (#4/#8/#7). As a high schooler, he had a 105-1 record that included two Pennsylvania titles and three finals. On top of that, he was a 4x high school All American. Whereas Jason Kraisser was a high school state medalist in cross country, Edmond was a state qualifier in PA in the 4x400. It is not that hard to believe, then, where they get their extreme conditioning. The ILLINI started their next streak of All Americans last season with Edmond Ruth. He also won a Big Ten Championship and a Midlands Championship. Ruth has been the team leader in dual points for the last two seasons. His record over the last two years for ILLINOIS is 26-4 (7th) and the year before that 30-8 (R12). Moving up in weight this year, you can already see the additional muscle on his body from the media day pictures and his Instagram account. He is a master of mat wrestling, and his quickness and conditioning allow him to wear down opponents, even the ones who try to avoid his bear hugs. We think he challenges for a Championship this year. He will have a quickness advantage and almost certainly a conditioning advantage over all of the other challengers. On February 16, 2025, expect to see Edmond Ruth versus Carter Starocci. We can't wait! Tough guy and multi-year starter and National Qualifier Dylan Connell will get his chance at a wrestle off. Additionally, strongman Charlie Heydorn is available. 197. Zac Braunagel (#10/#10/#9). The second twin that everybody loves to root for is Big Brawny. He won Fargo and was a 2x ILLINOIS State Champion. Zac was an age group Pan Am Gold Medal winner, as well as an age group World Teamer. Last year, he was a Senior World Team member in Greco. He qualified for and placed at the OTT. In college, the Brawlnagel has been a four-time NCAA Tournament qualifier with a Round of 12 twice and earned a Covid-year Honorable Mention All American honor. He had an Olympic redshirt last season, so he now has a doctorate in hand-fighting. The year before that, he finished 25-9 at 197. Everybody in the world, including his opponents on the mat, are rooting for another AA honor this year for both Danny and Zac. Wrestlers like tough guys. The starter from last year is the mercurial and tough Isiah Pettigrew, who came back days after knee surgery to complete his season. We would love to see this wrestle-off, but, man, we absolutely don't want anybody to get hurt, so we don't know what to think. "Little Brother" Joey Braunagel is not on the roster this year, and that may have to do with his commitment to the United States Army, THE BEST ARMY IN THE ENTIRE WORLD! 285. Luke Luffman (#16/#13/#15). This ILLINI team has to be loved and enjoyed by all the fans, even the stinky and noisy fans of other teams. Another example: The big man in the middle, LUUUUUUKE Luffman, true blue fan favorite. In high school, Luke was a double Fargo winner in Freestyle and Greco. He won three State Championships, two at 220 and one at heavyweight. In college, he's been a 3x NCAA Qualifier and has been as high as #6 in the rankings. He's also had multiple dual-clinching wins for the Orange and Blue. He's coming off of a season-ending injury, so the question is whether he has fully recovered. He was well on his way to AA status last year, losing in the Midlands Finals by a single point to Isaac Trumble of NC State. Then, he got injured. During his college career, he's had wins over Luke Surber, Tate Orndorff, Trent Hilger, Taye Ghadiali, Josh Hokit, Christian Lance and Ben Goldin (x2). Filling in for an injured LUUUUKE last season was true Freshman Peter Marinopoulos, and he won a couple of duals for the good guys and also won the Lindenwood Open. Whether he goes 197 or 285 in the future will be the question, but he'll get his well-earned redshirt this season. Veteran Daniel Renshaw is available, as well as new recruit Marko Ivanisevic. TRUE FRESHMEN AND TRANSFERS The ILLINI brought in a strong class that runs from the wee folks to the big guy in the middle, including Anthony "Joey" Ruzic, Ryan Bennett, Jayden Colon, Colin Kelly, Jackson Herman (Father was a stud AA for ILLINOIS Wrestling), Olin Walker and Marko Ivanisevic. Besides Ramazan Attasauov and Jason Kraisser mentioned above -- both of who came from Iowa State -- the ILLINI also pulled in Danny Nini from North Carolina. NOTE: Originally posted at the ILLINI Wrestling Blog & Forum & Beyond. There you will find more videos as well as photographs and dual match scores. For video credits, please see YouTube.

Shirley no one expects them to report the truth. Think for some time now a free press means they are free to report any version of the facts they prefer or no facts at all.

You’re so cool I’m gonna call you cool-o

And I present to you. Your vegetable…. https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTFurTgNY/

Yes there policy is Orange man bad. try to destroy him through the courts encouraged by the DOJ. Militarize the liberal media with 99 percent of all stories on Orange man to be negative filled with hateful false rhetoric. Then finally if that doesn't work they have Project Terminate Orange man. Find someone to assassinate bad Orange man. I'm sure I missed a few.

i wonder why obama was never attacked

So, she really did work at McDonalds. I stand corrected.

... nor would Ivan Drago. D3

I just couldn't help my self w/ the subject: ... How does it shake out? ... we now continue with the program, now in progress. D3

See post ~12 above. Yes I've never seen someone struggle so much while loading or unloading a shotgun. He definitely should not be doing two this at once, talking to the press and messing with the gun, pick one. Do we know if there's still a shell in the barrel? I wouldn't hunt with him.

They do. And according to Google. They have cast all 3 votes every time for a red Viking backed blue dude. Crazy they only bring up states with a proclivity to have real men….. while the Indian lady raised in Canada by Indians and a Jamaican try to get a weird white dude dancing with man hands and leg kicks to pretend how to use a gun….. to get that white man vote they’re currently losing.

Next step would be elect Supreme Court justices by popular vote. Sure you may say keep the President others may disagree and out vote you to do away with the President and Constitution. You already got rid of the Senate so that check & balance is gone. It's a slippery slope that you and Tim want to head down.

Literally No state. Has less electoral votes than wy

Two wolves and a lamb walk into a bar. The bartender says, "What’ll it be?" The wolves grin and say, "We’re voting for lamb chops." The lamb looks at the bartender and says, "I’ll just have a water… and maybe a new voting system?"

I remember when white men were the problem in America. Now the Ds need some votes.

Hunt with O/U and prefer those in hunt party do the same. Safer and if you can't hit the pheasant in two shots maybe he deserves to get away. Look at how Walz seems to struggle with loading or unloading his five shot semi automatic.

I was raised in a middle class family … on family feud https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTFu13P7L/

Word. I teach high school, and when the little shits get me down my wife always reminds me, "They might be assholes, but there not fully formed assholes." I hope that is the case with AF. However, I get the sense that they're gonna need a team of CBT specialists, two on-call life coaches, a couple of emotional support pugs, a priest, and a medium to get in touch with Lacan and Freud as needed.

Ive had a two guys become drs and several soldiers though I can't say for sure if they directly saved lives. . . though I'm sure the servicemen risked theirs. But, I gotta think you're right: To play some small part in the development of a hero's story must be gratifying.

thats what I was wondering. I appreciate the real answer flyingcement. Thank you!!

hope this lands better than football is going

For what it's worth, the Iranian media have not listed anyone by name of Saulaev yet

Thank you, flyingcement! Means a lot coming from the guy who single-handedly explained and documented the transfer portal process better than anybody else in the world. I'm very happy to have a place on this website to talk about wrestling with a lot of great posters. I'm going to put this same post in the "Club Forums" section here at Intermat. That way, I can post about the ILLINI Regional Training Center as well. Cheers!

Well if the voters don’t find you qualified, let em find you youthful.

No one cares. Thanks for asking. Show me that literal vegetable in chiefs y’all have been lying about for years.

IMO, this is the most awesomest part of coaching. That and when a wrestler you coached saved another persons life

Teaching him to control his impulses. Showing him techniques to handle adversity without bringing harm to himself, team, or opponents. People evolve and mature at different times and in different ways. Some people go directly from point A to point B and are rightly praised for doing so. Others take the long winding road. I do not like giving up on young people. Full stop. How many chances should he get? As many as it takes to have him succeed. Too many people hope and cheer for failure. We have a recent world teamer who has been given many many Chances. He has been thru hell, drugs, violence, the criminal system, multiple colleges, but it seems he has been able to put it behind him and is taking things one day at a time. He is winning today and has won many "todays" of late and I could not be happier for him. My hope for AJ is to win today.

Nice. As long as Taylor takes the match seriously and doesn't come out of pseudo-retirement underestimating Sadulaev's athleticism. It would be the worst to see DT turn his training camp into a circus and later boogie down to the mat to James Brown's "Living in America" with dancing showgirls, only to have Sadz smoke him. Because then Brooks would have to train in the snow with primitive farm equipment next year to avenge Taylor's loss. I've seen Rocky IV enough times to know how it goes.

Are you suggesting the media might be assassinated?

Their policy is Redman bad. Redman will end Democracy. If necessary, must assassinate him. Redman bad.

Does the other team even have a policy yet ? Asking for a friend.

They will have their usual 2 or 3 good guys and a mediocre team overall.