Leaderboard

Who is Jimmy Cinnabon, I hear you say, A whisper in the air, a name at play. Is he a myth, a man, a fleeting guise? A swirl of questions, like Iowa skies. Does he rise at dawn, at a Michigan lake, Folding stories in the dough he makes? Perhaps he crafts sweetness, a life in a bun, With sugar and spice spun under the sun. Or is he a wanderer, bound to no place, A poet, a dreamer, lost in the chase? Carving his hawkeye like a pastry's swirl, Through the chaos of life, through the endless whirl. Is he a rebel, a fighter, a wolverine? A light in the shadows, a flame in the dark? Or maybe he's quiet, a soft-spoken muse, An welcher of flavor, with magic to use. We wonder, we question, we guess who he cheers, Yet Jimmy remains an enigma to see. For perhaps he's not one, but all we aspire, A name that ignites our hidden desire. So who is Jimmy Cinnabon? Do you know? A keeper of bets, a shadowy glow. Or maybe he’s none of these—just a name, A sweet little mystery, delightfully plain.

I'm still confused - I thought Scott was at OREGON State.

Might be a simpler answer here. He got his OSUs confused!

FWIW, I predicted the score exactly as it was...

2 of the least liked Penn State wrestlers (from the perspective of non-PSU fans)

so you're an anti-anti-christ guy huh?

I do commentary for a D1 on ESPN+ A few days before the dual I'll make a factsheet for both lineups with bullet points on each wrestler.. on the visiting team I try to do two deep at each weight since I'm not entirely sure who's wrestling up until right before the dual. This year I've been by myself more times than not, but they did add 1 minute between matches which has been super helpful to regroup (last year it was straight into the next match which makes it tough to give some background information) Generally, I try to be as non-biased as possible, give a few sentences worth of background information throughout the match, and try to saddle the line between grandparent at home and wrestling nerd parent, which can be a bit tough. It's a lot harder than it looks

Lee vs Ono Zahid vs Brooks Takatani vs Carr I have heard rumors about Austin Desanto vs Austin Gomez as well seems like Flo is really trying to put on a great card here. Any matchups you guys would like to see? I would exclude the Russians I don't think its likely they get that done. I also doubt at that time of year they will be getting any college guys. Matches I would love Blaze vs Bassett Forrest vs Vito/Knox Mason vs Masoumi/zare Musakaev vs Gomez or descant (I think he may be going up to 70kg though) Nick lee vs desnato (may be hard since hes coaching) Leo deluca Vs Anthony knox Leo deluca vs Joe Bachmann Yama*I poop my pants, don't laugh at me*a (u20 world champ) vs Pj duke Bassett vs Jayden James Snyder vs Taz

ILLINOIS VERSUS IOWA WHAT: ILLINI Wrestling Dual Against Stupid Iowa WHEN: Friday, January 17 at 6:00 pm Central WHERE: Stupid Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Stupid Iowa City TV/STREAMING: BTN A DAY IN HISTORY It is January 28, 2005. This is possibly the worst weekend in movie history as the top two at the box office are Hide and Seek and Are We There Yet? It's not much better on the radio with two top ten songs by Destiny's Child, Mario holding down the #1 spot and Nelly featuring Tim McGraw in the top ten. You've just thrown your boombox off the top of Starved Rock State Park into the ILLINOIS River. Your little Sister wants you to play the new Bratz video game that features the Bratz dolls traveling to London where they form a Spice-Girls-like band. You play for five minutes. And now you've just thrown the video game and your sister's Game Boy Advance over the cliff at Starved Rock State Park. You're finally on the road to Huff Hall. Surely, your day can't get any worse. Right? Gulp, the ILLINI have to face the #9 Iowa Hawkeyes in a home dual! Luckily, ILLINOIS is ranked #2 in the nation. It's a medieval thrashing. The Hawkeyes manage to win only two matches, and it is the kind of battle that poets will write about and scholars discuss for centuries. Here is a link to the official recap at FightingILLINI.com, and here's the box score: University of Illinois vs. University of Iowa Friday, January 28, 2005 Attendance: 3,573 (school record) 149: #16 Anton Dietzen dec. #5 Ty Eustice (Iowa), 3-2 3-0 157: #2 Alex Tirapelle dec. #7 Joe Johnston (Iowa), 7-5 6-0 165: #4 Mark Perry (Iowa) maj. dec. Cal Ferry (ILL), 12-2 6-4 174: #5 Pete Friedl (ILL) dec. Luke Lofthouse (Iowa), 12-5 9-4 184: #3 Brian Glynn (ILL) dec. #5 Paul Bradley (Iowa), 2-1 12-4 197: #13 Tyrone Byrd (ILL) dec. Adam Fellers (Iowa), 3-0 15-4 Hwt: #7 Matt Fields (Iowa) dec. #14 Mike Behnke (ILL), 6-3 15-7 125: #2 Kyle Ott (ILL) maj. dec. Charlie Falck (Iowa), 14-6 19-7 133: #4 Mark Jayne (ILL) dec. #14 Mario Galanakis (Iowa), 7-5 22-7 141: Cassio Pero (ILL) dec. #11 Alex Tsirtsis (Iowa), 4-3 25-7 THE TEAMS Legendary ILLINOIS basketball coach Lou Henson had a theory that every season his teams would have one magical game, one grotesquerie and the rest would be somewhere around the median. The ILLINI wrestling team has rid itself of its grotesquerie against Ohio State, but it can still have it's magical match. The Orange and Blue have a fantastic 7-1 record heading into the road dual against Iowa. That record includes wins over SIUE (41-3), Binghamton (30-10), Arizona State (37-6), Missouri (23-14), North Carolina (24-14), Indiana (34-3) and Northwestern (33-7). The loss was to Ohio State (9-24). Iowa has a 7-0 dual record with wins over Oregon State (30-7), Standford (32-9), Bellarmine (49-0), Iowa State (21-15), Princeton (39-3), Army (23-16) and Wisconsin (45-0). THE INDIVIDUAL MATCHUPS The Wrestlestat.com algorithm is predicting a 22-11 win for the bad guys, but they've got Byrd losing and Kannon winning. Hmmm. They also have the Hawkeyes winning four (4) one-point matches! I guess we'll see about that. 125. A little over a year ago, #173 CAELAN RILEY wrestled #47 Joey Cruz at the Lindenwood Open. It was a 16-2 major decision for the Hawkeye. Wrestlestat.com is going with a regular decision (4-10) here. We'd take that. 133. We should all be able to agree that an 11-0 record is much, much better than a 10-1 record, right? Right? Wrestlestat.com, are you with us? Of course not. They have their #2 wrestler, Drake Ayala, beating their undefeated #3 LUCAS BYRD. You can bet that Byrd is the Wyrd will be sky high for this one in Carver-Hawkeye. The last time he showed up for a business trip in Iowa City it resulted in a devastating pinfall. 141. At least Wrestlestat.com has #19 DANNY PUCINO beating #60 Jace Rhodes by four points. Rhodes has a 5-2 record this season but a 13-11 career mark. He wrestled 133 last year, and, in fact, you could see #98 Ryder Block with his 2-2 record or #54 (at 133) Cullan Schriever. Schriever started out the season wrestling two duals at 141, then Block took over for four duals, and, finally, Rhodes wrestled in the last one. At the last dual in Carver-Hawkeye, it was the Irish Italian Cyborg Leprechaun and his inexhaustible gas tank that left with the major decision. 149. Wrestlestat.com has a one-point loss for #2 Kyle Parco against the ILLINI's #12 KANNON WEBSTER. The 4x AA Hawkeye has an 11-0 mark this year and 114 wins in his career. He has 20 losses, and we sure hope that it is Kannon who adds number 21. But Webster has been through a rough patch. Has that been due to cold and flu season, or is it a case of moderate to severe food shortage? He is very tall and big for a 149er. Still, even at 60%, he was a load for an AA like Dylan D'Emilio to beat. 157. For some reason, Wrestlestat.com has #122 Isaiah Fenton getting the start in the dual even though he's 1-2 on the season, 3-8 in his career, and hasn't been featured in an Iowa dual. The algorithm has #33 JASON "CARDIAC" KRAISSER putting a tech on him. We think that Brando will probably bump up #28 Caleb Rathjen, one of the Voinovich brothers or #114 Miguel Estrada here. Given all of the one-point matches projected for this dual, as well as the likelihood of a Byrd win, we don't think Brando will want to hand over the five or six team points. 165. This is going to be a very interesting match, as #2 Michael Caliendo will face off against a young gun with a similar style. Will the torch get passed or will cagey veteran experience and old-man strength prevail? The young gun here is #20 BRAEDEN SCOLES, and the answer to the above question is very much in doubt if you go by Wrestlestat.com. They're predicting another one-point win for stupid Iowa. Caliendo will have another year of eligibility, so this could be a very entertaining start to a new rivalry. 174. It is beneath us to mention a person's looks or physical appearance unless, of course, we think it is attractive. You see, #4 Patrick Kennedy obviously has a large brain because of the size of his head. That's quite something! Very admirable. In fact, we think that his cabeza would tower over a standard microwave oven even if you flipped it over onto its end. As for his opponent, #29 DANNY BRAUNAGEL has had a hit or miss season. Some very sunny days, but some gloomy ones as well. Kennedy and that big juicy brain of his is steaming right along at 7-0 on the season, and he seems to have won the spot for the Hawks. But will nepotism play a role? (Nelson Brands). Or, perhaps a desire to quiet the Jersey Mafia? (Angelo Ferrari). Both the Brawlnagel and Kennedy are tough and will be in excellent condition. The Iowa kid does have a major decision over little Brawny in the past, although that sounds like it must've been when the ILLINI was injured. Wrestlestat is predicting a 12-5 win for the Hawk. This could be a one-takedown match either way. 184. This is another match that the algorithm is predicting a one-point victory for the bad guys. #7 Gabe Arnold has a 9-0 season and 17-1 career record. He will face All American and #14 EDMOND RUTH. If the dual is close at this point, does Brando want to use his redshirt Freshman to bull forward against the experienced AA who is waiting for him with double underhooks? Or, will Brando go with his son, who's had some success (and a loss) against Ruth? Perhaps he'll want a Ferrari to shoot from distance? The last time he was in Carver-Hawkeye arena Edmond Ruth was seen leaving with his hand raised. 197. If you are looking to see the range of body types at this weight, this is the match you want to watch. The big feller for Iowa is #1 Stephen Buchanan. His opponent from the ILLINI'll be #16 ZAC BRAUNAGEL, and Zac has had success against the man-mountains before. He beat Michael Beard in the NCAA tournament, beat Braxton Amos to win a Midlands crown, and he beat Yonger Bastida in the dual. Even in losses to folks like Jacob Cardenas and Nino Bonaccorsi, they have been sudden victory or within a point or two. Perhaps that's why this is predicted to be another one of those one-point matches favoring stupid Iowa. Finally, we can't forget that the last time in that arena Zac rode out of Iowa City as the gunslinger who had just shot down Jacob Warnerov. 285. Again, we have to ask, which is the better ranking #14 or #18? Not only does Wrestlestat.com give #18 Ben Kueter a predicted win ... but by major decision! #14 LUUUUKE LUFFMAN will not have it! For the first time in his life, he will be wrestling in an ILLINOIS - Iowa dual without having to face Tony Cassioppi. He's sure to take advantage of that. This season, Luffman has faced three top ten wrestlers and lost twice. So far, Kueter has only faced one top ten wrestler and lost to him. That top ten wrestler was Yonger Bastida, and even the ILLINOIS 197 pounder can beat him! CONCLUSION The ILLINI will be underdogs in this match. We think it will take something similar to what UNI did to Nebraska in their recent dual meet. There, the Panther train won all the close matches. And in this dual, at least if you have any faith in Wrestlestat.com, there will be a ton of one-point matches. So, can we expect a magical outcome? Sure, we're counting on it! Much more at this link.

It is apparent from the report that Trump said he was running for President on Nov 15 and on Nov 18, Smith was appointed to prosecute him. Maybe that's just a coincidence, maybe not. But this tells me this was politically motivated. That's what is important here. mspart

Bravo to Flo. This is awesome. Gotta give them some real credit here.

Can't we just get a USA-Japan dual meet at this point? That would be awesome.

David Taylor wants the regular season not to be a downer

I think he wrestled 138 his senior year and he and his brother both wrestled 150 at folk nats following his senior season. I know he placed at Fargo in 2021 his bracket was pretty insane (Ayala,volk,prove and I believe Lemley were in it), not sure about any other times.

he won ironman in 2021 was always a placer at the big tournaments but that was probably his best showing. I don't think he ever won Illinois state which is pretty crazy. He was definitely a top 10 guy at his weight not sure if he was top 5 though, probably a top 40 guys for his class.

MMA people can’t stand Nickal because he was still with the Ultimate Fighter without a contract yet and was saying no one in his division could beat him already in MMA. He also kept saying no one in the world could wrestle him at 86 kilos and he could never beat a guy in his own country and same school as him (Taylor) to make a World team, let alone he has never won a world title. He’s had double digit losses on the Men’s freestyle circuit but he’s proclaiming to be as dominant as Sadulaev. If he would just humble himself a little bit I think his fan base would grow exponentially. He’s treating MMA like it’s the WWE in promoting himself.

The season is like many others. Penn State fans are happy and watching to see how far and how excellent the program can get Oklahoma State fans are very excited as they have a brand new energy in their program. Iowa will again draw the most fans, and they have some top notch guys. And the twins gonna scream and jump up and down which is entertaining as always. And fans of all the other programs have their individual storylines and the race to see who can put pressure on Penn State. And Nebraska might even be leading PSU at intermission this Friday night causing some fans to believe PSU is vulnerable. I feel as though there is a lot to like this year

Brooks doesn't have any eligibility left.

So I agree overall. I think the first step with Sasso this year is trying to forget who Sammy was before the tragic incident and just acknowledge that with the immense damage his body suffered and the brutal recovery process, he is simply not capable of being the same wrestler that he was before. His wrestling mind, knowledge of positions, etc., are obviously among the best in NCAA wrestling, but his body just isn't able to cooperate the same way as it used to. I do think he is in the top 20 at 157 (I think the size at 165 made it much less likely for him to be so at that weight). But I think he is also learning to some extent on the fly of what he can and cannot do outside the safety of the practice room. I don't imagine anyone is rooting for anything but a full recovery for Sasso, but the best we can realistically do is withhold expectations and just be happy for him that he is capable of competing as a D1 wrestler again, regardless of what happens the rest of the season.

No…this is dumb. The amount of looking around and “guys…right did we…oh no? Ok nono that’s cool, I forgot these guys didn’t pay us” that happens in international wrestling is disgusting. It is the lifeblood of corruption in the sport. If it were one ref, easy fix, “that dude took a bag, kick him out.” But with three, they can just spiderman each other and nobody every finds anything out. In folkstyle, the second ref is a luxury afforded to big matched and big conferences. The second dude actively gives his opinion when solicited, but it’s one person’s job to make a decision and own it. The system works. I saw the head ref ask the second guy’s opinion probably 5 times this weekend alone. It’s collaborative but not a committee. Sports, especially wrestling, don’t need more committees. Committees ruin freestyle and greco, and effectively killed greco as a consumable product. Go sit in on a seeding meeting and ask coaches what they think of committees. Rules with fixed criteria enforced rigorously by one person are much better.

Honestly Sasso is overranked at 157 too. Love the kid, but I doubt he's top 20. Arrington had him tech-pinned and looked like he could tech him a second time if he had all 7 minutes. Rooting for him to get back into form and I dig the story arc, but I think we all should just accept he's not there yet. He can't be loving that fans have this look of surprise every time he doesn't win a match against a lesser opponent. Not sure he deserves the starting spot over Gallagher but I'll let the OSU people figure that one out.

Easy choice. AJ is a narcissistic glute cap who would sell out his own mother to make a buck. He would have to wrestle the anti-christ for me to root for him.

for someone to pull the fire alarm

The only people saying Lee was going to hang it up are haters. Only a person as tough as, well, Spencer Lee could bounce back from everything he has been through physically and emotionally. Dude is tougher than hell and I don't care what any results are and how many ACLs he tears, I'm picking him to win 2025 worlds. He's going to be a DAWG next September.

I watched yesterday and I did think Carter came off quite well. Where bo lost me was when he said Carter would beat a lot of top 15 guys right now with just his wrestling. Bo has been doing it for 4 years and has yet to back up such claims, so I think we are putting the cart in front of the horse a bit.

so leaving his teammates behind at the Big Ten tournament was a character play? Mouthing off to Dieringer and insulting Marstellar on twitter after losing to both of them was part of his acting class homework? How about the "object" he posted during the AJ beef? If Carter is playing a character, he couldn't have picked a more stupid persona to adopt edit: after reconsideration, I don't think the hyperbole in my last sentence was necessary. Carter is either playing a stupid douche or actually is one, but there are definitely worse "characters" he could "play".

Bo ain't outmuscling a chimp and would be ripped to shreds in a fight. He would have no hards, face, or genitals left. It is not uncommon to find a 200 lb adult male chimp. And he isn't stronger than this thing: (that is what they look like without hair)

Nickals and Dimes is such a dumb name. First, there is only one Nickal on the podcast. Second, the expression is not plural. No one says I got nickelsed and dimesed. Reminds me of Airheads:

He also says Nickals and Dimes is the number one podcast in combat sports.

The podcast is often unwachable. This one is worth the time. They say "Like" alot to start but it gets better.

Carter has always played the heel, and he's been brash, but he backs it up like noboody else and his one on one interviews when he's not doing the hype BS and playing a character, he is likeable.

That's because they are stupid. A lot of MMA fanboys hate Nickal because he said he's a better wrestler than Khabib. Guess what? Bo IS a far more accomplished wrestler than Khabib ever was. A lot of MMA fanboys hate Bo because he said he was a better wrestler than Jon Jones. Guess what? Bo IS a lot better wrestler than Jon Jones. Some MMA fans hate Bo because he said he'd be able to whip a chimp in a fight. Now the fact is that chimps have 30% more power than humans per pound. But Bo is 100% bigger than most chimps and is probably 50% stronger than an average human (at least) and would outmuscle them, in addition to having actual technique. Chimps are overrated. Bo is confident, and should be. He's a tough go in MMA. He's the best college wrestler to take part in the sport so far, and he's always trying to learn more stuff.

I was just about to post this. Carter actually came off likeable.

The NCSU wrestlers gave pretty good scrap though, you have to be satisfied with that. Fishback kept it pretty close, although he stalled his ass off nearly the entire match, with Plott. His picture before the match reminded me of this guy from Animal House.

More of a commentary on attack rate and scoring within matches than about competitiveness of a dual meet. I enjoy watching the Bucs, they are one of the more entertaining teams.

I know the sample size is not great but it's hard for me not to think that v rob is a top 3 guy at 125 right now at least with a one-day weigh in. I really do worry about him in a tournament setting where he is weighing in multiple times, he is huge for 125, but his power coupled with his technical ability are something else. He seemed absolutely dead to writes on that takedown on the third but just needed a little bit of elevation and came out the back. I am not yet ready to say I favor him over Ramos, but he is firmly in the conversation for me.

Agree. Those guys were technically the only upsets right (and Fish/Scott was really a tossup)? The Cowboys looked good as they have all season but I’d hold off if people are overreacting to this dual in particular. Don’t want to sound too negative but they were favored in every other match, their highest ranked guy lost (although Robinson is a title contender), and their biggest win came from a guy who’s probably not even the starter.

Add something to the conversation, or just refrain from commenting at all. They were two horribly boring duals for two completely different reasons. PSU vs MSU was a shutout before it began, and tOSU vs Rutgers ended up being a staring contest of who could do less and win a match. Go ahead, defend the buckeyes and their 4 takedowns outside of Mendez.

Awesome brother. Keep that up. Presenting and filling dead air is harder than people think. Keep up the good work! I always try to do dry runs by myself the night before. Gets your cadence down. For my huge presos I’ll make coworkers or friends listen and critique. You can’t get better if you don’t know what to focus on.

Aj is defo less likable. He’s a giant turd and I’m glad he didn’t come to Iowa because of that. With that said. No. Go beat psu every time. Call out Cstar after he does it even.

He had plenty after the whistle lol

Who would you have above them other than the top 4? Orine looked bad, but has placed twice. They have plenty of talent but will be outclassed tonight. Trumble is an Olympic alternate, a U23 world champ and should place high, but will likely lose tonight. (for instance)

Robinson looks tough and smart and in shape....

Because a lot of the time they are volunteering their time and are doing their best. People who bash new broadcasters learning the sport are the same people who gatekeep wrestling from new fans whenever they get the chance.

Who do you recommend to write the exam questions, maybe Gibbons and Johnson? 1 - When should you bring your hips to the party a) after 3 or 4 beers, b) after two shots of bourbon, c) after a double leg shot or d) any of the above 2 - ...

Paddy would probably major Sammy rn tbh

Call Mr. Snyder

I think it was Ben Askren that proposed the idea of essentially two seasons; a dual season and a tourney season. Make the first half of the season dual centric.. teams compete to qualify for entry to a dual tournament, and then we watch the top teams face off for a dual title. And then, an individual based tourney schedule where athletes can jockey for seeding post the dual tournament. It doesn't really matter than UNI beats Nebraska in a dual in the first week of January if the place lower at nationals. Without an emphasis on regular season dual results, there is just no real incentive to win a dual if it could potentially cost you a seed or performance come March. Obviously easier said than done.

Mike "Mr. Hodge Trophy" Chapman told me last year's fan fest was his last. I wonder if those are related.

from what i'm told the ncaa will not have a fan fest this year. first time in a very long time.