VakAttack

The problem with the Askrens is something that is on Bono to fix. That may not feel fair to him, but losing access to the best in-state prospects who are continuously generating high level talent is something the head coach has to find a way to fix.

Rankings are about parsing who has the best resume, not predicting who will win. Mesenbrink doesn't have a top 4 resume. Yet.

I'm the complete opposite, lol. I think Ayala is a strong match up against DeAugustino, but I struggle to see Kennedy's path towards beating Griffith, though I'd love to see it. I think he just leaves himself too open to counters for a guy like Griffith, and has a history of struggling against length.

For the purposes of this conversation? Mostly yes. It's a different sport. Vito just won senior worlds, and he's not maintaining a ranking based off that, and he's got a much bigger body of work in this (folkstyle) sport. He's beating guys by big numbers, but none of the best guys in his weight class...yet. Again, I anticipate he's going to be the B1G champ and have a top 3 seed, but he still has to actually do it. This is just not true. He hasn't demonstrated success at a level ONLY matched by KO and Carr, and his ranked wins are over guys ranked 10th or lower. Rankings are based on results, not predictions.

Wrestlestat, I believe, uses an ELO based algorithm which takes into account the prior seasons as well, though the weight goes down the further away we get.

I was only using it as an alternative to the person-based rankings. I agree, certainly not foolproof.

...but he hasn't beaten anybody close to the level of what you're talking about. Even under wrestlestat's algorithmic approach, Mesenbrink is ranked 8th. Again, it's ok to have him prove his greatness on the mat. He's going to have the opportunity.

We've seen this a million times, it's ok for a freshman to have to earn a ranking. His best win is over an injured Cam Amine. He'll have the opportunity against Caliendo and Hamiti. Personally, I believe he's third behind Carr and O'Toole at NCAAs, but it's ok that we have him prove it on the mat. And to whomever said putting Carr Tier 2 is the wildest thing said, they're wrong. THIS is the wildest thing said. I'm not guaranteeing Carr will beat Mesenbrink (though I would predict it). But to say you doubt that David freaking Carr can beat a still relatively unproven Mesenbrink is WILD.

125: Ayala DEC DeAugustino 133: Ragusin DEC Schriever 141: Woods MDEC Lemley (Why did UM forfeit this weight against Ohio State?) 149: Gomez DEC Voinivich/Rathjen (big swing point; does Gomez wrestle? If so, it could be anywhere from a decision to a pin.) 157: Franek DEC Lewan 165: Caliendo DEC Amine 174: Griffith DEC Kennedy 184: Bullock DEC Riggins 197: Glazier MDEC Rogers HWT: Davidson MDEC Hill 17-16 Iowa, I think? Bunch of moving parts.

Kennedy is severely underrated because he's not as good as Caliendo. Of course he's not beating Starocci, but he's really good!

We literally have Republican Senators on the record telling us they're not allowed to do anything on the border because Trump wants it to run on it. That's where the Republican Party is on this issue. This, of course, is NOT the logic at all, because the indigenous people who lived here before we got here didn't even really know Europe existed nor did they take a hand in geopolitics or take a hand in destabilizing the regions in question.

The idea of them returning this season seems ridiculous to me, way too quick a turnaround for the NCAA. I also tend to think, like @Le duke, that the NCAA is not bound by the "fruit of the poisonous tree" argument regarding how this information was obtained, just that it exists. However, I am also on the side that says there's no way these kids should have been punished this way UNLESS they bet on their team.

I initially read it as him saying there was nothing "appearing" about it, he definitely hit the kid. Seeing how y'all read it, I could definitely see that. My default is Mineo is a tool, so...

100%. I think it's a fair criticism of most politicians, including Harris. I just think it looks worse when you have Trump out hear hurling extremely personal attacks at you, your family, your height, your name, etc., and then you come groveling back to him. Not that it looks good on the "regular politicians," just that it looks way worse and weaker when it's like this. That part isn't an indictment of Trump, but on his "opponents."

Shot: Chaser:

This is true and fair, many politicians do what DeSantis did, including Kamala Harris. It's just way more embarrassing because Trump hurls personal attacks at all of them and their families and their penis sizes (looking at you, Marco Rubio) and THEN they bow down and kiss the ring. Biden didn't do anything like that to Harris.

1. https://www.businessinsider.com/republicans-gop-voters-lawsuit-disqualifying-trump-colorado-ballot-supreme-court-2023-12 2. It was not one judge, it's 5 so far. 3. There's obvious legal foundation, it just depends now on how SCOTUS interprets the 14th Amendment.

Blaze did nothing in the first 5 minutes, Franek essentially did nothing in the last two. Awful to watch.

The refs get so caught up in the 5 count on top they forget about regular stalling. Franek's ride was a pure stall. That's the stuff we need to legislate out of the sport.

Will Joey Blaze be joining this match at some point?

They didn't boo him after the match until he did the Gladiator "are you not entertained" pose. He wanted it, he got it.

Booing the perceived lack of action during a match is different than booing the athlete after the conclusion of the match, the fans are responding to different things.

I've been to the NCAA tournament multiple times, and multiple events in different parts of the country. It's every fan base. Whatever your preferred team is, they're no better, there's just fewer of them.

Nice to see Voinivich attacking, though obviously an outmatched opponent.