ILLINIWrestlingBlog

Brian Swaw and I have started a podcast. For this episode, we interviewed the original Iowa Slayer Steve Marianetti. As a respected and impartial journalist, this was a dream come true for me! 

Everybody remembers Marianetti getting the upset in the 1995 NCAA Finals over the legend Lincoln McIlravey, but a couple years later, Coach Steve beat Iowa NCAA National Champ Daryl Weber in the finals of the US Open. 

We figured that the ILLINI need some big-time inspiration before this tough, tough dual. We also preview the dual:

Credits: Coach Steve Marianetti, the Rolling Stones, themat.com, the University of ILLINOIS Athletic Department and Elmhurst University.

I think y'all are misinterpreting what WKN wrote, or maybe I am. 

1.  For the 2023 Pan Am Games, there was a qualification process that involved how your country finished in a few Pan Am tournaments that preceded it. Gilman won the 2022 Pan Am Championships, so he qualified the USA for the 2023 Pan Am Games. There, Zane Richards won. 

2.  For the 2024 Pan Am Championships, there are no qualifiers. 

3.  For the 2024 Pan Am Olympic qualifier, there are no qualifiers, but if your country already has won a slot allotted at your weight in the 2023 World Championships, your country can't go. 

I know that #1 above is right because I saw it play out, and I've linked to the Wikipedia entry. As for #'s 2 & 3, I'm pretty sure that's right, but please let me know if I'm wrong. Cheers! 

9 hours ago, ionel said:

Ahh ... I remember.  Too bad @ILLINIWrestlingBlog and Jumbo weren't around then. 

The ******* ******* name is ******* JOMBO™ not ******* Jumbo or the ******* "vinegar and ham" guy, @CHROMEBIRD. When I have finished laughing, I'm gonna ******* sue both of you! 

Last year, this dual came down to heavyweight. But because of injuries, gambling, transfers, graduations, regular redshirts, Olympic redshirts and whatnot, Iowa will be a huge favorite this season. There's a swell preview of the match over to The ILLINI Wrestling Blog & Forum & Beyond Plus. The most important bits:

WHAT:  ILLINI versus Iowa dual

WHEN:  Friday, January 26 at 8:00 pm (Central)

WHERE:  Historic Huff Hall, Champaign, ILLINOIS

TV/STREAMING:  BTN (on the network); BTN+ (next day replay streaming)

TICKETS:  Free 

SPECIAL:  Orange Out (wear Orange)

SPECIAL X 2:  Foam Fingers to 1st 200 Fans

SPECIAL X 3:  Free Kids Clinic (Jesse Delgado, Lucas Byrd)

Oh, and we can't forget about our old friend JOMBO™: 

You get on screen in a movie or tv show for 10 minutes, and you're an actor. Moreover, you will always be an actor, as your name is put in the IMDB. Did you know that Kim Basinger won an Oscar for her 15 minutes of screen time in L.A. Confidential?

It's true. 

In 1991, Anthony Hopkins spent a total of 16 minutes on screen in his role as Hannibal Lecter in the movie Silence of the Lambs. He didn't tell a single joke. Yet, he came away with a Best Actor Academy Award. So, you know. 

Mike Poeta. 

Gets to his second finals in 2009 only to run into the next World Champion. The semifinals at 157 were nuts.

17 hours ago, CHROMEBIRD said:

The chicken feed guy who smells like ham and vinegar is on Youtube?

 

Lol me too

I have to admit that when I saw the title of the thread, I was a little scared. But @ionel and you had me laughing. Here's a JOMBO™ that I don't think has been posted on this board yet. 

What's the deal with the Ferarris?

As a stand-up comedian, my rule for impressions is this: They have to be spot on. Unmistakable. The one exception to that rule is if you are simultaneously telling a killer joke. Then, you can get by with just a good impression.

6 hours ago, Wrestleknownothing said:

We will need soooo much more than your word on this. Video or it didn't happen.

I swear on my kid's birthday cake at my ex-wife's house. 

Joe Rau lost, and his opponent will not make the finals. 

Pino Hinds losing 4-2 on Mat A in the second period. He's been put down, and didn't open up. The ref kept cautioning him, but he still wouldn't open up. Awarded another point to 5-2. Challenge lost, now 6-2 for the Iranian, who looks like a Golden Age Batman mob thug. 7-2 now for the Iranian, and Flo goes down. 

8-2 now but I don't know how it got there. Flo was down. And that's your final. 

BOARD QUESTION: Can I Say That I Was a Stand-Up Comedian?

About ten years ago, I decided to do an open mic at a comedy club in Myrtle Beach. I had about 20 minutes of “A” material and wanted to see how an audience of humans responded to it. Turns out, I was more nervous about this than at any time I spent arguing in court. I drank a couple of beers and had a Dad-at-your-kid’s-birthday-party-at-your-ex-wife’s-house buzz going.

When it was my turn, I went with my duck call joke, and the crowd roared. I did bits about GPS, zombies, the Golden Age of Hollywood monsters, why my doctor pissed me off and some other things. I made fun of North Carolina. I was killing it.

After ten minutes, though, I drew a blank.

Instead of signing off with something like, “I hate you all” or “I have an urgent desire to be alone,” I told a joke about ****jobs on porn sites. Well, the manager had told all of us beforehand that we couldn’t go blue. From the stage, I noticed that same guy running up at me like Peter Griffin at a concert. I hurried up with the punchline before he snatched the microphone away.

So, my first question is this: Can I say that I was a stand-up comedian without further explanation? My second question is whether I can put the following on a resume:

JOB: Stand-up Comedian

DATES:  January 17, 2013 at 9:43 pm (Eastern) to January 17, 2013 at 9:53 pm (Eastern)

EMPLOYER:  The Comedy Cabana, 9588 N Kings Hwy, Myrtle Beach, SC

PERSON TO CONTACT:  I would rather that you not contact them.

REASON FOR LEAVING:  I told a dirty joke.

The Greco portion of the tournament needed more BEY. The last time he wrestled one of the finalists at 77 kg, he beat him 4-1. That match was less than 6 months ago. He wrestled the other finalist twice in 2023. Lost to him badly, and lost to him closely in the finals of the Hungarian Grand Prix. 

That's the thing about these big international competitions, you make a run deep into them, and you tend to run into the same guys. The whole Army (WCAP) program was rocked recently with the loss of one of their wrestlers who had emergency surgery for blood clots. Kamal was especially distraught. 

As for the women's competition, yeah, NHS is right, needs more America. 

Congrats to the OP on the understated title of the year. "Uncomfortable Brands Interview" is like "Uncomfortable Jellyfish Sting" or "Uncomfortable Meeting with the IRS." None of those things are ever comfortable. 

It is probably project #439 on my list of things to do, but I will someday do an entire video of the faces that Tom Brands makes before an interview starts. Maybe set it to Minnie Ripperton's Lovin' You or Pavarotti's Nessun Dorma.  

Canada's Stewart with a Gold at 55 kg. Low scoring, but she dominated the positions. 

Susaki is so good. Perfect leverage. Early second-period tech for the Gold. 

6 minutes ago, de4856 said:

I agree, I’m worried. I think that Snyder’s match with Taz, has him thinking that he needs to wear his opponent down before unleashing his offense. My thoughts is that he needs to work on his chest lock and leg attack defense, while continuing to be a remorseless attacker....

I agree with your first two statements. In fact, the result against Taz would've caused me to decide to wear down my elite opponents before unleashing my offense. It makes logical sense. 

As for chest lock defense, I think that's basically physics. Snyder will always be heavy for the weight, but he's not too tall, and that means he has a center of gravity that is much closer to the actual chest lock and therefore easier to throw over. What exactly is a chest lock defense? Maybe finish his takedowns quicker or at a better angle? Cheers!

NOTE: I don't know **** about physics. 

Kamal Bey among the USA Greco wrestling tomorrow. Expecting big things from him. There are HUGE fields in the Olympic weight classes in Greco at this ranking series tournaments. Midland-tournament-sized fields. 

1 minute ago, nhs67 said:

Except he beats legitimately everybody on the planet.

Your point is conceded. 

Still boring. 

And I like Sumo. 

This is slow motion Sumo. 

Zare bores me. He's the Sam Stoll of Freestyle. 

Nice match by Parris! Bronze for the good guy. On the edge with :30 seconds to go, a step out wouldn't have helped Medishevili, so he went for a suplex. Mason just kept back and landed on top of him. 

2 minutes ago, PNWfan said:

Another loss for Snyder. This really makes me doubt how he can stack up against Tazhudinov and some of the best at 97kg. I'd think he has a good shot to medal in Paris, but gold is going to be tough.

He's having trouble with the tall ones lately. Isaac Trumble is tall. 

Upset of the tournament? 

I think that "step out" wasn't a step out. It was one of those "the video didn't provide conclusive evidence" instances. From the other angles, which were admittedly not good ones, it looked like part of Kyle's foot was inbounds. 

Can you imagine the noise if Iranians were allowed their vozuvala (sp?) horns? 

Trumble is a beast. His problem is that Kyle Snyder is still only 15 years old. By the way, Vicky Vicky is not only a girl's name, but the same girl's name twice. 

I am happy that the organizers must have had a rule against those loud vozuvala (sp?) horns. Now, the Iranian fans are cheering for the Iranian in English. They don't know what to do! 

Isaac is your Bronze medalist 8-5. 

Nate Jackson with the pin! Was that an actual grunt of pain from the Georgian, or did he just want the ref to give him a restart off his back? Wow! Big win for Nate!