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Ankle bands are very silly. This is especially true for duals. At the BTT when you have multiple teams wearing black singlets, I could dig the armbands idea. With 14 teams, though, somebody will get stuck with turquoise or pink. Another change I'd like to see is padding of some sort--even strips of carpeting--around the mats. Presently, you have wrestling mat or hardwood floor. And the circle is just big enough that wrestlers are about a body-length away from the floor at the edge of the circle. It's too late for Yahya Thomas, but maybe the next guy doesn't hit his head with a loud thud on the basketball court. That was gruesome.

Congratulations to our winners in the B1G Tournament Prop Bet Contest! We had entries on Twitter, on Intermatforums.com, at ILLINOISMatmen.com and in DMs. First prize and two ILLINI Wrestling Blog and Forum and Beyond t-shirts go to Significant ACC Bias on Twitter (nine correct answers and did a slightly better job on the team standings). Second prizes and one t-shirt apiece are hereby awarded to every poster who got at least eight of the prop bets right. These include: FSL ILLINI (9 correct answers but sucked at the team race, ya homer), @ionel on Intermat (9 correct answers but didn't have a tie breaker with team standings), @Mr. PeanutButter on Intermat (8 correct answers, got first four teams right in team standings) and Fighting Scot on ILLINOISMatmen (8 correct answers but did a brilliant job on the team race). A reminder of what the prop bets were: 1. Spencer Lee will get a first-period pinfall in his first match at the 2023 B1G tournament (No, he did not.) 2. A team point will be deducted from Iowa's score during the 2023 B1G tournament (No, somehow Terrence and Phillip managed not to give up a team point.) blah, blah, blah 8. During broadcast of the finals, the cameras will catch a nervous coach with his finger in his nose (This was close. Tom Brands went to his nose multiple times during the Spencer Lee interview, but didn't have penetration. Also, the PSU coaching staff during the Haines match had their hands cupped around their mouths the whole time, but you couldn't tell if they dug for gold. I suspect they did, but have no proof. Clever fellows!) [NOTA BENE: I actually won $100 during a Super Bowl with this bet. The wager was that one of the coaches would go spelunking for a clingberry during the last five minutes of the game, and dadgumit!, Bill Cowher came through for me! I don't recall which Super Bowl it was, but if you watch the replay of the last five minutes, Coach is knuckle deep. What can I say, it was a close game.] If you're interested, the rest of the post is here at The ILLINI Wrestling Blog and Forum and Beyond.

Michael Blockhus. My secret fetish over the last couple of years has been to go to The Guillotine and lurk while watching the posters (and trolls) denigrate Blockhus. It's not as bad as the Iowa fans (and trolls) denigrate Warnerov, but expectations for Jacob were and are a little higher. Still, my friends, this Blockhus lad was trying hard; he's just a little clumsy. But he had a nice year this year, and then he made it to the Big Ten finals (some credit to Austin Gomez here) and showed that he can beat anybody at the weight. My opinion of him goes from slightly-above-average-but-tough B1G plodder to highly-skilled and motivated wrestler who can beat anybody at his weight. That's a pretty big jump in perception for a guy who's been around a minute.

As an example, the kid from Rider who got Pucino's bid lost in the MAC tournament to a guy Danny beat 4-1. Then the Rider kid medical forfeited out of the MAC tournament. The Rider lad also lost to a 5-4 wrestler by tech fall, got beaten by Rutger's backup 133 pounder, lost to multiple people who didn't make the NCAA tournament, and the only person I could identify him beating who earned an auto bid is a guy Pucino pinned, while Danny beat two other qualifiers and had a much more difficult schedule. Yes, I am pissed and ... I dissent.

The whole body of work counts. Pucino beat him in the dual. Tell me who you think had a better case for an At-Large bid at 141 (besides Cael Happel). That way I have a target to shoot down. I've put up Danny's numbers and case already: Danny Pucino, 141, University of ILLINOIS. Before the B1G tournament, he had a 13-7 record against D1 competition. He was #24 in both the RPI and Coaches' Poll. Solidly within the benchmarks. He's Italian. He has beaten the following wrestlers already in the field: Northwestern's Frankie Tal-Shahar (5th BTT), Purdue's Parker Filius (4th BTT), and Kal Miller of Maryland (9th BTT). Additionally, he beat Javion Jones of NIU (3rd MAC) head to head, and Jones will be in the 141 at large pool. This was by a solid 4-1 score. Six of his nine losses are to wrestlers who are currently top twelve in the weight at wrestlestat.com. His two worst losses are to fellows who won auto bids to the NCAA Tournament (Miller, 9th at BTT; Zargo, 7th at BTT). His drawback is not placing in the BTT in the spot right after the auto qualifier (10th).

I am not happy with 141. Seems like a "spread the wealth" formula determined the bids. Cael Happel and three from the B1G should've been the call: Pucino, Mattin and Oliveri. Instead, only Mattin from the conference.

Agree with this 100%, especially when it comes to tournaments. As for 141, I think the Italians are in. Both Danny Pucino and Joey Oliveri had good RPI and Ranking slots. There are only four At-Large bids at the weight, so it will be close. Carl Happel, Saul Ervin, Cole Martin, Darren Miller, Javion Jones and Dylan Droegemueller are some of the others in the Matrix. For anybody looking for answers about their favorite wrestler, a good place to start is Pirate's "Police Blotter," which shows who earned an allocation and didn't get the spot.

You state a great case, especially about his name. In fact, that's such a great name I fact checked to make sure he's real. He is. He even made Round of 16 and Round of 12 the last two years. Pretty impressive! He has six "L MFORs" this year, though. If he can get a note from his doctor, he's in.

Burwick came within one match of wrestling Taylor Lamont in the BTT 9th place bracket, or as the Bible calls it, "The Apocalypse." Okay. I'm sold. He's in.

If you've never been beaten by Yianni Diakomihalis or Spencer Lee, and you like piña coladas and aren't much into health food, you're in. Meet me at a bar called O'Malley's where we'll plan your escape, takedown and pinfalls. But when you get to the bar, you will be shocked to find out that I am your wife!

What wrestler on your favorite team deserves an At-Large bid? Why do you say that? I hope that Pirate shows up with his "numbers" and "science" and "facts" and "logic" like he has in the past, but until then, who ya got? I'll go first. Danny Pucino, 141, University of ILLINOIS. Before the B1G tournament, he had a 13-7 record against D1 competition. He was #24 in both the RPI and Coaches' Poll. Solidly within the benchmarks. He's Italian. He has beaten the following wrestlers already in the field: Northwestern's Frankie Tal-Shahar (5th BTT), Purdue's Parker Filius (4th BTT), and Kal Miller of Maryland (9th BTT). Additionally, he beat Javion Jones of NIU (3rd MAC) head to head, and Jones will be in the 141 at large pool. This was by a solid 4-1 score. Six of his nine losses are to wrestlers who are currently top twelve in the weight at wrestlestat.com. His two worst losses are to fellows who won auto bids to the NCAA Tournament (Miller, 9th at BTT; Zargo, 7th at BTT). His drawback is not placing in the BTT in the spot right after the auto qualifier (10th).

Are you suggesting his nickname should be "The Gopher Choker," and that refs should be on the lookout for it in the future?

I rewatchwed what happened and was looking to blame Murin, but I can't. I do think mats can be bigger and some kind of cushion can be placed around them. Although not a problem so far at this event, scorers' tables and bleachers should be far away from the mat or cushioned. Yahya's head hit down with a crack. A very loud crack. He was intent on defending that double leg and expected the mat to be there. Hope he's gonna be okay. That was as bad as it gets with the whiplash and the unprotected floor. P.S. Byrd deserved the two seed over Mendez.

There are already some answers to the ILLINI Wrestling Blog and Forum and Beyond Prop Bet Contest. Here ya go: Spencer Lee will get a first-period pinfall in his first match at the 2023 B1G tournament (No) Carter Starocci will not give up a point in his first two matches during the 2023 B1G tournament (No) Maryland will have two or more semi-finalists at the 2023 B1G tournament (No) The last match of the 2023 B1G tournament will involve Yianni Diakomihalis (No) Plenty of TBD prop bets left. Good luck! As for the ILLINI barf. Thicc Zac was great. He wears folks out. Lucas Byrd's ref gets special mention for allowing Nagao to take zero attacks during the match AND spend a cumulative 2:00 with a front headlock on Byrd.

Just a note to say that with Byrd's pin, that has to put the ILLINI in first place. Or close. Also, Patrick McKee's haircut is so awful he must have instructed his hairdresser to analyze each follicle to determine the exact length it needed to be to be the most unpleasant. Since that could take a year or more to do, I suspect a computer program, perhaps AI-assisted, must have been employed. When you eliminate the impossible, what is left, no matter how improbable, must be the solution. GO ILLINI!!!

Yianni should come and face Gomez and Sasso as well. Unless he's Oranges.

Here's a little history lesson for the board: Before World War II, the committee put out these pre-seeds: 1. Germany 2. Japan 3. Great Britain 4. Russia 5. Italy 6. Austria 7. France 8. THE U.S. OF ******-******* A. They actually seeded the French surrender monkeys ahead of Uncle Sam. But their chicanery failed! The United States won both brackets, in Europe and in the Pacific. My friends, if you believe---if deep in your heart you really believe---in our country, in our flag, in our way of life, then you know that the ILLINI will triumph over all odds and against all comers just like the good old USofMFingA. As history repeats itself.

Where does Mikey Carr end up in the B1G seedings? How does he fare against Peyton Robb? What about Dr. Zoidberg?

You mean, that they will break with tradition and let Yianni wrestle Sasso or Gomez in the B1G final?

These are prop bets 10 & 11: The last match of the 2023 B1G tournament will involve Spencer Lee (Y/N) The last match of the 2023 B1G tournament will involve Yianni Diakomihalis (Y/N) I've actually given it some thought, and what I would do is this: After the semifinals on Friday night, if both Spencer and Yianni have advanced to the finals, hold a coin toss. Whoever wins the coin toss between them gets the final match. Whoever comes in second gets the second-to-last match. The NCAA has broken with tradition before, this would be a great time to do it again. There is also the possibility that the Executive Producer of "ESPN Coverage of the 2023 NCAA Wrestling Championships" is a Cornell alum or hates Iowa. In fact, that is about 97% of the population, so....

Hi! Your entry has been entered. That gives you an excellent chance to win at least one ILLINI Wrestling Blog and Forum and Beyond t-shirt, which, as far as you know, has never been worn before. Good Luck!

PROP BET CONTEST Your good friends at the ILLINI Wrestling Blog and Forum and Beyond are sponsoring a contest in conjunction with the B1G wrestling tournament. The Winner gets two IWB&F&B t-shirts. Second place will receive one t-shirt. Here are the rules: Pick "YES" or "NO" for each of the prop bets listed. Pick the order of the final team standings for the tournament (tie breaker). The person with the most correct prop bet picks is the winner. Second place goes to the person with the second most correct prop bet picks. The tie breaker is the final team standings for the tournament. Ultimate tie breaker is the closest placement of Rutgers in the final team standings. These are the Prop Bets: Spencer Lee will get a first-period pinfall in his first match at the 2023 B1G tournament (Y/N) A team point will be deducted from Iowa's score during the 2023 B1G tournament (Y/N) During the first commercial break after the beginning of the finals broadcast, there will be a commercial selling cars or trucks. (Y/N) Carter Starocci will not give up a point in his first two matches during the 2023 B1G tournament (Y/N) Nebraska will have three or more finalists at the 2023 B1G tournament (Y/N) ILLINOIS will have a finalist at the 2023 B1G tournament (Y/N) Maryland will have two or more semi-finalists at the 2023 B1G tournament (Y/N) During broadcast of the finals, the cameras will catch a nervous coach with his finger in his nose (must be visually confirmed/actual nasal cavity penetration) (Y/N) Taylor Lamont will wrestle and beat Kyle Burwick during the 2023 B1G tournament (Y/N) The last match of the 2023 B1G tournament will involve Spencer Lee (Y/N) The last match of the 2023 B1G tournament will involve Yianni Diakomihalis (Y/N) At least two champions of the 2023 B1G tournament will do backflips or somersaults of some kind (Y/N) The final team standings at the 2023 B1G tournament are as follows: [write names of teams] ABOUT THE PRIZES The ILLINI Wrestling Blog and Forum and Beyond t-shirts are made of 100% fabric and come complete with two or more armholes and a neckhole. They will be delivered to you free of charge by people who make a living delivering such things.

Since everybody loved that first set of seeds, I decided to post another with two questions: How does Silas Allred win all those matches when he is obviously the worst wrestler in all of them? Also, wtf you do with Brawlnagel, Warner and Caffey? Max Dean (PSU) (17-2, 8-0) Silas Allred (Nebraska) (20-5, 7-1) ZAC BRAUNAGEL (ILLINI) (17-5, 6-2) Jacob Warner (Iowa) (13-4, 3-3) Cam Caffey (MSU) (13-3, 6-2) Braxton Amos (Wisconsin) (16-5, 5-3) Gavin Hoffman (OSU) (13-5, 4-1) Jaxon Smith (Maryland) (15-5, 2-0) Michial Foy (Minnesota) (13-8, 4-4) Nick Willham (Indiana) (12-7, 3-2) Billy Janzer (Rutgers) (5-10, 3-5) Andrew Davison (NW) (16-11, 2-6) Brendan Yatooma (Michigan) (4-12, 1-6) Hayden Filipovich (Purdue) (5-19, 0-7)

I took your quote of Flo's seeds and added the wrestler's actual B1G dual record: 1- RBY 6-0 2- Mendez 7-1 3- Byrd 8-0 4- Raugusin 4-3 5- Cannon 6-2 6- Heilmann 5-3 7- Teske 5-1 8- Nagao 3-1 9- Foley 2-6 10- LaMont 1-6 11- Porter 4-4 12- Burwikk 1-6 13 - Norris 3-5 14- Sandoval 0-3 They got RBY and Sandoval right. The rest of it is a peanut butter and snot sandwich.