ILLINIWrestlingBlog

Can you love a movie more each time you watch it? I had forgotten how good the special effects were (for the time), and how many incredible brilliant songs were sung or played. I had forgotten that, when Dorothy saw Auntie Em in the crystal ball while the ticking clock (hourglass) was running down, the face of her Aunt morphed into the Wicked Witch, and then, the Wicked Witch broke the fourth wall when she turned to the camera. I wonder if 10,000 kids across America saw The Wizard of Oz for the first time just now, and the Wicked Witch scared the jammies off of them. I had forgotten just how clever it was. One of my favorite quotes of all time comes near the end of the movie, "A heart is not judged by how much you love, but by how much you are loved by others." Others disagree with this quote on a philosophical basis, and I can see their point, but where it exists in the script and in the Oz universe, it is perfect. It perfectly described how the Tin Man would go through the rest of his life. As the song goes, "Oz didn't give nothing to the Tin Man, that he didn't, didn't already have." The Artists crafted this movie with supernatural care. I'm amazed again! The one thing that I'd change is the Cowardly Lion's song, "If I Were the King of the Forest." I would keep all of the clever clothing arrangements, the pitcher that Tin Man turned into a crown, the rug becoming his royal cape, and the end with the dialogue: I'd just ask for a second draft of the song. It was close but not perfect. The rest of the movie is perfect.

WIZARD OF OZ JUST STARTED ON TBS! That overture! A movie dedication to the Young at Heart! Masterpiece!

Coach Mike Poeta discusses the team's 5-0 start to the season, each of the starters individually, the 2005 ILLINI Big Ten Champions and what to expect at the BIG TEN TAKEDOWN event that is scheduled for Fan Fest in Indianapolis the day before the conference football championship game. And for those with a short attention span, a two-minute-long trailer: Music credit to Red Rider for Lunatic Fringe, the ultimate wrestling song forever and ever, Amen. Video and photo credits to the University of ILLINOIS Athletic Department. Credit to Ross Bendik of Wrestle Chicago for the incredible title image. In the trailer video only, Outro music by Audio Beats. Photo credits in the outro sequence to FightingILLINI.com, NCAA.com, uiaa.org, wrestlingchangedmylife.com, ILLINOISMatmen.com, flowrestling.com, intermatwrestle.com. This video is not to be monetized. Stay tuned to this space for a preview of the BIG TEN TAKEDOWN event featuring the dual between your FIGHTING ILLINI and the Indiana Roundballers. SPOILER ALERT: Wrestlestat.com is predicting a 32-0 win for the good guys.

That time Ben Askren ruined our family camping trip.

There's a split of authority on that question. You think they're "pretty cool" while Jackie Brower thinks they're trash. I think they're both. First of all, they aren't baggy like the sleepover pajama party outfits the Maryland Terps wore a couple of years ago. So, they've got that going for them, but that's a low bar. They actually look like credible wrestling outfits. They've got that going for them as well. But that giant Tar Heel thing on the back looks too '70s California groovy. That ruined it for me. Why would you have a giant hang ten barefoot on your back with actual tar on the heel? The barefoot look reminded me of Lil Abner, and that's not an impression that North Carolina should want to make. On to the next issue: Was that a Webster takedown? If the rule states that it's not, then the rule should be changed. Finally, JOMBO™ almost fell out of his chair when the ref called Danny Pucino for stalling. That's like calling George Washington a liar.

Some ILLINI highlights from the dual accompanied by the absolute legends HEART: If you put the video at .25 speed, you can catch that nasty little trip that Lucas Byrd used to FINISH HIM! And finally, a question: At what point in that pinning combination do you think Braeden Scoles determined that the ref was never gonna call the pinfall, may as well get the tech?

I come from a simpler time, a time when you warmed up for a match by lying flat on your back on a narrow bench with a towel over your face until they called your name, then you got up touched your toes once and tore off your warmups. UNC had a match before their dual with the ILLINI against Greensboro College. It probably was a bunch of pins and tech falls, but I would generally consider that advantage ILLINI. The old me would think that. But after seeing Austin O'Connor warm up the ILLINI lightweights before their matches, with all of the energy expended, which may equal a full period of actual wrestling, I think they're doing warmups differently nowadays. Anyway, thanks for stopping by Hillshire Farms and talking to me. Good day to you.

What other good heavyweights besides Aydin Guttridge and Cohlton Schultz have to cut weight?

Second semester the ILLINI have an Indian wrestler coming in to man the 125 spot: Desi Jelgado.

On the subject of Wrestlestat.com's occasional "grade inflation," I think it's due to lower-ranked wrestlers who are able to keep it close to higher-ranked wrestlers. That's what I think happened with the algorithm's prediction for Scoles versus Fea. I love the Wrestlestat.com service and use it all the time. This is from our preview of the Scoles/Fea match: We're gonna guess that the Wrestlestat.com-predicted 9-7 win by #55 Nick Fea over #14 BRAEDEN SCOLES is a ghost in the machine. Or, a bug. Maybe an algorithm hiccup. The Tar Heel is 4-4 on the year, and his last match was a 3-9 loss to Nebraska's Bubba Wilson. For his career, he's 7-8. Again, it seems that Wrestlestat.com will give you lots of credit if you keep it close to highly-ranked opponents. Fea lost by seven to #5 Peyton Hall, and two seasons ago, by four to #7 Julian Ramirez and #10 Carson Kharchla.

Needed that. For some reason Wrestlestat.com had Fea winning. Our Preview had Scoles going away. Thanks for the play-by-play. I'm pissed at ESPN and whatever ACCNX is. GO ILLINI!!!

Your language confuses me, for I only pretend to be smart. What you see of me on the boards is (1) stealing from other people, and (2) artificial intelligence. So, with my limited means, I will try to parse your questions: 1. Monday is big in ILLINI world because of the dual tomorrow with UNC. 2. UNC has Tony Ramos on staff. 3. Ramos, or this Rameses that you speak of, "crossed the mat" to join Iowa, then crossed the mat to join UNC. 4. MMCS stands for "Multi-Media Computing and Systems." 5. Ergo, Tony Ramos is a holographic cyborg with Artificial Intelligence who will cross the mat to join the ILLINI tomorrow?

To celebrate the ILLINI win over Missouri, we dug deep into the archives. Before there was a Matt & Hobbes, there was an ...

WHO: The ILLINI v. University of North Carolina WHAT: Away Dual in North Carolina WHEN: Monday, November 25 at 6:00 pm (Central) WHERE: Chapel Hill, North Carolina TV/STREAMING: ACCNX THE GOOD NEWS / BAD NEWS The good news is that the ILLINI have an excellent opportunity to leave this dual 5-0. The bad news is that most ILLINI fans won't get to see it. The dual will be broadcast on ACCNX. You can find the match listed on the ESPN.com and ESPN+.com schedule: Once you click on the event you want to see, though, a screen will come up that looks like this: After clicking on your provider, you will be greeted with a page from your provider with a request for your email or username and password and so on. There are other providers, but they're all small cable companies in states where you are mandated by law to marry your cousin if'n you ain't already married to your sister. If you have one of the providers in the image above, we would suggest that you test the set-up process by clicking on a live event or a replay from their schedule and going through the enrollment process before the match starts. WHY WE HATE NORTH CAROLINA They use a mustard-based bbq sauce. It's insane yet worse than it sounds. The finished product looks like what you'd see during an Exorcism. This, alone, is reason enough for the United States to secede from the Tar Heel State. A DAY IN HISTORY On January 13, 2007, the number one song on the Billboard charts was Irreplaceable by Beyoncé. The number one digital song was Fergilicious by Fergie featuring will.i.am. At the box office, the top grossing move was Stomp the Yard. The advertising blurb written by the marketing gurus at Sony Pictures read like this: "When his brother is murdered, a street dancer moves to Georgia to work his way through college. He joins a fraternity's step dancing team for a competition. Will he also get an education and the girl?" It worked! On Saturday, January 13, 2007, that movie sold $8,541,104 worth of tickets. But for real entertainment that day, you had to be in College Park, Maryland to witness the Fighting ILLINI take on the University of North Carolina. The only ILLINI wrestler who didn't win that day eventually became an All American: ILLINOIS 32, North Carolina 3 125: #8 Gabe Flores dec. Drew Forshey, 5-3 3-0 133: #18 Jimmy Kennedy dec. #8 Evan Sola, 3-0 6-0 141: #8 Cassio Pero dec. Mike Rappo, 9-5 9-0 149: #13 Troy Tirapelle dec. Vincent Ramirez, 6-3 12-0 157: #1 Mike Poeta MD Ben Fiacco, 13-3 16-0 165: #14 Roger Smith-Bergsrud dec. #12 K. Mueller, 7-3 19-0 174: Nick Guida DEF. Alex Maciag 25-0 184: #15 John Dergo MD Robert McCarthy, 9-1 29-0 197: Patrick Bond vs. Dennis Drury, 7-3 32-0 HWT: #9 Spencer Nadolsky dec. John Wise, 6-4 32-3 LAST SEASON The two teams met last year for a dual, and ILLINOIS came away with the 20-13 victory, which was especially exciting with three true Freshmen getting starts: Webster, Scoles and Moore. The rest of the Preview, including the individual matchups, at this link.

I wanted to ask a bunch of people for interviews, but those guys from the 2005 Big Ten Championship wrestling team were there to celebrate their season, and you just know that every second they get to spend together is gold. If by MJ you mean Mark Jayne, I've been trying to get an interview with him for about 2 years! LOL!

LOL! That was my podcast partner Brian "Voice of the ILLINI" Swaw. He was really good last year, and he sounded even better tonight. Brian used to do talk radio, so he's a real pro. He has energy, is super knowledgeable about wrestling and a great sense of humor. The student announcer sounded like the same undergrad from last year. He has also gotten better. There was one "play" in there, but for the most part, he was on top of things. Plus, he's got Brian to shepherd him through the process.

Thanks for the play-by-play for everybody who couldn't watch. It was fun to relive the match in my mind with what y'all posted. The team came to wrestle. Loved their fight! I was skeptical of a wrestling meet in a tent, especially since it snowed in Champaign this morning, but with tailgaters for football, they've got it down to a Science. Saw your pickleball buddy Zane Richards tonight. He is impressive every time. Big smiles from me after that dual!

About the Scoles/Steed match, it did seem like a head injury for a time, then a knee injury. Steed has a brace on one leg and a sleeve on the other. I never boo when a wrestler takes an injury timeout, as I used to pretend to have been hit in the groin area all the time, and I'm a very convincing actor. But my resolve to be a good fan was seriously challenged when Steed got up and hit a lightning-quick double on the restart. Later, you could see him limping around. Steed won the battle on the feet, but Scoles' relentless pressure and riding abilities and the injury were too much. ILLINI fans get to see the Webster and Scoles show for four years. Wow! For Scoles' ELO and rankings, I will be a Cam Steed fan for the rest of the year unless they meet again. As for the dual itself, I had a blast! This is IMAR and AOC talking to some VIPs after the match (I can't camera very well):

YOU ARE THE FIRE!

I WANT TO STEAL THAT.

My Podcast partner calls ILLINI home meets on BTN+. He talks to the coaches a couple of days before each dual. Based on the lineups the coaches gave him, expect Riley and Walker.

I would. It was 5-2 for The Tool in the middle of the third period with Brawlnagel an inch away from scoring a reversal. That would've made it 5-4. Somehow the Tiger didn't give up the reversal here and secured a cradle:

BTN+

Loved it! But I've loved all of his nonfiction books. I've been to Charleston and Fort Sumter twice, and that trip blew me away both times. The Larson book that I'd recommend to start with is The Devil in the White City. The way he weaves storylines together and then throws in historical trivia is a style I have tried to emulate. For example, in The Devil in the White City, he tells us about a serial killer in Chicago during the 1893 World's Fair while also describing how the fairgrounds were built, the first Ferris Wheel, and especially the insane gardening that had to be done, and why the Hell haven't they got me those damn Peonies yet! Oh, and then the killer strikes again. Besides being a Dickens fanboy, I also love me some Douglas Adams. Yes, the Hitchhikers, but now I'm fixated on the Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency series. Maybe because I've re-read them most recently? I curse the coronary artery disease that killed him at such a young age.

A couple of asides, wrestling fans should follow Edmond Ruth on Instagram. He's doing lots of funny short videos on cutting weight, training partners, etc. He shows his filmmaking prowess, too. One of Edmonds videos has 9.1 million views. A new favorite is the Braeden Scoles Fan Page. I don't know who is behind it (I secretly suspect Kannon Webster), but it is funny as well. Of course, the little king of social media is Lucas Byrd. They've been featured on bar stool sports among other places. This account is a trip! His partner and he have almost 400k followers. Tickets to the match include a buffet dinner, entertainment (unfortunately no strippers) and a great dual. They are almost sold out.