ILLINIWrestlingBlog

OPERATION PSYCH-OUT ON THE FOURTH OF JULY:

If you can't get to an official ILLINI intensive wrestling camp, or at least a camp staffed with ILLINI coaches or wrestlers, let me suggest Mad Ivan's Intensive Wrestling Camp (Ages 2-4): And, yes, Stevo is the model for this video.

This is the kind of information that makes this site a good read.

Do you need Monkey Paw mountings? Etsy. You can also buy four feet and the tail of a rabbit for $11.00 (US). Or, on the same page, you can buy 10 coyote foot bones for $9.89, reduced from $10.99. Some pretty weird stuff! At least no human eyeballs like in Bladerunner.

Lucky folks. Have fun! I won't be there. But Kamal Bey is now going!

Team ILLINI is on a mission to destroy the Red Ape Family. If you had ever seen the cartoon, my friend, you would want their total destruction as well. In fact, I am going to curse this forum with Episode 1 of the Red Ape Family:

Appreciate this. I understand how much effort went into this project. It was very helpful.

After an amazing match, Zane Richards told the interviewer that he made a few mistakes. Maybe a hand was a couple of inches lower on the leg than he wanted, or perhaps his thumb was straight and not curled around the muscle. It really is a game of perfect technique. These folks, especially the wee ones, remind me of MLB shortstops taking batting practice. They glide into their positions effortlessly, then use perfect form to complete the task, looking like a pro the whole time. On another note, I have decided to go all in on Spencer Lee. It is not a secret that I hate Iowa. If Iowa was drowning in a pond, I would shoot it, is what I always say. However, I saw a basketball thread on Twitter where people were using Spencer's mother as a meme, and it disgusted me. I should've known not to read basketball Twitter.... That was my mistake. What I felt was simpatico with her. She is me. I am her. We are both fans, and I get crushed in almost the same way when an ILLINI loses in the consolation bracket of the MSU Open. So, as the Olympics draws closer, I'll be on social media putting into the minds of Spencer's opponents that they have already lost. Which I think is true, by the way. Finally, Spencer's mother reminded of a meme that I did years ago on a totally different and completely antipodal subject—Charles Dickens movies—when I think of dyed-in-the-wool wrestling fans like us. This is it:

Love the App State and Little Rock picks. Little Rock because they're the exciting new guy and have three ILLINOIS kids on their roster. App State because they were the first school to give me media credentials for their early-season tournament. I liked them before that because they had good, tough wrestlers. Moreover, their football team keeps upsetting top ten teams that I absolutely hate like Michigan and Texas A&M. I'm also keen on the Pitt and Penn picks, mostly because the ILLINI have dualed that tough Pitt team the last couple of years, and they had a couple of ILLINOIS boys starting for them in the Hellers. Penn because they always seem to be in the same tournaments as the Orange & Blue. I know the Penn lineup, and they are good and scrappy. Rider and Lehigh are on the ups. I don't know much about West Virginia except that Ty Watters and Kannon Webster already have a backstory, and they'll be fun to watch wrestle in the future. The ILLINOIS pick is inspired because of the return of a motivated and pissed-off Lucas Byrd. Everybody likes to watch Byrd wrestle, right? But also because of the return of the Brawlnagels and Luffman. The Braunagels because they are tough guys. Some might like the prancing around, fake-shot style of wrestling, but if you want to see wrestlers pour their guts out onto the mat.... Edmond Ruth wrestles smart and controlled matches, sure, but you almost always get at least one SPECTACULAR highlight per match with that bear hug of his. Then, there are the new kids like Kannon Webster, Chris Moore and Braeden Scoles. So excite! Interesting thread. Got me to thinking, thinking.

@1032004 It's all good, my friend! This deserves it's own thread. I appreciate that you did that. And from the ILLINI Wrestling Blog & Forum & Beyond Plus: Camden Fontenot came out wearing swim trunks. WTF? All The Irish Nightmare in round one. Huge throw down from a bear hug from O'Connor. Then, ground and pound for the rest of the round. Throws a leg in, hip control. Throwing lefts and rights. "AOC, AOC, AOC" chants from the crowd. First time I've seen a chicken wing for more than :30 in an MMA fight. Fontenot comes out in the second round like a Power Ranger with high kicks. Austin puts him on his back almost immediately. Slams him down. Sticks in a leg and pounds his head and ribcage. The announcers call it "Big Brothering" him. "It's like a martial art form I've never seen before." TKO in the third from ground and pound. The announcers were on point the whole way through the bout with, "Miranda Rights were read." After winning, "Some of the most creative and mean wrestling I've ever seen." In his interview, AOC showed a little potty mouth, with the "F" and the "A," but he sounded good, and he sounded tough. I understand boxing and MMA give every fighter "a floor" when scoring. That usually means, even when one fighter dominates, the other guy still gets 7 points on the scorecard. A dominant round would be 10-7. Each of the three rounds in this bout shoulda been 10-0. Maybe 30-3 for the whole fight. Maybe. But ground and pound ended it. Just vicious. Fontenot has a wrestling background, but as the announcers said, and the folks at Intermatwrestle.com keep saying: "There are levels to this."

And in keeping with the HEROES topic on this beautiful Sunday, The Irish Nightmare just made his MMA debut, and it was incredible. Some of the things the announcers said during the match, "It's like a Martial Art form I've never seen before," "Some of the most creative and mean wrestling I've ever seen," and "Miranda Rights were read." AOC with the TKO in the third round. Ground and pound. Fontenot was 3-1 before this match:

In your Sunday morning comics, you have the traditional funnies, the one-panel one-liners, and some great villains, but you also have the heroes, heroes like Prince Valiant, Dick Tracy and Funky Winkerbean. In that mold, we bring you the World of Orangecraft:

Will be interesting to see what the ILLINI end up doing from 165 to 197. There are multiple logjams and, I think, only one redshirt left. You'd think last year's All American and the two Covid AAs will be safe, but who knows. 165. Chris Moore (NCAA qualifier as true Freshman, still has redshirt). Braeden Scoles (True Freshman last year, 4x Wisconsin State Champ, listed at 157 by Wrestlestat.com), Caden Ernd (Spot starter last season). 174. Danny Braunagel (Olympic redshirt last season; Covid AA, moving up in weight--and it loooked like he needed to), Colin Kelly (Blue chip true Freshman this season). No controversy at this weight. Little Brawny starts and Kelly redshirts. 184. Edmond Ruth (AA last season, R12 the year before; moving up in weight), Dylan Connell (NCAA qualifier 2 years ago, suffered multiple injuries last season). This will be the key lineup battle. 197. Zac Braunagel (Olympic redshirt last season; Covid AA, expect him to stay at 197 where he finished R12 two years ago), Isiah Pettigrew (Started last season and looked good until injury slowed him down). Expect a wrestle-off here, but the Brawlnagel has to be the big favorite. Also, Sungyup Ryu showed a lot of promise at Midlands, but he went back to Korea to wrestle with their National Team.

JOMBO™ Classic. This was when we first met the Mrs.

Certainly taller. By far. But thinner as well. I think he's still growing, and I've even said he might end up at 184 for the ILLINI before he's finished. His hands are baseball gloves. I saw him rip open an orange at the Midlands, and I've never before felt sympathy for fruit.

KANNON WEBSTER just beat Antrell Taylor at U20 WTT. Taylor was an All American last season at 165. Kannon is expected to go 149 next season.

I think that is a fantastic idea. That would be so cool.