Nittany

Hate to say it, but we're going to see more and more low scoring matches unless stalling is called more frequently and more consistently. Refs generally seem to not want to insert themselves into matches, but defensive wrestling often pays dividends by rewarding the wrestler that didn't take the risk. Just ask Sergio Vega. The kid has great defense, but he literally waited 7+ minutes to counter a Mendez shot (couple half shots in regulation, but nothing really committed) in my opinion. Hard to blame Vega for optimizing his skillset given the rules and how matched are officiated, but it makes for some boring azz wrestling.

If you wrestle 7 full minutes + 2 minutes of SV without a single committed shot, you're banned from the sport for life.

Agreed. It's not hard to tell in a match who is trying to improve from that tactic and who isn't. One way would be to treat it like riding below the waist. The ref starts a count, and the wrestler than initiated the "dive" has 5 seconds to score or let go. Failure to score or let go and the offending wrestler gets hit with stalling. The net result would be less stallmates, ahem, stalemates and more action. Also need to speed up the reviews or get rid of them.

I see your point in elevating the pin as the ultimate desirable outcome in a match, but you're also arguing for less total wrestling.

Whoa...do tell!

This.

Stop the roll through ankle/foot grab. Too often its sole purpose it to force a stalemate (which is just stalling by another name). You may disagree, but I don't care. I know crap wrestling when I see it.

Deakin was just not f-ing around there...

If this were only true.

Glad to see him back to form and back in the finals. I especially appreciated him walking to the center of the mat and pointing at the mat in an effort to get Crookham to stop backing up and playing the edge. Good stuff.

John Lange, 7 seed for Penn State in 1998. Lost in the first round to David Wells of Cal Poly 15-5. Wins 7 (!) straight on the back-side to take 3rd. In the consolation semi-finals he pinned David Wells.

You guys are arm chairing it - in the moment, he felt he could ride and chose top. Good decisions can have bad outcomes.

Skullet

Fix has been living too close to the edge and I think Ragusin takes him out.

Vito

Why is Mendez so smug? He just gets more unlikeable the more he opens his mouth. He has a big win over Hardy to make the semi's and all he can say is that he hasn't hit a spladle since his first year wrestling. Really?! Who learns a spladle the first year they wrestle? I'm calling BS and rooting for Echemendia.

No consistency with the backing out stall call. This rule needs to go.

Meh

Shuh-pyro wins 157.

Depends on which Beau shows up - the one that opened up and beat Woods soundly in the Iowa dual, or the more tentative (and typical) one that lost at the Big 10 tournament. I think he makes the finals, but I don't think he'll win it all. The guy just needs to open up, but mostly refuses to.

Makes you think that Trev is just one of those football guys who could never understand how a 140-ish pound wrestler could put a Nebraska linebacker on the ground and keep him there.

Hardy is a tough out for anyone - the guy is really unorthodox and a great scrambler. Smart money says Mendez, but I wouldn't be surprised to see Hardy take this one.

Perhaps, but Yar-Bro is particularly good at getting in on the legs owing to his length.

133 is the only weight where the top 8 seeds all made the quarters. However, I think Vito (and possibly Bailey) break the streak.

Sparks-isms = says dumb shit