BAC

That's sweet you want athletes to "live live" but I'd be willing to bet if you left it up to the Israeli athletes, every one would go. Why? Because it isn't North Korea, it isn't Iran, it isn't Gaza, its freaking TURKEY, a NATO ally, and there was no threat AT ALL. Way to side with the dream-ruiners.

Truthfully Iowa should be making that call. At least try to get him on the staff. But they won't, because they're just too arrogant to ever look outside their own alumni base.

Debatable. I know a fair number of coaches want the number of competitions reduced. But the opposing view is you need to compete to get better, as well as to get a feel for the other guys at your weight. And I think the small number of international competitions is more due to lack of events and travel expenses than it is a conscious decision to compete less. So I don't know, but if PSU was, say, the third or fourth best team, do you think they'd still be doing half the number of competitions as everyone else? I don't.

You never know. Cael competed at Worlds one year while head coach at PSU. It didn't exactly detract from his effectiveness as coach. If OSU was smart, they probably told him they're fine with him competing again if he wants, so long as he can balance it with the job.

I'd be willing to bet (1) he talked to Cael, and (2) Cael encouraged him to take the job.

That's a good point. It was that reduced output this year that first made me think about PSU in antitrust terms, as reduction in output is classic monopolistic behavior. They don't compete as much because they don't have to, as even if they're only 90% sharp that's still more than enough to win.

There's dominant, and there's win-by-100-points Dominant. I agree there's no signs of complacency, but it was only 2021 that they lost to Iowa, and 2022 that they lost to Michigan at B1Gs. Its only recently that they've become a foregone conclusion to win. The wrestler motivation at PSU is purely individual now, since everyone knows the team win is all but certain. I dunno, maybe I'm projecting. I'm a PSU fan, and honestly this past year was less exciting than most. There's no chess moves in duals, no hand-wringing about whether to pull a kid out of redshirt for those few extra points, no fretting about whether an injury is going to cost the team a national title, no trying for a big throw at a dual since you need 6 for the team to win. Its just a steamroller. Maybe DT can shake that up.

Iron sharpens iron. I get your point, but when you win NCAAs by 100, you have to start getting worried about losing your edge. This is a good insurance policy against PSU complacency. That said, I admit I'll have to amend this if PSU starts losing its roster/recruits/staff to Taylor.

I'm with you. Ask me 5-6 years ago, and I'd tell you to stay away from Gilman. But now? He's still passionate but also reflective and thoughtful. I think he's a guy you want next to you in war when you charge the hill.

This is great news all around. Its great news for OSU. Not that he's a qualitatively better coach than Coleman Scott would have been, but I can't wait to see how much of a draw Taylor will be on potential recruits. Its great news for Taylor. He is wise to strike while the iron's hot. If 3-4 years pass after he stops competing, his marketability is way down, as recruits will have someone else's poster on their wall. Now is the time. It is great news for college wrestling. After winning by a *margin* of over 100 points, and more and more recruits looking to State College, the truth is that PSU has become TOO dominant. I miss the excitement of the team race. It is great news for Penn State too. I realize some will disagree with me, but Penn State, in becoming SO good, is at risk of becoming like a monopoly: when there's no competition, the quality of your output goes down. The only way they're able to stay sharp is in the intra-PSU competition. They need someone nipping at their heels to stay strong, and no one's been able to do that lately. Can't wait to see how it shakes out.

LOL. Don't start a discussion you are too lazy to engage in. 2002 isn't in the last 20 years. And that was a specific threat. None here. If Turkey hadn't started a trade embargo against Israel last month, Israel would be there. You are anti-athlete and pro-propaganda.

Then why aren't they boycotting the Olympics themselves? They aren't. There's going to be lots of Muslims in Paris and the risk of a '72 Munich-like event is exponentially larger there. With all the world watching, there is a genuine risk that some nutjob may try to make a political statement. I would be sad if Israel took a pass on the Olympics but would understand it. But instead, Israel decided to screw over ONLY their 5 wrestlers, in ONLY this one event in Turkey. Does anyone seriously think the risk is higher to these 5 wrestlers than the Israeli delegation in Paris. Come on. No one besides us even knows about it. They singled out wrestling and singled out Turkey, not because there is any appreciable risk, but because they want to make cheap political points about Erdogan. Google it, and you'll see the only news coverage about this is in the Israeli press. Read those, and you'll see none of the Israel-affiliated articles makes any reference to any threat or any genuine lack of safety, but rather they talk about how meanly Errdogan talks about Israel, and they all reference this as an Israeli reaction to the trade dispute they accuse Turkey of starting last month by not allowing Israeli imports. That's why I say the wrestlers are being used as political pawns and nothing more. Its easy for Israel to do this to the wrestlers since it is a minor sport and its only 5 people, so the collateral damage is minimal, and they can still thump their chest about how they're going tit-for-tat with Erdogan in refusing to honor Turkey with their presence. It is more similar to Iran's despicable refusal to wrestling Israeli athletes than it is to any sort of genuine security concern. I'm not sure what you are talking about. Are you referring to Iran denying visas to the US delegation 7-8 years ago due to Trump's Muslim ban, and then reversing course when a US court enjoined the policy? Not sure what that has to do with this situation. But if your point is that other countries do things for political reasons, yeah, sure. I'm not suggesting it is only Israel who does it. The question is: is it warranted? People still debate that with the 1980 Olympic boycott. Personally, I don't fault a country for doing things to protect their athletes, but I do fault countries using their athletes to make a political statement under the facade of security concerns. You should too.

Dude that was 50 years and Israel is still going to the Paris games. Looks to like they just got butthurt because the Last Chance is hosted by Turkey, a predominantly Muslim country whose President has been critical of the Gaza war, but nonetheless a NATO ally and complying with all UWW visa and security requirements. No one thinks this has ANYTHING to do with security. Erdogan is a buffoon but tens of thousands of Jews live in Turkey and they have no travel restrictions on Israel. it’s making a point that Israel does not like Erdogan’s rhetoric. How about supporting the athletes, instead of the politicians who want to make political pawns of them?

You think countries should bar their athletes from competing overseas, destroying their lifelong dream, unless they are certain the receiving country will shower them with colorful leis and adoring screaming fans? Gee… It’s a wonder US athletes have ever been allowed outside the country at all. Turkey would not be allowed to host if they did not provide baseline security assurances to all countries. This is Israel using its citizens as political pawns.

This whole thing has been a train wreck. Bad decisions at every turn. — Gable’s original decision to go WWE was insane; on a part with LeBron dropping out of the NBA after one year be a mime. I’m all for pursuing dreams, but at least make it a real dream, not what you wanted when you were 7. Gable had a chance to be a US legend, a household name at the level of the “other” Gable, synonymous with US wrestling. And alt that level of fame, the dollars follow. — Why did Gable do WTTs last year, then drop out? What possible good was going to come of that? All it does is sap the confidence of the back-up who goes. Was that Gable’s call or the WWE’s? Garbage call either way. Either don’t do it, or do it and come away with the mutual benefit of a world title, and the WWE can introduce him as the “reigning world freestyle champ.” — This times 1000 for the 2024 Olympics. Both Gable and WWE knew months ago, at least since his disastrous debut against Corbin in 7/23, that Gable wasn’t exactly knocking it out of the park. Gable got booed, his gold medal faded from memory. The logical play would be for WWE to insist, or Gable to request, or both, for Gable to go out for OTTs in April. He would be the favorite for another gold, and if he won it… holy cow, he could hit the ground RUNNING at the WWE! Within a couple weeks he could be all over the every WWR event, parlaying the media hype into new fans and new dollars for the WWE, enriching both. — Instead of the above happening, either Gable asking to go or the WWE pushing him, they did NOTHING, Gable never saw any more WWE events, never trained freestyle or signed up for OTTs, and the WWE cuts him a 2 weeks after. Essentially the WWE destroyed their investment and then salted the earth, making sure Gable’s future prospects are toast too. — The next thing to be bungled? Gable’s last year of NCAA eligibility of course. I’m sure the talk of 1.25M for Carter is BS, but you have to think Gable could make top NIL dollar for a return before his eligibility expires. But fear not, the genius handlers that Gable looks to will screw that one up too, and I would put the odds of him ever being on another world freestyle team at sub 5%.

This is a bunch of crap. Is this Turkey not letting them in, or Israel being overly fearful? The dreamkillers making these decisions should be identified and shamed.

Where did he say this? Where's this $1.25 million coming from? Are you guys just making this stuff up? Come on man.

Yup. 2000 U.S. Open: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BuzEMulzxxM I don't think they ever met again. Cael got hurt at OTTs that year, and I think Les retired after that.

Ordinarily I'd agree that a raucous protest or two isn't going to impact admissions, but the Columbia student population is over 22% Jewish. If you were a Jewish parent, how would you feel about your kid going there right now? This is a school that has long been a favorite of the Jewish community that is suddenly looking rather unwelcoming. I do think you'll see a slight dip in applicants, even if it is short term. Long-term damage is doubtful (unless the admin botches the recent building takeover), but there's not much that separates the top schools, so it could slip a couple places in the rankings.

A reformed asshat. Big difference.

Just saw that. He was always a tough out at Iowa. Seems like a good and sincere kid, hard not to like. Did pretty well at trials too, with nice wins over Berger and Haines. I wonder if Iowa has a job for him, or if he'll move on? Wish him well.

What do we know about who's retired post-OTTs? I know J'Den and Mark Hall left their shoes on the mat. JB said before OTTs that this was his last go-round, but I haven't seen anything "official" from him. Have to assume Green is done. Not sure what to expect from Gilman, Taylor, Gwiz... Thought Starocci was one and done, but he gave an interview pre-OTTs saying he's leaning toward coming back to PSU so maybe he isn't done internationally either.

And smacked him again when he went to shake his coach's hand! There's something wrong with you as a fan if you are NOT booing that. Big fan of JB but what he did in that match was as boo-worthy as it gets.

They booed JB's actions not JB generally. When he delayed returning to center, he got booed. When he wouldn't slap MM's outstretched hand, he got booed. When he whacked MM on the back of the head, he got booed. When he kept jawing after they returned to the center and wouldn't resume wrestling, he got booed. When he shoved MM a second time after MM went to shove JB's coaches' hands, he got booed.

Don't know much about Stutzman or the Buffalo program but the "sabotage" allegations are pretty clearly bogus -- at least insofar as they're based on misdiagnosed injuries and mold on the mat. There's pretty much a 0% change a school or trainer would willfully misdiagnose an athlete based on dislike of the program, or fail to clean up a health hazard like moldy mats. Devoting minimal resources to a program, sure. But no way they leave themselves open to the legal exposure that would come with intentionally harming an athlete or exposing them to contaminants.