BAC

I dunno Vak, Ohio State hasn't done too bad in lightweight recruiting. In fact that's part of the problem with Blaze going there, as you already have uber-recruits Davino and Bouzakis at 133, plus Mendez at 141. PSU pretty thin at '33/41 next year. Bartlett gone. Maybe Nagao or Davis can go up (or Davis redshirts), but I'm guessing Blaze could step right in at '33/41. If I'm Iowa, I'm hoping PSU gets Blaze, as it opens the door for Jax.

Fair enough brother, I can't claim to have inside intel on how the NIL decisions are made. In general though, I do like the idea of even the elite kids finishing out their high school years. Even if it delays their wrestling development, the delay is very slight, and is offset IMO by the benefit of getting to live a normal life of a normal high school kid. I worry that that leaving high school early to focus on wrestling may cause premature burnout if your life is all wrestling, all the time.

At the same time, teammate and RS freshman Vince Robinson went 3-0, beating some of the guys who beat Camacho (Seymour, Sotelo). Any chance Camacho loses his starting spot his senior year?

Yes, I know it's a weird thing to say after they got routed by Iowa 32-9. And no, I'm not reading too much into their win over Iowa State, given how many ISU guys were out of the lineup. But what I can't help think is that that if Stanford had a full lineup, including Provo and Cardenas (who I'm told is redshirting), are there 5 teams that would be better than them at NCAAs? Let's not forget that Provo was ranked #1 for a while last year at 125. He could DNP, but he also could be a high AA. And at 157, if Cardenas (4th last year) goes, he's a title contender. Besides that, at 133, I'm not sure if Knox is as good as his win over Ayala suggests or if Ayala is just still making the weight transition, but that was an eye-opener. Rounding out the rest of the first 5, Abas didn't look great against Parco but has AA'd before (and I think was R12 last year, beating Kasak), and Valencia is an extremely dangerous freshman who had a monster off-season. Beating Block isn't all that notable, but who has beaten Valencia the past year, besides his nail-biters to Bassett? Five AAs in the first 5 weights would not surprise me. The next two weights are strong too. You have Garvin at 165, who AA'd last year, and who has time to fix the gas tank issue that cost him his win over Caliendo yesterday. At 174, it's too early to say how good Norman is, but he looked legitimately better than former AA Brands yesterday. He beat Griffith last year as a redshirt and has bonus in all his matches this year except Brands. Again, I see 7 legit AA contenders or favorites in the first 7 weights. It falls off at the last 3 weights. Stemmet at 197 was 2-2 at NCAAs last year, and maybe is an outside AA threat, but I don't see any other points. Even so, when you put all that together, that's a whole lot of guys who could end up on the podium. They aren't touching Iowa or PSU or Iowa, but if Knox, Valencia and Norman show they are AA-level wrestlers (a big if, but not crazy IMO), then I don't see how they aren't in the mix with the other top teams. Maybe even a trophy...? If Cardenas stays in redshirt, I'd say top 10 is in reach but not top 5. (No offense to Cholakyan, who is fun to watch.) But selfishly, I hope they pull Cardenas's shirt and see what this team can do.

I dunno. You really think crushing it his senior year would burnish his NIL potential more than success on the college or senior circuit? Seems to me that high school rosters are littered with guys who pin or tech their way through their senior year, but it barely elicits a yawn because of the competition. I can rattle off a whole bunch of names of guys who've done that, and you probably won't have heard of most of them. The only reason Duke is on our radar at all is the damage he's done against guys outside his normal schedule (national and international tournaments, and guys more senior than he is). No one's buying Bo Bassett t-shirts because he teched his kid in state finals. That said, I have no issue with Duke sticking around for his senior year. He's the star of his high school, with all the guys knowing and admiring what a killer, and all the girls swooning. I'd never want to take that from him. I don't know much about his training situation, but clearly it hasn't hurt him thus far, as he's outwrestling veterans like Lewan and Bryce. And if he's planning to bob in and out of his regular schedule to attend a few college and international tournaments, that's all for the better.

Shoot, and I was going to say Fix v. Suriano.

Is that who Taylor traded a few good words with after his bronze? Dabir was a hammer. His match with Brands was epic. Watched him take on and edge Kolat in Baltimore a while back. So technically sound, and knew how to shut it down at the end.

Why not get rid of individual champion awards? Only OW wins anything.

Judging from JB's interview going into the championships, it sure sounded like this was going to be his last go-round. If so, it seems a bit anticlimactic. Did UWW have one of those special retirement medals made up for JB too, and just give it to him in private? Or are they just assuming he isn't done? His was definitely a better way to go out than the Olympic Trials loss, but man, what a difference it makes to reach a medal match. If they are both done, it seems weird to have all the fanfare for DT but not JB. Its funny: If Nokhodi and Ghassempour had held on to their semifinal leads, it'd have been JB in a bronze medal match, and DT watching from the sidelines. Hopefully USA Wrestling can have a little retirement ceremony for JB. GOAT.

My take was that Ghasempour misinterpreted what Taylor was doing when he went over to sort of yank him up with 2 seconds left. The camera cut off the interaction, but I think Ghas took it as "get your a** back in the middle," when actually it was just an attempt to give a hand which came off a bit awkward with all of Taylor's emotion. Whatever, these guys are champions, and I don't see any disrespect.

Interesting. I wasn't aware of the debate. Could Ghassempour even make 86kg? He's enormous. Why not just let the two wrestle off for the spot? Was it the injury, or just not how things are done in Iran?

You've said this a couple times, but I dunno. If Taylor beats Ghassempour, people will say it is because he was still reeling from his Sadulaev loss. People who want to make excuses will always find a way to do so. Of course it is true that Taylor's at the end of his career, and isn't at his prime. That's just a fact. It's also true he's giving up some weight to these guys. But after his match with Sadulaev, one thing you haven't heard anyone say is "But Taylor would've won if this were 5 years ago." That's because Sadulaev made it pretty clear there's a significant gap -- or at least that the stylistic matchup is very much in Sadulaev's favor. Same should apply here. If Ghassempour squeaks out a narrow win, people can fairly wonder how they'd fare in their primes. If it's a thumping, then its more meaningful. Besides, if Taylor makes it to Ghassempour, it will be clear that Taylor, even if not at his prime, is not *that* far off. He'll have to get past Abakarov, who lost only 3-1 to Sadulaev and was beating Taylor in 2021 worlds when he got pinned and came back for 3rd. Taylor already had to beat a returning World bronze medalist at 92kg just to make the team. No one thinks Taylor is a mere shadow of his former self. He's still a terror and a win over him would be a nice feather in Ghassempour's cap. On the other hand, if Old Man Taylor beats Ghassempour...

Underrated comment.

It was painful to see. He outwrestled Sadulaev for 5:52. Outside those 8 seconds he's looked great all tournament. Taylor's first repechage opponent is pretty tough, but hopefully he makes it to the bronze match.

Agree. It still isn't a great matchup, given Ghaz's uber-stingy defense. Sort of like Taylor wrestling Cox or Dake, which seldom went well for Taylor. But it is winnable.

Looks like we'll get to see the full round-robin, if Taylor can win a couple repechage matches!

Really hope the Iranian wins, pulls JB back in, and we get to see him leave his shoes on the mat after taking bronze. It's a tall order though. The Iranian is excellent (top 3 at worlds his last 2 appearances) but the Georgian guy he has in the semis has two techs, including one over Takahashi, the Japanese wrestler who just won U23s (beating Mesenbrink along the way) and beating Rassadin at Asians before that.

Literally 3 out of 4 guys had to come out of what we thought was their retirement to compete.

Re DT v Sadulaev: The match reminded me of Snyder's Olympic match against Sadulaev in Tokyo 2020/21. Snyder had only ever scored on Sadulaev with his hi-crotch, usually late in the match. But now Snyder was at NLWC and had added the low ankle attack to his arsenal. Worked fine leading into the match, but against Sadulaev, the way Snyder had to extend himself, Sadulaev would just hit a chest wrap or, if he flattened out to avoid it, a snap and go-behind. John Smith was apoplectic on the call, insisting that the move would never work against Sadulaev given his build, hips and style, and Kyle needed to focus on setting up his hi-c, where he remains upright and not vulnerable. Smith wasn't wrong. It's always been the only way Snyder has been able to score on him: late match hi-c. So I was worried about this matchup as I don't see how Taylor's bread-and-butter low leg/ankle attacks would work on Sadulaev, especially since Taylor isn't nearly as powerful as Snyder, and Taylor has no hi-c or other upright attack. The matchup is a stylistic nightmare for Taylor. Would Taylor stick with his style, thinking he's just better at finishing, or hope to get in a scramble? Or would he dial it back and rely on his counter-offense and conditioning? Or would there be something else up his sleeve? Well, looks like Taylor took the first option. I guess I can't really blame him to try his usual style the first time he wrestles him, as it's served him well for years. But now we know.

This sucks. Has JB ever lost to an Iranian?

Trumble can't down to '97 anymore? Trephan is awfully good to be riding the pine.

Slowing it down is good news, and hopefully he just ends the whole "process of elimination" thing altogether. I was never a fan, as it was pretty insulting to the schools that were scratched off first. It's like team captains choosing dodgeball teams in gym class by alternating picks, except you start by eliminating the person you most want NOT to be on your team, and going in reverse. Bleh. Bo seems like a good kid but I think he'll wince when he looks back on this in a few years.

This seems like an easy decision all around. For Zahid, I don't see a better training partner than Taylor. There aren't many options either, as I don't think there's anyone in the country who is good enough to beat Zahid right now, outside of Taylor, a couple guys at the NLWC (Brooks, Snyder) and a few heavyweights. Taylor's coming off wins over Zahid, knows his opponents, and knows how to get Zahid to the next level. For Taylor, until know he was really the only upperweight coach who could effectively challenge the OSU upperweights, except maybe Caldwell who's a bit small. This lets him throw Zahid at these guys, including Wyatt, freeing up Taylor to do more head coaching. That, and he's going to be a favorite for 92kg for the next couple years, after which Taylor's as well suited as anyone to help Zahid compete against Brooks.

I don't see Title IX compliance issues mentioned as a factor here, but it sure sounds like Title IX to me. Why else would they say that wrestlers who wish to keep their scholarships would not be allowed to compete? That tells me it isn't just a funding issue as they are OK with spending the money on the scholarships -- but if they do, it just can't be characterized as an athletic scholarship. Given the default Title IX requirement (as interpreted by the Dept of Ed) that male/female athletic scholarships need to be proportional to male/female enrollment, it sound to me like they're trying to revamp the teams to make the schollies more proportional.

Dude it isn’t 1990 anymore. Iowa hasn’t had anyone who wrestled like that in decades. Maybe Metcalf at times, but “Iowa style” evolved years ago into “push em out of bounds and demand a stall call,” which isn’t Bo. And, more recently, “Iowa style” is “let other schools coach em and then we poach em” — which is to say, no style at all, just an theft of other schools’ styles. Far from a Spencer Lee clone too. Spencer never attacked with that sort of volume, and never really tried to break his opponents either. He just tilted them into oblivion and got off the mat. Bassett already has the drive and gas tank. He doesn’t need a Brands brother shouting in his ear. He would benefit most from highly skilled technical coaches who would help him clean up his offense to beat top-tier guys, and help him tighten his defense when he needs to, all while also letting Bo be Bo.