BAC

Just imagine if he had no legs at all. 35 + 35 = a SEVENTY pound advantage! And no legs to shoot at! Now THAT is unfair. Don't even get me started on how unfair it'd be if he didn't have a head either.

A point if you go the whole period without getting scored on. If neither scores in a period, bring back the ball grab and use it to see who gets the point. We need to reward inactivity.

Classic Downey. Looks superior the first minute and a half, works in a nice throw, gets a nice lead, gets winded, takes a lung timeout, staggers to the 30 second break, catches a quick smoke, returns for second period, gives up 15 straight points for the tech, walks off during the hand raise while the ref calls after him.

Great showing by the men's free team. 10 of 10 in the semis is great. 1 of 10 getting gold is a bummer, but then again, 9 of 10 came away with medals. My quick take. Lilledahl: Kid is just so cool and consistent. Have we ever had anyone get 4 straight age group world medals? Second win in a row over the Russian who just took 2nd at Russian Nats. A+ Blaze: I thought he'd take gold, but the kid from Japan, Ono, is something special. Slick ankle pick. Wouldn't be surprised to see him as Japan's senior rep at 61kg Worlds. Blaze was otherwise his usual self, stingy on D and opportunistic on O. Bo: Fun to see his high-paced style translate to freestyle success. Probably gave up more points than anyone but also scored more than anyone. His wide-open style makes him beatable in a style where one mistake can enable your opponent to rack up a bunch of points. Not reading too much into his semis loss as gave up a very tight gut position on a TD, and it was game over. Duke: Despite his semis loss he was one of the most impressive. Great attacks from so many positions. Reminds me of Dake. Before this weekend, when was the last time he lost? LaDarion: Kozak is eating crow right now for predicting a DNP finish. C'mon Jon, LaDarion literally teched Shapiro, last year's U20 champ, who beat all these guys! (j/k. Love Kozak's work.) But really, LaDarion looked outstanding, and his 3-3 finals loss was to an Iranian who's been wrestling at a really high level. (What's up with crowding the center though? What US coach is teaching that? Ticked off the Iranian, that's for sure.) Barr: Did way better than I thought he would. Techs to the finals, and held his own against the reigning Russian National champ. Don't see how PSU can sit this kid. Mirasola: Reminds me of a less polished Jake Varner. Semis match was tough to watch... I wanted to slap his opponent for being such a baby, then Mirasola played "can't touch me" for the last 15 seconds and got dinged. Bronze match wasn't very pretty. I see the upside but he could use a redshirt. Rademacher: OK, where the heck did this kid come from? Is this the same kid who got teched by Beard, and got majored by a half-dozen guys last year for Oregon State? Looked strong and polished in all his matches. Can't ding him for losing to a sr. world champ in the semis. Keuter: At first I thought he looked like Ivan Drago, but then I realized that with his upright style he wrestles like what Terry Brands would look like if he were 100 pounds bigger. Anyway, huge props to this kid, who looked very solid, and despite losing in the finals he gave that mountain of an Iranian a closer match than any other American has been able to give him.

Considering the quality of the sources on this thread, I'm not holding my breath.

Come on man. Why are you so aggressively insistent on posting lies? Just listen to the actual audio of the podcast they're writing about. It starts at 30:30: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cDRAd2kDVIk "They actually, they texted me, Bo Nickal. You wanna come down, after the Olympics, you wanna come down to NLWC?"

That's because the article is garbage. Did you read it? It looks like it was written by a beta version of the world's crappiest AI engine. The context is they were talking about recent events. It was NLWC and it was post-grad.

Maybe I'm misremembering, but I'm pretty sure Rivera is out if eligibility... Come on man. Calling an Olympic medalist years after they graduate to see if they want to join your wrestling club (NLWC) isn't exactly the same thing as paying an active wrestler to displace your 25-4 6th year senior on your college team.

Maybe. I don't have good intel on how that works. I envision it working the way political campaigns and their supporting PACs work, where the law forbids "direct coordination," but somehow they always seem to have everything coordinated to a T. It's like, come on, you just know there's some text group on Telegram or wherever, with encrypted messages that disappear seconds after being read. Or more likely, some guy who acts as the "go between," who both sides know has the other's ear and will reliably convey info. I find it hard to believe that any wrestler is coming to any team without the HC's blessing. Interesting analogy, and I see the parallels. But when there's an opening coaching spot, everyone expects the school will do a nationwide search to find the best guy. Is that what college wrestlers at Iowa (and maybe other schools) should now expect, every year? That no matter how well they do, during the offseason Iowa is going to do a nationwide search to see if they can purchase the skills of someone better than you, and send you packing? Is that what's best for Iowa, best for the sport?

Yeah a couple people have said something along those lines. You're free to disagree, but it doesn't impact my "motivation". Last year pre-NCAAs I had Glazer projected to be on the AA stand (even bet $ on it), and I'm pretty sure 95+% of the Hawk faithful did too. Sure he laid an egg at NCAAs, but it doesn't erase his 25-4 season. I guess you can fairly ask, what's a better representation of Glazier -- the guy who lost in OT to V-Tech's Smith and got teched by Brooks, or the guy who majored B10 champ Silas, and took Ferrari/Brooks to the wire? I don't know, but it's more than a bit weird (and revisionist) to see all these Hawk fans suddenly badmouthing like Glazer like he was some JV chump. IMO, if Glazier beat Buchanan this year it'd be an upset, but not a huge one. But fine. Call the difference "significant." I don't even since Buchanan's gotten it done at NCAAs multiple times, including two 3rds, and Glazier hasn't. But my core point remains: Glazier was good enough for the coaches to not go looking to expel him. To be clear: NO, he's not guaranteed a spot, and he has no right to expect Iowa is going to turn away an excellent incoming recruit at his weight. I wouldn't even be upset if, under the old system, Buchanan just randomly decided to transfer to Iowa, since you can't expect your coaches to say "NO you aren't welcome here." But for Iowa to specifically chase after Buchanan, paying boatloads of money to outbid other schools for the specific reason of having him displace Glazier, a 25-4 top-10 guy, from the lineup in his final year of eligibility after 5 seasons in the black and gold, forcing him to another school? Naw. That's just betrayal in my book.

Come on man you know that's not what I meant. It's wrestling. Since long before NIL and the portal, no one's ever been "safe". There's always a second stringer looking to knock you off your perch, and no coach is ever going to protect a starter from that (one hopes). But there was a time if you were a 25-4 fifth (sixth) year senior and top-10 guy, gearing up for a strong AA run in your final year of eligibility, you don't expect your school to say "nah let's do better" and affirmatively go out hunting for someone higher ranked, paying them six figures specifically to take your place, and force you off to another school. At some point, looking to better your team crosses the line to disloyalty, and this is across the line for me. Maybe this is going to be the new norm. With athletes getting paid, college athletics is more of a business, and maybe they should expect to be treated like any other fungible. But I guess I'm old school, as I think there's still a human element of this, and some value in both coaches and athletes viewing each other as something more than just a commodity and means to an end.

Isn't that the year Cassar beat him out? Not sure I see how that example is relevant here. That's just two guys who spent their whole career with the Nits landing in the same weight class as upperclassmen. Cassar, who couldn't crack the lineup the year before, decided to go up, and only one could go. Isn't that kind of the exact opposite of what we are talking about? Two homegrown guys in a top team who bump heads. PSU didn't "intentionally displace" anyone, it's just the reality that the #1 team is going to have some depth.

Probably deserves it's own thread but check out Attao's last two matches on Flo if you can.

Kid wrestles with some fire. Same with Cortez. Both had tough finals matches but did their country proud.

Good to hear from you brother! See my earlier comments on this. No doubt PSU, Iowa and Michigan, among others, have done some poaching. But I think Glazier is a new level -- a new low? -- for the reasons I said. Who kicks out a 5th yr senior of Glazier's quality, forcing his transfer in his last year? Booting a 6th-7th type guy who shed black and gold tears for 5 years just to get a 3rd type guy? Thats astonishing and unprecedented, and honestly I hate it. Here's to rooting for a Glazier vs. Beard NCAA final. I don't really disagree that the cache of the "Iowa Style" thing has been deteriorating for a couple decades now. But it still has some residual value as a recruiting tool, and it's hard to see it retaining that value now. To deny this is to deny that culture exists. You're right, I don't know the first thing about the dynamics of the team, but since I don't have rocks in my head, I know that the bonds are going to be more tight-knit among a group of guys that have been together for several years than a handful of all-stars from other programs that are thrown together for a season. You know that too. We also know it's harder to coach and instill values and a "system" in a bunch of prima-donnas who are already sui generis (that's for you Vak). That's true for the likes of Mich and PSU too, but the more reliant on transfers you are, the more pronounced. Maybe but it's good fanfic. There's a couple articles out the saying Ayala's pissed or going to be pissed because he's only getting $100K, that Angelo's not happy, etc. Either way, one thing you know is if you dump a boatload of money on a transfer, you better be ready to dump that same amount on existing athletes with comparable accomplishments, or be ready to explain why not. That's to say nothing of other athletes who may achieve this year: if Gabe or Keuter lands high on the stand, will they be saying "I assume that opens the door to my $500K"? Not jealous of that dynamic. I'm not remotely comparing personalities, as you know. I have nothing bad to say about any of the guys coming in (other than their poor taste in singlet colors). The comparison I'm making is the degree of harm to the program, for the reasons I said. I actually think this may well be worse. Not a Brands fan but I've mellowed. I'll gladly beat up PSU when I think they misstep (e.g. Beard/Dean, Brooks' muslim stuff, etc), and praised Iowa when they get things right (e.g. their women's program). Some of what Iowa is doing is interchangeable with what other B1G schools are doing, or are trying to do. But Glazier is a palpable new low, and for a school as culture/brand dependent as Iowa, I think it hurts them like no other school. And I generally find it distasteful.

Reminded me of this:

LOL at least one person read it!

I prefer PSU to Iowa, no doubt, but I'm trying to be fair here. To start with, I was pretty vocal about not liking the whole Dean/Beard thing either. But it feels very different to me. Beard was only a RS freshman while Dean had 2 years of eligibility, and it wasn't crazy to think a spot would sort out for Beard after a year. But Glazier is a straight-up displacing of a 5th year senior, in favor of another 5th year senior, where the difference (while extant) is negligible. It's the quintessential "no one is safe" example: 5 years on a team, ranked top 10, and it *still* didn't earn him enough team loyalty for his *last* year to avoid getting intentionally displaced. We've never seen anything like that. In a sport that puts a premium on loyalty and team cohesion, I didn't think it would come to that. Also, Dean was pre-NIL. He wasn't offered a stack of cash in outstretched hand -- he just decided to come, and it isn't a coach's role to say "no, you aren't welcome here." I don't know the facts, but I'm not naive enough to think Cael & company didn't encourage him, or that they didn't free up some scholly $ (hence my annoyance). But it's a far cry from Buchanan, who was basically bribed to come to Iowa with a stack of cash tall enough to get Stormy Daniels to go quiet again. If PSU falls suit with a Glazier-level displacement, I'll be the first to holler, but I don't think there's any comparison. BTW, I do agree that Kennedy's another example, but not quite as egregious as he's get 2 years left I think (vs. 1 for Teemer) and I'm not 100% sure he won't sort into the lineup somehow this year.

Whatever you think of Askren, he's not entirely wrong here, and if anything may be understating the severity of Iowa's missteps here. A few related reasons: 1. They will lose top high school recruits who view Iowa as overly disloyal, as Iowa is the first to hit "zero loyalty" threshold. Yes, there's been "recruiting over" before, but until now, there's always been a sense that, for wresters of a certain seniority and skill level, the coaching staff will be like "naw, I'm good" when transfers come knocking or donors are asking coaches on encrypted Telegram threads who to go after. Glazier/Buchanan changes all that. The idea that a school would go out on the open market to try to financially lure in someone to displace a 5th year senior who had only 1 loss going into B1Gs is stunning. It means no one is safe. High school recruits will see this and know, for a fact, that unless you just won a national title, Iowa is going to be trying, every year, to pull in someone better than you. For the most part, other schools have used the portal to fill holes, but only Iowa has sought to use it to upgrade everywhere. As long as other top schools don't follow suit to the same extreme extent, that's going to push recruits away from Iowa, and be a huge recruiting advantage for their competition. 2. This turn toward transfers and away from loyalty is especially harmful to Iowa, which historically has been so reliant on their branding to lure in recruits. Come to Iowa for the "Iowa style," Iowa once said. "Oh that Johnny, he really wrestles the Iowa Style, he'd be great for them," wrestlers hear. But not anymore. They can't say that's their brand when they just have a hodge-podge of guys from different programs who each wrestler their own pre-developed style, most of which don't really mesh with Iowa in any particular way. Kids might go to Iowa because they fare well, but their branding, already eroding, is down the tube. They're losing their cache and sales pitch. 3. Ben was right to cite the loss of culture, too. It's the difference between a bunch of close-knit guys who came up from the farm system, and a bunch of guys who came on as free agents. They just aren't going to be that tight, with no sense of solidarity or brotherhood. Recruits doing their on-campus visits won't see the camaraderie, and existing guys will find easier to leave without feeling bad or nostalgic. (As is clearly the case with 5 leaving in 3 days.) I suspect the guys that remain will be that much harder to coach, too, as these aren't guys who have "bought in" on the Iowa way or the Tom/Terry coaching style. They are guys who are bought and paid for, and have no reason to care much about what Tom/Terry have to say. They'll yammer on about what it means to put on a black and gold singlet, and these guys will just laugh. 4. Iowa's spending is also too high on transfers relative to existing athletes. It isn't sustainable. I have no idea if the money being speculated on Twitter is accurate (e.g. $500K each for Parco, Teemer, Buchanan), but as some have pointed out, now guys like Ayala are going to look since they're being paid a fraction of that. That means you aren't just losing the guys at the weights where you recruited over them, you're also losing top guys at other weights who feel they aren't being treated fairly. 5. Admittedly, none of points 1-4 really matter if they have the bankroll to turn Iowa into the New York Yankees every season, buying a near-full roster every year. But the money won't be there forever. As I understand it, it's pretty much coming from one guy, and he's a pretty shady dude as it is. What happens when his money runs out or he crosses one too many lines, whether in recruiting or in any other seedy dealings? Iowa isn't nearly as flush with alumni money as many other schools. When that money dries up, then what? They'll need to rebuild their brand, their culture, the illusion of loyalty all over again, from scratch. Have fun with that. This whole thing reminds me of the Ferrari fiasco from last year: sacrificing integrity on the altar of winning, compromising whatever principles are needed to get ahead. At least AJ saved them before that went too far. But I don't think there's any saving Iowa from themselves this time.

Sure, I'll play. I'm kind of disgusted at Iowa/Brands by seeing Iowa guys who dedicated their careers to the Hawks, like Glazier and Kennedy, get run out of town for the short-term benefit of one-year-wonders like Buchanon and Teemer. I'm all for competition, but isn't there a point at which a coach should be like, "Hey thanks but we have our guy?" I can't decide if I'm being fair in my disgust or if I just don't like Iowa. I'm fine with transfers, but usually when we see it, the guy getting displaced has another weight he can go, or can use a redshirt, or will just lose a year, or wasn't any good. Or the guy coming in has a ton of eligibility, so it's more like a new recruit than a hired guy. Until now the worst example was probably Beard/Dean, but even that didn't annoy me as much, because Beard was just a freshman while Glazier/Kennedy invested their whole career, only to get shown the door at the end. Especially Glazier: after a 20-4 year, it's his last year of eligibility and he can only go 197, and he's booted out for a guy coming in who also only has a single year of eligibility? Really? No loyalty at all? So is it my bias, or are Iowa's efforts (esp. Glazier) a new low in selling out your homegrown guys?

You're not wrong, Jimmy. I don't know how much Iowa/Nichols shelled out, but if I were Iowa, I'd rather have Nolf's services for 5 years (which $1 mi likely would get you) rather than Teemer/Buchanon. Not close.

Who wouldn't want to see Askren in his prime vs Nolf in his prime? In folkstyle, of course. Break out the popcorn for that one.

Yes you haven't heard of it? It's an international database portal maintained by the IOC. You should see how the big-name countries go after the big names when their name drops on the portal; it's like one big international auction. But sometimes athletes who have already picked a new country have a "do not contact" label, so you know that some sultan somewhere already bought them off.

Does the IOC (or UWW) set any sort of minimum standards to allow a competitor, especially one from a barred country to compete for another country? Should they? I know it's been discussed before, but the number of Russians in the Olympics was crazy. Flo has a good breakdown here: https://www.flowrestling.org/articles/12787978-2024-paris-olympics-mens-freestyle-wrestling-by-the-numbers. It also caught the eye of the mainstream press in Paris, giving a bit of a black eye to wrestling: https://sportstar.thehindu.com/olympics/paris-2024/news/paris-olympics-2024-russians-wrestling-medals-representing-other-countries-controvery-russia-ukraine-war-ioc-action/article68514966.ece. And now, post-Olympics, the Russian parades are happening, as someone pointed out re Zhamalov: https://www.instagram.com/reel/C-7t2zLs_t5/?igsh=YzJkY3ExZ3oyaXox. Come on. Zhamalov is Russian. He wasn't born in Uzbekistan, he never had dual citizenship in Uzbekistan. Rather, in the first half of 2024, after Russia was banned, Zhamalov was able to change citizenship to Uzbekistan a few months before the Olympics, but never moved there. Zhamalov competes in the Olympics -- defeating 4 other Russian-born wrestlers in his first 4 matches (all competing for other countries) -- and wins. He goes back to Russia and Russia throws a parade for him. I don't mean this as sour grapes. Rivera, after all, competed for PR and had a parade in NJ. In general, I'm fine with athletes of dual citizenship parentage choosing who to represent, and there's nothing wrong with changing citizenship in general. In fact, as a wrestling fan, I like seeing all the skilled Russians, as it ups the level of competition. But I'm not a fan of the "hired gun" citizenship swap, where a country alters and dumbs down its citizenship criteria solely to bring in someone for their athletic prowess. (I'm sure the citizens of Bahrain are still celebrating the win of their favorite son, Tazhudinov.) To me, it undermines the country-vs-country ethos that undergirds the world/Olympic games. Now it's more like one big open tournament. Almost half the 74kg wrestlers in the Olympics (freestyle) were Russian (including 4 of the top 6). I'm also not a fan of athletes from barred countries who don't meet AIN criteria, circumventing it by taking faux citizenship elsewhere. Not making any accusations, but Zhamalov could literally be a Russian soldier occupying Ukraine and blowing holes in their skulls, and a day later he can fly to Paris to compete since he has dual citizenship with Uzbekistan. I read that UWW head Lalovic, embarrassed at the ease with which Russia invaded the Olympics via other countries, wants to set a cap on the number of transfers a given country can accept. That's a start, but I'm thinking more along the lines of minimum standards of new citizens, e.g. you have to be a citizen for at least two years before you can compete for a new country. And for athletes hailing from a IOC-barred country, maybe require relinquishment of citizenship from the prior country, instead of allowing dual citizenship. That seems a fair substitute for having to pass the AIN clearance process. Thoughts?

Has Zhamalov ever even set foot in Uzbekistan?