NM1965

It's amazing how poorly "professionals" write sometimes, isn't it? If you really want to wince read some Yahoo researched articles!

I think you overestimate the effect this will have on certain teams. I agree that some schools will benefit tremendously because they have both a good-sized warchest AND a dedication to wrestling. Those teams are, obviously, the Big 10 schools. A couple Big 12 schools have demonstrated the will as well. OSU has demonstrated they intend to compete at the highest level with their hiring of Taylor and his new staff, and ISU is building new facilities that Joel Osteen would be proud of. I'm not going to comment on all schools you listed, but OU....I don't think so. While OU has a wildly successful tradition in college athletics and runs a wealthy athletic department, OU hasn't demonstrated a will to compete at the highest levels in college wrestling. They wrestle in a shoebox worse than some 4A high schools have, hardly any fans show up anymore, and OU hired a guy who nobody but wrestling wonks know anything about (Kish). No offense to Kish, but he's not going to get the job done. OU needs a lot more help than he can give them in recruiting, money, and coaching. I know he's just a guy trying to make a living, but handing a disaster like OU's program over to Kish is like handing a shovel to a guy and asking him to fill the Grand Canyon. I know OU has a long, storied tradition in wrestling, but they've been rancid for a long, long time now and AD Joe Castiglione doesn't seem to give a damn. I'd love to see OU demonstrate a desire to come back and make the necessary changes to be competitive, but it just ain't happening.

How about Doucet? He's not going to ride the bench behind Hendrickson, I bet. He'll be an R12/R16 type guy.

How'd OSU screw Gilman? By hiring him?

He's a different guy now, more mature.

How good is he?

Absolutely. I'm not going to dig up the relevant links but I remember reading something years ago that 75% or so of D1 athletic programs actually lose money.

Did you use the collar tie much? I used to work nearly exclusively out of a collar tie because I knew a lot of nasty shit that worked well from it

Alirez is staying where he is per intermat.

When did Cael throw a chair? I never saw that. I saw Dan Gable throw a chair one time like the jackass he is, though.

The sooner the better. Everybody should work from a collar tie.

Shit. He's fatter than I am. I bet he's put on 50 pounds since he graduated.

LOL, sad.

Their numbers are the biggest among the D1 Athletic programs with wrestling teams. https://sports.usatoday.com/ncaa/finances

This will mean the end of competitive D1 wrestling, not that it's actually been all that competitive for the last 20 years or so since realistically only 3 or 4 teams even have a chance of making the podium anyway. Now schools will just buy the best wrestlers. Who has the most money in D1 that has a wrestling program? Ohio State does. Michigan is 2nd among schools with wrestling programs. Coaching will be at a premium, but the little schools will all suffer. I predict over time that the rankings of the best wrestling schools will line up fairly precisely with those schools revenue with minor variations due to the ability of the coaches.

It's hard to have any respect for the wrestling opinion of guys who never wrestled like that guy .

A. You didn't but another guy did. B. I disagree.

That's hardly the point. I know how the small conferences stack up against the B10. But if you guys are gonna say that inviting all the starters is a "participation trophy" situation then I don't know how you can say that a kid who finished behind EIGHT other kids at his conference tourney has earned an invite. Seriously, 9th place is shit and a guy getting invited to NCAAs on a 9th place finish IS a "participation trophy". The beauty is that under my idea of inviting all starters it removes any bias built in. The 9th place kid will get his shot at NCAAs just like every other starting wrestler and he won't have to rely on a very imperfect and biased system to get him an invite. Just invite all the starters from all the D1 schools and we'll have a nice little season ending rumble. I don't see the problem going from 33 to 64 (or 66 man, technically) brackets. Regarding reg season and conference tourneys, the results from those will be what's used to seed the wrestlers. Easy, peasy, japanesey. Plus, I think it would make NCAAs even more compelling.

Yeah, SOS is a thing. That would be considered in seeding.

Are you kidding? They are practically giving out participation ribbons already what with 9th place losers qualifying for NCAAs. Plus nearly half the guys in D1 make the tournament anyway, so there's no point in pretending you need elite qualifications to make NCAAs. Heck, even in HS state tournaments no more than 1/4 of the guys qualify for state. Just make the tournament an invitational and invite all starters. It wouldn't even add much length to the tournament. Going between a 32 man and a 64 man bracket is only one more match. That would also remove bias from selection.

I'm not rooting against any of the guys representing the USA. That stated it wouldn't break my heart if Brooks lost to a Muslim in the gold medal match. I guess that would mean the Muslim is better with GAWWWWWD, huh?

That sounds like a great recipe for Hamiti to get beaten up every day. It could turn him into a beast of iron out there on the mat against guys his own size, or he might just turn into a "HEW" type guy.

LOL. Do you think wrestlers would be capable of coloring within the lines?? Below: colored by Tom Brands in 2016

All D1 starters should receive an invitation to the NCAA tournament. Nearly half the guys in D1 will qualify for NCAAs anyway (it's not exactly "elite" if the 9th place finisher at a conference tournament qualifies for nationals!). Tournament and dual results can be used for seeding purposes.

I think Cael has discovered the sweet spot. The best number of matches to wrestle in a year is 20-25. More than that and you have more opportunities to get injured or to burn out. I know people are complaining that PSU's guys often don't have many matches, and I think that's by design, and I think it's pretty smart to keep guys matches at about that number. Yeah, guys can (and do) often wrestle a lot more matches than that, but they are risking their health every time they step on the mat. I think it's good to limit the number of matches and it also gives opportunities for the backups to get a little mat time. PSU has a ludicrously deep bench partially as a result, which is another plus.