Voice of the Quakers

The amount of coffee one must drink to pop an NCAA caffeine test is insane. Pills are the most likely culprit, because if you shot-gunned 6-8 cups of coffee just before a race you would probably be going to the toilet and not the starting block. Did anyone on Drury notice their teammate talking like Boomhauer from King of the Hill during the meet or was this standard procedure for this kid?

I'm not sure what to make of the criticism of the team from Gaines, Lochte and Phelps. Clearly, there are leadership issues at USA Swimming - regardless of who is the acting CEO, who thought it was a good idea to book the training camp in a country known for contaminated food, communicable illness and general disorder? - but they also questioned members' training habits and sense of entitlement in a way that I'm not sure is fair. The reality is, for probably the first time in my lifetime, the best male and female swimmers in the world are not from the US. Plus, men's swimming is much more competitive than it ever has been. (Women's swimming remains, for the most part, a US-Australia dual meet.) And, the US swimming community seemed to understand in their heads but not their hearts at the Olympics and going in to this year's Worlds that the men's team is between generations. Ultimately, I'm very optimistic for the men's team at the next worlds and the LA games. (The resulys from the World University Games were outstanding.) The women's team will keep on keeping on as long as Walsh, Douglass, Ledecky, Smith, et al keep swimming and so long that China doesn't find any more 12 year old superheroes.

I don't know about the rest of the MAC schools, but it's hard to see the PSAC schools - which, of course, compete in D2 in all sports except wrestling - ever opting in to revenue sharing with their athletes, especially given their financial situations. All of Bloomsburg's roster spots should be safe - BU needs those tuition dollars to keep flowing. Long term, don't be surprised if schools that don't opt in market themselves as "no cut". They won't compete with PSU, Iowa, etc., but more kids wrestling at more schools is, in my opinion, a good thing.

Remember this take when we cheer for the inclusion of beach wrestling next to freestyle AND Greco-Roman wrestling at a future Olympics. That being said, as the father of a (maybe former) competitive swimmer, you can have breaststroke. My son and I joke its "anti-swimming" - swim slowly as fast as you can. My son is a sprinter and could never muster any enthusiasm for it it.

Chuck Mangione? The world of yacht rock mourns. https://variety.com/2025/music/obituaries-people-news/chuck-mangione-dead-feels-so-good-jazz-horn-player-1236469147/

LeBlanc grew up about an hour from Binghamton. He's done a fantastic job at The Citadel. If he wants this job, I hope he gets it.

BTW, you can see the windows in this picture. Wrestling room should run along/above the scoreboard.

"What you've just said is one of the most insanely idiotic things I have ever heard. At no point in your rambling, incoherent response were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. Everyone in this room is now dumber for having listened to it. I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul.” ― Billy Madison (movie)

Let the arms race continue. Pleased to see the hype video includes yours truly in a couple team photos. https://pennathletics.com/news/2025/7/22/penn-athletics-receives-20-million-gift-to-support-wrestling.aspx https://pennathletics.com/documents/2025/7/17/Penn_Wrestling_Lasting_Legacy_of_Excellence__2_.pdf

Thoroughly enjoyed this meet. Wish this would lead to a return of the dual meet tours of my youth - I remember attending many USA-USSR duals in exotic locales such as Brockport, NY. Well-promoted barnstorming tours would definitely attract fans. But, given how little the best wrestlers compete these days, I doubt there is much interest from many athletes to participate in these events.

The all time greats are all time greats for many reasons - talent, training and health all play a factor. We can't expect everyone to match the longevity and excellence of Taylor, Dake and Burroughs. Sure looks like injuries have caught up to Vito and Yianni, but I hope it's not the end of their days competing at the top level. Wish them them the best moving forward.

These stories break when someone is willing to come forward and put their name to accusations. Often, one person is enough to create the cracks in a dam of a story. Beau Bartlett putting his name to these accusations is not a "nothingburger".

Seems appropriate to paraphrase my thoughts from the Ohio State documentary topic here, especially given that the PSU police couldn't seem to find CS for an interview over a 6 month period... If you know anything about the way colleges operated then (and now)... Everyone knew. Plenty of people complained. Those who complained were told by the administration to pound sand. As such, friends and teammates warned their friends and teammates and told them to make the best of it.

To my knowledge, USA Wrestling never even acknowledged Kyle Snyder's arrest. I figured they would've posted something when he was temporarily suspended by SafeSport. (Kudos to FloWrestling.org for posting the story.) But, nope, the adults at USA Wrestling just closed their eyes, put their fingers in their ears and held their collective breath until the suspension was lifted. So, yeah, It's tough for me to blame the journalists when our programs don't want to act like their in charge.

The older I get, the more I realize that money is the source and solution to every problem in life. O/U for further college commitments by Bo Bassett: 1.5 O/U for transfers once Bo Bassett enrolls in college: 1.5 I'm so happy my alma mater, for the most part, is not in this line of business.

If you know anything about the way colleges operated then (and now)... Everyone at Ohio State knew about the doctor. Plenty of people complained about him. Those who complained were told by the administration to pound sand. As such, friends and teammates warned their friends and teammates about the doctor and told them to make the best of it. It's laughable to think that Jordan could've done anything about the doctor then. And, yes, whether you agree with Jordan's politics or not, his political opponents are going to make hay about it. They do not accept his denials, nor would they forgive him if he changed course and said he did know. Hopefully, one more documentary on this type of "incident" means there will be one less similar case in the future. But, be forever warned - predators are going to go where the kids are, and there's lot's of kids on athletic teams and at college campuses.

Guessing the money was right

We have a deal. https://www.on3.com/news/judge-approves-landmark-house-v-ncaa-settlement/

Notre Dame just signaled to the judge it would like to move forward with the settlement https://x.com/swimswamnews/status/1920610027691184185

No one actually expects the Power 4 schools to go back to cut athletes and released recruits and say welcome back. The revised settlement says they can, but they won't. The good news is that these "Designated Student-Athletes" will not count against roster limits at any D1 school (see link below). They should be able to find new teams at the non-Power 4 schools - many schools will be happy to take on another tuition-paying student. (I would expect the vast majority of these DSAs NOT to receive athletic scholarships.) While there may be some more objections or tweaks here and there, the settlement is supposed to take effect July 1. Nothing like a deadline to get people moving in the world of policy. For better or worse, our new NCAA sports world is right around the corner. https://www.espn.com/college-sports/story/_/id/45044548/attorneys-handling-ncaa-settlement-propose-do-roster-limits

Yes

Fix should've wrestled in the Masters tourney.

I am surprised the judge has pushed back on this. Both plaintiffs and defendants initially agreed to the roster limits with no grandfathering. (The plaintiffs appear to have changed their mind since the April 7 meeting.) If i have learned anything in my nine years working in the DC policy world, it's rare for a a judge or government official to get in the way of a negotiated agreement. Good news for all of those athletes who were told over the past six months to beat it. Bad news for all of those incoming freshmen who are about to be told they have to find a new team.

You were reading my mind. From Front Office Sports: However, not every transfer portal story is as successful as (UCLA WBB player Lauren) Betts’s. AD Advisors and sports analytics firm Timark Partners released a study Friday that indicated 70% of men’s basketball players from power conferences and the Big East who entered the transfer portal were unable to find a new school or transferred down. (The study placed schools in three tiers based on the amount of money spent on their basketball programs, and transferring down meant moving to a program in a lower tier.) Moving to ostensibly smaller programs could still be beneficial for players seeking additional playing time or for other personal reasons. However, the effects of entering the portal—whether positive or negative—vary on a case-by-case basis.

Schools that opt to the House settlement may offer up to 30 full scholarships. Doesn't mean they will. This is the part where we need to remind ourselves that schools opting in to the settlement - the Power 4/5 schools are mandated to accept to the settlement terms - are doing so to push money to their football and basketball players, not to non-revenue sports like wrestling. Looking at the terrain of D1 wrestling, I would be very concerned that MAC and SOCON schools will actually reduce their spending on wrestling to prop up their football and basketball teams.