SocraTease

Yes, I think there could be trauma issues and scars after the All-Star match. Getting inside someone else's head in athletics is an under-appreciated art form and skill. I suspect that Cael Sanderson currently lives in the craniums of few coaches as well. Even the dead can strike fear in the living and survive in various guises: guilt, conscience, hate, Stockholm syndrome etc.

Penn State and Michigan are currently in their hotel rooms working with "Imagineers" to redesign their injured wrestlers (Starocci and Griffith) in order to increase their odds in the Semis tonight. Some of their plans have been leaked:

True that.

2024 NCAA Championships Pts. / Maximum / If seeds hold/ Semis Blood Round of 12 Team Standings Team Points Maximum Potential Points If Seeds Hold # QF # SF # Cons 2 # Cons 3 # Cons 4 (Rd of 12) Penn State 86.5 254.5 152 8 6 2 2 4 Michigan 50.5 130 66 5 4 4 1 1 Arizona State 44.5 104.5 66.5 4 4 2 1 0 Iowa State 42 150 67 5 2 4 2 4 Iowa 41.5 149.5 67.5 4 2 5 2 4 Ohio State 36 105 57.5 3 2 5 2 2 Virginia Tech 35 145.5 52 4 2 5 4 3 North Carolina State 33.5 146 84.5 5 1 4 2 5 Missouri 33 121.5 48.5 3 2 2 2 3 Oklahoma State 33 124 49 3 2 4 4 2 Cornell 32.5 125.5 63.5 3 1 5 3 4 Nebraska 29 161 60.5 7 1 1 0 6 Northern Iowa 26.5 100 42 2 1 3 3 3 South Dakota State 24 97.5 39 2 1 4 3 3 Stanford 20.5 74.5 21.5 1 1 4 4 2 Wisconsin 20 54.5 31.5 2 1 3 0 1 Lehigh 18.5 92 54.5 3 1 1 1 3 Minnesota 17.5 71.5 24.5 2 1 5 2 2 Air Force 15 49.5 22 1 1 1 1 1 Pittsburgh 15 15 15 0 0 7 2 0 Oregon State 13.5 48 17 1 1 2 1 1 Indiana 13 13 11.5 0 0 5 2 0 Rutgers 13 74 23.5 1 0 6 3 2 Columbia 12.5 27.5 11.5 1 1 2 0 0 North Carolina 12.5 27.5 12.5 1 1 3 0 0 West Virginia 11.5 50.5 22 1 0 2 1 2 Lock Haven 9.5 24.5 9.5 1 1 1 0 0 Navy 9.5 70.5 13.5 1 0 4 4 2 Little Rock 9 48 13.5 1 0 3 1 2 Campbell 8.5 30.5 9 0 0 5 1 0 Maryland 8.5 8.5 7.5 0 0 4 0 0 Penn 8 8 7 0 0 4 1 0 Appalachian State 7 26.5 7 0 0 4 3 1 Oklahoma 7 48.5 7.5 1 0 2 1 1 Binghamton 6.5 48 17 1 0 2 2 1 Bucknell 6.5 48 6.5 0 0 4 2 1 Army 6 25.5 6 0 0 2 2 1 Rider 6 25.5 5 0 0 2 1 1 Wyoming 5.5 25 9 0 0 3 3 1 Central Michigan 5 24.5 5 0 0 2 2 1 Virginia 5 5 5 0 0 3 0 0 Michigan State 4 4 4 0 0 2 1 0 North Dakota State 4 23.5 4 0 0 1 1 1 Ohio 4 23.5 4 0 0 2 1 1 Princeton 3.5 3.5 3.5 0 0 2 1 0 Cal Baptist 3 3 3.5 0 0 1 0 0 Cal Poly 3 22.5 6.5 1 0 2 1 1 George Mason 3 3 1 0 0 1 0 0 Northern Colorado 2.5 22 2.5 0 0 2 1 1 Northwestern 2.5 2.5 2.5 0 0 2 1 0 Purdue 2.5 22 7 1 0 1 0 1 Illinois 2 21.5 6.5 1 0 0 0 1 Buffalo 1.5 1.5 0.5 0 0 0 0 0 Chattanooga 1.5 1.5 1.5 0 0 2 0 0 Harvard 1.5 1.5 1.5 0 0 1 1 0 Franklin & Marshall 1 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 Gardner Webb 1 1 1 0 0 1 1 0 Long Island 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 Utah Valley 1 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 VMI 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 Cleveland State 0.5 0.5 0.5 0 0 1 0 0 SIUE 0.5 0.5 0.5 0 0 1 0 0 American 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Brown 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Clarion 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Hofstra 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Northern Illinois 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 The Citadel 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Note: Teams in RED have been mathematically eliminated from the team title race.

I think quarterfinal wins are worth 7 points (plus possible bonus), which is huge. Previous wins in the championship round were only worth 1 point (plus possible bonus). It will make huge differences in the team race. If you win in the quarters, you are guaranteed AA status (and at least 6th place), right? Edit: I didn't mean to post this as a reply to the comment. Oh well. Let the matches begin!

In my view, David Taylor offers the best technical insights about positions, technique, and strategy. And he is able to keep to the action and also make relevant asides. He's a true professional. And, of course, I realize he is now in the final stages of trials preparation so he probably won't be there. Borroughs will probably be fine in his commentary.

I understand your point, but I have to watch the specific matches on ESPN + on my laptop and ESPN broadcast on my TV. I like some (minimal) commentary if it is on target but terrible commentary is worse than no commentary and just the crowd noise or silence.

Not this. If they are flipping the channel, they will (a) hear a guy rambling on about tweets, food, and every other thing besides wrestling or offering cliches about the sport and (b) they won't likely even see DC because the images will be of the mat or (soon-to-be) commercials. The NCAAs are about wrestling not about appealing to MMA followers, and it is what true college wrestling fans look forward to more than any other time of year. Get competent insightful analysis and commentary, not guys that care more about MMA or being celebrities.

Fire Cormier. He is absolutely terrible. And keep the celebrities far, far away. They don't know the rules, the sport, the moves or technique or most of the wrestlers.. No other serious sport would hire these incompetent fools except maybe MMA. It is some corporate crowd (or corporate thinking) trying to make wrestling relevant to a larger audience but it backfires and doesn't work. It is an embarrassment.

A Taoist might agree with your first statement. Rules are a sign that something has broken down. As for the Flying Squirrel, maybe it should be a 5 point move. Acrobatic and entertaining and rare. https://www.google.com/search?q=wrestling+flying+squirrel&source=lmns&tbm=vid&bih=631&biw=1440&prmd=ivnsmbtz&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiQvNrpkoeFAxXHPlkFHUvZB2QQ0pQJKAJ6BAgBEAY#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:c2337464,vid:61UGSbdDTwU,st:0

Average with respect to what or who? Please clarify. Penn State scored 9 1/2 points at these four weights. Nebraska scored 10 1/2 points. By your reckoning, Nebraska is also pretty "average". Who sets the bar (standard), an all-star team composed of guys like Spencer Lee (125), Logan Steiber (133), Yianni (141), and Zain Retherford (149)? It's a team of 10 guys not 4 for you to cherry pick from. How about Nebraska's four heaviest weights: 174, 184, 197, 285? 174: 0 points (DNQ) 184: 3.5 points 197: 2.0 points (about to be tech-ed by Hidlay tomorrow morning/early afternoon) 285: 0 points (0-2, eliminated)

Was he referring to tweets he was getting from Chael Sonnen (a guy I can't stand who loves to hear himself pontificate and brag and get nostalgic)?

I would love to see a new rule next year: A three second count when wrestling from a knee or both knees and then a stalling call. Wrestling from the knees is itself essentially stalling. Rarely is it ever justified. It is extremely difficult to take someone down when they are wrestling from their knees.

I would love to see a new rule next year: a three second count when wrestling from a knee or both knees and then a stalling call. Wrestling from the knees is itself essentially stalling. Rarely is it ever justified.

I was on ESPNU in the afternoon and ESPN in the evening but following particular matches (without commentary) on ESPN +. I stand by my comments, however. So many cliches (especially from D.C.) or vapid statements like "He's really really good" or "He's really strong" or "These are not the heavyweights from years ago" etc. I would rather hear Robles on commentary. Enthusiasm and hyperbole are not legitimate substitutes for insight, analysis or even play by play description. They are cover ups for not doing your homework or knowing the nuances of a particular wrestler or match. Can you imagine this kind of commentary and cutting to commercials and non-sequiturs and false information being tolerated for basketball or football or soccer? I can't.

Get him off the mic. He's terrible. And a bad distraction.

ESPN coverage is pretty poor in my estimation: 1. WAY, WAY too many commercials (in the middle of matches or as matches are ready to commence) 2. They cut away from interesting matches or don't show key sequences because they are focused on fan and coach reactions or interviews 3. Too little insightful analysis about the matches (they substitute emotional responses) 4. Too much talking about other unrelated topics 5. They need to find someone like David Taylor to provide technical insight. Grade D

2024 NCAA Championships Pts. Max. I f seeds hold Q-finals Cons. 2 Team Standings Team Points Maximum Potential Points If Seeds Hold # Round 2 # QF # Consi # Cons 2 Penn State 34.5 275.5 150.5 8 8 2 2 Iowa 24.5 245.5 67 6 4 3 4 Iowa State 22 243 64.5 6 4 3 4 Nebraska 21 240.5 60.5 8 7 1 1 North Carolina State 20.5 241 81.5 6 5 4 3 Michigan 20 241 52 8 4 1 4 Cornell 18.5 215.5 59.5 7 3 2 4 Ohio State 18.5 216 50.5 6 2 3 5 Virginia Tech 16 237 51 7 4 3 4 Oklahoma State 14 186.5 50.5 7 3 3 3 Missouri 13 137 44 5 2 5 2 South Dakota State 13 159 40 3 2 5 4 Wisconsin 13 134.5 28 3 2 2 3 Arizona State 12 160 56 6 3 2 2 Northern Iowa 12 133.5 40 3 2 4 3 Indiana 10.5 160 10.5 3 0 3 5 Lehigh 9.5 109 55.5 4 2 4 1 Rutgers 9 182.5 22 5 1 3 5 Stanford 9 131 14 5 1 0 4 Campbell 8 133 15 3 0 3 4 Minnesota 8 205.5 23.5 5 2 5 5 Pittsburgh 8 182 9 0 0 7 6 Penn 7.5 105.5 11 1 0 7 4 West Virginia 7.5 80.5 21 2 1 3 2 Air Force 7 55.5 19 2 1 1 1 Little Rock 6.5 106.5 12.5 2 1 3 2 Oklahoma 6.5 82 11 3 1 2 1 Maryland 6 106.5 7 0 0 5 3 Navy 6 128 9 3 1 2 4 Columbia 5.5 78.5 8.5 2 1 2 2 Oregon State 5.5 105.5 16.5 1 1 4 2 Appalachian State 5 103 6 4 0 1 4 North Carolina 5 105 12 2 1 3 2 Virginia 5 105.5 5.5 2 0 2 3 Bucknell 4 102 5.5 3 0 2 4 Cal Poly 3.5 103.5 8 2 1 3 2 Central Michigan 3.5 52.5 3.5 1 0 2 2 Rider 3.5 55 4 0 0 5 1 Wyoming 3.5 77 12.5 2 0 1 3 Binghamton 3 78.5 8.5 2 1 2 1 Cal Baptist 3 27.5 3.5 0 0 2 1 George Mason 3 27.5 1 0 0 3 1 Princeton 3 79 5.5 0 0 3 2 Army 2.5 78.5 3.5 1 0 5 2 Lock Haven 2.5 51 2.5 1 1 2 1 Michigan State 2.5 51.5 2.5 1 0 4 2 Purdue 2.5 51 13 1 1 4 1 Illinois 2 26 13.5 1 1 2 0 North Dakota State 2 26.5 2.5 0 0 1 1 Northwestern 2 51 2 0 0 3 2 Ohio 2 51 11 2 0 1 2 Buffalo 1.5 1.5 0.5 0 0 2 0 Chattanooga 1.5 50.5 1.5 1 0 1 2 Northern Colorado 1.5 50.5 2 1 0 2 2 Franklin & Marshall 1 25.5 1 1 0 1 1 Harvard 1 25.5 1 1 0 2 1 Long Island 1 1 1 0 0 1 0 Utah Valley 1 25.5 1.5 1 0 0 1 VMI 1 1 1 0 0 1 0 Gardner Webb 0.5 25 0.5 0 0 2 1 SIUE 0.5 25 0.5 0 0 1 1 American 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 Brown 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 Clarion 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 Cleveland State 0 27 0.5 0 0 2 0 Hofstra 0 27 0 0 0 1 0 Northern Illinois 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 The Citadel 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 Note: Teams in RED have been mathematically eliminated from the team title race.

ESPN likes to show a few partial wrestling matches in-between it's all comercial channel.

Lowest seeds to go down in the first round: Two #5s, Three #7s. Two #8s, Two #9s, three #10s, four #11s, four #12s 125 Pounds #28 Diego Sotelo, Harvard dec. #5 Jore Volk, Wyoming - 5-3 #20 Stevo Poulin, Northern Colorado dec. #13 Noah Surtin, Missouri - 3-1 #17 Brett Ungar, Cornell dec. #16 Dean Peterson, Rutgers - 2-1, TB-1 133 Pounds #24 Julian Chlebove, Arizona State dec. #9 Dom Serrano, Northern Colrado - 4-1 #21 Ethan Oakley, App State dec. #12 Sam Latona, Virginia Tech - 8-7 #22 Dom Zaccone, Campbell dec #11 Zeth Romney, Cal Poly - 4-1 #23 Marlon Yarbrough, Virginia maj. dec. #10 Aaron Nagao, Penn State - 13-5 141 Pounds #17 Isaiah Powe, Chattanooga dec. #16 Dylan Chappell, Bucknell - 9-4 #20 Tom Crook, Virginia Tech dec. #13 Jordan Titus, West Virginia - 4-1 #26 Vance Vombaur, Minnesota dec. #7 Cael Happel, Northern Iowa - 8-5, SV-1 #23 Danny Fongaro, Indiana dec. #10 Tagen Jamison, Oklahoma State - 9-8 #21 Josh Edmond, Missouri dec. #12 Wyatt Henson, Lock Haven - 4-1, SV-1 149 Pounds #17 Graham Rooks, Indiana dec. #16 Kelvin Griffin, Lehigh - 12-5 #21 Willie McDougald, Oklahoma dec. #12 Ethen Miller, Maryland - 5-4 #20 Jordan Williams, Oklahoma State dec. #13 Caleb Rathjen, Iowa - 12-5 #22 Gabe Willochell, Wyoming maj. dec. #11 Quinn Kinner, Rider - 8-0 #26 Jaden Abas, Stanford dec. #7 Tyler Kasak, Penn State - 4-2 #18 Cody Bond, App State dec. #15 Corbyn Munson, Central Michigan - 11-4 157 Pounds #19 Tommy Askey, App State maj. dec. #14 Cody Chittum, Iowa State - 17-6 165 Pounds #20 Hunter Garvin, Stanford maj. dec. #13 Joseph Bianchi, Little Rock - 11-0 #22 Noah Mulvaney, Bucknell dec. #11 Andrew Cerniglia, Navy - 10-9 174 Pounds #28 Jared Simma, Northern Iowa dec. #5 Phil Conigliaro, Harvard - 7-0 #21 Tyler Eischens, Stanford dec. #12 Patrick Kennedy, Iowa - 9-7 #19 Alex Cramer, Central Michigan Fall #14 Gaven Sax, ND State - 2:37 #18 Benjamin Pasiuk, Army dec. #15 MJ Gaitan, Iowa State - 18-11 184 Pounds #17 Will Feldkamp, Iowa State Fall #16 Nate Dugan, Princeton - 2:29 #24 Shane Liegel, Wisconsin maj. dec. #9 Bennett Berge, SD State - 9-1 #25 David Key, Navy dec. #8 Sam Wolf, Air Force - 4-1 #19 James Conway, Franklin & Marshall dec. #14 Chris Foca, Cornell - 5-4 #23 Layne Malczewski, Michigan State dec. #10 Dylan Fishback, NC State - 1-0 #18 Ryder Rogotzke, Ohio State Fall #15 Reece Heller, Pitt - 2:28 197 Pounds #17 Joey Novak, Wyoming dec. #16 Luke Stout, Princeton - 9-6 #20 Evan Bockman, Utah Valley dec. #13 Levi Hopkins, Campbell - 2-2 - TB-3 #22 Garrett Joles, Minnesota dec. #11 Jaxon Smith, Maryland - 6-5 #26 Andy Smith, Virginia Tech dec. #7 Zach Glazier, Iowa - 4-1, SV-1 #18 Nick Stemmet, Stanford dec. #15 Max Shaw, North Carolina - 6-4 285 Pounds #17 Grady Griess, Navy dec. #16 Cory Day, Binghamton - 4-1, SV-1 #25 Bradley Hill, Iowa dec. #8 Owen Trephan, NC State - 4-2 #19 Dorian Crosby, Bucknell dec. #14 Boone McDermott, Oregon State - 6-5

Penn State 7.5 bonus points Iowa State 7.0 Nebraska 6.0 Michigan and Ohio State 5.5

Round 1 upsets: 125 17 Ungar over 16 Peterson 28 Sotelo over 5 Volk 20 Poulin over 13 Surtin 133 24 Chlebove over 9 Serrano 21 Oakley over 12 Latona 22 Zaccone over 11 Romney 23 Yarbrough over 10 Nagao 141 17 Powe over 16 Chappell 21 Edmond over 12 Henson 20 Crook over 13 Titus 26 Vombaur over 7 Happel 23 Fangaro over 10 Jamison 149 17 Rooks over 16 Griffin 21 McDougald over 12 Miller 20 Williams over 13 Rathjen 22 Willochell over 11 Kinner 26 Abas over 7 Kasak 18 Bond over 15 Munson 157 19 Askey over 14 Chittum 165 20 Garvin over 13 Bianchi 22 Mulvaney over 11 Cerniglia 174 28 Simma over 5 Conigliaro 21 Eischens over 12 Kennedy 19 Cramer over 14 Sax 18 Pasiuk over 15 Gaitan 184 17 Feldkamp over 16 Dugan 24 Liegel over 9 Berge 25 Key over 8 Wolf 19 Conway over 14 Foca 23 Malczewski over 10 Fishback 18 Rogotzke over 15 Heller 197 17 Novak over 16 Stout 20 Bockman over 13 Hopkins 22 Joles over 11 Smith 26 Smith over 7 Glazier 18 Stemmet over 15 Shaw 285 17 Greiss over 16 Day 25 Hill over 8 Trephan 19 Crosby over 14 McDermott

Pts . Max. If seeds hold. Rd. 2. Conso. Team Standings Team Points Maximum Potential Points If Seeds Hold # Round 2 # QF # Consi # Cons 2 Penn State 15.5 285.5 133.5 8 0 2 0 Nebraska 14 257 56.5 8 0 1 0 Michigan 13.5 256.5 51 8 0 1 0 Iowa State 13 256 60.5 6 0 3 0 Ohio State 12.5 255.5 44.5 6 0 3 0 Virginia Tech 11.5 281.5 50.5 7 0 3 0 Cornell 11 254 54.5 7 0 2 0 North Carolina State 11 281 83 6 0 4 0 Iowa 10.5 253.5 47.5 6 0 3 0 Oklahoma State 10 280 56.5 7 0 3 0 Missouri 9 279 43.5 5 0 5 0 Arizona State 8 224 50.5 6 0 2 0 Wisconsin 8 143 24.5 3 0 2 0 Rutgers 7 223 21 5 0 3 0 Stanford 7 142 15 5 0 0 0 Lehigh 6.5 225 64 4 0 4 0 South Dakota State 6.5 222.5 35.5 3 0 5 0 Northern Iowa 6 195 37 3 0 4 0 Appalachian State 5 142.5 6 4 0 1 0 Minnesota 5 275 22.5 5 0 5 0 West Virginia 5 140 18 2 0 3 0 Oklahoma 4.5 139.5 11 3 0 2 0 Air Force 4 85 18 2 0 1 0 Columbia 4 114.5 10.5 2 0 2 0 Indiana 4 168.5 6.5 3 0 3 0 Little Rock 3.5 138.5 10.5 2 0 3 0 North Carolina 3.5 138.5 14 2 0 3 0 Bucknell 3 140.5 5 3 0 2 0 Campbell 3 165 10 3 0 3 0 Central Michigan 3 84 4.5 1 0 2 0 Navy 3 138 6.5 3 0 2 0 Virginia 3 113.5 4.5 2 0 2 0 Wyoming 3 84 12.5 2 0 1 0 Oregon State 2.5 137.5 14.5 1 0 4 0 Binghamton 2 110 11.5 2 0 2 0 Cal Poly 2 137 9 2 0 3 0 Michigan State 2 137 3.5 1 0 4 0 Ohio 2 85.5 7.5 2 0 1 0 Army 1 163 3 1 0 5 0 Chattanooga 1 55 2.5 1 0 1 0 Franklin & Marshall 1 57.5 1.5 1 0 1 0 Harvard 1 82 10.5 1 0 2 0 Illinois 1 82 14.5 1 0 2 0 Lock Haven 1 82 2.5 1 0 2 0 Long Island 1 28 1 0 0 1 0 Northern Colorado 1 82 3 1 0 2 0 Northwestern 1 82 1 0 0 3 0 Penn 1 219.5 8 1 0 7 0 Purdue 1 138.5 13.5 1 0 4 0 Utah Valley 1 28 1 1 0 0 0 VMI 1 28 1 0 0 1 0 American 0 27 0 0 0 1 0 Brown 0 29.5 0 0 0 1 0 Buffalo 0 59 0.5 0 0 2 0 Cal Baptist 0 59 1 0 0 2 0 Clarion 0 27 0 0 0 1 0 Cleveland State 0 54 0.5 0 0 2 0 Gardner Webb 0 54 0 0 0 2 0 George Mason 0 83.5 1 0 0 3 0 Hofstra 0 27 0 0 0 1 0 Maryland 0 137.5 4 0 0 5 0 North Dakota State 0 27 0.5 0 0 1 0 Northern Illinois 0 56.5 0 0 0 2 0 Pittsburgh 0 189 3.5 0 0 7 0 Princeton 0 81 3 0 0 3 0 Rider 0 137.5 2.5 0 0 5 0 SIUE 0 27 1 0 0 1 0 The Citadel 0 29.5 0 0 0 1 0 Note: Teams in RED have been mathematically eliminated from the team title race.

5 out of the 8 PSU guys who won got tech falls. What are you talking about?