SocraTease

Well, I will try to keep this as non-controversial as I can and stick to facts: 1. He is not the current President 2. By any reasonable account, he is an extremely divisive and controversial figure. 3. It can easily distract from the mat action. 4. It can pose security risks. 5. He is widely known for making things about himself. 6. By his own account (as well as journalistic reports), he is about to to be arrested (indicted) next Tuesday, and he has called publicly for protests. Do you want to see protests (or worse) break out in the arena when wrestlers (their families, friends, fans) have spent much of their entire life preparing for this evening and moment?

Apparently, a(n) (in)famous celebrity will be in the house tonight. Wrestling doesn't need this distraction. https://tulsaworld.com/news/local/trump-to-attend-ncaa-wrestling-tournament-as-guest-of-mullin/article_30f9a914-c45a-11ed-8dc1-d36da706da16.html

Van Ness really found his game and confidence at NCAAs. Peaked at the right time. Finishes 3rd after a 12th seeding. Won 5 matches (including high quality victories over Parko, Paniero Johnson, and Henson). He gave Yianni all he could handle for 6 minutes and was leading him into the last minute. He will likely be ranked first or second at the start of next season (not sure of everyone who returns at this point). Beau Bartlett also had a great tournament. Finished 3rd after being seeded 6th. 5-1 in the tourney.

The University of Iowa released the following statement this morning about 125 pounder Spencer Lee. “It has been a long road of a recovery for Spencer Lee. He will medically forfeit out of the 2023 NCAA Wrestling Championships today in Tulsa.” Spencer suffered an upset loss in the semifinal round against Matt Ramos of Purdue. Spencer will finish in 6th place in his final NCAA tournament.

Lee will still go down as the Greatest First Period Wrestler in History.

The Ramos "Era" is currently only about 7 minutes long. In order for him to get his proverbial 15 minutes of fame, he has to win in OT against Glory, who will likely be weighing about 145 pounds Saturday night. Ramos is currently visualizing his Glory and planning to manifest his victory tomorrow. Quint "Q" Elroy Kessenich will be asking him about it in less than 20 hours. Stay tuned.

Maybe Sadulaev wants to get out of Russia in order to wrestle again and before being drafted by Vladimir. Marinelli's wife could set him up with a pious Iowa lass, and he could be a wrestler-coach for the Hawkeyes.

Road Warriors all.

I'm not interested in partaking of the bet myself, but a fitting signature in response might be: "I really enjoyed the Spencer Lee Era". It's certainly better than "I really enjoyed the Robert E. Lee Era."

Indeed. In fact, they garnered the second most All Americans. It's just that Iowa fans and wrestlers aren't too keen on 2nd place finishes, especially distant seconds.

The only guy who gets to the finals for Iowa is a transfer mostly trained elsewhere, who doesn't wrestle "Iowa style". That might be a key data point and wake up call. Okie State might even have more soul searching to do, however. Only 2 guys made it to Saturday and none in the finals.

Yes, it's gone viral, like it or not: https://thecomeback.com/ncaa/iowa-wrestling-spencer-lee-mom-broken-glasses.html

Not quite as dramatic but equally unexpected given that it occurred before the finals. I watched the PA State finals when Lee lost to DeSanto, denying Lee four undefeated titles. That was the high school equivalent of Gable vs. Owings. DeSanto was on a vision quest.

Standings at the end of Day 2: Team Standings Team Points Maximum Potential Points # F # Cons Semi # 3rd-4th # 5th-6th # 7th-8th Penn State 116.5 166.5 5 2 1 Iowa 77 125.5 1 5 Cornell 64 87.5 2 1 1 Ohio State 62 91 1 2 2 Missouri 55 84 1 2 2 Michigan 51 68.5 1 1 1 Nebraska 51 82.5 1 3 Iowa State 44 58.5 1 1 North Carolina State 41.5 61.5 2 1 Virginia Tech 40.5 66.5 2 3 Arizona State 37.5 66 3 1 North Carolina 35.5 53 1 1 1 South Dakota State 34 48.5 1 1 Minnesota 29.5 41 1 1 Northern Iowa 29 35 1 Princeton 29 43.5 1 1 Wisconsin 29 40.5 1 1 Purdue 27 36 1 1 Oklahoma State 25 42 2 Northwestern 23.5 32 1 Northern Colorado 23 29 1 Pittsburgh 23 29 1 Lehigh 22.5 31 1 North Dakota State 21 32.5 1 1 Air Force 20 28.5 1 Stanford 17 25.5 1 Oregon State 15 23.5 1 Cal Poly 14 22.5 1 Clarion 12.5 15.5 1 Illinois 11 11 Penn 9.5 9.5 Lock Haven 9 17.5 1 Rider 9 17.5 1 Rutgers 8 8 West Virginia 8 11 1 Columbia 7.5 7.5 Maryland 7.5 7.5 Northern Illinois 7.5 10.5 1 Indiana 7 7 Michigan State 6 6 Oklahoma 6 6 Utah Valley 6 6 Drexel 4.5 4.5 Campbell 4 4 Chattanooga 4 4 Harvard 4 4 SIUE 3 3 American 2.5 2.5 Virginia 2.5 2.5 Binghamton 2 2 Navy 2 2 Wyoming 2 2 Appalachian State 1 1 Cal State Bakersfield 1 1 Central Michigan 1 1 Army 0.5 0.5 Buffalo 0.5 0.5 Duke 0.5 0.5 Gardner Webb 0.5 0.5 George Mason 0.5 0.5 Bloomsburg 0 0 Bucknell 0 0 Edinboro 0 0 Hofstra 0 0 Kent State 0 0 Ohio 0 0 Note: Teams in RED have been mathematically eliminated from the team title race.

And then there were two: Team Standings Team Points Maximum Potential Points # SF # F # Cons 4 (Rd of 12) # Cons 5 (All Amer.) # Cons Semi # 7th-8th Penn State 109.5 179.5 7 4 1 1 2 Iowa 73.5 134 3 1 3 3 3 Cornell 64 98.5 3 2 3 1 1 Ohio State 57.5 103 1 1 6 4 1 1 Missouri 51.5 92.5 2 1 4 3 2 Nebraska 51 82.5 4 1 1 3 Michigan 42.5 69 2 3 1 1 1 North Carolina State 41.5 61.5 1 3 2 2 1 Virginia Tech 40.5 66.5 1 5 4 2 3 Iowa State 38.5 58.5 1 1 4 1 Arizona State 37.5 77 2 2 2 3 North Carolina 35.5 64 1 1 2 2 1 Minnesota 29.5 41 4 2 1 1 Northern Iowa 29 35 1 1 2 Princeton 29 43.5 2 1 1 Wisconsin 29 51.5 3 2 1 Purdue 27 36 1 1 1 1 1 South Dakota State 27 50.5 1 3 1 1 Northern Colorado 23 29 1 1 2 Lehigh 22.5 31 1 2 1 Oklahoma State 21.5 44 1 1 1 1 North Dakota State 21 32.5 2 2 1 1 Air Force 20 35 1 Northwestern 20 34 2 1 Stanford 17 25.5 2 1 1 Pittsburgh 16 31 1 2 Oregon State 15 23.5 1 1 Clarion 12.5 26.5 1 1 Illinois 11 11 3 Cal Poly 10.5 24.5 1 1 Penn 9.5 9.5 Lock Haven 9 17.5 1 1 1 Rider 9 24 1 Rutgers 8 8 1 West Virginia 8 11 1 1 1 Columbia 7.5 7.5 Maryland 7.5 7.5 1 Northern Illinois 7.5 10.5 1 1 1 Indiana 7 7 1 Michigan State 6 6 2 Oklahoma 6 6 Utah Valley 6 6 1 Drexel 4.5 4.5 1 Campbell 4 4 Chattanooga 4 4 Harvard 4 4 1 SIUE 3 3 1 American 2.5 2.5 Virginia 2.5 2.5 Binghamton 2 2 Navy 2 2 Wyoming 2 2 Appalachian State 1 1 Cal State Bakersfield 1 1 Central Michigan 1 1 Army 0.5 0.5 Buffalo 0.5 0.5 Duke 0.5 0.5 Gardner Webb 0.5 0.5 George Mason 0.5 0.5 Bloomsburg 0 0 Bucknell 0 0 Edinboro 0 0 Hofstra 0 0 Kent State 0 0 Ohio 0 0 Note: Teams in RED have been mathematically eliminated from the team title race.

Freud would have a field day with Lee's mother's reaction: she not only can't believe what she saw, she may not want to see clearly again.

It's interesting that Penn State's lightweights have done better (all 4 in the semis) than their vaunted upper weights (3 in semis; one out; one in round of 12). Who would have predicted that?

I thought it was called a dog bone configuration.

Another angle:

Looks pretty flat to me. In any case, Haines would likely have either continued to get a more clear fall; or won by 4 points or more (since he was building ride time):

Home field disadvantage

Team Standings Team Points Maximum Potential Points # SF # F # Cons 4 (Rd of 12) # Cons 5 (All Amer.) # Cons Semi # 7th-8th Penn State 78 202.5 7 1 Iowa 48 151.5 3 3 Cornell 45.5 149 3 3 Nebraska 44 123.5 4 1 Michigan 39 127.5 2 3 Missouri 34 142 2 4 Ohio State 31 163 1 6 North Carolina State 29 102.5 1 3 Iowa State 28 121 1 4 Arizona State 27 96 2 2 Lehigh 22.5 76.5 1 2 Northern Iowa 22 76 1 2 Princeton 22 52 2 South Dakota State 21 94.5 1 3 Virginia Tech 21 133.5 1 5 Air Force 20 35 1 Northwestern 18.5 57.5 2 Minnesota 18 96 4 North Carolina 18 72 1 2 Oklahoma State 18 52.5 1 1 Wisconsin 17.5 76 3 Northern Colorado 16 70 1 2 Pittsburgh 16 70 1 2 Oregon State 13.5 28.5 1 Purdue 12.5 47 1 1 Illinois 11 69.5 3 North Dakota State 10.5 49.5 2 Stanford 10 49 2 Penn 9.5 9.5 Clarion 9 28.5 1 Rider 9 24 1 Rutgers 8 27.5 1 Columbia 7.5 7.5 Maryland 7.5 27 1 Cal Poly 7 26.5 1 Indiana 7 26.5 1 Michigan State 6 45 2 Oklahoma 6 6 Utah Valley 6 25.5 1 Drexel 4.5 24 1 West Virginia 4.5 24 1 Campbell 4 4 Chattanooga 4 4 Harvard 4 23.5 1 Northern Illinois 4 23.5 1 SIUE 3 22.5 1 American 2.5 2.5 Virginia 2.5 2.5 Binghamton 2 2 Lock Haven 2 21.5 1 Navy 2 2 Wyoming 2 2 Appalachian State 1 1 Cal State Bakersfield 1 1 Central Michigan 1 1 Army 0.5 0.5 Buffalo 0.5 0.5 Duke 0.5 0.5 Gardner Webb 0.5 0.5 George Mason 0.5 0.5 Bloomsburg 0 0 Bucknell 0 0 Edinboro 0 0 Hofstra 0 0 Kent State 0 0 Ohio 0 0 Note: Teams in RED have been mathematically eliminated from the team title race.

Team Standings Team Points Maximum Potential Points # QF # SF # Cons 2 # Cons 3 # Cons 4 (Rd of 12) Penn State 63 210.5 7 5 1 Nebraska 43.5 176.5 5 4 2 Cornell 41 157 3 3 4 1 Iowa 38 202 5 2 5 1 2 Michigan 27.5 198.5 3 1 5 4 1 Arizona State 27 100.5 4 2 1 Ohio State 27 225 3 1 6 3 1 Missouri 26.5 194.5 6 1 3 1 3 Iowa State 25.5 179.5 2 1 6 3 Princeton 22 52 2 2 Virginia Tech 20.5 164.5 5 1 3 1 3 North Carolina State 20 178.5 2 6 3 1 Lehigh 17.5 128 1 1 4 1 Minnesota 17.5 124.5 3 4 2 2 Oklahoma State 17.5 147.5 2 1 5 1 1 North Carolina 17 100.5 2 1 3 1 Northwestern 17 153.5 2 6 2 1 Wisconsin 17 104.5 2 3 2 1 Northern Colorado 14 73 1 1 2 2 Purdue 12.5 47 2 1 1 1 Air Force 12 58 1 2 1 Northern Iowa 12 129 1 6 2 South Dakota State 11.5 153 1 5 2 Illinois 10 78 2 2 1 North Dakota State 10 100.5 1 3 1 1 Stanford 10 98 2 3 2 Penn 9.5 78 4 2 Pittsburgh 8 122.5 2 3 1 1 Columbia 7.5 76 5 2 Maryland 7.5 56 1 4 Cal Poly 7 53 1 1 1 Clarion 6 55 2 Indiana 5.5 74 1 3 1 Michigan State 5.5 71.5 1 2 1 1 Oklahoma 5.5 54.5 5 Oregon State 5.5 78.5 1 4 Rutgers 5 51.5 3 1 West Virginia 4.5 73 1 3 1 Campbell 4 53 3 Chattanooga 4 50.5 2 1 Drexel 3.5 52.5 2 Utah Valley 3 52 2 American 2.5 2.5 1 Harvard 2.5 51.5 2 Virginia 2.5 49 2 1 Lock Haven 2 21.5 1 1 Navy 2 75.5 3 Rider 2 26 1 SIUE 2 26.5 3 Wyoming 2 2 2 Binghamton 1.5 26 1 Appalachian State 1 1 Cal State Bakersfield 1 1 1 Central Michigan 1 25.5 2 Northern Illinois 1 25.5 1 Army 0.5 25 1 Buffalo 0.5 25 1 Duke 0.5 25 1 Gardner Webb 0.5 0.5 George Mason 0.5 0.5 1 Bloomsburg 0 0 Bucknell 0 0 Edinboro 0 0 Hofstra 0 0 Kent State 0 0 Ohio 0 0 Note: Teams in RED have been mathematically eliminated from the team title race.

Team Standings Team Points Maximum Potential Points # QF # SF # Cons 2 # Cons 3 # Cons 4 (Rd of 12) Penn State 56 212.5 7 4 1 Iowa 37.5 233 5 2 5 1 Nebraska 36.5 178.5 5 3 2 Cornell 32 157 3 2 4 1 Arizona State 27 100.5 4 2 1 Ohio State 25.5 230.5 3 1 6 2 Michigan 20.5 200.5 3 5 4 1 Iowa State 18.5 181.5 2 6 3 Lehigh 17.5 128 1 1 4 1 Minnesota 17.5 153.5 3 4 2 1 Missouri 17.5 201.5 6 3 2 North Carolina State 17.5 178.5 2 6 2 1 Oklahoma State 17.5 176.5 2 1 5 1 North Carolina 17 100.5 2 1 3 1 Wisconsin 17 109 2 3 2 Princeton 15 54 2 1 Northwestern 14.5 153.5 2 6 1 1 Northern Colorado 14 73 1 1 2 2 Virginia Tech 13.5 166.5 5 3 1 3 Purdue 12.5 71.5 2 1 1 1 Air Force 12 58 1 2 1 Northern Iowa 12 129 1 6 2 South Dakota State 11 155 1 5 1 Illinois 10 102.5 2 2 1 Stanford 10 102.5 2 3 1 North Dakota State 9.5 78 1 3 1 Penn 9.5 78 4 2 Pittsburgh 8 122.5 2 3 1 1 Columbia 7.5 100.5 5 2 Maryland 7.5 56 1 4 Cal Poly 7 53 1 1 1 Clarion 6 55 2 Indiana 5.5 98.5 1 3 1 Oklahoma 5.5 54.5 5 Oregon State 5.5 103 1 4 Michigan State 5 78 1 2 Rutgers 5 51.5 3 1 West Virginia 4.5 73 1 3 1 Campbell 4 53 3 Chattanooga 4 50.5 2 1 Drexel 3.5 52.5 2 Utah Valley 3 52 2 American 2.5 2.5 1 Harvard 2.5 51.5 2 Lock Haven 2 21.5 1 1 Navy 2 75.5 3 Rider 2 26 1 SIUE 2 26.5 3 Virginia 2 51 2 Wyoming 2 26.5 2 Binghamton 1.5 26 1 Appalachian State 1 1 Cal State Bakersfield 1 1 1 Central Michigan 1 25.5 2 Northern Illinois 1 25.5 1 Army 0.5 25 1 Buffalo 0.5 25 1 Duke 0.5 25 1 Gardner Webb 0.5 0.5 George Mason 0.5 25 1 Bloomsburg 0 0 Bucknell 0 0 Edinboro 0 0 Hofstra 0 0 Kent State 0 0 Ohio 0 0 Note: Teams in RED have been mathematically eliminated from the team title race.