SocraTease

Lee has a few things that he does extremely well. He was also apparently gifted with super hand and arm strength. But in my opinion at least and compared to other very elite wrestlers, he does not seem to regularly display the range and diversity of skills or moves that make him so interesting to watch aesthetically or athletically. His game plan and path to victory are pretty predictable and well known, and few wrestlers can stop or delay it. But he is still pretty predictable. He's clearly a great wrestler, but he's also been put on his back a number of times, pinned once, ridden heavily a few times, and often runs out of gas in the third period throughout his career when the match goes that far. Has that happened to Cael or Dake or the best of the 3-timers (Ruth, Nickal, Nolf, etc.) who wrestled many more matches in their careers? I think it is also reasonable to say that it is easier to dominate at lower weights when others outgrow the lowest weight and you do not. When you ascend in weight, I suspect you are typically dealing with more upperclassmen on a regular basis and more mature bodies. Compared to the innovation, creativity, technical skills, or stylistic flamboyance (for lack of a better phrase) of a number of other wrestlers in folkstyle (as well as freestyle), I just don't find his wrestling that interesting to watch. It's clearly successful; it works; and he wins. No doubt about that. That, of course, matters and in the ends matters most to many, but we all have our favorite wrestlers to follow, and he simply isn't in the top few for me. The GOAT of Iowa from PA ... well maybe but not the American GOAT in folkstyle ... not yet and not even if he wins his fourth.

Maybe ... but he was staring at the lights in the ceiling for a while today after being taken down two slick times in a row. And, if Ramos, had fastened his hold a bit tighter, there could easily be a thread entitled "I Enjoyed the Spencer Lee Era" followed by a removal of Lee from the Hodge Watch list. Yes, I know it's a counterfactual "if" but it was a decided whiff of a possible "if". If you lean in closely, you can hear an inspired Pat Glory doing push ups in his basement all night

Jordan thinks the recent incident was simply a guy going for a takedown: https://news.yahoo.com/jim-jordan-offers-unreal-defense-175527659.html

After taking Lee down, Ramos threw Lee for a 6 point move and was very close to the pin. He was up 8-1 but Lee came back. Lee is definitely vulnerable if a #9 guy can do that. Maybe Glory can take him out

Ramos takes down Spencer Lee, then throws him for a 6 point move and was very, very close to pinning him. Lee comes back and pins Ramos. Crazy start to the dual. edit: whoops, wrong location for this

I'm surprised Gym Jordan didn't get in on the wrestling action on the floor of Congress ... though, on second thought, he apparently enjoys being a voyeur more. The most famous incident of aggression in Congress, of course, is the caning of Sumner in the Senate chamber (1856). If they had gone to a 16th vote last week for the Speaker, maybe we would have seen something like this happen to Matt Gaetz.

Breaking News: Illinois (and also Penn State) will need to cross the dreaded River of Melted Butter to take on Wisconsin this weekend. Both teams are currently consulting Willy Wonka for navigation advice since the viscosity of his River of Chocolate is apparently similar. Carl Sanderson was also speaking with Christian Pyles, who reportedly now "has a plan" for the team to fjord the river. Full story below: River of melted butter blocks Wisconsin waterway after fire at dairy plant Firefighters describe struggling through butter ‘three inches thick’ on steps as they battled blaze at factory https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/jan/05/butter-wisconsin-dairy-plant-canal-melted

Over on the Penn State boards, they are spinning the loss as a positive and trying to make wine out of, well, lemons. It's like the cult around a famous Orange figure. Nothing prevents true believers from perceiving a world they desire. They see what they seek. They also think that the Byers is the greatest wrestling announcer alive. He's not only a terrible Homer; he simply does not know wrestling very well (moves, positions, technique, and the nuances of the sport); he often can't properly pronounce opponents names; and when he has announced freestyle matches, it is far, far beyond an embarrassment. But, hey, he gets excited for a Penn State win so that's what counts right?

And please, no one write "wrestling" . . . for whatever this "professional" activity is. It derailed into a circus, a sideshow, a theatre of the absurd, a clown car out of control. And they are ... um ... now milking (!) it for whatever it is worth to people who likely don't appreciate actual sports Oh America. Oh crazy performance kitsch.

Seth Gross seems to be the new "Funky for Freestyle" guy. Like his predecessors, Ben Askren, Wade Schalles and (way back) Rick Sanders, he is totally unorthodox and very unpredictable. He looks like an easy pushover, a kind of wispy reed or JV wrestler about to get shredded, but his style confounds many opponents. Even his red shoes are rather funky. I'm curious to see how RBY (and others like Fix) might wrestle him this year in freestyle.

The LARGE COLORFUL font for Oregon State overwhelms the tiny black and white font of Penn State .... but I fear the actual match might go the other way.

Valencia looks very good. Tech-ed 2 guys in a total of 2 minutes

Suriano looked solid, as did Richards at 57 KG. Wins 6-3 on 2 TDs and a lace

Suriano, Pantaleo and Nolf making debuts. Not sure about other weights. Yianni still in the lineup

Yes, finally about to start on Mat A

How about just using ankle bands instead of the delay. How far away is the hotel? In Chicago?

I picture wrestlers rooting through their laundry in messy hotel rooms. And probably having to chase it down via the Hotel staff because it is being washed or (oddly) ironed

Delay in the US vs. Georgia match because the US team has to go back to the hotel to change the color of their singlets. Ach.

Something was changed in the schedule but FLO did not themselves keep us apprised of the change

Are the men up at the World Cup at 7 pm or 7:30 PM (EST) Flo's schedule has them at 7 PM but I'm seeing nothing

1. Kerk is now #1 at 285 2. PSU has only needed 7 or 8 scoring wrestlers at NCAAs in recent seasons. 3. The transfer portal is still open at 125. 4. If you return 4 National Champs and #1 ranked guy who finished 4th last year, you are still the favorite to win 5. PSU has a proven track record of meeting or exceeding expectations at Nationals. 6. Iowa has a recent track record of underperforming at Nationals 7. Cael ("Carl")

O'Toole also survived a very close match against West Virginia.

Taken out in the semis by Kendell Coleman. Put to his back for a six point move and then gives up a late TD. Another #1 loses this weekend. Correction: I guess he is now ranked #2 or #3 in some of the polls.

I only saw the last period and a half, but Schultz looked lethargic, spent, and far, far from a number 1 ranked wrestler. Kudos to Nevills for getting after it. Schultz should never again be ranked #1 after that performance regardless of what happens to guys in the Big Ten, who deserve to be top three: Kerk, Parris, and Cassiopi.

Loses to A J Nevills in the quarters. 5-2 I think