alex1fly

Thanks for sharing this story and finding the match! Wow what a battle

$20 fine for disingenuous posts on Intermat. Dang, I owe $20! In all seriousness with some of the money these kids are getting, it makes some sense. Though most NIL recipients are not making very much.

Has Keckeisen done any senior/international level wrestling? I couldn't find anything. I wonder what his post-grad plans are.

I would bet that Joe Rogan works out with kettlebells only in the same way that Aaron Brooks doesn't lift.

Watched Cael wrestle several matches in person. We marveled at how he was always multiple steps ahead of his opponent. In general there wasn’t much talk about wrestlers beyond matches and rankings. So not much lore so to speak, at least in my circles.

“I don’t lift, I do strength training with weights. Big diff”

Same playbook! controversial title then zero engagement in their own thread. Classic lol

I don’t think Putin wants to take over Europe. However nothing I saw in Trumps first term makes me think Trump can gracefully navigate an incredibly complex geopolitical situation like the Ukraine war beyond blustering and taking credit. I do feel for the Russian athletes. They don’t really get a say over their destinies. We’ll see what their Friendship Games have to offer after the Olympics.

No asterisk. It’s competition. You compete against who shows up. Maybe Russia gets banned. Maybe the top guy gets the flu. No asterisk either way.

Do know it’s far more complicated than that. Espo left and we were shocked. Then Coleman came in and we were so stoked. The improvement and energy was apparent. He was all in. The athletes seemed jazzed. We started to look like the OSU of old again. Then John retired, which we knew would happen eventually but didn’t know when until the announcement. Then Coleman lost the job to a literal GOAT of American wrestling. So yes, sad for Coleman because we were excited to have him take over. But also excited to have David Taylor come in. So if you want to push a narrative that’s fine but recognize that it’s complex for anybody that follows the program even when it’s not making headlines. It’s been a roller coaster and every OSU fan I know is still making sense of it which will probably take several years of actual wrestling.

I’ll go start knocking on doors. Worth it in this heat.

“I interviewed for a job and didn’t get it. They screwed me” is not the mentality of an Olympic medalist. Or probably any wrestler for that matter. IMO. Betcha his family doesn’t want to move again so soon and there’s no D1 openings nearby.

We’ll likely never know what happened behind the scenes at OSU. Theyve been tight lipped about the whole fiasco. Maybe former staff will shine some light one day but maybe not. It would be interesting to see if AJ would sacrifice his social media in order to wrestle. I’m just listing things I think would actually help the young man grow as a person. Of course they won’t happen though.

Exactly. Most people aren't experienced with wrestling or combat. And many of those that are into combat prefer striking. Plus with swimming you know what you're getting - people racing in the pool. With wrestling it could be exciting or boring, there could be throws or pins or stalling. Same with gymnastics - most people haven't done it, but you know what you're getting. It's easy to absorb for the casual viewer. If Olympic wrestling included some kind of exhibition event where the athletes demonstrate certain moves, that could actually bring in the casual viewer. That's exactly what swimming and gymnastics are doing - demonstrating the sport. There's so many cool moves in wrestling that are hard to pull off, and so a wrestling match may or may not demonstrate anything interesting.

It's just a lot for a coach to take on. The dad will meddle, the middle brother has committed multiple violent crimes, the sister messed around with AJs teammate and caused a blow-up, AJ comes across as 100% narcissism & 0% self-awareness, and it'll all be posted on social media. And for what, a potential All American finish at 197? If I were bringing him in I'd suspend his social media use and have him volunteer and attend weekly counseling. Get his head out of the clouds. Or maybe I'd bring him in to intentionally blow up my program lol