whaletail

? BTW, I apologize for claiming your pork/fraud conflation is either dumb or disingenuous. It may be one of those two, but since some extreme examples of pork spending surely are basic fraud, the distinction can sometimes may seem semantic. But pork spending is a direct consequence of our quid pro quo legislative process, and only the most austere of fiscal conservatives would consider such spending to be universally wasteful (let alone fraud). We'd probably all agree that "hiding" so much spending in otherwise unrelated legislation is unfortunate (and probably inefficient as well), but until our legislative process is fundamentally revised, very few bills will get through the House and Senate without the inclusion of pork incentives.

Since it sounds like you were at least familiar with her prior to the documentary release, do you know anything about it's backstory? Notably, how it was financed, and how did such a complete nobody - whose story isn't even interesting*, come to the attention of such a seemingly 'high end' film crew? * beyond true crime fans' potential interest in her mother's murder, and how long Eve was subsequently alone with her body.

If Evans' allegations are correct, the NGO is almost certainly committing fraud. The initial contract may have been pork, but that's an entirely separate discussion. More broadly, whether Scouts Honor is being disingenuously obtuse, or just isn't too bright, I don't know, but jesus christ are these threads revealing. Whether its Vak Attack, Uncle Bernard or Scourge pulling the trigger, every one is as one-sided as shooting fish in a barrel. And if Socra-tease or Billy Hoyle ever enter the fray, wow, this place'll be an abattoir.

I'm only 15 minutes in, but I'd love to hear the thoughts of a non-wrestler (or someone completely unfamiliar with the sport). Would they recognize the absurdity of her goal/journey etc., or view her as a legitimate participant (an underdog, but someone who's at least prepared enough to win a few matches)? Would they realize her story wasn't really worth telling (at least not her wrestling story)? That she hadn't earned the opportunity to scrap with a wrestler like Mallory Velte, and even further, that her "holding her own" would actually have devalued the sport itself. I'm also curious how this came about. Did she finance it, and hire a film crew etc., or did someone actually meet her and decide her story was worth telling? Because as uninteresting as her wrestling "journey" really is, the film crew is clearly very competent. At a glance, this was as well made a documentary as any I've seen. In fact, the early U.S. Open wrestling sequences were incredible. From the camera angles to the sound mix, I'm not sure I've ever seen wrestling appear so viscerally violent. Finally, Eve herself is much less delusional than I expected. She doesn't pretend to be better than she is (at least not in the 15 minutes I've seen), nor does she seem to think she's better than she is. She seems to know she's going to get steamrolled at the Open, and even mentions she's only going because she couldn't find an online fight or submission grappling opponent that weekend.

Considering Fox News has become America's mainstream media, I agree. Well, I'm not sure their anchors outright lie, but their opinion hosts (Hannity et al.) absolutely do (see Dominion v. Fox News for details). And both their news anchors and op ed hosts aggressively promote right wing talking points, without any real attempt to be "fair and balanced". MSNBC seems pretty left wing, but IMO they're nowhere near as partisan as Fox News. If you can point me to research etc. that suggests otherwise, I'll certainly read it. I'm sure most reporters probably do lean left, but also bend over backwards to appear unbiased. Which is how we end up with the NYT mentioning Biden's age in a negative context much more often than Trump's age, propensity to babble, and even his constant dishonesty. But if you don't realize that Fox News has become America's mainstream media, just look at their market share. Edit: BTW, who has lied on this airplane issue, and how? And are you seriously claiming to suddenly believe an administration that has told two or three different stories about this plane since the story broke? When Pam Biondi claims Abrego Gracia is an MS-13 gang member, without any evidence at all, do you believe her? Do you believe her claims that the 2020 election was stolen, despite all 64 court cases being thrown out? Trump's been gloating about owning this airplane from the beginning, and the admin has been trying to craft a narrative that somehow reconciles his claims with American law.

As thoughtful as you are regarding wrestling news, how can you possibly follow this story and conclude its fake news? From a broader perspective, how can you possibly view Trump - and the entirety of the GOP - as anything but an incompetent, corrupt, and yes - fascist dumpster fire? Admittedly, the Dems haven't done much to help themselves, and the unfolding story about Biden's decision to run for re-election while his mind was precipitously declining is devastating. That Democratic insiders actively tried to cover it up makes it even worse. Their ethics, and competence leaves much to be desired, and Biden - who actually appears to have been an excellent President, will die with his legacy in tatters. And yeah, wokeism can sometimes get annoying. When the Dems want to show solidarity with displaced Indians by holding pow-wows in the Capitol building to lament the theft of Indian lands, with zero interest in giving back said land, all you can do is roll your eyes. But at its core, beyond all the theatrics, woke only means one thing. A recognition that the world is unfair (and I guess the belief that government should function to improve the lives of the governed). But to view Trump - and the current GOP - in anything remotely resembling a favorable light, you have to somehow explain away the following (just off the top of my head): - The Trump University con that emphatically exposed his corruption back in 2015-16. TU was found civilly liable for, I think fraud and misrepresentation, etc., and while Trump was not running the place, I'm pretty sure he was shown to have been well aware of their business practices, and directly profited from them. - His repeated business failures; from impulsively, repeatedly overspending on real estate (after the NYT obtained his tax returns from Mary Trump, they eventually published a 2018 article detailing his father's repeated bailouts, his own tax shenanigans, his business failings etc. The article authors eventually published the book Lucky Loser last year, and unsurprisingly, Trump has yet to file a defamation suit) - statements from dozens of top officials from his first administration, detailing everything from his inability to read briefings longer than a paragraph, waking up at noon to watch Fox News all day, frequent tantrums when under any duress at all, complete unfamiliarity with how government functions, inability to keep from sharing sensitive, often classified info with others w/o security clearance, to how easily influenced he was by whatever that last person to speak with him said (the prime example being his first term China tariffs, and how they arose). - his unsubstantiated claims about the 2020 election, which were thrown out by 64 separate courts (the majority of which were right wing, many with Trump appointees). Not a single court validated any of his claims. - the revelation that SCOTUS justices Clarence Thomas and Sam Alito had each accepted millions of dollars worth of gifts and luxury vacations from right wing business owners, many of whom had claims before the court, and all of whom had significant interest in maintaining influence with the court. Alito even had the gall to try and head off the news by writing a Washington Post editorial in which he argued that he didn't realize he needed to disclose such gifts, while also excoriating the public for attacking his integrity and not giving him the benefit of the doubt. - Meanwhile, an upside American flag - which represents the claim that the 2020 election was stolen - flew at Alito's home for months. He claims it was his wife's doing, and that he didn't know about it. Multiple witnesses - including his own friends and neighbors - dispute this. - Despite a Congressional subpoena, both justices refused to testify before lawmakers, and Chief Justice John Roberts refused to amend any of the court's related ethics rules. - Trump's refusal to debate on 60 Minutes with fact checkers present, after every major news organization (including Fox News I think) noted his complete dishonesty during the first debate. - While I'll admit most journalists are probably left leaning, they bend over backwards to appear unbiased. So much so that, for example, the NYT mentioned Biden's age and cognitive issues nearly twice as often as Trump's age, dishonesty, and propensity to aimlessly babble when answering questions. Meanwhile, Fox News, which has become the mainstream media, and is anything but unbiased. Documents revealed during the Dimension defamation suit showed network hosts - both editorial and news anchors - constantly agitating on-air about the election being stolen, while interoffice emails revealed they knew very well the election hadn't been stolen at all. - The entire January 6th debacle, which sure appeared to be an attempted violent insurrection to me (and everybody else trapped in the building at the time, GOP members of Congress included), and the subsequent pardoning of every single individual involved. I'm now worn out, but if needs must, I'll continue adding to the list tomorrow. Mind, I haven't even gotten past the 2020 election, and the above is just off the top of my head. I'm genuinely curious how anyone can even begin to dismiss any single one the above issues, let alone all of them, as fake news.

Biden didn't put anybody on any terror watch lists. That said, if the dept. of Homeland Security did put anyone on such a list SOLELY for nonviolent, anti-COVID mandate advocacy during the Biden administration, then yes, that's absolutely alarming, and fascist. Given Fox News' credibility, however, I suspect those supposedly added to watch lists for their beliefs alone, were actually added for other, specific links to domestic terrorism. Not that past Democratic administrations have been always bastions of anti-fascism, of course, but the current administration's open embrace of fascism is existentially terrifying.

Whoosh! (and your complete lack of respect for capital letters isn't just shameful, but super shameful)

If nothing else, I thought academics would be an issue at UNC. I'm not sure where any NIL money would come from either. No fan support that I've ever noticed, and no prior NIL acquisitions to speak of. Makes me even less confident in the numbers being thrown around elsewhere, as it's hard to imagine AJ turning down that kind of money to attend UNC.

Mike Faust, the Gilman heavyweight (later went to Penn)? If so, I was a few years ahead of him at Gilman, same class as Rock (Gerard Harrison). Rock and I were pretty even until high school, when I got bigger and he got better. By the time we were seniors, I couldn't even take him down in practice anymore. But the best guy I ever wrestled is easy; Sheldon Thomas (1x NCAA champ at Clarion, 2x 3rd I think). We wrestled at least 5x, from 7th grade (when I was a second year Junior League wrestler) through high school, and he beat the brakes off me every time. I did he take him down, though, the last time we wrestled. I got in deeper on a duck under than I ever should have, and he was so out of position, he pretty much gave up the two just to get back on his offense quicker. And he did just that, eventually pinning me. I wasn't anything special, but that was the only time I was pinned in high school, and maybe the only back points I gave up that year. As an aside, me and a buddy attended the '97 NCAAs at Northern Iowa, and rented a room from a local family. Sheldon's family just happened to be staying in the same house, and I still remember how sad they were that Friday night after he lost. The defending champ and undefeated #1 seed, I'm pretty sure he lost to Iowa's #8 seed Jesse Whitmer in the quarterfinals, but came back to win four straight on the back side and finish third. Whitmer went on to beat Lindsay Durlacher in the finals, and Iowa set the NCAA scoring record (since beaten by PSU).

Fair point, and I don't think refs can even begin to parse organic exchanges from the contrived. Although I suspect Petersen got screwed by the rule, not every problem has a solution, and this one's at least a rarity.

When a wrestler requires injury time after an exchange that ends in a potentially dangerous call, should his opponent still get choice for the restart? This heavily impacted the Dean Petersen/Caleb Smith 125lb Big10 semifinal, as Smith was able to choose bottom during SV. During the prior exchange, both wrestlers' knees were loaded against the joint during a neutral scramble. When the ref eventually called PD, Petersen immediately grabbed his knee, and appeared to be screaming in pain. I think it's at least worth the rules committee's time to review the issue.

Rock and I were high school teammates and oddly enough, I remember him being a bit of an introvert. Not my favorite commentator, and his excitement can sometimes feel manufactured, but he does know what he's watching.

Beatrice Chebet looking like the next distance star. Americans stayed with the lead pack until the final lap, and the Italian who nearly medaled in the 5K damn near outkicked Chebet. And Sifan medals again, with a marathon left for the trifecta! Tsegay out of the medals again, but still with a shot in the 1500. Still not as exciting as the men's 10K or 1500 (best race I've ever seen); mostly a coronation for Chebet. Overall, Team USA's track performance has been what I hoped wrestling would be. Won't happen this year, but remember, the men had no track golds in Tokyo and look at their performance this year (5 golds off the top of my head, plus completely unexpected bronze medals from Nuguse and Grant Fisher, and a silver from Rooks in the steeple). A similar rebound in MFS would be ~3-4 golds and a medal at 65kg (I view Fisher's 10k bronze as akin to medaling at 65kg)

If anyone was going to miss weight at 50kg, I would've bet money on the Mongolian. As much as I wanted to see Sarah wrestle Yui or Vinesh during the tourney, that semis win was very impressive!

Forgot about that! Wrestling in the Olympics could obviously build his MMA brand, but not if he's out after one match. Don't think they'll let him in anyway.

I guess the Belarussian (sp?) 74 that beat Dake so bad in '21 won't be in Paris either?

As much as I didn't like the way Cael handled Suriano's injury at NCAAs, I can't come up with a valid opposing argument. If it were high school, it'd likely be a different story, but as a college coach, I just don't see how he owes a duty of care to anyone beyond the university and those on his team. Seems un-Christian, and certainly not in line with Jesus' teachings, but given how little he publicly proselytizes, I'm not even comfortable calling the guy a hypocrite.

I can't recall a single issue since probably his second year at Iowa. I'm not a Hawkeye fan, or Brands fan, but he really appears to have thrived there.

By my admittedly quick count, 7/10 Minnesota wrestlers equaled or exceeded their seed in 2001. Wonder how that compares against recent PSU teams.

I'm pretty sure Minnesota won the 2000 NCAAs with 10 AAs, but no champs. As for 2024 PSU, 10 AAs wouldn't shock me at all, but I'd guess 8. Not sure who I'd leave out though. Interestingly, Davis probably has one of the tougher paths to AA, and he's a 1 seed.

Reminds me of Quentin Wright. Still my favorite PSU big guy.

I doubt it, especially since these are Intermat forums, but I don't know. I think we're probably just a vocal minority, reacting to what seems like a growing phenomenon within the sport.

He gave Robles his toughest match of the tourney that year, and may have even managed to get away from bottom.

Ben's leaving? Any explanation? As annoying as he could be, he anchored the show really well. His thoughts on coaching were genius, and his general curiosity was infectious. Given the above, certain aspects of his ideology were both inexplicable and maddening, but FRL may really flounder without him (and especially without Willie to play a similar role).