strange_daze

You're a coward with zero personal character if this is actually your point of view.

Your opinion is gross and speaks to a lack of personal character.

I think you're onto a useful connection here. I'd just tweak it a bit: a pin is analagous to a KO, and a tech fall is analagous to a TKO. With the latter, you technically knock your opponent down more times, but with the former, you knock them down for good. It's decisive. I wonder if people in the boxing community argue that a TKO is the more dominant finish than the KO. (Real question.)

This is a useful data point. Carter had 6 pins out of 27 matches (~22%). Wyatt had 13 pins out of 27 matches (~48%). If these calculations are correct, they both more than doubled the average pins for their weight. Hendrickson still has the edge however--pinning roughly half your competition is no joke, regardless of weight.

I was joking around, but clearly, the national tournament is different from a head-to-head dual. In that format, I would bet against an 8-2 outcome. Maybe closer to 5-5.

Wrestling should adopt a Dapper Dan event where PSU starters wrestle against highest placing All-Americans from other programs. It's kind of like the All-Star, but hold it the week following nationals, and use it to gather interest in a dual team championship.

It seems like Logan has done well with Mendez. Not sure about other lightweights (McCrone, Bouz, Cannon). Similar to Iowa, programs like tOSU really do need to build up their RTCs. Anyone who can convince a pair like Dake and Snyder to move their training grounds is going to benefit big time. However, inserting these guys directly into a major coaching role doesn't seem like the right move. Burroughs might be the exception.

Lots of conversations about the finals. Here’s one more that makes it about PSU and Okie State. (With apologies for the length.) The order of matches is one of the main stories of the night: -Starocci was upset about it and chided the media in his post-match interview ('I think you guys have to look yourselves in the mirror....') -Cael seemed a bit rattled by it during his finals presser, though he attempted to shrug it off. (‘Usually events build up to the big match...but whatever, it doesn't matter....We're not worried about those kinds of things, really. It's not a big deal'.) -Key alumni (Nickle, Nolf) communicated about it on social media. Bo's posting also got taken up by the UFC community. The general argument: Carter going for his fifth was the main event of the finals, and it should have been the ‘main card’. According to some PSU faithful, this is just another example of why wrestling is not as popular as it could be. There's also a bigger picture to consider. PSU had an historic tournament (total points, 10 all-Americans), and had Carter’s match been the finale, the celebration would have been seamless: an all-time individual merging with one of the all-time teams/team efforts. It’s great story. We all know what happened instead: Wyatt pulled off the ‘unimaginable’ and essentially stole the show. By far, it was the most exciting match and outcome of the evening. For me at least. Why this this is interesting, beyond the match itself: the wrestling community recognizes the insane output by PSU as well as Carter’s accomplishment. The story, however, has been about David vs. Goliath. It’s not the only narrative, of course, but it’s the main one, and as the wrestling pundits pundit, we hear about the positive effect it is going to have on recruiting for the Cowboys. In an age where PSU has dominated so heavily, it seems like the community is looking for different narratives. We have had this with individual storylines, but Taylor has expanded it to the 'team' level in his move to OSU and in the exclamation point his wrestler(s) put on the finals and in effect the season. It’s going to be years before David, or anyone else, can truly challenge Goliath. If ever. To me, though, it feels like something shifted on Saturday night—that wrestling, and not just PSU, got a win. It’ll be interesting to see what happens next: Will Cael want to schedule a dual and make this a rivalry, or will the two programs stay isolated outside of the NCAA tournament? I think the latter, but the decision is up to PSU. They are the best, but they also have the most to lose. Whatever the future holds: I say the battle within the battle was won by Taylor this time. It's a small victory, perhaps, but a meaningful one nonetheless.

Maybe it inspires him to win another Oly gold. Vision quest sh*t.

It’s a shame—Carter’s will never get that moment back.

I enjoyed Hidlay as well—he and Shane make a strong team.

I feel the same way. You get some Sparks (colorful, enthusiastic), you get some Hidlay (technical, knowledgeable), and you get an eye on all mats. Plus the ability to pull up single mats on another device. Not too bad.

Thanks for this work--I enjoyed reading through your rankings. It's going to be a fun week!

Minnesota?