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Yes, I had DT at #1 after 2023 worlds, and I would have had him at #1 had I gotten different data from the OTTs. But the data I got is the data I got. Within his own weight class I thought Brooks and Zahid looked better. But DT’s still top ten — which is not a steep drop at all in light of the huge number of wrestlers we have nationwide in all weight classes. As for Zahid, he had a super close match with Brooks that ended in an unfortunate manner. I wish they could have re-wrestled the match. He looked super tough. But I also have to note that Brooks came through the bracket while Zahid got a bye to the challenge tournament semis. So Zahid had a physical advantage. What Brooks just did is insane. He finished his college season with a Hodge. Then a month later he drops down to 86kg and goes through the OTT bracket and beats a fresher Zahid in the challenge tournament finals, at close to midnight. Then he cuts weight past midnight (to an unknown time) after the challenge tournament and weighs in the next morning around 8am. Then he beats the reigning world and Olympic champ in two straight matches — one at midday and one in the evening — when the reigning champ didn’t have to bother with the challenge tournament.

As of today, who do you think are the top ten male US wrestlers? I have freestyle and folkstyle (if appropriate) in mind. No criteria — this is about vibes. My top ten: 1- Brooks (yes I said it) 2- Vito 3- Dake 4- Zain 5- Snyder 6- Zahid 7- Parris 8- Lee 9- DT 10- Nolf

It's a term that doesn't have much meaning, much like... "GOAT" "metric ****ton" "I **** you not" [followed by wild speculation] "Hell, even ..." [followed by the only example the poster knows]

In the past it seemed like international freestylers thought that US freestylers lacked technical ability and relied on conditioning. But given that we’ve had renewed success in recent years, has that perception changed? Someone like DT certainly couldn’t be described as lacking in technique.

Is Greco the only Olympic sport that has no women’s competition?

The WNBA would have to have the worst negotiators of all time to make significant concessions on behalf of an organization that’s lost money for 30 years straight, and continues to lose money. (Of course the owners would never give the negotiators that leeway to begin with.)

The all star meet normally finds the top two highest ranked athletes at each weight class who are willing to compete. An mma-style card just puts together the most compelling fights available, regardless of ranking (although rankings certainly play a huge factor in what’s compelling). So you might see two old timers — way past their primes — fight just before a title fight.

The WNBA players don’t have any leverage. The WNBA negotiators will ask where is the money for a pay raise going to come from. The players union will then have to say something like “take on more losses in this 30-year money losing venture” or “force the NBA to subsidize us even more.” Neither option is going to happen. The bottom line is that athletes are entertainers, and if WNBA players want significantly more money in salary, they will have to attract more eyeballs.

If the WNBA is purely an investment, it seems like a questionable investment if it has lost money every year for nearly 30 years straight. (Personally I love that the WNBA exists and I hope that it does well moving forward.) Regardless, the issue is what WNBA players have leverage to ask for at the bargaining table, and there isn’t much leverage when the league has never made a profit.

As far as I know, the WNBA has lost money every year it has existed. It exists because the NBA subsidizes it. Until the WNBA actually makes money, the players’ union is going to have a hard time making any demands.

Could be a subscriber + PPV event on a streaming service and the pay could partially be dependent on PPV numbers. That would give athletes an incentive to promote their matches.

Even a post-NCAAs freestyle "card" would be fun. The change in styles would allow all the college athletes involved to save face (in the event they lose shortly after winning an NCAA title). The NWCA doesn't even have to put it on. It could be put on by Flo or even the UFC (given that the UFC recently broadcasted NCAA wrestling). The bottom line is that the NWCA all-star meets is stale and reflects a world that no longer exists. An MMA-style "card" with matchups people actually want to see would make so much more sense.

Obviously the wrestling season format with lots of dual meets makes little sense. Lots of time and effort and resources are spent on single matches, and starters often duck or are injured anyway. At a minimum super duals would be more efficient uses of time. But that’s not going to change so what’s left? The all-star meet. I think there’s a lot of untapped potential there. It could be marketed as an MMA-style “card.” And instead of every weight class being represented, simply the most compelling matchups possible are put together. And since it’s an exhibition, you could even invite post-college competitors too. The athletes could then hype the matches up and hopefully help themselves in the NIL department. Whether you admit it or not, you’d enjoy another Downey-Starocci match. You 1000% know you would, and you’d follow the buildup even if you missed the match.

Some of these college athletes have amazing NIL deals. Last year, based on known deals (according one media outlet), some interesting figures (but not all the top figures) are as follows: Bronny James -- $4.9 million Shedeur Sanders -- $4.7 million Livvy Dunne -- $3.6 million Caitlin Clark -- $3.1 million Angel Reese -- $1.8 million Not sure how reliable these numbers are, but it gives you a picture of how much money is at play for some athletes. I can only assume that these athletes spend time marketing themselves.

There have been a number of international wrestlers who took the trouble to learn folkstyle and compete here. You could ask them.