peanut

Brooks will get the Hodge. But I can see a scenario where he shares it with Starocci. We all know what happened this year.

Cormier is the right choice for commentator at the NCAA championships. He’s comfortable on the mic. He’s a relatively big name. He understands people who do not follow wrestling. He’s funny. And for casual fans (as well as plenty of wrestling fans) he’s a good story teller and entertaining. The NCAA championships are a time to showcase the sport to a wider audience, and technical commentary is not the right choice. Cormier is.

Brooks = LeBron. A savant at his sport who is so good that everyone forgets he’s there. Starocci = Kobe. Insane work ethic. Insane desire to win. Insane desire to dominate. Keck = Luca Doncic. LeBron but slower. Arujau = Curry. A guy who was initially overlooked but became a world beater. Kerk = Jokic. Big dude who dominates with ho-hum efficiency. MM = Ant Edwards. Young guy with astounding physical gifts. KOT = Durant. Elite at everything. Figueroa = Jalen Brunson. Came in without a ton of fanfare and made it to the top Haines = Shai GA. Goes out there and quietly puts up a ton of points. No drama.

Looking from the outside, Mendez seems to have a certain swagger and confidence. I wonder if that’ll set the tone for Ohio State for the next few years. They have some impressive young athletes who should only get better.

Oh snap!

Con Mirasola at 197 beat Max Dean in December. So he should be ready to go.

So Cael's an undefeated four timer, and he coached two four timers -- but why can't he coach an undefeated four timer?

5 of 55 correctly guessed the champ.

Looks like 2 of 35 of you correctly guessed the champ.

Looks like 5 of 72 of you correctly guessed the champ at this weight.

141 will be tough next year with Mendez and Alirez returning.

125- Davis - Lilledahl 133- Nagao - Lilledahl - Gibson 141- Kasak - Bartlett 149- SVN - Kasak 157- Haines 165- MM - Sealey 174- Facundo - Ryder - Starocci 184- Barr 197- Connor Mirasola 285- Cole Mirasola - Kerkvliet

OW candidates for me are: Arujau, Haines, Keck, Brooks, Kerk Hodge has to be Brooks.

On March 10, Starocci made a post on social media that some interpreted as him saying he was leaving Penn State out of frustration at being told to default out of the Big Ten tournament. However, tonight, Starocci said he was on crutches 12 days ago, which was March 11. Then earlier today, Starocci made a boisterous post about how aggressive he was going to be in the championship match against Welsh. He then proceeded to go out and wrestle conservatively, winning 2-0 without a takedown. This is some high-level Gen Z stuff! Anyway, Starocci's a great wrestler and did what he had to do to get that fourth title. Congratulations on a legendary career!

Brooks- Hodge winner

I love JB, but he's likely too old at this point. Wrestling is a young athlete's game, and JB's 35.

DC posted that tomorrow?

I've been saying that Carter is Kobe. Well... gunning for the Olympics with whatever injury he has is very Kobe-like.

Carter is Cael's first 4x champ. Congrats!

Rocco needs to cover his cuts

Haines with an impressive tournament.

Penn State is in four of the next five finals matches.

I believe Mendez trained with Alex Tsirtsis (or was coached by him?) for years.

Tough loss for Bartlett. He took the offensive risks and seemed to have had it won. Ugh. Congrats to Mendez.