The_KC_Godfather

Yep. I think he was a true freshman too. He also beat Nahshon Garrett and pinned Gilman in route to the finals! I think injuries killed his career after that...he took 8th and then never AA'd again.

This sounds wayyyyyy too much like a Schwarzenegger/Stalone rivalry from the 80’s….

Your take reminded me of when Brian Smith first took over at Mizzou. They had Scott Barker on the team, who was a national finalist, but the dude was toxic (not AJ toxic, but still). Smith booted him from the team. A national finalist. i gained a ton of respect for Smith with that. Would rather have a good culture that builds good men than allow toxicity into the program he’s trying to build, even if it meant losing team points. Not to say other coaches aren’t trying to do the same with allowing AJ into their program, but makes you wonder how important winning is.

Obviously not my decision and he should follow his passion, but...life after college as a wrestler vs. a football player seems like a no-brainer to me. If he's truly good enough to play football at the next level (I don't know if he is or not...just saw he was one of the top LB's coming out of HS), I'm surprised he's spending any time not getting better at football. I'm sure that's a big consideration with putting on weight for wrestling. If he puts on an extra 20-30 pounds to compete better with the big Hwt's, does that impact his speed/explosiveness/agility/etc. as a linebacker.

Did I miss something about him not competing at conference, or is it just speculation because he was "injured" against Little Rock?

That's sad...they know that comments will be unfavorable for someone's birthday, so they turn them off. And they're paying the guy tons of money to run a program... So what is the problem, really? Is it truly Bono, bad administration, or lack of NIL funds, or...? Meaning, will replacing him make a significant difference for the program (with, say, Max Askren)? Or do they need better administration? More NIL money? What would it take to make them relevant and fill the seats? Clearly they'd have a great pipeline with AWA down the road, but is it culture or money that is turning those kids to other programs?

What is Max’s home life? Married, kids? I can’t remember the exact reason but why was it that people think Ben wouldn’t coach at Wiscy? Was it that his wife has a job where they live and their family is settled, or more so that he doesn’t want to “report to” anyone, has AWA and doesn’t need the money? Obviously I’d be ecstatic if one of them took over at Mizzou after Smith retires (no idea when that will be and not pushing for it), but would think Wiscy would be a much more convenient place than Columbia.

On the Mirasola's, I'm not sure they'd fit into any of the "big money" programs for transfer if they stick together. Iowa has Kueter, tOSU has Geog and Feldman, OSU has Merrill, Ross, Thompson. What other programs would have the money to throw at them to lure them away from PSU?

The Mirasola's are an interesting thought. Cole obviously slots into Hwt. next season after Kerkvliet leaves, but does Connor have a place with Barr and Ryder in the mix? My initial thought was that, as a package deal, they would be a great fit for OSU with Plott/Surber/Hendrickson graduating. Connor may have to cut in 2026 with Deshaun Ross coming. but Mirasola/Ross/Mirasola would be a nice upper weight lineup. Brayden Thomspon would have to fit in there somewhere too (imagine if he could make 174?! with Lockett at 165. Murderers Row!).

Any chance Mendez uses his redshirt next year so that the "Young Bucks" finish together? That leaves 141 open for Bouzakis.

It’ll be renamed “The Red Rose”, perfect for Bachelor Bo to win 4 years straight!

Maybe I’m wrong, but is it not early to assume BB sticks with his commitment? Is he liable if he switches in the next 14 months? tOSU, PSU, OkSt can produce alot of NIL money…not saying he’s after money by any means and hope it’s true that he wants to be a legend/take a program to the top. But…what are the odds he’s convinced to switch in the next 14-15 months? Thread title is to generate discussion…but honest question….

I can’t speak for others, but I don’t have a dog in the fight or care who they wrestle for…I just like to watch good wrestling. Maybe by good I mean aggressive, but my assumption is that most spectators enjoyed the Lilledahl and MM matches much more because they went after it to get their team as many points as possible. In my opinion, Starocci was more focused on winning his match than team points. Would he have been more aggressive and tried to score more if they were the first match of the night instead of after the team points didn’t matter so much? Who knows. But as someone else said, I would have thought a four-timer would have taken it to a true frosh more. But to your point, it’s just his style. For me, as a spectator, it’s not enjoyable…but he gets the wins. When I say artificial stalling, I guess I feel like edge wrestling and push out stuff shouldn’t be called stalling. Call it something else, I say. Stalling is when you’re not wrestling because you’re tired or not trying to score. Ferrari was active and attempted a few shots, but because he wrestled near the edge, he was called for stalling. Do I think edge wrestling is ok so that you have an “out” in case your opponent takes a shot? No, and it’s the right call. I just don’t like it being called stalling. Maybe call it edging?

I don’t have a dog in the fight…I just enjoy watching good wrestling. I think it says more about the sport than about Carter, but, the strategy to push Angelo out because he’s a rookie and doesn’t grasp the concept of “artificial” stalling isn’t fun to watch as a fan. Even without that, Carter won with the riding point because Angelo wasn’t able to get out on bottom (needs to be worked on more in HS). From my point of view, the entire team went balls to the wall to try to score as many points as possible with tech’s. Nothing against Carter, but I guess I expected him to do the same against a true freshman instead of just squeaking out a win. He could have taken more shots, but it felt like he was just doing enough to win. Again, nothing against PSU here, so the faithful can pi$$ off with that talk. Just my opinion as a bystander. For someone that is great, I expected more. Sans the fact he could be under the weather, which I don’t know. Regardless…great match by Angelo.

I don’t know if any of the Flo guys are on the forums, but I’ll be honest in that I really enjoyed the “Young Bucks” FloFilm, and have watched it several times, It would be really cool if Flo created a similar doc/flim as the crew of the original is exiting college. Feldman, Mendez, Bouzakis, Geog. Shumate, etc. Make it happen!