Is that Matt Nagel or Luke Becker? Photo courtesy of Augsburg College.Side note: Cole Williams from University of Dubuque pinned his way through the Auggie Open with the exception of a close 6-5 loss to Nagel in the semifinals. Warrants mentioning.
• Did anyone else notice the male cheerleaders sitting with crossed legs matside during the match? In all of the meets I have ever watched in my life, I have never seen this before. I enjoy the acrobatics of male cheerleaders at college football games, but seeing them seated at the side of the mat was pure comedy. I kept waiting for the "Be Aggressive, B-E Aggressive, you have to B-E-A-G-G-R-E-S-S-I-V-E" cheer.
• Just for the record, these bouts DO count (at least for RevWrestling.com) against individual rankings. Didn't Cole Konrad beat Steve Mocco -- and doesn't that imply that he is currently wrestling at a higher level and should be ranked accordingly? The term "exhibition match" makes it sound like one of the guys is not giving his best -- which I don't think is the case. The All-Star Classic matches are an early indicator of performance that should be taken into account for current rankings. Period.
Wake me up when this match is over!• Alex Tirapelle may not have put to rest the "He may not be the best 157-pounder on his own team" banter since Michael Poeta recently won the Missouri Open. He did, however, prove that he would be the best 157-pound wrestler on the Iowa Hawkeye team.
• I have never been more excited about an upcoming collegiate wrestling season. The All-Star Classic may have put me over the top to the point where I need a cooling down period.
• Props to LiveSportsVideo for the Web coverage. Access to the matches without the travel costs is fantastic. With that being said (cable executives take note) -- I am willing to pay at least four times as much money to watch the same broadcast on my TV while on my couch via cable pay-per-view.
• I enjoyed the heavyweight pre-meet under card at the All-Star Classic, but it is time to take it to the next level. For next year, I am proposing a "People's Choice" poll to select three under card matches prior to the official start of the meet. Here is how it works:
o A list of the 10 best non-Division I match-ups is created by a governing body (or RevWrestling.com)
o Cross division match-ups are encouraged
o Fans perform online voting to determine the most anticipated match-ups
o The top three most anticipated matches are selected as the under card for the All-Star Classic
o A few examples that could have been used for this year: Willie Parks (Dana -- NAIA) vs. Yura Malamura (Highline -- JUCO), Thad Benton (UPJ -- DII) vs. Dustin Hinschberger (Wartburg -- DIII), Nate Baker (Minnesota State-Moorhead -- DII) vs. Tyson Springer (Dickinson State -- NAIA)
Other Thoughts …
Matt Hoover• I am not sure about the new look wrestling outfits (as previewed in the New York Times), but the side-cut UFC fighter board shorts are poised to become the next trend in wrestling workout gear.
• It is time to put an official end to wrestlers shaking the hand of the opposing coach after every match. Here's why: 1) I have never seen a coach who enjoys it, 2) the winning wrestler is typically the only one who initiates it, and 3) shaking the hand of the guy you just wrestled displays the right amount of sportsmanship. Tournament directors -- please include this in your tournament rulebooks going forward.
• If Ben Askren continues at this rate (10-0 and pure domination), we will be discussing the early favorites for the 2006-2007 Ben Askren Trophy at this time next year (formerly known as the Dan Hodge Trophy).
• Call me old school, but there are way too many tattoos in collegiate wrestling. If you have seen one barbed wire tribal around the bicep, you have seen a million. We know, you are 18 now and you have always wanted one -- but I'm recommending that you wait until your singlet wearing days are over.
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