I recently saw the first half, which included very suggestive comments about little boys wrestling in singlets. Never mind the details, the entire setup was about the outfits and the message wasn't about the sport, but about some other qualities comedians wanted to attach to the sport because of the outfits.
Shiny lycra is no longer the only or best outfit choice for our sport. Time to make the change. Waiting costs our sport participants, fans and dollars.
#KilltheSinglet
To your questions ...
Q: Will Isaiah Martinez compete on the senior level in freestyle this year and be a factor at the U.S. Open and/or U.S. World Team Trials? Or he is still too young and inexperienced to make an impact?
-- Mike C.
Isaiah Martinez defeated Nebraska's James Green in the NCAA semifinals (Photo/John Sachs, Tech-Fall.com)Imar will likely miss the U.S. Open because he's taking exams. However, if he does compete I think he's your third-place finisher. I know that means one of the Big Four (Jordan Burroughs, David Taylor, Kyle Dake and Andrew Howe) would have to lose, and that's what I'm predicting, Imar earns an upset over one of these guys.
Should Imar make 70 kilos I think he challenges Nick Marable for the spot on the World Team. He's dynamic and strong and though I like Marable to win any best-of-three series, I think it's close. Also, with fewer entries as everyone flees the non-Olympic weight (sans 61 kilos and 70 kilos) he will have a considerably easier path than he would at 74 kilos.
Q: We ascribe much hoopla to the national rankings of high school wrestlers. But what we never know is how well they do/did in college. Has anyone done an analysis of the success of ranked wrestlers? Going back eight years this would be an interesting guide to recruiting.
-- John A.
Foley: We do it every year! I agree that this is a great guide to understanding who are the effective coaches and just how much the HIGH SCHOOL HYPE MACHINE plays into our perception of real talent.
Q: Could you explain those new NCAA rules? A guy gets called for stalling if he pushed opponent out? Did I read that wrong?
-- @German663
Proposed rules here. In shorthand (with my snarky comments in parenthesis) ...
Q: What, if any, rules-scholarship-structural-cultural differences vs. today in NCAA wrestling do you see that allowed for Iowa to be so dominant during the Gable era vs. the programs/situations that are currently present?
-- Jimmie D.
Foley: Big question, but you have to assume that these things are at the center of wrestling's recent parity, and the "downturn" in Iowa wrestling:
The first is that there is significantly more money in the sport in 2015 than there was in the mid-80s. The fundraising at major college athletic programs is highly sophisticated and generates hundreds of thousands of extra dollars in spending cash annually for teams across the top forty. Also, more schools have more scholarships.
The second is that a reduction in the number of programs has allowed for more talented wrestlers to concentrate at a variety of programs, making the culture of any one program less effective since it's not backed up by all-stars. The rising number of teams loaded with talent also means there is a larger chance for upsets since guys who might've once ridden pine for Iowa get time to wrestle at (insert your school's name here).
The third is social media and the unwillingness of modern kids to take gruff from superiors, especially if they can get praise from their online friends and family. Iowa wrestling is a strong culture and you either fell in and succeeded or you left. Social media and having friends to comfort the afflicted makes it difficult to enforce an all-or-nothing mentality.
The fourth is a change in the rules to avoid harmful or injurious situations and a re-focus on top wrestling. This benefits more technical wrestling, which has traditionally favored teams like Oklahoma State and now Penn State.
Q: How long until Zeke Jones has Arizona State in the hunt for team trophies? With the Valencia bros. coming in and other top recruits, it doesn't seem like it will be long.
-- Mike C.
Foley: With arguably the best recruiting class in the history of college wrestling you'd have to assume that he could get them into the top four in three years and title hunting in four. He knows how to coach champions, has all the resources he needs and now has the most talented class of athletes in the sport. They're making a title run.
Q: I watched the World Cup last weekend and to me the wrestling sucked, especially among the bigger guys who just hang on to each other and do push outs. It's almost sumo-like to a degree. Overall, it's pushouts, takedowns and if a guy's back is exposed in any way, they reward backpoints and the refs are too involved (who by the way all look like they'd be gassed if they ran a mile). I don't have a proposal but seems these rules need to change to make it better and more exciting.
And didn't they just change the rules last year and do a reorg to get with the times and stay in the Olympics?
-- Paul E.
Foley: Not too many people complain about the freestyle rules (save the lack of overtime)! This is a good mixture. I disagree about the rules overall, as I think they produce a lot of action. However, if you aren't used to the out-of-bounds rule I guess it would seem kind of funny. As you may know, I work in the media department for the federation -- the numbers of viewers have never been better. Also, the IOC seems to enjoy the improvement of the sport's watchability, while Greco-Roman is still in question!
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