Though a lot of attention is paid to who qualifies for the NCAA tournament in Cleveland the conference tournament weekend has several traditions and rivalries for athletes and fans to celebrate.
Regionalism, tribalism and even clannism are at the heart of traditional sports contests. Which tight association of people are better at a certain game or skill has for centuries been the chosen non-violent form of local rivalry. For much of human history it was wrestling that defined which tribe was the strongest, and even which leaders were chosen to take men into combat. Today we see that regional conflict at the conference level more than the national, which helps connect us to the athletes and memories of the sport.
Wrestling always been an important measuring stick for tribes to settle rivalries. Today those tribes are schools and the only real association among the team members is what they create for themselves behind the banner of their school colors. In modern American sport these conference championships are symbolic of that regionalized tradition to compare ourselves to our neighbors. It's special and should be distinguished as much as the more glamorous national tournament.
Whether you're an ACC wrestling fan, Big Ten wrestling follower, or a lifelong MAC enthusiast, I wish you a weekend filled with close friends and compelling competition.
To your questions …
Jason Nolf (Photo/Juan Garcia)Q: What did you make of Jason Nolf's interview this week? Do you see him winning the Big Ten title this weekend?
-- Mike C.
Foley: The initial question Nolf was asked in that video isn't audible, but it seemed his response was that he hadn't been cleared for competition. That might just be an oversight, or maybe not necessary, but if I were a Penn State die-hard fan it would concern me that this box isn't checked.
I think there is a one percent chance that he wins the Big Ten title, because I don't think he will finish out the tournament. He'll likely make his way to the quarterfinals and default.
Q: Would you rather see a takedown be worth 3 points or allow the top wrestler to choose to go back to neutral during a natural stoppage (out of bounds, stalemate, etc.) without awarding a point since it would not be an "escape." #maketakedownsgreatagain
-- @WallyBach
Foley: I don't know that we need to give points for escapes, but what informs my opinion is likely just an outsized love for the current freestyle rules.
The real root of the problem is riding time. Why would we want to slow down the pace of these matches all for a single point? Of course, if you eliminated riding time then you'd also have to find a new criterion for tied matches that go past double overtime. The current system keeps track of riding time, but more than keep track it places people into a literal "ride out."
Sticking with today's historical opening, I can tell you that ride outs trace back to the Catch-as-Catch-can origins of American wrestling, but in light of new information (the wild successes of freestyle) I wonder if the other great American tradition (adopting new and better things) won't eventually inform a better opinion on how to solve these tied matches.
Certainly, we can all agree that draping your body on an opponent shouldn't be the ultimate determinant of wrestling greatness. But what is the other option? Will American wrestling fans see the power of criteria to drive action and eliminate the need for costly overtime? I'm doubtful, but then again, we are a nation of change so no idea should be left unconsidered.
Q: Riding time/top wrestling. Maybe I'm in the minority here, but I don't hate top wrestling and riding time the way others seem to hate it. Maybe my perspective is different, but I find it impressive when someone like Spencer Lee completely dominates a wrestler the caliber of Nathan Tomasello while on top. Not everything has to be so fast paced. I love watching a hammer on top eventually wear a wrestler down while working for turns even if it never ends in a turn; and if he has hammered him for 5 minutes, I'm OK with that wrestler earning a point. Thoughts?
-- Jared W.
Foley: I was a top wrestler, but I can no longer support riding time. While I agree that there is an element of domination with staying on someone's back, I don't think that it's a compelling argument for dominance unless the bottom man has face-to-face attacks, a la jiu-jitsu.
What if we cut the difference and gave 30 seconds to work and then put them back on their feet with one point going to the wrestler who is released from bottom. Add to that that if one wrestler can accumulate 2 minutes of riding time then you can allow for a point. That should disincentive the riding time point while still allowing for a point to be given to the wrestlers who display real top dominance.
Q: What do you make of the decision to move the Beat the Streets event from Times Square to the newly-renovated Pier 17 at South Street Seaport?
-- Mike C.
Foley: Moving an event indoors will allow for a much better fan experience, while maybe sacrificing some of the shock Times Square seemed to generate. Overall, this should allow for better crowd control, seating assignment and fan experience. The venue is supposed to be nice and I'm sure that Brendan Buckley and his staff are prepared to make this into another impact event for the sport of wrestling!
Q: Guessing you get hundreds of emails a day, but it would be greatly appreciated if you could answer a question for me and settle a long standing debate. In your opinion, what are the top 3 toughest weights for NCAA in order? I think 125 is the toughest followed by 174, 141, 165 (has got increasingly better as year went on).
-- Kevin C.
Foley: Dozens. Hundreds would prompt me to set my eyebrows on fire.
I'm prone to conflate "best" with "most intriguing," but either way the weight classes are those with the most compelling storylines: 125, 141 and 165. The number of guys who can win at each of these weights, and the uncertainty behind seeding prompts a lot of healthy fan discussion.
125 storylines: Can Spencer Lee really win this thing in his true freshman year? Can he stop NATO, who is on a quest for his fourth Big Ten title? If Lee wins this weekend, can he do it again in March? Would that upset be enough to generate a surprise Iowa comeback? I'm affirmative on all my own questions, but then again, we haven't event talked about the defending NCAA Champion (Darian Cruz) and the possibility that the top seed Nick Suriano could steamroll everyone.
141 storylines: Bryce Meredith vs. Kevin Jack in the semifinal of all semifinals. Will two-time NCAA champion Dean Heil come back to life in Cleveland, or does he slip away during his senior season? Will Yianni do like many Cornell wrestlers before him and deliver a virtuoso performance on the national stage? Oh, wait … what about Jaydin Eierman and Joey McKenna?
165 storylines: Imar looks for his third and to get revenge on Cenzo Joseph. "The Bull" Alex Marinelli looks to make Iowa Great Again, while Chance Marstellar lurks in the background, able to knock off any wrestler at any time. Layers on layers here.
MULTIMEDIA HALFTIME
Beautiful
Watch, then read ...
I've flown more than half a million miles in the past five years, visiting some 50-plus countries and spending an average of 200 days on the road. You can be certain that I have recommendations for how to pack. However, my real passion is poo-poo'ing obnoxious packing tips provided by 24-year-old listicle creators at Buzzfeed ripoffs.
The above video is terrible. The pioneer of packing stupidity who dreamed up these complicated how-to's was either muling drugs as a previous profession, or was locked away in Brazilian jail and given limited access to toiletries. They say the best part of adventure travel is the panning and the stories told afterward, but spending four days in a workshop in the hopes of MacGyver'ing an empty glue bottle to hold tampons on hundred dollar bills is time poorly spent.
Also, the level of preparation put into packing for a Mexican beach vacation seems to have inspired way too much time watching TAKEN and not enough time looking at actual crime statistics or using the side of your brain with the ability to rationalize danger. I wish that instead of crappy, uplifting, free-to-use jingles there was a narrator explaining where this person was headed. In my experience you don't want to go anywhere that requires you to hide money. I hid money once leaving a country. That was South Sudan and it was during the start of that country's current civil war and it was something like $7,000. I hid it under a bag of chocolate in my backpack and you know what? It worked. The shakedown came (as expected) but once the soldier saw chocolate he was off-task and snatched my bag of Hershey's instead of the seven grand.
Anyway, has this person thought through what would happen if a TSA agent decided to open your zip-tied bag and found hundred-dollar bills stuffed in a variety of heath care products and everyday items. They would be certain to pull you off the plane and ask about the items in your bag. This person drilled a hole in a bar of soap and slipped in a $100! WHAT THE HELL!
Traveling overseas is not a Jason Bourne exercise in preparing to take out a Nigerian leader on his yacht in the middle of the ocean. Traveling overseas is about not being an idiot and how to apply a modicum of discipline and restraint when inundated with new, stimulating inputs. I've been mugged, but it was because I got careless about my location (favela) and time of night (late) -- not a home invasion where I was left for dead but was saved by the $20 in my soap-on-a-rope.
Real travel advice isn't that appealing: Don't drink too much, don't take unnecessary risks and call your bank before you leave. Add in the common sense stuff like trying not to cross dark streets in tourists districts and you're 90 percent of the way to a happy holiday.
Oh, and when packing just do less and carry less. Put your wallet, phone and keys exactly where you do when you are in the states. Why in the good hell -- with everything else going on around you -- would you want to constantly be patting yourself down looking for where you hid your burner cell? The only function that serves is to tip off would-be robbers where to find valuables.
Hiding money is stupid.
A good money tip is to keep small local currency loose in your pocket. This way you don't pull out $900 each time you go to pay a street vendor $1 for a bottle of water.
The other piece of advice is to never (not ever) pack a small plastic bag for each day of the week you are traveling. This little tidbit in the video is deliciously dumb. What if it's cold on a Tuesday? Rains on Wednesday? Will you dip into that rolled-up clothing to find the long sleeve shirt? What chaos will that cause! This person also has about 37 plastic bags. Why? Is it raining in their Eagle Creek?
The only useful tip in this insufferable video is to cover your liquids with Saran Wrap. That's smart. The other stuff, like hiding money in a pack of gum or half-eaten can of Pringles (what the hell, people?!) is a sure way to donate $200 to a Parisian landfill. Delete this video.
The Internet is infuriating.
Rasoul Khadem coaching at the Freestyle World Cup (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com)Q: Were you surprised that Rasoul Khadem stepped down as head of Iran's wrestling federation?
-- Mike C.
Foley: The body politic in Iran is not my specialty, and I think that even those who report on the nation find it infuriating as it's both idealistic and corrupt (much like our system). What Rasoul seemed to do was take a stand that it wasn't fair to punish athletes or force them to lie, when the government could just state as national policy that it wouldn't compete against Israel.
Rasoul wanted high-level clarity, got none, and as a man of principle he made good on a promise to step aside. Terrible for the sport of international wrestling, but I'm hopeful that this too will get resolved and we'll see Rasoul back in the federation soon.
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