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Happy Turkey Day, wrestling fans!
I'm thankful for family, friends, good health and your readership. You are a well-informed reader base and I appreciate you taking the time to send questions, read the mailbag and listen to the new podcast. It's all very humbling.
InterMat has been working hard this past year to give readers more of the stuff they want to read. It's an effort that wouldn't be possible without the hard work of our editor/owner Andrew Hipps. The man is the first to tell you that he has a great job, but trust me it can be a difficult position to hold. Imagine those days at the office when you receive a mean email from a colleague about work you did on a shared presentation. It's stress-inducing, right? Well, Andrew gets ten of those emails a day from the wrestling community. Some of the nice, others not, but he always gives the comments the respect they deserve and answers in a professional manner. He's an even-tempered and considerate guy and I'm thankful to have him as my editor and boss. Thanks, Andrew!
The best news from this week has to be the two Iowa freshman suspended for rabbit hunting on campus. I'm sorry that you guys are likely forced to run the stairs at Carver-Hawkeye on Thanksgiving as punishment, but you won yourself a lot of support by knocking off some vermin in plain view of the public. It was (kinda sorta) wrong to do what you did, but you brought a smile to my face and that of our readers. Thanks, men.
To your questions!
Q: Matt McDonough seems to be on fire (again) this year, but how do his potential opponents stack up? I'm thinking about David Thorn from Minnesota, who pinned Steve Bonanno from Hofstra, and Alan Waters from Missouri. Thorn has slimmed down from I think 133 and looks tough. I heard Waters worked with a strength coach all summer and looks ripped. Any chance McD could have a problem on his hands?
-- John G.
Foley: I agree that McDonough might have a tough run at the NCAA tournament. In addition to my boy Matt Snyder, who cradled McD in last week's dual meet, I think Alan Waters of Mizzou and David Thorn (Minnesota) are within a point or two of McD right now. Waters has Sammie Henson on his side and if history holds that means Waters will be the finals this year. Once you're in the finals anything can happen.
McD is an all-time great, and if he beats out this pool of talented wrestlers his name will be mentioned among the top twenty wrestlers in American history. The man's a stud.
Q: What do you think about Rutgers and Maryland joining the Big Ten? ESPN only talks about the money sports like football and basketball, but they both have respectable wrestling programs, so if they enter the gauntlet that is the Big Ten, how do you think they will fair during a tough dual meet schedule and then the toughest conference tournament in the country?
-- Ace B.
Foley: Maryland recently cut eight athletic programs due to financial constraints. The B1G money will keep the program alive for many years to come and give Coach McCoy better access to some of the best competition in the country. For Rutgers the move is a chance to overhaul their program and land major recruits interested in competing in the nation's top conference. I think both schools will enjoy more success at the NCAA tournament because of the move, but until they are better established I think they'll take some lumps during the dual meet season.
The ACC might be in trouble. They'll be losing a Maryland team that competes for the ACC title every season and which has plenty of All-American talent. It's lean times and though the wrestling conference might be OK without Maryland, the football and basketball powers could fracture the conference. If there is some good news for the ACC it's that they're welcoming Pittsburgh for the 2013-2014.
The Maryland/B1G deal will take another year or two to finalize, which means that next season Maryland and Pitt will both be competing in the ACC. That's one hell of a conference tournament!
Go Hoos!
Thanksgiving Multimedia Halftime:
You thought Rebecca Black was a talented young lass? You'll love Nicole Westbrook. "Gotta be grateful, not hateful ...!"
Q: Thought you might want to check this out (in case you missed it). This aired on Nov. 20 on SportsCenter. It will air again on Christmas Day. Please include this link in your Friday Mailbag to share with the rest of the wrestling community and to support a fellow wrestling family.
--Eric G.
Foley: Incredible story. Also interesting that the editors on the SportsCenter story rolled wrestling together with jiu-jitsu. Want to support the movie, or just check its progress? Check out this site: http://www.findingmydadsmemories.com.
Q: Dylan Ness hurt?
-- Ken C
Foley: That's the word, though it's tough to elaborate. Rumor has it that it's a minor "hurt," and not so much a major "injury."
Q: You recently touched upon a question regarding the geographic powerhouse that many Olympic male wrestlers come from. You stated "Many of the Olympic wrestlers were from North Ossetia, South Ossetia, Chechnya and Dagestan, the four southernmost Russian states and home to inarguably the greatest wrestlers in the world."
However, it seems that the strongest women's wrestling nations seem to come from the far West (China & Japan) and the far West (Canada & the USA). Why the geographical differences between the most successful men's and women's programs?
-- E. Roosevelt
Foley: The Japanese women are the standard bearer in women's wrestling, largely because they were the first to embrace the sport as an option for their female athletes. They've maintained their success by encouraging their athletes to remain humble and respectful. It also doesn't hurt that many of the women can wrestle full time thanks to a significant financial backing.
The Mongolians are bull strong bad-asses who work insanely hard and enjoy the support of a country obsessed with wrestling. I love wrestling, but when practicing with the Mongolian women it was obvious that their affection was obsessive. At one of the open practices with the men's and women's national team the women were on the mat for an extra hour drilling, sharing moves and
otherwise enjoying their time together. Did I mention they're bull strong? It's unreal.
Success breeds imitation and each of these countries has seen the positive press that comes from their women doing well and have upped their investment via coaches and salaries for the wrestlers. For the Mongolians it's a good opportunity to win World and Olympic medals, something that isn't easy for a nation of 3.5 million people. The Japanese want to continue to be the best and will work hard to protect that stature. The Chinese are grinding away, playing the numbers game and hoping for an internationally competitive team year-in and year-out.
This answer only touches on all the reasons why the Asian women are out-competing the world. Any further explanation would require all of 15k words, which is too much reading for Turkey Day!
Q: My daughter and I really enjoyed your selection of Teddy Roosevelt for your hypothetical Thanksgiving dinner. We are big fans, including of his Man in the Arena quote. Still, given the choice, I would have picked our greatest president, Lincoln. Did you consider Lincoln when you were making your selection?
-- Bill R.
Foley: Thanks, Bill! I did consider Lincoln, but with the new Spielberg movie and all the hype around Lincoln's wrestling career, I thought he'd be too obvious a selection. Looking back on the choices I really just went with my gut feeling. However, you're right and after some reflection I agree that the tall man should have enjoyed a place at the table. If I'm not allowed to add any more seats to the table then I'd be forced to push out a diner. Give the premise of your original question, I'm going to ask Bourdain to leave. That loss would leave us with nobody to comment on the food. I'd be devastated.
Q: I am from Michigan and this year St. Johns High School has four seniors who have verbally committed to Big Ten schools. There is a fifth who is leaning towards Big Ten as well. Last year they sent three other wrestlers into the Big Ten. Which high school has sent the most wrestlers into Division I wrestling in the past few years? Which high school has sent the most wrestlers to Division I in one graduating class? Which high school has sent the most wrestlers into the Big Ten in the past few years, and which has sent the most to the Big Ten in one graduating class?
-- Steve B
Foley: I gave this gem to our in-house high school wrestling specialist, Josh Lowe.
St. Johns' 2013 Commitments:Q: Any comment on all the sets of brothers currently wrestling for the same team and doing well? There seem to be a lot.
Josh Pennell to Michigan State
Brant Schafer to Indiana
Payne Hayden and Ben Whitford to Michigan
Jacob Schmitt to Northwestern
St. Johns' 2012 Commitments:
Travis Curley and Jordan Wohlfert to Michigan State
Taylor Massa to Michigan
St. Edward's 2013 Commitments:
Colin Heffernan to Central Michigan
Markus Scheidel to Columbia
Edgar Bright to Pitt
Domenic Abounader to Michigan
Dean Heil to Oklahoma State
I would say that it is extremely rare to have five from a single school in one year and/or eight in two years move on to wrestle at the Division I level, especially in a power college program setting.
-- @dmarble33
Foley: Wrestling is the world's greatest family tradition. Whether it's a shared bloodline that gives brothers their toughness, or it comes from an urge to compete with each other on a daily basis, wrestling is always filled with great examples of successful brothers.
There are too many wrestling brothers to name without missing some giants, but I always think about brothers in terms of the twins. My closest experience with twins on the mat was wrestling with Scott Moore at Virginia. He transferred from Penn State where his brother remained to finish out his eligibility. Scott was 141 and Josh 133 and though they never wrestled each other in competition, every pin (and there were something like 248 between the two that season) and every ranking was measured against the other.
Scott Moore (Photo/Danielle Hobeika)Scotty was a big reason I had success that season, but my brother was also on that squad! He was a redshirt, so it wasn't a directly competitive relationship. In fact, I think that having him around helped balance and mature me for the season, someone who knows when you're full of horse crap is always helpful in keeping you modest and grounded.
I have four brothers and can tell you that each had a significant impact on my career. They are all uglier, shorter, less-athletic versions of me, but they're still pretty great guys! I kid, I kid.
Brothers and family are what make the wrestling worthwhile. Fans forget and newspapers don't remember your name. It's family, your brothers, who will celebrate your sacrifices and keep you honest.
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