New Michigan transfer Chris Cannon (photo courtesy of Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com)Welcome back all to another edition of the Friday Mailbag. The US Open has concluded and Willie Saylor made it home alive, so we’re still in business over here. Since we last spoke, Michigan has added Lucas Davison, Michael DeAugustino, Shohei Ohtani, Chris Cannon, Brock Lesnar, Gandalf, and now Shane Griffith to an already-loaded lineup. I don’t even know what to say. I didn’t even know Gandalf was still competing. Let’s just move on. It’s been a long week and you can’t stay on the toilet forever or your legs will fall asleep.
Do you think Jersey Mike’s could be to Rutgers for NIL as Cliff Keen is to Michigan? Mike Abromitis
I seriously doubt it. They already own the arena naming rights. I’m not sure they’re really interested in the success of the wrestling team while they shove yet another sandwich shop between a pharmacy and a tanning salon. While we’re on the subject, the NIL era is bonkers. But the whole ordeal has been exacerbated by the extra year given to everyone. You have a run of athletes with college degrees, AA finishes, and a big, fat, year or two of eligibility left to do with what they please. Throw in a vague set of rules where you can basically pay lots of money for various services and it’s the perfect storm for what is going on. I do think it will settle down in a few years when the extra-year guys are gone.
Will it end up being a feeder program for the big guns with money? Under the current rules, I’m afraid it might be. What they can do to regulate it, I do not know. It’s not easy to compete when you recruit, coach up, and lead a kid to success just to watch him walk to the team you’re trying to catch in the first place. On the flip side, I can’t fault any kid for getting his share right now. Wrestling isn’t an easy sport to make money in and if someone wants to give you some, you can’t pass it up. The whole thing is quite the catch-22 for the average fan.
How many 2023 D1 All-Americans at 125 do you think could beat Brady Koontz in a Greco match? Richard Mann, Nationals fan
Look man, If anyone wants to step up and challenge Koontz for the top spot, then step up and get your cranium cracked. My man is more than willing to take on any challengers.
Should pins, nearfalls, and back exposure points be removed from the sport? Nicholas Strub
Yes. Remove everything but takedowns. Take out the clock while we’re at it. The first to five takedowns wins. Each wrestler gets one timeout to use after any takedown. That’ll put butts in seats.
Play Madden with injuries and fatigue turned on or off? Also Nicholas Strub
I haven’t played Madden regularly in about 20 years. But when I did, I jacked up my team so much that I won every game 126-0. I guess you could say I didn’t play it like real football and there was no way I was losing a guy to injury. Oh, to be young again.
Will Jagamania be getting in on the NIL sponsor/collective space? Nick Kosko, Rutgers announcer extraordinaire and Austin Sommer doppelganger
Yes, but it’s not what you think. You are now reading the Cliff Keen Jagger Bag. Also brought to you by Carl’s Jr. What’s that? They both pulled their sponsorship? Because of the Morning Blast videos? Guess, I can’t blame them.
We saw the All-Jagger team; what would the criteria be for an All-Anti-Jagger team? Austin Sommer, Drexel announcer extraordinaire and Nick Kosko doppelganger
There is none. Everyone is eligible. You don’t even have to be an AA. You don’t even have to start. I might give old Rutgers utility man Willie Scott an honorary All-Jagger degree for always being ready to jump in at any weight between 165 and 184. Win or lose, he battled out there every time and that’s what I like to see. I’ll admit if I see you openly being a Chiefs fan then your chances drop significantly.
Where do you feel your video content has had the biggest impact in the wrestling community, the United States, and World at large? Kevin Claunch, Michigan Bag Man
Austin, Texas and Western New York. They say Austin is the fastest-growing city in America and that also applies to Jagamaniacs. They can’t get enough of me over there. Meanwhile, in Buffalo, they already invited me to get tossed through the opening table at the first Bills game. Once I conquer Easton, PA there’s no stopping me.
How do the Celtics turn this around? Clay is Dancing and smiling in all our faces. Rhino, tweeter of Boston sports
They don’t? Let’s face it, Larry Bird ain’t walking through that door. And if he did he'd be old and gray. I’m afraid ClaySauerbreeze and Brandango from New Jersey will have the last dance before the Sixers face the Knicks in the Battle for the New Jersey Turnpike. Will the Sixers make the finals? Will Philly finish second in another major sport? Did Ban Basketball just punch a hole in his computer screen?
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