BAC

Bah. RTCs should have enough confidence in what they offer that is a minimal concern. And they should be humble enough to realize that no matter how good their staff is, their wrestlers will benefit from different looks and coaching ideas. And I think it would have the opposite effect: wrestlers will be more inclined to sign up with RTCs that won't hold them hostage, but rather will get them out there to broaden their horizons. It also would help in retaining wrestlers: would tOSU have lost Snyder to NWLC if Snyder had the option to go train with Cael/Casey/Varner for a couple months, then return? I'm not so sure they would have. Besides, if it is done as an exchange, the risk runs both ways. I highly doubt that an RTC receiving an exchange wrestler would try to poach them, or the other RTC would do the same, and they'd be seen as a pariah by all the other RTCs for abusing the trust placed in them. I see only upside.

At HWC, Gilman went from 2nd (2017) to DNP (2018) to DNQ (2019). Many of us, including me, had written off his 2017 silver as a bit flukish. At NLWC, Glman went Bronze-Gold-Silver (2020-22). That's not natural progression. It's a level jump. That said, I don't think its proof that NLWC has better coaching than HWC. Sometimes a guy just needs a change of environment to thrive, or a different coaching perspective, or different training partners with a wider set of looks. That doesn't mean the coaches are qualitatively better. (Truthfully I DO think NLWC's free/folk coaching tops overall, I just don't think one can assume all improvement is due to coaching quality.) Candidly I wish the various RTCs would agree to "athlete exchanges," e.g. swapping wrestlers for maybe a month or two at a time, to ensure their guys are getting different coaching perspectives and different training partners. It would no doubt benefit both RTCs' athletes in the long run.

Looks like Bahrain is a new favored destination of Russian wrestlers looking to play adopt-a-country before the Olympics.

https://www.flowrestling.org/events/7985064-2023-u23-u20-world-team-trials/videos?playing=11022697&limit=60 Ruth’s own fault for choosing paper. Rookie rock-paper-scissors mistake.

Dang it LJB, you got me going again!

Glad you are amused! Likewise, it is amusing to me when wrestling parents actually believe that their high school kids are SO good and SO intimidating that an actual current senior-level world champion and Olympic medalist (Gilman) was SO terrified that he "literally ran away" rather than face them, leading to him being "verbally assaulted" all practice by the kid for his cowardice, and then when he finally gathered the cajones to face the terrifying youth(s), was promptly "teched... in about 20 seconds".

I'm just busting your nuggets brother, no need to get salty But omg thanks for the laugh this morning, I needed that!

Oh OK, I didn't really follow the prior comments, was only reacting to yours, whose wording implied (to me) that he (Haines) was still in high school when he majored Gallagher. I think I follow you now... carry on.

Are you sure? I heard Gilman was absolutely mortified at the prospect of a harrowing encounter with your younger son too, and was hiding behind the throw dummy all practice to avoid him. Or was your younger kid also able to verbally berate Glman enough that Gilman finally broke, put his tail between his legs, and slow-walked back to the mat to sheepishly succumb to his inevitable fate?

I think you mean his win over Gallagher at the Edinboro Open in 2022 (when Haines was in high school), not his win in the dual this year.

LOL this has to be the most absurd thing I've ever read in these forums. You're alleging that Thomas freaking Gilman was SO terrified of your high-school-aged kid that he "literally" ran away to avoid having to wrestle him, then was "verbally assaulted" by your high schooler in practice for being SO afraid... and then got teched by your kid in 20 seconds? LOL oh yeah I'm sure that's the "reality"...

Just chiming in to say I think it's hilarious that Jimmy was so certain that "commitment" was misspelled (it isn't) that he added a "[sic]" to the title. LOL. Nice try JC.

I don't get why you asked the question -- repeatedly -- if you were only to criticize the correct answer when you got it. What was the point of that? And no, I did not "have" to go that far back. I included some older examples since you didn't give a time limit, but most of the Sr. World medalists I mentioned post-date the dropping of the 48kg weight class in 1997 -- Dabir, Atli, Mansurov, Garcia etc. Why lie? Even of the pre-'97 examples, only Belaglazov (and maybe Shin) won Seniors at 48, and Belaglazov later won Seniors at a higher weight anyway. Not sure if you know who he and Dabir are but I promise you they didn't win because they were light -- they are P4P greats. Obviously there are no super-recent examples since they dropped the 50kg Jr weight after 2017, and since Lee won it in 2015 and 2016, you have to go earlier -- where examples are plentiful. Whatever, carry on with whatever meme-flinging argument you're having, but don't shoot the messenger. If you don't want to know the answer to a question, don't ask it.

Not sure if this is rhetorical but since you keep asking, there are many. Ali Reza Dabir, one of Iran's all time greats, is one. So is Golem Reza Mohammadi, another Iranian hammer. They must have about 10 senior medals between them, half gold. The great Armenian Mkrtchyan won a Jr Gold down at 46kg, Espoirs at 48 and went on to win multiple world medals. Another great, Anatoly Belaglazov won Jrs at under 50 and dang how many Sr world medals did he win? Not sure how many you want. I believe Cuban world gold medalist Garcia also had couple Jr Gold at 50kg and maybe another at an even lower weight, and Cuban Olympic medalist Monzon was Jr World gold at 46 or 50. A couple Koreans too, Kim Jon-Shin(?) won Jrs at 50kg and was a Sr. World champ the next year. A favorite of mine, Ukranian Mansurov, won Jrs at 50kg and won a couple Sr World titles. Suleman Atli, a Turk, is another recent example. I'm sure there are others. Obviously there's been some variations over the years in weights, ages and nomenclature. I'm not really following the Fix/Lee argument here and don't really care, but if the idea is 50kg is a weak weight, I would say that statistically there are/were probably fewer competitors there so that will impact its depth in relative terms, but I would have thought it pretty obvious that many 50kg (or lower) champion youths are going to naturally grow into the lightest Sr level weight class and excel there too. Which is what happens. Seems like a silly argument but whatever.

I like clickbait titles and your homerism, Illini. I think Zane has a fighting chance. We would have said the same about Suriano if he won, but Zane took it. Gilman is favored for sure but I am excited to see the match, and happy to see Zane break through.

Just wanted to add a shout out to Alli St. John's classy response. Stays above the fray, subtly points out the double standard, and moves on. Really weird that certain Iowa fans and donors would want to alienate her and her husband. I'd have thought they are wrestling royalty in Iowa circles. I don't get it.

I doubt the price comes down. I think a lot of people are underestimating how in demand these tickets will be in PA. When NCAAs were in Phily a decade ago, tickets were being resold at 2-3x face value. That probably won't happen here, but I expect a sellout and a brisk aftermarket. This ain't Iowa City.

Man, every time I come back to this thread, there’s another turd in the toilet. I’m sure every schools has their share of d-bag donors. The issue is Iowa slapping his name up on their new facility. I Even if his latest gem was not intended to endorse the “skank” comment, there is still enough dishonesty, misogyny and pettiness in his other posts to make him unworthy IMO. Whether Iowa has the cajones to risk losing his donation by renaming the facility remains to be seen. I am tempted to add that I am not optimistic given the Brands’ track record of taking money from sources far worse than Nicolls. But realistically this is an admin call.

I'm not proud of the fact that I just burned a half hour reading that Iowa/Rivals forum thread. I'll never get that time back and I have only myself to blame. So that others don't make the same mistake, I'll sum up: 1. When wrestlers leave Iowa, the fans will turn on you like a pack of wild dogs. Iowa wrestlers take note: When you hear the cheers, they aren't for you, they are for the singlet. I don't think I've ever seen anyone slimed as much as Chittum and his old man after what those Hawk fans are dishing out. 2. Most Iowa fans (thankfully not all) are ALL IN on bringing in the Ferraris and they really could not care less who they raped or assaulted, or who leaves the program as a result, as long as they win. (But see #1.) 3. Iowa donor Nicolls is an enormous d-bag. Dishonest, self-serving, thin-skinned. All the Iowa fans there know it but swing from his jock anyway because they don't want to lose the $$. Surely Brands knows it too. Shades of the Brands/DuPont "blood money" debacle. 4. Wille is kind of a d-bag too, but in more of an endearing and honest way. He's *our* d-bag, not afraid to call someone out, even realizing that it is sure to harm his future access to the Iowa program. Not what a journalist should do, but I think Willie knows that and has decided that's not really his lane anyway, which I respect. I need a shower.

If I'm following the facts correctly, Iowa losing Chittum is absolutely a self-inflicted wound, by choosing the Ferraris over him. Iowa's first error was going after the Ferrari clan. Yeah, I know, desperate times call for desperate measures. But come on... really? With AJ having a serious sexual assault charge against him (and burglary), and Anthony getting booted from a couple schools and two assault convictions? Only Angelo's record is clean (though his flex on Blair's coaches at Ironman doesn't give me the warm-and-fuzzies). Even Rutgers would think twice about the two older Ferraris, yet Iowa is chasing after them? The second error was not reversing course when Chittum balked at Anthony Ferrari joining the team. We know Mineo's unreliable, but he linked to a Des Moines Register article which said of Chittum the other day: "He didn't dive into details in his brief conversation with the Register, but he allowed that he'd rather leave Iowa City than be teammates with the Ferraris." There's your reason. Chittum, to be fair, isn't exactly known for his program loyalty, but his position was entirely reasonable here. We can only assume that Iowa's coaches did NOTHING, and so by this afternoon it was a done deal. Chittum to ISU. As a final insult, a bunch of posters on Iowa's board are now saying that Anthony got dinged by Iowa admissions the other day -- right about the time Chittum was packing his bags. Whoops! Looks like Tom bet on the wrong horse. 0 for 2. AJ's still out there but I can't see Iowa's AD allowing Tom to touch him until his charges are resolved, and that outlook looks bleak. I'm no Iowa fan but if I were, I would be MAD. Yeah it sucks to see PSU and Michigan nab all the top transfers (though Voinovich is a nice get), but you HAVE to know that playing footsies with the Ferrari clan is going to backfire in the long run. And it did. It is interesting to read the Iowa Rivals forum, where there's an all-out war between the "win at all costs" crowd and the decent Iowa fans (yes they exist) who always knew that cozying up to the Ferraris wasn't the solution to their ills. Lets hope the latter group wins out and convinces Tom to build his team the right way.

I'm waiting for an interviewer to start an interview with Aaron Brooks with "Apart from God, how'd you manage to [insert key match move]?" There's got to be SOME way to get him out of that spiel. But at least he didn't diss Islam again. But yeah, Gilman is the clear overall winner here, while single-interview honors go to Sammy Brooks and his sublime mullet.

I'll go with Bassett. I know he took a couple Ls at U17s but to my eyes, he is markedly better at folkstyle, where he can push the pace and work his top game. But props to the Cortez brothers -- I think each of them took a win over him.

I don’t remember the move you are talking about. What comes immediately to mind is his hip toss on Cenzo last year — a move he never forces but rarely misses when he senses it’s there. Hit his arm spin a couple times too at the Open too. It’s nice technique. Clean.

I dunno about that. I'm partial to guys who aren't afraid to go upper body, and he has a nice hip toss and arm spin.