MidwestMan

Now I guess we will see if Edmonds solves his Dr Jekle, Mr Hyde approach to takedowns. He just needs to get in shape and keep coming Mesenbrink style. I so wanted to see him, and Hawks AA, but then we know "the rest of the story!"

That there was some funny stuff.

If KO could/would stay at 165, I wonder if Whiting or Hawks could make the cut down to 174. That would solve the problem of the log jam they are in and allow to use both. I was thinking the same about Rocky, but he'd really need to "pack it on", like Bastida. Sinclair will be arriving and could slot somewhere. All this won't matter unless this team can get more gritty. Sure seems like when it got to "nut cutting time", Mizzou got "neutered!" I've never seen so many Tigers get teched, or seem to have quit mentally, before the season was over. Ok, there was some illness on the team towards the end. Performance was starting to slide before that. Could blame it on HEW. In the end, who is responsible for the psyche of the team? The conditioning? The development and also the ability to adjust a wrestlers deficiency through drilling, etc... Smith has shown he can be a good recruiter. But, how many Tigers come to Mizzou as "great" wrestlers, and leave as just "good" wrestlers? Hell, Cornell is national runner up. Hats off to their coaching staff. Tell me what is keeping Mizzou from being a Cornell. I've already typed enough but I could go on, believe me. Personally, I'm ready for chapter 2.

Unfortunately, this is true.

Could get behind this choice also.

I totally agree. Has done a great job building this program from scratch. Living in Missouri, I just kept wondering when the high schools down there would start wrestling. Was excited when UALR announced they were starting D1 wrestling. They actually recruit the KC area pretty well.

This was just my "tongue in check" reply to Illini about his comment about Seth Mendoza rumor of flipping to Illinois from Mizzou. Hell, at this point, nothing surprises me!

Rumor has it that Smith is stepping down at Mizzou and Askren is taking over as HC. But, you know how rumors go! As easy to start as a grass fire during a drought.

Thanks for posting this comment. I'm looking forward to hearing what others think about the facility and overall experience. I'm from the area and know what we have, and most definitely biased. Just good to hear from people that have been to several other host cities and venues to see how we stack up.

He's a scrapper, just like a bunch of those lanky WV wrestlers. Fun to watch.

When I was teenager growing up in KC, Missouri, I knew exactly where the state line was. Drinking age in Mo. was 21 and 18 in Kansas for 3.2 % beer. Night clubs full of chicks from both Missouri and Kansas. I had a 1970 650 Bonneville Triumph and the girls loved to climb on. We wrestled some of the Shawnee Mission schools back then and I would run into some of those guys at parties.

Kansas City is in Missouri for the most part, but the city and suburbs extend into Kansas also. Missouri River, Kansas River, State Line Road serve as boundaries.

"Well, if you put it that way!"

The venue is located adjacent to the "Power and Light" district which has a mix of bars and food options and ix always party central for Big 12 basketball tourney, Chiefs playoffs, etc... The BBQ options have been mentioned, and there are several. Joe's is awesome. Lots of Mexican cuisine options on Southwest Blvd. Kelly's Westport Inn is an Irish bar housed in what is said to be the oldest building in KC. They usually have live entertainment on the weekend. That bar is in the Westport area, which is just north of the Country Club Plaza. Both Westport and the Plaza have several options for food and drink. The City Market area is on the north side of I-70 and is the north terminus of the Trolly Car. More food and bars there. We haven't even touched the question of steaks. Hope that helps.

THIS!

125-DeAugustino 133-Moore 141-Edmond 149-Zargo 157-Mauller 165-Fish 174-Mocco 184-Soldano 197-Surber 285-Pitzer

Back when I was coaching, I opened the weight room for all our athletes in the summer. I taught at the middle school level, and some frosh classes. I saw these kids early on and saw their progression. I was competing in powerlifting (always clean and nothing spectacular) and some of the HS kids were competing. I saw a few of the kids make huge strength jumps and add size and would question what they were doing. The most common answer was creatine. Our HS football program was very successful and many of our grads were playing college ball. They would come in and lift and I would be very leery from seeing all the stretch marks and unbelievable gains in size. I was pretty close to most these kids and lectured them on PEDS and the consequences. That was almost 50 years ago. I watched many of those kids become grandpas dealing with all the consequences of their choices. At what point do coaches ethically "not turn a blind eye?"

I hate to see all this "gamesmanship" changing the priorities of the competitive season. On one hand, you can protect future seeding, and to an extent, the "wear and tear" of a demanding schedule. But, wrestling tougher competition also allows wrestlers to learn from losses, adjust, and prepare for the tournaments that count at the end of the season. Take Iowa State as an example. Carr takes an early season loss at CKLV, either because he wasn't prepared, off day, credit to Ramirez. I'm sure that loss remotivated him. That is what competition us all about. Iowa State, as a team, wrestled through a tough schedule and their program has continued to improve as they are "fire tested", and I am a fan of their grit. It seems to have worked for them judging their performance at Big 12's. I'm a Mizzou homer and now the Tigers go into the tourney with 10 wrestlers, but not sure if they will win the "gritty matches!" At one time, MU wrestled in the CKLV and some other notable tournaments. Guess we'll find out how that "crystal ball" works out in the end. Just call me pragmatic.

I totally agree. It's like someone turned the switch off. Glad he made the selection and wish him well.

Ah yes, to be 16 again and just getting my drivers license. Gas was cheap then, but so were wages.

1. Kerk, 2. Batista, 3. Hendrickson, 4. Schultz, 5. Feldman, 6. Elam I'm a Miz homer but Elam has shown he has problems with quick heavys that can attack legs. Davison could also be a problem for him. I don't think Batista beats Hendrickson again, but give him the benefit of the win in how I would seed them.

Can't wait to see the rematch between these two. Swiderski should have received one more point for the stall at the end. Regardless who wins this match, Ty Watters is looking like a "bad dude" right now. Uses that length well with leverage for those bars and tightwaist. West Virginia program has some "hombres" that can scrap. I like Swiderski's fire. All these tough underclassmen. Gonna be some good battles down the line in the Big 12. Now add Arizona State in the mix.

My father and stepfather were both Marine veterans of the Korean War. My stepfather had a USMC with the Marine symbol: eagle, globe, and anchor, tattooed on his left upper arm. He was one of those guys that got into weight training during the 50/60s and really had some jacked arms, and that "tat" was pretty intimidating. My step dad was a bad ass. Believe me, I know, when he told me not to pick on my sister or there would be consequences, there was. We lived in urban KC when I was growing up and there was a tavern on the corner that my parents frequented often. I once saw my step dad put those popeye arms into action in a "little disagreement" in the tavern. My youth was never boring. As dad eventually lived into his 70's and his muscles atrophied and shrank, that tat didn't age too well, but the legacy behind the tat left a lifetime impression.

The "click bate" that keeps on giving.