CHROMEBIRD

Portal closes in just over 2 weeks, right? I suppose grad transfers and NIL-only wrestlers will have more time, but things should resolve themselves pretty soon.

Young Alan Alda

Doesn't matter whether it was intentional or not. Head injuries are a serious concern these days. Football players will get flagged for helmet-to-helmet no matter how accidental. Knock someone out and they'll probably get tossed, too. Aside from not being the most effective technique, the head bounce is a pretty dumb thing to coach. Leaves your positional advantage up to the whims of the refs, who will be looking to blow the whistle if there's a possible head injury.

Do you have a video example of this?

I too was hoping it was the John Meeks we know. It's good to have ex-wrestlers as ADs.

I'd like to see Spencer do well, but don't think this is his year. Not nearly enough recovery time from the college season, plus he will only have had a few weeks of mat practice. He's listening to his ego and not his body.

As the only Big Ten school on the quarter system and very tough academics, did you ever feel like you had it tougher at Northwestern than wrestlers at other schools? Did the season typically span 3 quarters? Kids at Stanford might be in a similar boat, minus the unpleasant winters.

I was surprised that his eligibility clock hadn't already run out. If Steveson's considering a college return because there's NIL money, he seems like the type that would want to get something that includes his teammates also. That would be a win.

It's been said before, but great wrestlers aren't always great managers or administrators. Can you imagine the weird sh!t Dake would make his wrestlers do? It would be funny if an AD popped in to a practice and saw the team standing out in the sun building their solar calluses and being told to sleep far away from their cellphones. And Taylor is just awkward in front of the media. They would eat him alive.

Did Jimmy assume he was returning to college wrestling because the interview was at Minny?

I think you'll get better looks in one of those old school freestyle singlets from the 80s

I meant the actual singlet, not the sport, and was talking in terms of commercial viability for wrestling. Basketball gets a ton of money because bball shoes, shorts, jerseys, warmups, and other gear are worn by athletes, fans, and even non-fans. It's just normal fashion for many. On the other hand, no one goes out or lounges around at home in a wrestling singlet and headgear (well, I can think of a few here who might, lol). Embrace the shorts and shirt combo, normalize it into something people will want to exercise or train or even lazily lounge (social media influencers, I'm looking at you) around in. Might as well give it a go and see if it brings more money to the sport.

That's more than what your average professional MMA fighter makes in a year

Shoe and apparel companies have been funneling kids to specific schools for years. The most obvious is basketball where the biggest retail money is. They tried to get around the NCAA by setting up teams, relationships, and programming at the AAU level. That's why elite kids from specific AAU programs or bball academies get labeled as "Adidas players" (destined for Adidas sponsored schools like Kansas, Louisville, or Indiana), Nike players, Under Armor players, etc. Happens also, to a much lesser extent, in soccer, volleyball, and tennis. Probably even less than that in wrestling, but I would expect more attention given to the sport with its link to MMA. Another reason to ditch the singlet, btw.

Portal was created for compliance so that there are no surprises during the transfer. In the past, a kid would transfer and the NCAA sometimes lose eligibility because some rule wasn't followed during the process. Now everything is in one place so there's no excuse for missing dates or not checking every box. NIL was something that was not allowed until one day it was. My feeling is that the NCAA okay, NIL deals are fine now, go wild but without a lot of structure, guidance, or cooperation with schools and sponsors. So now here we are.

Very clever! Similarly, I think John Smith has been quiet quitting over at Okie State.

I am. I liked Yianni's interviews and his mom.

People used to say Teskee was a little small for 125. Now that he's filled out a bit, I think he'd be a better there than at 133. Unfortunately, there's no way he's beating Ayala in a wrestle-off. It would be funny if Iowa gets Nagao and Teske goes back to PSU.

You are not required to transfer by having your name in the portal, BUT you can't transfer unless you're in the portal. He could just be testing the waters or putting his name in the portal just in case. There's a lot of movement in the offseason these days.

Portal + NIL are a brutal combo.

Because he could easily live in a bubble in Palo Alto and assuming he makes a decent salary could cruise along and finish in the Top 3 of his conference every year, have his pick of West Coast talent, own the camp scene in CA, enjoy nice food and weather... It would be like a vacation compared to a lot of the other jobs out there.

Stylistically, I don't know if Nagao beats Teskee on his feet. His advantage would be from top and I don't know if Teskee would be able to get out. It would be a closer wrestle-off than many might expect. Longer term, if Ayala fills out and moves up I am skeptical that Nagao would beat him too.

Hard to blame Eggum for retention. NIL sucks.

He could also be keeping his cards close to his chest with the US Open around the corner. Spencer said he and the HWC coaches haven't decided yet if he will go but I was very surprised (but at the same time not) that he hasn't had any mat time at all since Nationals. The Open is less than 4 weeks out.

Have they ever wrestled? I'm not sure that Nagao would be a significant upgrade over Teskee.