Crotalus

Taz was significant taller than his competition, but by no means musclebound. If he fills out his frame, we will see him up at 125. Also, Sadulaev looked rather pudgy.

It's not that Dake doesn't want to score and is content with close matches. That was his old MO. Now he has become obsessed with the Dake bomb and he believes he can hit it on anyone, anywhere. But, as has become obvious, everyone now knows it's coming and they have game planned for it.

I could be wrong, but I think Jim may be inferring a different similarity to Bolt..... That said, Taz has a much less suspicious look to him than Bolt did. The performance was incredible though.

LBJ is always making wild claims and touting his "insider" knowledge, but never provides anything to back it up or even elaborate on his claims. You just have to trust him. His claims against Micic are despicable unless he can back it up. (I fully agree with him on Taylor's smarminess, however.)

He said "could have been", not "would have been".

This is pointed out everytime someone says we shouldn't care about the Olympics and folks still don't get it. What would happen to international wrestling in the US if wrestling was no longer an Olympic sport? Seems like we're finally getting to a place with enough incentive (money) to have most of our best stay in the game and not run off to MMA or other ventures. Would that money dry up considerably if we lost the Olympics?

Word is that he tore ligaments in his ankle the day before. So basically, blew out his ankle. What would be the point of trying to compete against one of the all time best US wrestlers if you can even put weight on your leg? To not have your toughness questioned by random guys on the internet? I guess he did beat Taylor while not being able to put weight on his leg.... so maybe he should have given it a go.

Afraid to say what we mean, I see. I'm shocked, I tell ya. Seems like plenty of fortitude to me.....

Oh, you know, just hoping two of you aren't big enough assholes to take cheap shots at one of our best athletes on an internet forum. One who has represented our country incredibly well and never been afraid of a challenge. Especially when at least one of you has intimate knowledge as to what these athletes have to go through to try and be the best in the world, only to get injured at the last minute.

Are you accusing LJB of being a dick or just being one yourself?

Injured ankle during practice.

Man, that's a short turn around for those who were at the US Open. Is there a weight allowance?

This may very well be true, but he has still shown more toughness and wrestled through more adversity throughout his career than most wrestlers, let alone anyone in this forum, ever have to. He's spent the better part of the last 5 years rehabbing more than wrestling. It's bound to take its toll physically and mentally. It seems unfair to question his toughness, but that's what the internet is for.

Yeah, I just linked that because it describes the process. I would hope they get an updated article out early this coming week. Also, he may not have officially declined by early April, but he said long ago he was going 97, so they should have added that contingency.

https://www.teamusa.org/USA-Wrestling/Features/2023/April/12/World-Team-Trials-Challenge-Tournament-qualifiers If there is no returning medalist at the weight, then the US Open Champ will face the winner of the upcoming WTT. J'den will wrestle Snyder at Final X for the 97 kg spot. Macchiavello will face the winner of the WTT tournament at Final X for the 92 kg spot.

Depends on the draw. Myles Amine won Olympic Bronze and Zahid beat him 6-0 earlier this year. But if you don't make the team, you don't have a chance.

No one gives a shit. Yianni's recovery doesn't have any impact on Lee's recovery. I feel like you post this nonsense every time someone brings up Lee's knees. Yianni has had one ACL repair. Lee has had three. They are both fantastic wrestlers, and what they have been able to accomplish despite serious injuries is incredible. But you can't hold up what Yianni did after his surgery as a standard for what should be expected of Lee after a double ACL repair, or for anyone else for that matter. Also, Lee won his first title less than a year after ACL surgery, beating Tomasello and Suriano along the way. He also won his third title with at least one recently torn ACL.

I believe he had a surgery after his senior year of HS to fix the tear he had throughout that season. Then had both knees done at the same time last year. That in and of itself sounds brutal.

If he watching adorable puppy videos and not sharing them with us, he's a terrible person.

I think he peaked mentally more than physically. He clearly wasn't in top shape cardio-wise, but that wasn't going to improve all that much regardless. But when he pinned his teammate and went on that fall streak, he had an intensity to him. Granted it was one match at a time and not a big tournament, but at that point I think he was unbeatable. By the time the post season came around, he looked bogged down mentally. I'm sure the pressure had a lot to do with it. No doubt he wanted to win, but I think he also just wanted it to be over.

I think Spencer was suffering more from mental fatigue than anything else. He had a long college career where he spent much of his time rehabbing. Working back into shape this season he got on an absolute tear where he looked as unbeatable as ever, but I think he peaked too early and burned himself out. He looked flat and tired going into the post season. A little time to decompress should benefit him. And not only is freestyle his best style, but the international season, with the opportunity to space out competitions, is a huge benefit to him, as well. He can train the way they do for boxing or MMA. Build up training intensity to peak for a single event and then have recovery time after. I'd love to see him and Glory hit at the Open.

Certainly spices things up. https://youtu.be/8tWiZwMtvOY

Should a person carrying a firearm be able to chase down a kid with a pack of skittles and not be responsible for the outcome of any interaction that comes from the pursuit and confrontation? So many hypothetical situations to ponder.

But if we look at just 125 and 133 the last 10 years, Iowa is up five champs to three! In reality, the only weight anyone can say PSU has struggled at is 125. And Cael seems pretty content to more than make up for it across the other nine weights.

You might want to double check that. (Hint: you're missing two at 133 for Iowa. Which would put it at three different wrestlers winning 5 NCs at those weights for each team in the last 10 years.)