Chicks Heart Fights

I like using Latin in my blogging. It makes my four years of studying the language in high school completely worthwhile.

- Cage Potato has an excellent interview with Forrest Griffin, in which he discusses coaching TUF, preparing for this weekend, and Rampage’s scowl.

-  The Missouri peeps are having a send-off for Ben Askren at the Peachtree Convention Center in Columbia on July 16 at noon. Tickets are $40 a person, or $250 for a table of ten. Tickets are going mighty quickly, so if you want to go, contact Brian Smith at 573-882-0735. All proceeds benefit the Missouri Wrestling Foundation. If you can’t go but you’d like to send Ben good wishes, send them to Brian at smithbq@missouri.edu.

-  Tennesse: good. Delaware: bad.

-  NBC has a profile of Greco-Roman coach Steve Fraser. For the record, 38 days until the Olympics begin. WOOT.

• Members of the US wrestling team, Ben Askren, Clarissa Chun, Marcie Van Dusen, Randi Miller and Ali Bernard, were treated to a day of pampering at Tranquility Spa in New Jersey . You may notice that Ben’s hair was straightened. Let me tell you - as the owner of some seriously curly hair, like Ben, I can assure you, it is not easy to straighten hair like that.
• Two different athletes are selling shirts to help send their families to Beijing. Buy Ben’s “Put the Chin in China” shirt at Wrestling Central, and from the Hawkeye newsletter: For $20, you can get the new “Schwab. Bring on the World” t-shirt. Sizes range from Youth Medium to Adult XX Large. If you are interested in purchasing a shirt, please contact Doug’s fiancee, Allyson by e-mail at allyson-campbell@uiowa.edu.
• Kim Couture fought her first fight this past weekend, and got her jaw broken. BFD. Fighters get their jaws broken all the time. It’s not especially pretty, but it’s what she chose to do. Ben Fowlkes at Cage Potato examines why so many people were up in arms about the bloody pictures of Kim after the fight.
• Greco Roman Olympian Brad Vering has a Q&A on NBC Olympics. Apparently, Brad likes to go fishing. Funny enough, so do I! Call me, Brad!

I greatly apologize for not posting over the weekend. Right now, I am sitting in the Phoenix airport, eternally grateful for their free wi-fi. The schedule did not allow me as much time as I thought it would, but here is complete coverage from the Mat . The team that was made is very different from the team I thought we would have, but it’s a very good team. Here are my random observations from watching the Trials over the past few days.

• The rules stink. Plain old stink. They don’t reward the wrestler who pushes the pace and tries to create scoring opportunities. Even more egregiously, the rules reward luck. Coin flips decided far too many matches. What is wrong with letting wrestlers wrestle to decide the winner of a match? Isn’t that the point?
• Ben Askren is the first wrestling Olympian from the University of Missouri. I held back tears as the seconds ticked away in Ben’s second match, as I was a Tiger for a little bit of the pre-Brian Smith era. I can’t believe I’m going to get to watch one of my own in the Olympics.
• There was music played for the duration of the tournament, and the song choices were bizarre. With the exception of Rob Koll, who exactly gets pumped up to wrestle by listening to “Dancing Queen?” They also clearly did not vet the music before playing it. When I heard the beginning beats of “Closer,” by Nine Inch Nails, I myself nearly ran down to the announcer’s table to get the song turned off before Trent Reznor screamed “I wanna f### you like an animal!” Thankfully, someone else realized the error and turned that song off.
• The addition of Judo was fantastic. I learned more about a sport I had not seen before, and the Judo fans were clearly happy to be joined by the large wrestling contingent.
• Cary Kolat was one of my favorite wrestlers to watch. His return to the national scene has been a welcome one, and I hope he keeps at it.
• Someone please correct me if I’m wrong, but Sunday saw no wrestlers leave their shoes on the mat. Many wrestlers announced their retirement on Saturday, including, most shockingly in my opinion. Harry Lester. His loss to Jake Deicthler was a huge upset, and an amazing win for the 18 year old Deicthler, but I never would have guessed that this would be the last we would see of Lester. We will miss you, Harry!
• Is it me, or does T.C. Dantzler have a head wound in every match?
• One of the best moments of the weekend was when the 1980 Olympic team was honored. Regardless of the politics, it’s a shame that these men didn’t have a chance to take the mat that year. Granted, some of them had opportunities in other Games, but they were in the minority. Like many other fans, I appreciated having the opportunity to give them a round of applause.
• As usual, the wrestling world showed how we are a true family this weekend. I made new friends , reconnected with old ones, shared cabs with tons of random cauliflower-eared folk and was reminded why I love this sport so much.
• Two celebrities in the crowd: Dan Henderson and Ashton Kutcher
• Finally, as of today, Mike Zadick is FS 60 kg Trials champion. I have heard that he may receive a wildcard and get to compete in the Olympics. Keep your fingers crossed!

That’s all for now. I promise to have much, much more after I have had more than 45 minutes of sleep. It is so true that time has no meaning in Las Vegas!

As I begin to pack my suitcase for the Olympic Trials in Las Vegas this weekend, my mind wanders to my last trip to the Olympic Trials. I mentioned this over at Fourth Place Medal , but it’s worth bringing up again - go to the trials. During the 2004 Trials, I saw wrestlers who had knee surgery three days before the tournament hobble their way to the mat. I watched guys who had long retired come back out for one more chance. In one of the best ceremonies of all sports, I saw many wrestlers who I have respected for years announce their retirement by leaving their shoes on the mat. Best of all, I saw our Olympic team: eighteen young men and women who grabbed their chance to represent the United States in Athens. In August of 2004, I cried when the US wrestlers won medals, not only because I was proud of them as American wrestlers, but also because I had just watched all of the people who were left home.

This weekend, I can’t wait to see all this drama unfold again in Las Vegas. During this week, Chicks Heart Fights will have a preview of weight classes in each discipline. First up, men’s freestyle.

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Excuse me for being a little self-indulgent on this post, but it’s true, today is my birthday, so I get to be self-indulgent. Much like the kid who brings cupcakes to school, I will share some goodies with you.

A Rampage Jackson highlight video with some really odd background music:

Rampage has been so much fun during this season of TUF. How could you not love a coach who outlines a strategy of “whoopin’ his ass” for one of his fighters? Rampage’s next fight is against Forrest Griffin on July 5. For more fun, Ben Askren vs. Tyrone Lewis at this year’s senior nationals:

Ben Askren has the chance to become Missouri’s first wrestling Olympian next weekend at the Olympic Trials.

In a bit of a present to myself, Roger Huerta highlights:

Huerta will be back in the Octagon on August 9, taking on Kenny Florian. And finally, Usher’s “Love in this Club,” as performed by the Showbiz Pizza Band. Because, why not?

If you haven’t set aside your Wednesday night, do it now. Hire a babysitter, unplug the phone, leave work on time for once-do what you have to do to make sure that you are in front of a television at 7 Eastern, 6 central. Check out this line-up of fights:

• Kenny Florian vs. Joe Lauzon
• Thiago Alves vs. Karo Parysian
• Matt Hamill vs. Tim Boetsch
• Kurt Pellegrino Vs. Nate Diaz
• James Irvin Vs. Houston Alexander
• Gray Maynard Vs. Frank Edgar*
• Josh Neer Vs. Din Thomas*
• Ryan Roberts Vs. Marcus Aurelio*
• Jeff Cox Vs. Manny Gamburyan*
• Samy Schiavo Vs. Clay Guida*
• Roman Mitichyan Vs. George Sotiropoulos*
• Anthony Johnson Vs. Tommy Speer*

Lots of good articles have been written about both tomorrow’s Fight Night and the premiere of the Ultimate Fighter. MMAJunkie takes a look at the State of the TUF Franchise. Kevin Iole writes about Joe Lauzon, computer nerd and ass kicker. Cage Potato has a profile of Clay Guida, whose fight, unfortunately, will probably not be televised.

Here are two great wrestling links. First, Rock M Nation has a great multimedia profile of Ben Askren. Jason Bryant at Intermat took a look the NCAA Championship by the numbers: everything from the number of neckties that Tom Brands wore to the total attendance of the tournament.

Tomorrow night, I am planning on live blogging Ultimate Fight Night, and I will also write recaps of the Ultimate Fighter. So many great fights-so little time!

Finally, for some shameless self-promotion, I will be on the Blogcritics Treehouse Fort on Thursday night, discussing MMA.  Listen to my dulcet tones!

I don’t think anyone can deny MMA’s explosion in the past few years. The growth of the UFC, and the addition of various other MMA groups such as the WEC, EliteXC, StrikeForce, IFL, etc. have made mixed martial arts an almost mainstream sport. (Almost.) This has led to people flocking to the sport, and the opening of several MMA gyms - heck, you can even franchise Xtreme Couture.

To be a great fighter, you need discipline, excellent physical conditioning, and a willingness to make contact with an opponent. Where is the best place for a child or teenager to learn these skills? Right here:

If you want to be the next Randy Couture, Chuck Liddell, Georges St. Pierre, Josh Koscheck, Roger Huerta, Clay Guida, Matt Hughes, Dan Henderson, etc., then start where they started: on the wrestling mat. Wrestling taught them the basic grappling skills, but beyond that, they learned skills vital to a successful MMA career.

Indeed, a great crop of fighters coming up through the ranks had their start in a wrestling roon. In an article on MMA Junkie, Kevin Iole takes a look at the next generation of wrestlers turned MMA fighters, led by Oklahoma State Cowboy Jake Rosholt. Fellow Cowboys Johny Hendricks and Shane Roller have also started with the Xtreme Fighting League. Three former Division I wrestlers, Paul Bradley, Gerald Harris and C.B. Dolloway are all cast members for next season of the Ultimate Fighter. Mo Lawal, a current US freestyle team member, has recently signed with Team Quest. Ben Askren, the two time NCAA champion for Mizzou, has stated his intent to have a career in MMA after the Olympics.

So you want to be a fighter? Follow in the footsteps of some great fighters, and wrestle.

I’ve been having issues with my cable lately, so this afternoon, Comcast is bringing me a new cable box. The bad part of this is that I will lose all my DVRed programs, including the 2007 NCAAs. I’m rewatching the NCAA’s now since I’ll be losing my cable, and I figured that this was a good excuse to share my thoughts on the tourney and the broadcast.

- I highly doubt that Cael Sanderson was hoping that his “mere presence” would inspire the Cyclones to the title, as the announcers suggested. I can just picture Cael, sitting in a recliner at practice, and yelling at Backes “Don’t I inspire you? I mean, I’m here. Isn’t that enough?”

- Moore from UC Davis’ mom was my favorite cutaway shot of the broadcast. She was sitting very close to me during her son’s match, and as a friend of mine noted, she did everything short of going out and wrestling the match for her son. It was fantastic to see it again on TV.

- Even though I knew who won the Perry-Hendricks match, while watching that match, I was still cheering him on as if he wasn’t going to get those nearfall points. Right behind Mizzou’s third place finish, Askren’s win and Pell’s third place finish, Perry’s win was a highlight for me. I’ll be honest; I didn’t really like either of the wrestlers. Seeing Perry win, though, and get that monkey off his back was fantastic, and I was once again impressed by Hendricks’ classy reaction to the loss.

- Tom Brands looks ridiculously uncomfortable when giving his “That’s a reversal” lesson.

- I liked seeing Gregor Gillespie, and Edinboro win. To me, Edinboro is the little school that could. Bruce Baumgartner’s alma mater employer continues to produce quality wrestlers, despite less funding than the Big 10 or 12, or the EIWA powerhouses.

- I did NOT like seeing the cutaways of Mark Churella during Josh’s match. Wrestlers are proud men, and father’s are generally pretty proud of their sons. Seeing Mark Churella, this amazing wrestler and father of top wrestlers, watch his son lose did not add to the quality of the broadcast.

- ESPN’s broadcasts have improved over the years, but is it that hard for them to find an effective matside reporter? Kessenich was passable, but clearly did not know wrestling. He mentioned that Churella ate the same breakfast every morning for two years - yeah, when wrestlers find meals that work within their diet, and keep them at their weight, that is a meal they will stick with. The weight management aspect of that story would be much more interesting story than easy “breakfast of champions” quip.

How many days until wrestling season?

Ben Askren wrote an open letter to the Missouri faithful in appreciation for their support.

Hello everyone,

I would just like to say thank you for the outpouring of love you gave me during the ESPY process. Without the fans support I doubt I would have even been nominated for an ESPY.

I was very impressed with the amount of emails and phone calls I received of people telling me they voted for me. I appreciate it all. I know I didn’t win, but going to the ESPY’s was still one of the better experiences I have had in a long time.

Thanks again for you support. I hope to have your continuing support in my future endeavors.

Have a great day,
Ben

Personally, as a wrestling fan, and a Missouri fan, I have to say thank you to Ben. He sure has made the past four years fun. I also have to wonder-did Kevin Durant write a letter to thank his supporters?

Ben Askren, the 174 lb. wrestler from Missouri, the two-time NCAA champion and Hodge Trophy winner, the four-time All-American, the funkmeister, was nominated for the Best Male College Athlete ESPY this year. He lost to Kevin Durant. Intermat’s Jason Bryant wrote an excellent article about why Askren should have won:

http://armchairgm.com/index.php?title=ESPY_Awards:_Why_Ben_Askren_should_win_best_Male_College_Athlete

Jason covered the important stuff - to me, the especially salient points are that Askren was Big 12 Male Athlete of the Year over Durant, and, at 174 lbs, he can bench press more than Durant, who weighs 220.

Now, I know that the ESPYs truly mean zilch. It’s just a chance for sports people to dress up, have parties, and ogle Taryne Mowatt and Danica Patrick in dresses. I get it. And since it’s a fan vote that decides, I guess I should just be happy that he was nominated and move on. But maybe that’s the problem that has caused the loss of more than 200 wrestling programs over the past 15 years, most recently Oregon and Eastern Illinois. As these programs have fallen off the map - Notre Dame, Washington, Kansas St., Clemson, Syracuse, Fresno St.-wrestling fans have protested, but your average sports fan has said tsk, tsk, and moved on. I might be putting too much in an award that means nothing, but as a fan of the sport since I was a little girl, I just wish that people would stop and take a look at the world’s oldest and greatest sport before moving on.