Chicks Heart Fights

Mark from Rev Wrestling pointed out an interesting trend to me-wrestling has more coverage from the media than it has in the past. Well, it seems so. I have no empirical data to support this claim, but there have been many great profiles of wrestlers in large publications, including:

• T.C. Dantzler in the Sun-Times
• Jake Deitchler in USA Today
• Henry Cejudo in the Arizona Republic
• A visit by Cejudo and Deitchler to the offices of ESPN the Magazine
• Steve Mocco in USA Today
• Dremiel Byers in the Charlotte Observer
• Ali Bernard in the Pioneer Press
• Randi Miller in the Kansas City Star
• Best of all, you can download  Doug Schwab wallpapers at the  Des Moines Register.

I can’t explain the uptick in coverage, but I am not going to question it. Increased coverage for the sport can only be good for it.

- Apparently, Dana White doesn’t agree with my plan to have Clay Guida fight in Chicago at the end of October. Clay will fight Mac Danzig at UFC Fight Night 14 , September 17 (the birthday of the Constitution!) in Omaha.

-If you are in Missouri and you want to go to Ben Askren’s send-off, email Brian Smith at Smithbq@missouri.edu, NOW.

- More Olympic shirts , compiled so kindly by Champ at the Wrestling Talk.

-  Jose Canseco got his ass kicked. Heh.

-  Finally, I have a question for you, my lovely readers. What are you going to do on Saturday? Buy Affliction, DVR the UFC? Say screw it, I’m not spending the money when I get to see the best fighter on the planet? Really say screw it, and catch “Wicked” at the Cadillac Palace Theater? Tell me true, in the comments.

A bunch of half stories in the wake of UFC 86 and in the month lull before the Olympics start:

• Fightmetric, a site that makes me wish I liked math, breaks down Griffin/Rampage blow-by-blow, and calls it a draw.
• The salaries for UFC 86 have been released, and the main card fighters got paaaaaaaaid. Josh Koscheck must be happy that he signed that contract with the UFC, as he received 70K for the fight.
• Jason Bryant is leaving Intermat and the NWCA - best of luck to Jason at Wrestling 411.
• As you may know, the Dan Gable Wrestling Museum in Waterloo, Iowa was hit pretty hard by the flooding in Iowa. Here is an update on the museum, and a link for a donation.
• NBC’s Olympic Web site has “Ten to Watch” in wrestling .

I coach at a high school, and I have an 18-year-old niece. These kids are fantastic, but on the whole, they can be idiots. I think any parents of teenagers will agree with me on that.

Jake Deitchler is not your typical 18-year-old.

The youngest member of the Olympic wrestling team is grounded and focused. He knows the history of wrestling, and takes the time to learn from the titans of the sport. While in New York with the Olympic wrestling team, he spent time with Lee Kemp, discussing sports psychology and the pressures of being an Olympian.

Of course, he is still an 18-year-old kid. When naming the other Olympians he’d like to meet , he skipped right over Kobe and LeBron, and went straight to gymnast, Nastia Liukin. Nastia, you could do far worse than someone who you can find in the pages of Sports Illustrated, who graduated early from high school and who will be a Minnesota Gopher after the Olympics.

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!

Last year’s Greco-Roman team won the World Championship on the backs of Dremiel Byers, Brad Vering and Harry Lester. Though the team has gone through some setbacks, they have the talent and the opportunity to come home from Beijing with some serious hardware. Of course, they have to make the team first. (more…)

I’m just getting home from the bar, and well, I was pretty disappointed in the overall card. There was not a single “damn, I’m glad I missed my friend’s party to watch that!” fight. (For example, Roger Huerta/Clay Guida fell into that category.) Onto the my thoughts, sponsored by Mickey’s Malt Liquor. (Not really, but was tonight the last fight sponsored by Mickey’s?)

- Fitch vs. Wilson - Wilson didn’t look ready for the UFC and Fitch shouldn’t have let it be that close of a fight. Fitch was not aggressive enough. Everyone is always touting his wrestling experience, yet in the rather important third period, he wasn’t shooting.

- Yushin Okami’s knee might have been my favorite body part of the night. It was quick and decisive in knocking out Evan Tanner.

- Before Leben’s fight begins, Ezra, BBall Coach and I are very confused as to why we are watching this fight. Leben vs. Sakara screams undercard to me! Chris Leben’s sponsor was condomdepot.com, written right across his buttocks. I’ll leave the jokes up to you. He knocked Alessio Sakara back to Rome.

- A few sartorial notes on our announcers: Joe Rogan’s shirt looked like he opened a packaged shirt from JCPenny’s and put it on. Joe, irons are your friend! For Goldberg, his suit coat looked like it was about four sizes too big.

- Earlier today, I was looking forward to the Kongo/Herring fight. I was really thinking that this fight was what would put Kongo on the map. I was wrong. Herring didn’t so much win as Kongo lost. He had no idea what to do when on bottom, and that is not only his fault, but his coach’s fault. A fighter should go through every possible scenario before a fight, so that nothing is a surprise. I mean, Kongo lost a split decision to a guy with stars shaved into his head!  By the way, Bball Coach decided that Herring looked like Andre the Giant in the Princess Bride - aaaaaaaaaaaas youuuuuuuuuuuu wiiiiiiiiiiiish!

- After the fight, Herring said that he wants Bud Light to send him on a crazy horse tour of Iraq. I have no idea what that means.

- Ahhhhhh, Dan Henderson vs. Anderson Silva. Hendo came in to a song that is beloved by all wrestlers, Lunatic Fringe.  He was escorted by some of the members of the USA world greco team, including this guy, who is serving out a suspension during an Olympic year due to positive drug tests. Hendo, I love ya, but really?

- Hendo looked great in the first round. He looked like a different fighter in the second round. Silva’s rear naked choke was a well-deserved submission of the night, as it was locked in so tight that Hendo couldn’t hang on for 10 more seconds, because that’s all that was left in the round.

- I was happy to get to see Koscheck’s knockout of Dustin Hazelett after the Silva fight.

Ok, I think that’s all I have for you five readers tonight.

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[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EUmzzgZH3zU&rel=1]

In preparing to write about Black History Month, I asked two of my favorite black wrestlers, Mo Lawal and Jamill Kelly, which black wrestlers they looked up to. Without hesitation, they both answered: Chris Campbell, Kenny Monday and Kevin Jackson. These three men won Olympic medals for the US in 1992, and in doing that, made a mark on young black wrestlers. Read more about these men, and how they affect today’s generation of wrestling, after the jump. (more…)

With the wrestling World Championships taking place Azerbaijan, it can be a little hard for us Americans to stay apprised of results. Also, considering that we’re ridiculously spoiled and used to instant information - right now, I am watching the Cubs game, following the game on an open thread on Bleed Cubbie Blue, and receiving text messages with score updates - waiting to catch results on the Mat will take some getting used to.

The good news is that you don’t have to wait around for Borat to call in the scores. You can watch via streaming video on wcsn.com. Commentary will be provided by 2004 Olympic silver medalist Jamill Kelly. Jamill is smart and perceptive, so I’d imagine that these traits will make him a strong commentator. The service costs $4.95, and WCSN’s complete schedule is after the jump. On Intermat, Jason Bryant’s blog will follow his adventures in Baku, and Flo Wrestling is making the trip, too, so you can watch daily videos. TheMat.com has a section dedicated to the World Championships, including an athlete’s journal from Katie Downing. All in all, some solid coverage from the venues who have always been good to wrestling. Go USA!

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The US wrestling world championships team is at a training center in Austria, before heading to Baku, Azerbaijan for worlds. After some intense training, the team definitely seems tougher and more ready for the championships than they have been in years. I confess, my knowledge of international wrestlers is lacking. I can’t give rock solid predictions on medals, but I can gush about my favorite US wrestlers.

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