Chicks Heart Fights

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…)

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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So how about dem USA Greco-Roman wrestlers? Rich Bender, the executive director of USA Wrestling, called today the most important day in US Greco-Roman wrestling history, and I have to agree with him.

Rulon’s win, though important, created a well-known figure in the sport and helped with the popularity, but did not necessarily say that the US truly had a great Greco program. This team win was the combined effort of USA Wrestling, the Army’s WCAP, the Olympic Training Center, and the USOEC, not to mention the many college programs where many of the wrestlers got their start. Of course, this was also due to the hard work and sacrifice of the wrestlers themselves - guys like Lindsey Durlacher, Brad Vering and Dremiel Byers, veterans with a never say die attitude, a young star like Harry Lester, and hard working role players like Joe Betterman, TC Dantzler, and Justin Ruiz. Well done, gentlemen. Supremely well done.

In other USAW news, the two freestyle members who wrestled today did not do as well. Henry Cejudo and my crush Mike Zadick were both eliminated early in the tournament. Tomorrow, Doug Schwab, Joe Heskett and Joe Williams will take to the mat.

(Photo credit: Larry Slater)

That’s right, cue the Queen music. Dremiel Byers’ Bronze medal put the US over the top, and they won the Greco team race. Way to go, guys! Click here to read more. (For the record, USA Wrestling PR people, nothing, ever, ever, ever warrants four exclamation points. Even on September 11, the Chicago Tribune headline was “Attacked!” Show some sophistication, will you, please?) Of course, more on this later…

Harry Lester won the bronze, after getting screwed in a semifinal match against Azerbaijani Mansurov, and Lindsey Durlacher took 5th. More on this later…

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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I have heard of the Cog before, a trail up Pike’s Peak that wrestlers at the Olympic Training Center like to run. Okay, they abhor running it, but it’s one heck of a training tool.  Flo Wrestling taped the US World Team and a few Canadians running the cog:

Flo Wrestling at the Cog
(Note to my ladies - WATCH THIS VIDEO. Sweaty, half naked boys with extremely low body fat are running up and down a mountain. Need I say more?) I liked to see the competitive nature show itself in the everyday drills that the team runs. Mike Zadick and Doug Schwab should be jostling each other as they run up the trail. I did not like to see the terrible attitude from Daniel Cormier. If there is one trait that is usually universal amongst wrestlers, it is the (almost psychotic) hunger to train. Some high school coaches don’t need to push their wrestlers like Brands had to push Cormier. That is just sad.

Here is one story on the win from the Des Moines Register, and another from the Iowa City Press-Citizen. It’s interesting that Nate Gallick didn’t shake Mike’s hand, but I think that Gallick just was questioning the end of the match, not necessarily trying to disrespect Mike. That seems out of Gallick’s character. I also loved reading that 15 Iowa wrestlers were there supporting their coach, and that, according to Tom Brands:

Schwab was there, and he was pretty animated. He was cheering hard for him, and he actually gave me some coaching feedback after the first match, and that’s very unselfish.

There are now three Hawkeyes on the World team: Joe Williams, Doug Schwab, and Mike Zadick. Somewhere, Dan Gable has a big smile on his face.

Well, as much of a smile as Dan Gable can get.