A big thanks to the NFHS for ruining a sport

[mike_dyer]

I wanted to take a moment to send a heart felt thanks to the NFHS and all of their little off shoots like the OHSAA and the NCAA for doing their part in making the USA horrible in men's international wrestling.

Our guys are currently getting rolled in Greco Roman. I haven't even bothered to look at the line up to see who's on the Freestyle team, but it's usually good for 2 medals, tops.

I haven't looked at the women's line up because the men's side of it makes me want to cram a hot stick in my eye, but no less than half of their team will medal and for years the credit was given to their coach. He's good and he played his part, but the real reason is they compete in college under international rules. He's gone now but I think I could grab a bum from under an overpass in Toledo and the results would be similar.

The USA is the only country on planet earth that uses "our" rules for the men's side of it.

It would be similar to having the USA cricket team change it up and play baseball or softball in the Olympics or vise versa.

The sports are similar. There's a ball and you hit it with something. It pretty much stops there though.

The NFHS and all of the rest of them are kinda like that guy who has coached a sport at your high school for 25 years and hasn't changed a thing since he started doing it. There's going to be a team. There's going to be up years and down years. They're going to get to coach and talk to the newspaper after the game is over. Win or lose they will be back next year, there's nothing anyone else can do about it, and that's about all that really matters to them.

 

[Heavy Hitter]

USA Freestyle Team

57KG
Daniel Dennis

65KG
Frank Molinaro

74KG
Jordan Burroughs

86KG
J'Den Cox

97KG
Kyle Snyder

125KG
Tervel Dlagnev

 

[mike_dyer]

Got about 1 gold there.

Maybe 1 bronze.

 

[mike_dyer]

Couple that with the egg the Greco team laid and US men's team will be real lucky to walk away with 2 total medals.

All US women could medal.

Thanks NFHS.

 

[mike_dyer]

Do you know what they call "freestyle" wrestling in Canada, Iran, and Azerbaijan?

They call it "wrestling."

 

[mike_dyer]

Maybe with the embargo lifted our guys can travel to Cuba to train. Maybe then they will look less pathetic in Greco Roman.

 

[baldguy]

It is a shame because there are way too many talented/dedicated young wrestlers and fanatical wrestling families in the U.S. for us not to perform better on the world stage IMO. I know of several youth wrestlers that travel all over the country wrestling with the best in-season and off-season. But the focus is mainly folkstyle because that's what they will do in HS and that's what college's are primarily focused on.

 

[thestuff142]

Interesting discussion from a bunch of softball junkies. I see Gold Medals from Burroughs and quite possibly Snyder who is youngest American World Champ ever...I see Tervel being in the hunt for a medal. I do not see the other guys going 0/1 and out... I am cautiously hopeful with this group of guys in freestyle. We could get several medals...and could get 1.

Something is up in Greco. It is not getting the support from USA Wrestling. 10 ish years ago the US won the Greco World title...nobody complaining about folkstyle then. Why are we so bad at greco now? Blaming Folkstye as the reason is just taking the easy excuse route in my mind.

AND...the Greco guys are not blaming Folkstyle...see Harry (Justin) Lester's facebook post on his experiences as world class greco go in the greco program.

Honestly.....in my narrow minded experience with USA wrestling...Greco will be gone from Olympics in 10 yrs. IOC will get rid of it as they did several weight classes years ago when FILA wanted to add women to the mix. Americans don't pay attention to it in general and USA wrestling treats it like red headed step child.

 

[mike_dyer]

I'm married to wrestling, softball is just a shoulder I cry on when things aren't so good at home.

Justin "Harry" Lester's experience in Greco is the exception, not the rule, and it likely only happened the way it did because he didn't wrestle control freak style in college.

There was a Greco program at the university of northern michigan that was putting out some quality guys. Spenser Mango and Joe Betterman were a couple of them. I'm not sure if they still have it or not. If they do,,, WTF happened??

I'm not going to look it up, because like I said, we aren't on speaking terms right now, but I want to say the last medalist we had in Greco was when Adam Wheeler won a bronze. He may have been a military guy. I can't remember though.

As for freestyle, Jordan Burroughs is the best shot at gold, but he's not invincible like he once was. I think I read about some recent losses here at home.

Kyle Snyder may medal, I highly doubt it's gold. Tervel will be alright, I don't think he will medal though.

Dapper Dan and Frank the Tank may not win a match.

That leaves Jayden Cox. That's prolly not gonna happen either, but he should fair better than ole dapper dan and the tank. Only because of age. Those guys are pulling too much weight and they're not youngsters anymore.

After the NFHS being a pack of control freaks the next biggest problem we have here is we aren't on the same page.

We've got about 8 OTCs here that I can think of off the top of my head, I know there are more than that though. Watch the Oklahoma State Pokes and the Iowa Hawkeyes wrestle. It's almost a completely different sport. It's different at PSU and tOSU too, and the guys who train in those places do everything they can to avoid each other.

They don't have that luxury in other countries, but that's another post for another day.

 

[mike_dyer]

And the golden child, Jordan Burroughs, is out.

I wouldn't be even a little bit surprised if the FS team puts up a goose egg just like the Greco team did.

 

[mike_dyer]

What was the slogan:

"All I see is gold"

or sommat like that? He must have hung around and sweet talked someone from Azerbaijan or where ever into letting him see theirs...

 

[mike_dyer]

Meh,,, that was rude of me. He's simply a product of a f-ed up system.

I was sitting at a friend's house in central Pennsylvania a few years ago, there was a knock on the door. A guy who had just made the world team stopped by to vent.

He gave my friend's kid the iPad that USA Wrestling gave him for representing USA wrestling,,,, where ever it was that year.

The guy who handed it to him likely makes 6 figures. The guy who decided that's what training his guts out was worth probably makes 7 figures.

 

[mike_dyer]

Jayden Cox wins bronze, Tervel didn't medal.

Neither did Dapper Dan, he's still very handsome though.

Kyle Snyder and Frank The Tank are the last 2 shots at medals for either men's team.

 

[Heavy Hitter]

Kyle Snyder wrestling for gold
Frank Molinaro wrestling for bronze

 

[mike_dyer]

I think that if aliens attacked earth Frank The Tank would be identified as a different species. They would feel sorry for him and try to find him a mate.

 

[mike_dyer]

I think he has to beat Chamizo to get bronze.

If he wins that's 3 total medals for the men's teams, and still a pretty sorry showing.

 

[mike_dyer]

I know the guy a little bit and I'm pulling for him, but realistically a win is very unlikely.

There have been much bigger upsets though.

 

[Heavy Hitter]

Not our best showing in freestyle but we did metal in 3 of 6 weight classes

 

[mike_dyer]

Frank Molinaro has to win 1 more match, then we have 3.

 

[Heavy Hitter]

That is correct Frank is wrestling for bronze now