PSU/WI

[Micah]

Stone beat him and if Stone beat him I have a hard time seeing Kasper beat Medberry.  

Stone beating Kasper does not prove Stone is better than Kasper.  It was one move in one match.

If you really believe Stone is better than Kasper, then you must expect he would be ranked #3 if he were competing as a starter.

I think Medbery is clearly better than Kasper.   But due to both of their styles, I think Kasper has a chance to upset Medbery.  

HW is like 197 in that the #1 is a clear favorite, Olympians in fact.   And the #2 (Medbery and Pfarr) are well ahead of the rest of the pack.  

If you had to pick 197 or Hwt for an upset, which one would you pick?  I don't think either happens but I would go HWT.  I think HWT has a lot more land mines for Snyder to run into than 197.

[wrastle63]

Stone beat him and if Stone beat him I have a hard time seeing Kasper beat Medberry.  

Stone beating Kasper does not prove Stone is better than Kasper.  It was one move in one match.

If you really believe Stone is better than Kasper, then you must expect he would be ranked #3 if he were competing as a starter.

I think Medbery is clearly better than Kasper.   But due to both of their styles, I think Kasper has a chance to upset Medbery.  

HW is like 197 in that the #1 is a clear favorite, Olympians in fact.   And the #2 (Medbery and Pfarr) are well ahead of the rest of the pack.  

Need to learn to read. I clearly said I think Kasper is better than Stone. But Stone pinned him that is a fact. 

[wrastle63]

On this board Huck you will find that if a badger defeated someone they are automatically better and if they meet up again you should assume they will win.  Happens all the time.  Herbst beat M Askren so clearly Herbst is better.  Of course Askren AA'd 3 x's and won a NT compared to Herbst's 1 AA BUT at the time you were supposed to assume Herbst was better because of a victory in December.  Last year Taylor was better than Richards because Taylor beat him the year before.  Didn't matter that Richards was undefeated until the Big 10's you had to assume Taylor was better....until they wrestled and Richards won.        Wrassle63 just proved what Barou said! Bla bla bla blinded by Badger love!
Taylor

Yea clearly a tech fall 23-5 and a win 5-4 makes Richards better.

[Huckfinn]

If you had to pick 197 or Hwt for an upset, which one would you pick?  I don't think either happens but I would go HWT.  I think HWT has a lot more land mines for Snyder to run into than 197.

I don't follow international wrestling, but Flo just posted all  5 of Snyder's matches in the big tourney he just won.  The Russian he beat in the championship was supposed to be good.   Snyder looks way better at that level.

But Pfarr didn't look like he could beat Cox on Jan 1, and he is the only possibility there.  Cox is looking even better now than he did a month ago.

I suppose there are more land mines for Snyder, but they are more like gopher holes to trip on than land mines.

[Huckfinn]

Flo got the elite HWs ranked correctly, IMO:
1 Kyle Snyder, Ohio State
2 Connor Medbery, Wisconsin
3 Jacob Kasper, Duke
4 Ty Walz,Virginia Tech
5 Nick Nevills, Penn State
6 Austin Schafer, OK St

Nevills hasn't shown as much offense as Walz.

Story time: I was a 225# heavy weight in college in ancient times, that's why I admire the little big men.   (I think the weight class should be capped at #250 pounds - there are a lot of athletes in the 210-240 range who will be able to compete better.  Plus most 250+ HWs will be more athletic if they cut down.  250 will be more exciting than 285.)

I once had to wrestle a guy from M.I.T. who weighed 420 pounds.  He ended up being an alternate on the Olympic team.  He also was a math wiz and a world class opera singer.  He became an actor after wrestling career.  He was Dutch, his name is Erland Van Lidth De Jeude.   You may remember his singing in the movie "Stir Crazy" where he played character named Grossburger:


I was a terrified freshman.   Grossburger never put his full weight on me.  He pinned me gently and mercifully.

He lost 75 pounds or so before international wrestling.  He was like 6'6"

[Barou]

If you had to pick 197 or Hwt for an upset, which one would you pick?  I don't think either happens but I would go HWT.  I think HWT has a lot more land mines for Snyder to run into than 197.

I don't follow international wrestling, but Flo just posted all  5 of Snyder's matches in the big tourney he just won.  The Russian he beat in the championship was supposed to be good.   Snyder looks way better at that level.

But Pfarr didn't look like he could beat Cox on Jan 1, and he is the only possibility there.  Cox is looking even better now than he did a month ago.

I suppose there are more land mines for Snyder, but they are more like gopher holes to trip on than land mines.

I think we saw that match a little differently.  I thought Pfarr was right in it until the end against Cox.  I'm not calling an upset as I think Cox will be rolling by NCAA's.  I thought I heard he took some time off after the Olympics and started back up a little later in the college season.  Would explain why he looked a little sluggish in the beginning.  I do think it's Cox and Pfarr at the top and a gap after those two.

[Huckfinn]

I think we saw that match a little differently.  I thought Pfarr was right in it until the end against Cox. 

You're right, the score was close, Cox didn't push him around.  Can't explain why I thought Cox was still out of reach, that was my gut feeling. A lot of Cox's matches are close scores.  i agree Cox is looking better now

[Huckfinn]

I loved Stir Crazy! Grossberger is a big dude with a voice that isn't supposed be! I looked him up and he also was Dynamo in the Running Man.

My last name is "Burger" and I am a somewhat hulking figure myself.   About 5 years ago, my wise guy friend took to calling me "Grossburger."    That led me to look up the actor on IMDB, and it was only after reading his bio did I realize it was the same guy I "wrestled" about 40 years ago.  He looked completely different in college - a giant head of curly hair, soft looking.  It was an open tournament, and I talked to him afterwords - an extremely friendly and bright guy.    He was singing opera at major venues on top of wrestling and M.I.T. studies.

[Harris]

Awesome story Huckfinn.  Thanks for sharing.

[bigG]

I loved Stir Crazy! Grossberger is a big dude with a voice that isn't supposed be! I looked him up and he also was Dynamo in the Running Man.

That scene was a pant-psser. I remember the first time I saw it like yesterday. Never cared for Gene; but loved that movie.

[imnofish]

If you had to pick 197 or Hwt for an upset, which one would you pick?  I don't think either happens but I would go HWT.  I think HWT has a lot more land mines for Snyder to run into than 197.

I don't follow international wrestling, but Flo just posted all  5 of Snyder's matches in the big tourney he just won.  The Russian he beat in the championship was supposed to be good.   Snyder looks way better at that level.

But Pfarr didn't look like he could beat Cox on Jan 1, and he is the only possibility there.  Cox is looking even better now than he did a month ago.

I suppose there are more land mines for Snyder, but they are more like gopher holes to trip on than land mines.

I'm hoping for a Badger hole, rather than a Gopher hole.