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FRL Discussion re: 197

seeyajohn

Well-Known Member
Mar 19, 2012
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This morning's FRL podcast is worth a listen because much of it is about PSU v tOSU. But the discussion regarding our 197 situation is especially interesting.
 
Thanks John. Any takeaways you can share....I won't be able to listen until tonight. TIA.
 
Thanks John. Any takeaways you can share....I won't be able to listen until tonight. TIA.

Basically, they were taking a dump on Cael because in their view (actually Willie's I think) Rasheed has done everything to win the spot and Cael had the audacity to have them wrestle-off thus causing Rasheed's injury allowing Cassar the opportunity to wrestle Moore. Essentially, they are butt-hurt because they don't know how to rank 197.
 
CP has a better plan.

I thought it odd too that they'd be wrestling off so late in the season but at the same time, they presumably wrestled off early in the season and Rasheed has looked much better since his first tournament and injury. A wrestle-off now would be useful to compare against the result of the first wrestle-off to see how far along Rasheed has come vs how much his success has been just a great cradle. Ben Darmastadt could've served the same purpose but he was probably unavailable.

As for criticizing Cael for Rasheed getting injured in a wrestle-off, insert eyeroll emoji here. Guys get injured in practice, they're not porcelain figurines. Weak Monday-morning quarterbacking.
 
I like how Cael has handled the situation at 197 so far. He does not need to make a decision until B1G's. Given that both have a history with the injury bug, splitting the matches has kept both wrestlers engaged. That is important if one of them suffers an injury between now end when the B1G roster is set.

Choose a starter now and you run the risk of the other wrestler shutting it down some (human nature). Starter gets hurt, it might be harder for the other wrestler to turn it back on. Right now they are both sharp.

I predict we see Shak this week if healthy, Buffalo is probably an indication as to who the starter is for B1G's.
 
I'm very new to the boards and to me it seemed like a one sided podcast. Very little credit given to PSU, saying Nickle was on his heels and that his exposure points came way to quick. Said that tOSU was flat. Cael has mishandled his 197 wrestlers. Also saying the PSU fans are the most sarcastic (trash talking) in the sport.
Maybe I'm looking to much into it, I don't know.....
 
Tikk, I coached a long time and I don’t recall even one season where there wasn’t wrestle-offs all the way the last weekend of the regular season. Particularly in HS with lots of weight shifting.
 
I'm very new to the boards and to me it seemed like a one sided podcast. Very little credit given to PSU, saying Nickle was on his heels and that his exposure points came way to quick. Said that tOSU was flat. Cael has mishandled his 197 wrestlers. Also saying the PSU fans are the most sarcastic (trash talking) in the sport.
Maybe I'm looking to much into it, I don't know.....
I just spit my water out. Lol If earning a major decision can be accomplished by being on one’s heels, I’m changing my coaching tactics.
 
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Has the result of the wrestle off between Cassar and Rasheed been reported anywhere but Christian Pyle's Twitter account?

Not that I have seen and what do you think the odds are that Cael told CP the results of any wrestle off? I put it at zero. Once again IMHO Flo got told something and without verifying it passed it off as 100% fact. Not saying it didn't actually happen, just that I don't trust much anything that Flo says, especially when it comes to inside info re PSU.
 
I'd recommend a drinking game where you drink every time Willie or Pyles say something terribly stupid but I don't want anyone here to drink themselves to death.
 
Basically, they were taking a dump on Cael because in their view (actually Willie's I think) Rasheed has done everything to win the spot and Cael had the audacity to have them wrestle-off thus causing Rasheed's injury allowing Cassar the opportunity to wrestle Moore. Essentially, they are butt-hurt because they don't know how to rank 197.
My take form this is the same for 197---but overall they seemed to be making excuses to why PSU beat tOHS. Did not give PSU much credit--even with a NC out of the line-up.
 
I wonder which of the unnamed Flo guys called Rec Hall on Saturday the craziest wrestling environment he'd ever been in.
 
CP has a better plan.

I thought it odd too that they'd be wrestling off so late in the season but at the same time, they presumably wrestled off early in the season and Rasheed has looked much better since his first tournament and injury. A wrestle-off now would be useful to compare against the result of the first wrestle-off to see how far along Rasheed has come vs how much his success has been just a great cradle. Ben Darmastadt could've served the same purpose but he was probably unavailable.

As for criticizing Cael for Rasheed getting injured in a wrestle-off, insert eyeroll emoji here. Guys get injured in practice, they're not porcelain figurines. Weak Monday-morning quarterbacking.
I think that Tom on the Open Mat site has the best current rankings at 197 where Flo seems reluctant or unable to make a decision. He has Ben Darmstadt number 1 and Cassar 2.
 
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Cael thinks both his 97 guys are better wrestlers than #1.......why give Moore the chance to see the tourney guy up close when you can beat OSU without him?
 
YoungGunsWc on our board who has a lot of good inside info reported Shak won and by more than what Pyles posted

My ignorance of theYoungGunsWc poster's bonafides.
Have they shared info that was later verified? Over the years, so little info has come out of any top program in any major sport that I don't accept these insider comments.
I'm not a paying member so I don't know if Premium boards are better but the free boards blow a lot of smoke and no fire is ever seen. I'd love to be getting the real skinny but I don't believe I am. I'm not from Missouri but I want to be convinced before I buy the pig.
 
My ignorance of theYoungGunsWc poster's bonafides.
Have they shared info that was later verified? Over the years, so little info has come out of any top program in any major sport that I don't accept these insider comments.
I'm not a paying member so I don't know if Premium boards are better but the free boards blow a lot of smoke and no fire is ever seen. I'd love to be getting the real skinny but I don't believe I am. I'm not from Missouri but I want to be convinced before I buy the pig.

You'll never get the word from the coaches mouth so it will never be 100% verified. Pyles got info from somewhere, and so did YounGuns. If you hang around the boards enough you know who has real insider info.

As far as PSU info..I'd take YoungGuns word over Pyles.

That being said..if you are asking if this has been verified by any coaches..the answer is no
 
Not once did I hear them give some credit to PSU for wrestling to the last second to get bonus points or for winning shorthanded without one of the greatest wrestlers of our time.

Instead it was, tOSU was flat, Nato & Snyder tried to do to much too fast, 2 out of 3 of Kuhn's takedowns were fluky and "nonrepeatable", etc etc.
 
Pyles was in such an emotional state during this discussion that he lost his freakin’ mind.

Willie said something like “it’s not like Cassar hasn’t done some things,” which I took to mean won some matches this year. Pyles scoffed and said he hasn’t done anything since he made the junior world team.

He just beat the top ranked guy in the country. He won the Keystone Classic with two wins over guys Flo has or has had ranked in the top 10 (Cutch and Mattiace.) And he has wins this year over Flo’s #s 12 and 16.

I’m not saying that measures up to Rasheed’s results. But to act like it’s nothing is just asinine.
 
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Not once did I hear them give some credit to PSU for wrestling to the last second to get bonus points or for winning shorthanded without one of the greatest wrestlers of our time.

Instead it was, tOSU was flat, Nato & Snyder tried to do to much too fast, 2 out of 3 of Kuhn's takedowns were fluky and "nonrepeatable", etc etc.
True-ish. CP did call PSU "the most progressive, best coached, best performing program in the county bar-none"which is a good bit of truth telling. But yeah, not a lot of credit thrown our way for the W Saturday....

PS regarding YG, you can always google it. ;-)
 
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Not related to 197, but the biggest fake news of the podcast was CP saying they were trying to get Nevills bigger. He's trying to get leaner, dammit.
 
I think maybe some of you are being too sensitive. It is certainly the case that CP was critical of the wrestle off that he says happened at 197. It is also true that they questioned a couple of the calls that went in Penn State's favor.

On the other hand they had positive remarks about Lee, Hall, Nickal and Cassar. In particular they all agreed that Nick would best McKenna in their next matches.

In most of their broadcasts they are accused by others (e.g. Hawkeyes) of being biased toward the Nittany Lions. My own view is that they are wrestling fans and have great appreciation for the success of Cael and his teams.

Finally, in the realm of podcasts, I am looking forward to the comments about the match from Trow and Funky!
 
True-ish. CP did call PSU "the most progressive, best coached, best performing program in the county bar-none"which is a good bit of truth telling. But yeah, not a lot of credit thrown our way for the W Saturday....

PS regarding YG, you can always google it. ;-)

So, Willie went to Bloom, Bader Mizzou and CP...not sure where...somewhere in VA. Where does their admiration for this edition of the Buckeyes come from? Didn't I see a pic on Flo somewhere of Tan Tom at Rec Hall last Saturday holding Bader's child dressed in OSU gear?

Maybe it's not admiration as much as they are shocked that Cael found the only path to beat tOSU (even without our NC)?
 
Finally, in the realm of podcasts, I am looking forward to the comments about the match from Trow and Funky!

THIS! By far my favorite podcast. Gonna be fun listening to Ben give it to Tommy, Tommy is honest as well so it's going to be interesting hearing his take
 
The discussion concerning seeding at 174 made the 4/5 match look like one of the better match ups of the quarters. Lewis-Kutler-BoJo-Amine for starters are hovering around that match. The winner gets a crack at Mark or Zahid... yehaw
 
True-ish. CP did call PSU "the most progressive, best coached, best performing program in the county bar-none"which is a good bit of truth telling. But yeah, not a lot of credit thrown our way for the W Saturday....

PS regarding YG, you can always google it. ;-)

On the other hand, The only reason he made the comment about the coaches you mentioned was in the context of establishing that he was not anti-PSU, so he could slam them about the whole wrestle off situation.
 
Flo (and others) always try to paint a picture that there is some drama or that multiple teams have a chance. If they just put out at story that PSU has it all wrapped up there isn't much to talk about.

Look at how the have covered the Hodge Trophy race. They have made it look like there are a dozen guys that have any chance. By the criteria of the Hodge it is pretty much a 2 man race between Zain and Nolf until Jason was injured. You can throw Snyder in there for his overall career accomplishments outside of college wrestling.

Flo just wants to have something to write and talk about.
 
So, Willie went to Bloom, Bader Mizzou and CP...not sure where...somewhere in VA. Where does their admiration for this edition of the Buckeyes come from? Didn't I see a pic on Flo somewhere of Tan Tom at Rec Hall last Saturday holding Bader's child dressed in OSU gear?

Maybe it's not admiration as much as they are shocked that Cael found the only path to beat tOSU (even without our NC)?
Bader's daughter wore a PSU shirt underneath. Put on the OSU jacket for the pic with Ryan.

Not pointing this at any individual: I totally do not understand the sensitivity about our team supposedly not getting enough recognition.

Accuse Flo of manufacturing drama all we want, but that's exactly what we're doing.
 
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Flo (and others) always try to paint a picture that there is some drama or that multiple teams have a chance. If they just put out at story that PSU has it all wrapped up there isn't much to talk about.

Look at how the have covered the Hodge Trophy race. They have made it look like there are a dozen guys that have any chance. By the criteria of the Hodge it is pretty much a 2 man race between Zain and Nolf until Jason was injured. You can throw Snyder in there for his overall career accomplishments outside of college wrestling.

Flo just wants to have something to write and talk about.
The pre season hype is another example. Ok st has been mediocre but got a lot of FLO pre season love. Ohio State was made to
Look like THE dream team.
 
The discussion concerning seeding at 174 made the 4/5 match look like one of the better match ups of the quarters. Lewis-Kutler-BoJo-Amine for starters are hovering around that match. The winner gets a crack at Mark or Zahid... yehaw
If Mark gets to the NCAAs undefeated, it would be criminal to not give hime the #1 seed.
 
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I just spit my water out. Lol If earning a major decision can be accomplished by being on one’s heels, in changing my coaching tactics.
Must have been PDII in the podcast. His kid’s big victory over Bo was getting him to disengage when he didn’t feel comfortable for one second of one match.
 
So, Willie went to Bloom, Bader Mizzou and CP...not sure where...somewhere in VA. Where does their admiration for this edition of the Buckeyes come from? Didn't I see a pic on Flo somewhere of Tan Tom at Rec Hall last Saturday holding Bader's child dressed in OSU gear?

Maybe it's not admiration as much as they are shocked that Cael found the only path to beat tOSU (even without our NC)?

Ryan gave Bader access to their room for his little pep talk and team walk-out. Cael does not give Flo near the kind of access Ryan, Brands, and Smith do. "Media Savvy" folks see this as "hurting the sport." I think Cael has earned the right to handle it however he chooses.
 
Bader's daughter wore a PSU shirt underneath. Put on the OSU jacket for the pic with Ryan.

Not pointing this at any individual: I totally do not understand the sensitivity about our team supposedly not getting enough recognition.

Accuse Flo of manufacturing drama all we want, but that's exactly what we're doing.

Flo would rent space at REC if cael were to desire to talk to them or have them around the team. He doesnt, so they wont.

Yes hyperbole but only a smidge.
 
I sometimes wonder why Cael is so secretive and acts the way he does. Then I think maybe he just wants his wrestlers focused on just training and wrestling. Keep all that nonsense out of the picture. You can not reallly argue with him either, his results speak volumes. He always has his kids ready to go for NCAAs. That said I would love to see some inside stuff with PSU wrestling with Cael granting access.
 
Ryan gave Bader access to their room for his little pep talk and team walk-out. Cael does not give Flo near the kind of access Ryan, Brands, and Smith do. "Media Savvy" folks see this as "hurting the sport." I think Cael has earned the right to handle it however he chooses.
I think it’s appropriate locking them out. We want to keep our trade secrets internal and mysterious. Flo oftentimes seems to try to build stories in an immature, tabloid-like manner. We don’t need that either.
 
I sometimes wonder why Cael is so secretive and acts the way he does. Then I think maybe he just wants his wrestlers focused on just training and wrestling. Keep all that nonsense out of the picture. You can not reallly argue with him either, his results speak volumes. He always has his kids ready to go for NCAAs. That said I would love to see some inside stuff with PSU wrestling with Cael granting access.

And there's probably no robes and hoodies in our future either.
 
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