MR TWISTER
12-27-2007, 01:58 AM
Well it has been too long since I posted to my blog and I have a few fans that asked me to get back down to business. Part of my problem is I have so many random thoughts racing through my head that it is hard to concentrate on one subject so I will try to organize my rambling thoughts for you...
College wrestling...I have started to fall in love with this level of wrestling as I go on this journey with my son Mario. There is something about the brutality, the officiating, the high skill level that I like...in fact i am probably one of the few people that even likes riding time. I was told that I will soon change that thought but we will see. My son can ride so for now it is okay...
My son...many thanks to all of the people that have asked about how his season is going and his recovery from last seasons ACL injury. His season is going well so far...of course it could always be better but he is healthy for the first time in three seasons (knock on wood) so that is a good thing...we will see how everything goes starting with the National Duals in a couple of weeks, followed by the dual meet season and the National Championship...
Mt. Carmel...it is actually pretty interesting to me to watch the resurgence of the Caravan program. Coach Erwinski has the brown and white headed in the right direction...
Montini...I am very impressed with their dual meet capabilities and they will be very hard to beat come dual state.
Sandburg...I have not personally seen them so I hate to make judgments on teams or individuals until I have seen them but all reports from people I trust indicates that the Eagles can still fly, maybe not as high as before but they have won over 80 straight duals and their is a lot of pride in the Orland Park schools wrestling program.
Eric Siebert...the states top assistant coach in my opinion, may soon become a head coach of the Eagles and Hall of Fame Coach Mike Polz may go down to the lower levels...ditto for Mark Gervais at Marist...seems like the young lions are ready to take the reins...
Providence...Another team that I have not seen with my own eyes (although Friday I will change that) my sources tell me that they are the best team in the Chicago Catholic League and everyone else will be fighting for second come the third week in January...
Garrett Goebel, Conrad Polz and BJ Futrell...often on the discussion board the topic of "untouchable or locks to win" comes up and after seeing many of the top ranked wrestlers in the state these three are as close to a lock to win state as anyone has ever been. Why? No one seems to challenge them or even be able to stay in the match with them. It almost seems like they are toying with the competition and that is sick. Still the any given Sunday principal must apply in their case. Someone somewhere is training to beat them. You can bet on that.
Blanton vs Spangler... Well once again Jordan Blanton has found his way into another big time match that probably will decide the 171 pound championship. Some wrestlers just seem to find the spotlight matches. This time the challenge is a former state champ Chris Spangler, himself no stranger to big matches or controversy. All eyes will be on that weight class come Feb. So many scenarios could play out but here is an unusual stat...should Blanton lose to Spangler (in the final) he would be the only wrester to lose two matches in his career - both in the state finals. But that is only if he loses and who knows how this match will play out.
im.com boards... It seems like the discussion boards have been calm compared to the hi jinks of this past off season. It is amazing what some actual wrestling matches do for the discussion. No need to go crazy when you can talk about the actions of these great young wrestlers.
Admin...All of the people that were riping on admin. for the DVD situation or other issues with the running of the board have gone underground. Still after the excellent Dvorak coverage I saw very few thanks to the im.com staff but i know many people have benefited from the way im.com brings wrestling to the masses. Many of you would of been amazed at my conversation with one of the major newspapers about expanding wrestling coverage on their new website. Basically they do not see wrestling as popular as other sports, even in the cyber world. So just think if there was no im.com. And the reason there is one is Admin. Is he slow to respond? Yes. But once he gets the product out like the DVD or the many multimedia items on the site it is well worth the wait. Especially since it is FREE. Thanks Admin.
Univ. of Illinois recruiting...I see a lot of people ripping on the U of I but from what I can tell Mark Johnson and his staff keep producing great recruiting classes. My experience talking to college coaches, they all want the Illinois talent on their roster. Johnson seems to have first crack at this talent (along with Northwestern) and he seems to be making the most of it. Personally Illinois seems a year away from making a serious Big 11 run or national title hopes but there is plenty of depth and if they can avoid the injury bug anything is possible.
Northern Illinois...another college team that many people like to rip on...well actually they seem to rip on the coach and they handling of scholarship money. There are many ins and outs to scholarship money and it seems to me if you don't have personal experience from the inside then looking at it from the outside may provide a some what jaded view. I guess to me a person needs a lot of facts to say any coach is unfair.
Eastern Illinois...so what is going on here. Any word on the program resurfacing? I know there is a club team of former wrestlers but are they competing or what?
IKWF two day weigh ins...Well it is voted in and will be implemented for the 2008 state championship. In the long run anything that simulates what the kids level wrestlers will face in high school is a good thing. Just be prepared for a few people blowing the scale. I bet a few coaches will be up late that first night patrolling the hallways of the Rockford local hotels making sure there are no vending machine raids. Now how about a few more duals (maybe mandatory in your sectional) to further prepare kids for high school?
Midwest Classic...This is always a great tournament, very similar to the high school version, the Dvorak. Winners of the TP Bulldogs Classic are stamped a state contenders. But why is the date this year the same as the Catholic Grammar School entrance test? This will force quite a few studs to miss this tournament and that will possibly make for a watered down tournament at the Senior division. Not good planning I think but there must be a reason that the general public does not know. Hopefully this gets fixed so this tournament can remain great.
These are just some of the thoughts that race through my head...
College wrestling...I have started to fall in love with this level of wrestling as I go on this journey with my son Mario. There is something about the brutality, the officiating, the high skill level that I like...in fact i am probably one of the few people that even likes riding time. I was told that I will soon change that thought but we will see. My son can ride so for now it is okay...
My son...many thanks to all of the people that have asked about how his season is going and his recovery from last seasons ACL injury. His season is going well so far...of course it could always be better but he is healthy for the first time in three seasons (knock on wood) so that is a good thing...we will see how everything goes starting with the National Duals in a couple of weeks, followed by the dual meet season and the National Championship...
Mt. Carmel...it is actually pretty interesting to me to watch the resurgence of the Caravan program. Coach Erwinski has the brown and white headed in the right direction...
Montini...I am very impressed with their dual meet capabilities and they will be very hard to beat come dual state.
Sandburg...I have not personally seen them so I hate to make judgments on teams or individuals until I have seen them but all reports from people I trust indicates that the Eagles can still fly, maybe not as high as before but they have won over 80 straight duals and their is a lot of pride in the Orland Park schools wrestling program.
Eric Siebert...the states top assistant coach in my opinion, may soon become a head coach of the Eagles and Hall of Fame Coach Mike Polz may go down to the lower levels...ditto for Mark Gervais at Marist...seems like the young lions are ready to take the reins...
Providence...Another team that I have not seen with my own eyes (although Friday I will change that) my sources tell me that they are the best team in the Chicago Catholic League and everyone else will be fighting for second come the third week in January...
Garrett Goebel, Conrad Polz and BJ Futrell...often on the discussion board the topic of "untouchable or locks to win" comes up and after seeing many of the top ranked wrestlers in the state these three are as close to a lock to win state as anyone has ever been. Why? No one seems to challenge them or even be able to stay in the match with them. It almost seems like they are toying with the competition and that is sick. Still the any given Sunday principal must apply in their case. Someone somewhere is training to beat them. You can bet on that.
Blanton vs Spangler... Well once again Jordan Blanton has found his way into another big time match that probably will decide the 171 pound championship. Some wrestlers just seem to find the spotlight matches. This time the challenge is a former state champ Chris Spangler, himself no stranger to big matches or controversy. All eyes will be on that weight class come Feb. So many scenarios could play out but here is an unusual stat...should Blanton lose to Spangler (in the final) he would be the only wrester to lose two matches in his career - both in the state finals. But that is only if he loses and who knows how this match will play out.
im.com boards... It seems like the discussion boards have been calm compared to the hi jinks of this past off season. It is amazing what some actual wrestling matches do for the discussion. No need to go crazy when you can talk about the actions of these great young wrestlers.
Admin...All of the people that were riping on admin. for the DVD situation or other issues with the running of the board have gone underground. Still after the excellent Dvorak coverage I saw very few thanks to the im.com staff but i know many people have benefited from the way im.com brings wrestling to the masses. Many of you would of been amazed at my conversation with one of the major newspapers about expanding wrestling coverage on their new website. Basically they do not see wrestling as popular as other sports, even in the cyber world. So just think if there was no im.com. And the reason there is one is Admin. Is he slow to respond? Yes. But once he gets the product out like the DVD or the many multimedia items on the site it is well worth the wait. Especially since it is FREE. Thanks Admin.
Univ. of Illinois recruiting...I see a lot of people ripping on the U of I but from what I can tell Mark Johnson and his staff keep producing great recruiting classes. My experience talking to college coaches, they all want the Illinois talent on their roster. Johnson seems to have first crack at this talent (along with Northwestern) and he seems to be making the most of it. Personally Illinois seems a year away from making a serious Big 11 run or national title hopes but there is plenty of depth and if they can avoid the injury bug anything is possible.
Northern Illinois...another college team that many people like to rip on...well actually they seem to rip on the coach and they handling of scholarship money. There are many ins and outs to scholarship money and it seems to me if you don't have personal experience from the inside then looking at it from the outside may provide a some what jaded view. I guess to me a person needs a lot of facts to say any coach is unfair.
Eastern Illinois...so what is going on here. Any word on the program resurfacing? I know there is a club team of former wrestlers but are they competing or what?
IKWF two day weigh ins...Well it is voted in and will be implemented for the 2008 state championship. In the long run anything that simulates what the kids level wrestlers will face in high school is a good thing. Just be prepared for a few people blowing the scale. I bet a few coaches will be up late that first night patrolling the hallways of the Rockford local hotels making sure there are no vending machine raids. Now how about a few more duals (maybe mandatory in your sectional) to further prepare kids for high school?
Midwest Classic...This is always a great tournament, very similar to the high school version, the Dvorak. Winners of the TP Bulldogs Classic are stamped a state contenders. But why is the date this year the same as the Catholic Grammar School entrance test? This will force quite a few studs to miss this tournament and that will possibly make for a watered down tournament at the Senior division. Not good planning I think but there must be a reason that the general public does not know. Hopefully this gets fixed so this tournament can remain great.
These are just some of the thoughts that race through my head...