HOOSIERDADDY

I guess I'm a bit of a prude but I say, show a little class, pump your fist, etc....but I think the back flips and stuff are a little overboard. Just me...

Blah, blah, blah...two of the guys you say have made the difference this year got owned last night. They did not even compete! 07/08 squad Escobedo - warrior. Agree with Disco here. He never quits. Ortega - far from the real deal right now. After a few heavy beat downs by Dennis looked like he couldn't make it back to the bench with out help. He quit wrestling sometime in the second period. Hernandez - MIA until last night when he made up for a whole season of ho-hum wrestling. Walpole - Usually gives a nice effort but overall just another place holder. Third period pattern continues last night as he gassed and just gave up, (only it started about 30 seconds into the first period, when he quit wrestling). Kinser - warrior. Took care of business last night. Agree with Disco here...never quits. Young - on the cusp, usually in every match no matter who the competition is. Tends to tire in the third period as seemed to be the case last night. Still, good effort. Perry - Hot & cold. Has shown a propensity to run out of gas in the third period. Either really good or really bad, as he was last night. He didn't quit wrestling last night, just never really got started wrestling. Carmeron - hmmmm....running out of gas is not the issue here. He quit wrestling when the Big Ten season started. Pawless - similar to Young except that his engine is always on go go go....Good effort last night against someone who looked like they came out of a neandrathal museum. Agree with Disco here. Never quits. Everheart - I like Everheart...he's just wrestling the wrong weight. I think he typically puts in a solid seven minutes. Team as a whole: will finish the Big Ten just as they had the last couple of years.

Wow...this is very cool. I wonder how they do it? Anyway....gratz out to Hernandez for the match of the night! Simply awesome, the wrestler everyone was looking for this year. Perhaps it was getting the nice jacket at the Senior Night ceremonies. Gratz out to Escobedo as well. This young man has always been known as slick and smooth, but lately, warrior seems to be the term that comes to mind. Yeah, he lost in O.T., but he looked to be hurting bad and still he wrestles his heart out. Pure joy to watch his energy. A healthy Escobedo would be unstoppable this year, in my opinion. Ortega...owned by Dennis. Walpole...recipient of a clinic by Metcalf. (Was Walpole hurt or tired or is that saunter back to the middle of the mat just an act?) Kinser almost had the pin in the early going against Ballweg and looked solid through out the match. Young looked pretty good to me for most of the match against Morningstar though seemed to run out of gas in period 3 again. Perry is #15 in the country and gets majored. I never know which Perry is going to show up. Cameron should have just forfeighted and saved us all some time. Goldman looked disgusted with him. Powless puts up a nice effort. He seems to be constantly on the attack and reminded me a lot of how the Hawkeyes wrestle, always coming straight at you, as if to say, okay, no games, let's just do it. Their heavy forfeits for some reason, though he looked healthy warming up. Healthy that is for Bigfoot. The kid looked huge! Congratulations to Seniors Seth Parker, Kyle Samuels, Scott Kelly, and Andre hernandez. Best wishes for your futures.

Don't underestimate "The Daddies" almost mystic ability to pick winners. I don't think the match is on the BTN. I'll be going to Bloomington for the match and provide observation notes afterward.

Maybe it's just symantics, still, it seems to me Disco, that you're saying the prior years squads didn't put forth the effort that this year's squad has, or have been less talented than this years squad. I disagree to a degree, and I think in the way you phrase it, you mock prior teams. Especially your comment about work ethic. Further, you insinuate that the IU coaches do not have a hand in motivating the team this year and that's a slap in thier face as well. So the matches are closer, big deal, the outcome is still the same. Has it occured to you that maybe some of the talent on other squads may not be what's it's been? Maybe the matchups have been different? How many of this years squad won matches at the National Duals, (for that matter, was IU ever blanked in the last two years like they were against ISU?) vs. the past squads, or better yet, how many of this years team placed at the Midlands vs. prior years. Do you really think the OSU match would have been as close if Reese had wrestled? If you think our guys in red haven't gased in the third period as in prior years, then you ought to go back and look at the tapes. There have been a number of times our boys have pooped out, it happens on other teams as well. I'm not down on this team. I think they're a fine bunch and have been coached well. I do get aggravated by poor comparisons made by partisan observers. I'm a homer too. I just think it's silly to compare one year to another, too many variables. All this being said, I'll give you the benefit of the doubt and see who shows up Friday night against Iowa.

Senior Night at IU this Friday night. Hoosiers face off against the Hawkeyes. I'll be there for pain or glory. 125-Escobedo vs. Falck - IU WBD 3-0 (I promised myself not to pick against Angel again.) 133-Ortega vs. Dennis - Iowa WBD 3-3 (Ortega faired well on Sunday, still....) 141-Hernandez/Kelly vs. Tsirtsis - Iowa WBD 3-6 (Will Hernandez keep it this close against old school chum?) 149-Walpole vs. Metcalf - Iowa WBF 3-12 (I heard Walpole was MIA for a couple of practices this week...Metcalf jitters?) 157-Kinser vs. Ballweg - IU WBD 6-12 (Kinser .... okay...maybe this is a homer talking here...) 165-Young vs. Morningstar - IU WBD 9-12 (Hoosierdaddy upset special) 174-Perry vs. Borschel - IU WBF 15-12 (okay...maybe one too many beers, but Perry throws the headlock and catches Borschel napping.) 184-Cameron/Parker vs. Keddy Iowa WBMD 15-16 197-Powless vs. Beatty - IU WBD 18-16 (Powless stuns Iowa bench and throws Brands into cardiac arrest.) Hwt-Everhart vs. Erekson - Iowa WBD 18-19 (Too much for Everhart and IU just misses infamy.)

Hmmmm....this year the Hoosiers are 15-5-1 OVERALL, 2-3-1 BIG TEN. Last year, they were 13-8-0 OVERALL, 2-6-0 BIG TEN. 06/07 they were 2-6-0 BIG TEN. With Iowa and Minnesota left this year, it's probably going to end about the same. So yeah, your right on, slugs like Becker, Dean, and Bennet had no business wrestling last year or Dubuque the year before, for that matter. Jeesh...have some perspective.

Bloomington - So University Gym isn't exactly Carver Arena when it comes to wrestling fan attendance, but those who were there today to watch our Hoosiers take on the Wildcats made their voices heard, (especially a certain Walpole fan that is probably in the hospital as I write this getting her throat checked for strain). Hoosierdaddy was close on the final score, though got a couple of the matches wrong. Nice all around effort by the cream & crimson. Match notes: 174 lbs. After a rousing National Anthem, Trevor Perry took the mat to face Robert Kellogg of Northwestern. I've been thinking that Perry is a momentum wrestler subject to the whims of the team vs. an inner motivation. Tonight though, he was on stage first and had the opportunity to set the tone. Perry looked lean and mean tonight, controlling the action throughout all three periods. No endurance issues today. A nice come back win after the disappointment on Friday night. Hoosierdaddy had this as a 3 point decision for Perry and he paid off. IN wins. W 3-0 184 lbs. Seth Parker wrestles again at 184, though as I mentioned in pre-notes, it probably wouldn?t have made a difference whether it was Parker or Cameron. The #1 ranked Herbert took care of business as predicted with a tech fall. NW wins. 3-5 197 lbs Another solid performance by Matt Powless as he takes down Schoen for another Hoosier winner. IN wins. 6-5 285 lbs Nathan Everhart pulls off a major against rookie Paul Rands. I admit that I was a way at the hotdog vendor for some of this match, still, from what I did see, Everhart wrestled aggressively, with a sense of purpose. He seems like such a nice young man, I hope the rest of the season goes well for him. Another winning ticket to cash for Hoosierdaddy. IN wins. 10-5 125 lbs. What can anyone say about Angel Escobedo except wow. This young man has the heart of a lion and is professional as they come. I picked him to show today, not win, and this is the last time I?ll pick against him. Even with one wheel missing, he is finding a way to compete with the very best in the land. He did not take a shot the entire match, and I?m not sure if he?s taken a shot the entire season. Still, his overall skill level is so high, it allows him to win with brains, defense, and guts. Just a great effort against a great opponent, taking the win in OT. IN wins. 13-5 133 lbs. Got to give props when props are due. Matt Ortega wrestled a strong match against Metzler and beat him good. In my opinion, this is his best win of the year and now puts him on the front page. No flipping, no flopping, just good wrestling. Hoosierdaddy rips up two tickets in a row and smiles while doing it. IN wins. 17-5 141 lbs A spirited effort by Andre Hernandez, (not ranked any longer), against #16 Keith Sulzer. Still, it went as predicted as Hernandez loses again. I think Sulzer controlled this match even as close as it was and if it wasn?t for sheer skill, could have been a lot worse for Andre. He just doesn?t look as strong as these other guys at this weight and his great skill isn?t enough to overcome that deficiency. May be Alex Tsirtsis will cut him a break for old time sake this Friday night. Hoosierdaddy reluctantly cashes another winner. NW wins. 17-8 149 lbs Nick Walpole could have and should have won this match against Andrew Nadhir. He was close multiple times but just couldn?t close the deal. The entire thing was exciting and back and forth, ultimately leading to overtime. Walpole had the Hoosier faithful screaming and stomping their collective feet. I hope I never get frustrated enough to say a bad word about a ref, and I won?t this time. Their?s is a thankless job and this ref had to have a heart of stone to not cave to the roar of the Indy crowd screaming for justice on Walpole?s behalf. He loses in a heartbreaker and so does Hoosierdaddy. NW wins. 17-11 157 lbs Fan favorite, Kurt Kinser, did not disappoint as with new hair-do and all, took it to Jason Welch for a somewhat ho-hum IU victory. I was looking for the lock throw though I suppose the entire nation is ready for that move now. Anyway, Kinser?s relentlessly attacking style proved too much for Welch sealing an IU win. Kinser?s pin production is way down this season, but he keeps finding ways to win. Hoosierdaddy cashes another ticket. IN wins. 20-11 165 lbs With the match out of reach, Paul Young finished off the night for the Hoosiers giving the fans a bit of a takedown show, and defeating Dominic Marella for another 3 point decision. Young looked to get a little tired again near the end of the match, though the outcome was never in doubt. IN wins. 23-11 Just want to say again what a great gut effort this Champion is putting in this year. He is really a class act. I?m reminded of his final send off at the Indiana High School Finals at Conseco as he came out for a rousing round of applause and to say good bye to the crowd. No front flips, no back flips, just a simple wave to the fans. On a different note, Hoosierdaddy cashes 7 winners against 3 losers tonight.

Our Hoosiers face off against the Wildcats at University Gym today. Hoosierdaddy, a pragmatist, making some tough calls. Still, the Hoosiers have an opportunity to get in the Big 10 win column with a solid effort today. 125 lbs.- Esobedo's lack of attack dooms him here NW 0-3 133 lbs.- Ortega just hasn't shown me anything in Big 10 NW 0-6 141 lbs.- Hernandez continues his slump NW 0-9 149lbs.- Walpole wins one for the home crowd IN 4-9 157 lbs.- Kinser throws the headlock IN 10-9 165 lbs.- Young makes it 3 in a row for the good guys IN 13-9 174 lbs.- Perry seems to be a momentum wrestler and feeds off the first four wins IN 16-9 184 lbs.- Cameron/Parker - doesn't matter NW 16-14 197 lbs.- Powless continues to impress IN 19-14 285 lbs.- Everhart seals this one for the Hoosiers 22-14

Disappointing. But unexpected? Probably not. The Hoosiers, who have made a season out of close losses, were pretty outgunned in this one, though I'm surprised that it was somewhat of a blow out. Also surprised that Escobedo's match went so close and that Perry lost. I wasn't at this one nor was I willing to pay for the video feed from IL, still, this is the way I thought it would come down: 125: IN wins 5-0 133: IL wins 5-6 141: IN wins 8-6 149: IN wins 11-6 157: IL wins 11-9 165: Toss up, though I gave the edge to the ranked wrestler IL wins 11-12 174: IN wins 14-12 184: IL wins 14-17 197: IN wins 17-17 HWT: IL wins 17-20

The Iowa match may be painful. Still, I think it's a home meet so I'll be there to cheer on the Crimson!

I'm looking forward to these as well. Interesting that a few new names have been added to the possible IU line up. Still, it's a long season for these guys.

Just glad the best wrestler is wrestling..

Hmmmmm....Apparently Skelton has Mascaro on the ropes in OT and ref'd out of a take down, yet not seen finishing here in the top four?....

Very nice grecoref....very nice indeed...

Well, I admit that I missed a majority of the match due to a gastronomical urge that suddened upon me after downing one of the IU hotdogs, (which I had to take out a 2nd mortgage to pay for). It just seemed that in the final period he "looked" tired. Tough to gauge with out seeing the entire deal. What's with the hair cut though? Nobody cuts their hair during the Big Ten season...it's kind of like shaving during the playoffs!

Nice topic. Academics should always be the top priority unless of course, being an olympian or being part of the sport in some other area is your goal, then maybe a focus on the coach should be a consideration. All that being said, I know a few kids on a couple of D1 teams, in the Big Ten, who have no wrestling aspirations after college, if they went for the money? Surprisingly, to a man, each one explained that if they were going to wrestle in college, then they'd prefer to wrestle against the best competition, gauge themselves against the best competition. Kind of says something about the class wrestling argument here in the homeland. Cheers, DH

It was one of the most exciting meets I've been to in quite some time. Gratz to IU on a job well done. FYI, Coughlin already redshirted, Kinser won the weight class from him. I agree with Disco that Young's time will come, though last night, he seemed to look a little tired in the final period.

Bloomington ? University Gym buzzed with excitement tonight. Invaded by the cross state rival Boilermakers, it was up to Goldman?s gorilla?s to hold serve against Hinkle?s host. The crowd, larger than most in recent years, filled fully three sides of the arena. Both teams well represented by believers and well wishers. But the combatants! They virtually crackled with electric anticipation. After the Hoosier heart breaker last year in West Lafayette, both teams clearly felt they had something to settle?.not a fluke on the Boilermaker?s minds, and payback on the Hoosier?s. 125 opened the battle. Angel Escobedo drawing first blood like another day at the office. Sweet, smooth, and swift, the 2008 National Champ seemed to be in good form, pinning his foe nearly within a minute of the opening round. Hoosierdaddy predicted a 5 point win, but took six with relish, thank you very much. You?ve got to admire the courage, heart, and determination of this young man, continuing to battle it out with a seemingly jellylike shoulder. Gratz Angel! 133 went as predicted by Hoosierdaddy with Conner Beebe holding out against Ortega. Beebe used some killer legs and Ortega couldn?t get off the mat. The later has shown some flashes against the warm up crowd that IU deals with until the Midlands and Big Ten season, but reality is now setting in. Welcome to the big ten kid. Grow some muscles to go along with all that flipping and flopping and you might have something in a couple of years. 141 paired Hernandez against Archuleta?.who? Anyway, a nice effort from Andre tonight as he did not give up after an inspired opening from Purdue. Andre wrestled all seven minutes tonight, worked hard for the win, and came away the victor. It was nice to see a smile on his face again. The next four opponents will test his mental mettle. Hoosierdaddy is four for four up to this point. 149 entertained all as Nick Walpole had his energizer batteries fully charged and gave the highly favored Patacsil all he could handle. As time wound down, the crowd and both teams were on their feet. Alas a win was not in the cards for the cream and crimson on this one. Walpole, as you might expect looked very disappointed with himself after the loss, though from this observer?s view, while the Purdue cat didn?t show me much, no matter how highly he is rated, Nick wrestled lights out and should be congratulated for the effort. 157 earned Hoosierdaddy another notch in the win category as IU charmer Kurt KinSer took Colton Salazar the distance with a 5-3 decision it wasn?t really as close as it seems. Kinser?s pure power took over in this match though Salazar fought off the former?s signature move throughout. 165 meant rest room time for me so I didn?t see the entire match. On the way back, it appeared Young looked to gas a bit. Still, Manuel is somewhat the real deal as I understand it, though I may be mistaken and holding him to 3-0 seems like a pretty decent effort to me. I?d be hard pressed to question Young?s conditioning, though from the look on Goldman?s face, I think he was expecting a bit more. 174 and Hoosierdaddy takes his first beat of the match. Perry shows that there is gas in his tank. Corpe tried several shots but made the mistake of trying to wrap his arms around Trevor?s redwood like thighs? bad idea. Perry simply straightens his legs and boom, the hold is done. I thought that conditioning may play a factor in this one, but thankfully, Perry proved me wrong as he looked as strong in the last period as he did in the first. Nice win. 184 is a bit of a black hole for IU at the moment. Goldman inserts Seth Parker in place of Eric Cameron only to have Kissel eat him for dinner. Suffice to say that Parker seemed a little overmatched and Kissel took care of business. 197 proved to be the match of the night as youngster Matt Powless, bandaged head and all, came at favored Logan Brown at the first whistle and continued coming and coming and coming. Brown did all he could do to gain a slim lead heading into the final period. Powless would not be denied, however, as he relentlessly assaulted his Boilermaker foe. As the minutes wound down to seconds, about 15 ticks as a matter of fact, Brown started backing up trying to secure the win and bring Purdue even with the Hoosiers. Powless looked like something possessed. He rushed and enveloped Brown in what looked to be a bear hug only to slide into an inside trip, ala early Escobedo, and take Brown down in stunning fashion for a one point victory. The gym erupted with cheers, IU fans, IU wrestlers, and IU coaches pumped fists in the air, high fived each other, screamed and applauded the heroic effort Powless put forth. Outstanding win for this kid who seems to be blossoming as the Big Ten season starts to shift into high gear. Second loss of the night for Hoosierdaddy predictions, though one I?d live with any day of the week. 285 proved a bit anti-climatic. Purdue needed a pin to tie and Kasten never really looked interested in pursuing this end in his match with Everhart. Nate eventually earns the W with a 3-1 decision in a kind of ho-hum match. Of course, I was still reeling after the Powless match which was something hard to follow and live up to. Another blotch in the loss column bringing the nights predictions to 7-3. In summation, what?s not to like, two intense rivals, a large crowd, a nice venue, great wrestling, animated coaching, (Hinkle earns an unsportsmanship penalty point and Duane was his usual self, yelling and pacing and willing his wrestlers to compete), and IU wins! Perhaps one small drawback is how the fans get raped for $3 each on sodas, or a small popcorn or a candy bar. What?s that all about?

Hello Cadet... Do you have word as to whether Angel is going to get his shoulder fixed in the off season? Just curious.

125 IU 5-0 133 PU 5-3 141 IU 8-3 149 PU 8-7 157 IU 14-7 165 PU 14-10 174 PU 14-13 184 PU 14-18 197 PU 14-24 285 PU 14-27

http://www.idsnews.com/news/story.aspx?id=65903&comview=1

I don't blame the coaches for Hernandez or Coughlin. I don't think they are victims of anything other than heart, intensity, and/or poor choices. Hernandez knew he was bumping up a weight this season, maybe he should have been in the weightroom or drilling a little more, rather than doing the Andre & Angel wrestling camps that were plastered all over this board during the summer. I dare say a National Championship would have gone a lot longer toward fulfulling future coaching or career aspirations than making a few bucks off Angel's coat tails. Coughlin is at the right weight at the wrong time. Kinzer has amazing heart, instensity and the sheer will to win that gives him an edge over Matt. Anyone that's followed the Kinzer/Coughlin saga over the last couple of years could have seen this coming. I think the coaches should be commended for offering our homegrown young men a chance to participate at a level of competition that a lot of them never would have been able to realize. Oh sure, Escobedo, Tsirtsis, and Howe could get a slot on any team in the nation, but I wonder if guys like Kinzer, Young, Warren, Kelly, and all the rest of the Indiana recruits would have ever had the chance had it not been for Goldman & Mena. I'll take these Hoosiers with our own blood over an Iowa Championship Team any day. Jeesh, it's college wrestling, not a pro football franchise. It's a state college and I'm sure my tax dollars somehow support it so I'd like to see a majority of Indiana boys on the team. Of course, it doesn't hurt to throw a Dobuque in there once in a while either.