SNRunning Diary II: Son of SNRunning Diary

So this was a more streamlined effort after the first.  It’s a quicker read and focuses less on Play by Play.  Anyway….

SESSION 2 RUNNING DIARY

7:19:  Grothus looking to extend his quixotic career at Iowa, and so far his strategy appears to be to let Thorn take him down so much he’s exhausted.  We’re still waiting on Grothus’ first shot of the tournament.

7:25:  After an insane scramble where all scores were waved off, the refs change their mind, and as you might imagine, Tom Brands is taking it in stride.  Iowa is challenging Minnesota’s challenge.  Speaking of challenges, have I ever told you about my favorite season of MTV’s “The Challenge”.

7:28:  After the challenge stands, we go to Thorn choosing down, and now we wait for the inevitable Thorn reversal…hey, he only gave up an escape!  At this rate, Brody should be winning that title any day now.

7:33:  Ref stalemated them when it looked like Grothus was trying to lock up a cradle.  But Grothus loses to Thorn 7-5, and thus ends his career in a pretty symbolic fashion.  His last match, like his career, was fun, exciting, unexpected, and ultimately unsatisfying.

8:02:  My mortal enemy on my favorite team, Patrick Rhoads, just picked up a bonus point against Minnesota.  I am…unsure of how to react.

8:16:  Holy crap, what is Max Huntley doing here?  HE GOT TECHED BY AARON STUDEBAKER?!?!  Holy crap, totally missed this.

8:24:  Sam Stoll is a very big, very strong man.  Heart, too, considering the injury.  Going to be a good one for Iowa.  Big pin over the latest contestant on “Northwestern or Michigan State”.  I’m in talks with Parker Bros. about developing the game for in-home use.

8:27:  Nevills in a battle for his season right now.  He’s tied 2-2 with Brooks Black in the second with Black having RT.  Black has choice in the third.  Nevills just doesn’t look like he should be here.  He’s not prepared.  I know #NobodyQuestionsCael, but he’s a big time prospect who shouldn’t be wrestling today.

8:31:  HERE WE GO!  Scientific question:  Can you facemush someone whilst they are in the full splits?

8:35:  No score thru one, but Gilman is moving Mega all over the mat and snapping him down HARD.

8:39:  Gilman is riding hard, but he has two cautions.  Nico escape and Gilman is in DEEP, but there are those damned splits.  It’s flipping ridiculous.  Nico hangs on and we’re in SV.  Gilman working hard, and gets a stall call.  Nico is in for a second, but stoned by Gilman.  We’re in the rideouts.  Nico escapes after 6 seconds.  Some kind of clock malfunction, but I looked away and when I looked back, Nico had Gilman taken down.  No idea how it happened.  Megaludis wins.  I can’t rewind to see how he got the TD.

8:45:  Oh no, wait, I can!  I have no idea what happened.  Did Gilman try to throw Mega?  What the hell…

8:50:  That was really stupid by Gilman, and I don’t even know what to say.  Clark wrestling Taylor now.  Very physical between him and Taylor.  Nice wrestling from Clark so far this tournament.  Wow.  Crazy exchange here in the third.  Somehow Clark is up 9-7.  I’m not sure that score is right….

8:57:  Ok, so Clark won, not entirely sure what happened.  Somebody is over screaming about “we’ll beat him too, so I’m assuming that was one of the Brothers Brands talking about Richards?

8:58:  Javier Gasca up 4-2 on Gulibon.  Pretty sure he beat Gulibon a few weeks ago.

9:04:  Gulibon with his first TD of the tournament with 30 seconds left in the semifinal.  #FunWrestling

9:07:  I think we might be able to have Zain Rutherford arrested for what he just did to Pantaleo. Just have to time it right so he misses the finals….

9:08:  Oh good, Nolf vs. Edwin Cooper.  This is sure to improve my mood.

9:10:  t’s 0-0 after one minute in Nolf-Cooper…so clearly Cooper is just as good as Nolf in one minute bursts.  Now lets go over and watch Sorensen stare at legs as if expecting them to just come to him.  As I type that, he’s in deep.  I feel like every time he takes a committed shot, he’s in deep.

9:14:  2-2 in Sorensen-Sueflohn with a minute to go in period 2.  Sueflohn is just…inexorable.  He’s the definition of wrestling by attrition.  He’s the tide, slowly eroding everything he touches.  I’m tired just watching Sorensen wrestle him.  And we’ll see the match tomorrow.  The cyclone of destruction that is Zain Retherford vs. the brick wall that is Sorensen.

9:19:  I was right, Cooper-Nolf did not improve my mood.

9:23:  There is a lot going on right now.  I-Jo just won by Med FFT, Morelli got pinned, I think, and I-Mart is struggling mightily vs. Brian Murphy.  I-Mart just hit Brock Lesnar’s F-5 on Brian Murphy7 to get a reversal, and that’s two WWF moves we’ve seen today.  Myles Martin-Bo Nickal in the midst of the 77^th match in their saga.  (All numbers approximate).  And wow, Bo Nickal just locked up a cradle and stuck MyMar like it was nothing.

9:27:  Brunson-Meyer getting set here.  Meyer probably the most frustrating Iowa wrestler on the year.  And that continues as Brunson summarily dismisses him by a quick TD and locks up a cradle for the fall.  Le Sigh.

9:34:  I-Mart just not the same guy this year.  He won’t beat Nolf.  He’s trying to outathlete everybody, and it won’t work against Nolf.  Meanwhile, in Hawkeye land, Patrick Rhoads made me cry.

9:39:  Somebody have Kenny Courts’ beer ready for him, he no longer looks like he wants to wrestle….or maybe he wanted to wrestle 197 this year?  He looks exhausted.

9:42:  Sammy Brooks out here ready to ruin the rest of my night.  Iowa-Penn State match, which would be big for team purposes, if the title wasn’t already decided.  On a side note, this is the best BoJo has looked in a while in his match with Rodriguez.

9:44:  There was blood time in the Brooks-McCutcheon match and I swear to God the two of them just stared daggers at one another while the trainer was working on Brooks cut.

9:45:  Sammy Brooks is trying to force double unders so he can to his beloved 30-70 positions.  I refuse to call them 50-50 positions because he loses them so much.  Neither guy has shot, which is super exciting.

9:48:  Oh my, Sammy Brooks actually SHOT on the leg and he got a TD.  What are the odds that fruitlessly digging double unders weren’t the key to the victory?

9:52:  SAMMY BROOKS BRINGS HIS HIPS TO THE PARTY and gets a counter TD to cement the match!

9:57:  Burak and Pfarr are more tentative this time.  No score after 1.  Sammy Stoll is locked in a riveting dual with Brooks Black.

10:02:  Burak scores in OT.  He didn’t take his first shot until the third period, and he probably could have been hit for stalling at least one more time.  That said, he got robbed in the dual, so they’re even for now.

10:05:  Stoll loses to Black.  The knee clearly hindering him, still.  Good showing by Sammy to get us some bonus against lesser opponents, and he was right in there with Black.  Now recover for two weeks and hopefully you’re closer to 100%.

10:11:  Kyle Snyder just finishing up his drill session with the helpful tackling dummy he calls Collin.

FINAL THOUGHT

Signing off for the night.  Penn State has predictably run away with the title, as most knew they would.  This makes me feel even more strongly about my feeling that Burak should have been redshirted.  Sliding him into the projected lineup next year would have made them a legitimate threat to Penn State.  This year was always going to be a tremendous struggle with predictable holes at 141, 157 and 165.  Those holes got better as the year went on, but not “difference-makers at NCAA tournament” better.