After seeing him on tv yesterday I am very concerned for his health. Say what you want but he must be 350. You cannot be that overweight and expect to be healthy. With him being a single guy someone needs to pull him aside and tell him he needs to take care of himself if he plans on being around for a long time. I personally don't care what he looks like but am concerned he might have the big one. Minnesota cannot afford to have another coach who has major health concerns.

The Goper baseball team swept #25 Michigan on Friday afternoon 5-3 and 8-1 to improve to 4-1 in conference and in second place. They also are one of the teams considered for the top 25 this week. Gophers are now 4-2 on the season against ranked teams. (2-1 vs Missouri St, 2-0 vs Michigan, 0-1 vs Oregon St.) Both losses are by one run.

Dalton Sawyer allowed just two hits on Friday while striking out ten and was named Big Ten pitcher of the week.

http://www.bigten.org/library/stats/base-standings.html

http://www.ncaa.com/rankings/baseball/d1/d1baseballcom-top-25

http://www.gophersports.com/sports/m-basebl/spec-rel/041116aab.html

Carter, Ames, Nuness, Sheffert, Marx, Sakal voice AD concerns...Carter very upset Kaler didn't put him on the committee.

http://shamasportsheadliners.com/

Ok the Stars vs Wild in the 1st Round of the NHL Playoffs. Of course all you guys up in the Great White North are correct to say, those guys in Texas have no Idea what hockey is about! And I would Agree 100%

But I will say Stars win series in 5

8-1 conference leaders, the lady Gophers play
the Skunks.

One year ago the Leidner haters were saying he is not a D1 QB, but the NFL is suggesting he will be drafted. Coach Kill was ok but now should be AD or President, Claeys and other assistants were great but could never work for anybody else, or much less lead their own P5 program. Nobody ever talked about coach Claeys' weight when he was getting accolades as the best defensive coordinator we have ever had.

So when they go 10-2 and Claeys and staff get a legitimate contract given by the new AD do we satisfy people. Or should we bitch some more? There were 20,000 fans at the Citrus Bowl 18 months ago, were you there? Do you remember the energy? Are you part of the problem or part of the solution? It is easy to be negative, but then this is GI!

Overall:

The Good: The running game. Rodney Smith, James Johannesson and the offensive line on the gold team looked incredible. 229 total yards, James with 132 and Smith with 97. The offensive line, led by Jonah Pirsig, definitely controlled the line of scrimmage Saturday.
I think Pirsig put it best in his postgame interview.
"Moving forward, I don't think we're going to change much from what we did this spring. We're going to keep running the ball. We're going to pass when we need to but we're going to get back to being a Big Ten offensive line and doing what the Big Ten is known for."

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Defensively, Jaylen Waters, starting for an injured Cody Pook, was undoubtedly the Defensive MVP. 10 tackles, an interception returned for a touchdown. Merrick Jackson had five tackles, 2.5 for losses, along with a sack Tai'yon Devers was disruptive as well with two sacks.

Demry Croft finished 8-of-19 for 45 yards and 2 interceptions, but the second interception was a deflected pass. On the first interception, head coach Tracy Claeys said the defense dropped an extra man, something Croft did not expect, which resulted in the extra player in the middle. Clayes thought Croft showed poise in the pocket and liked the away he scrambled and delivered catchable balls.

I asked Claeys if he had to put a few names in a group to be finalists for spring practice MVP, he mentioned Pirsig first, followed by the running backs, Brooks and Smith, and though he did not play much Saturday, Damarius Travis, who he said is the MVP of the defense already.

Former Gopher and Hall of Famer Tony Dungy spoke to the players before the game, something Claeys and the players said was very inspirational.

Emmit Carpenter goes 4-for-4 in field goals. Claeys said he's putting together a plan to make Carpenter the full-time kicker move Ryan Santoso to punter.

The Bad: Some of the passes Saturday were dropped by the receivers, something Claeys said was a bit uncharacteristic, but certainly stood out as a negative.,

The passing game in general did not look as solid as some would have liked, but with Mitch Leidner unavailable, it's not the offense Gophers will see in the summer. It also showed how well the team's running game will be this season.

Injuries: Hunter Register was hurt Saturday with an ankle injury, but Tracy Claeys doesn't see it as anything serious. Rashad Still was also withheld due to a knee injury. Brandon Lingen has a shoulder injury.

First half breakdown.

The Good: The combination of Rodney Smith James Johannesson looks really good. 112 combined rushing yards, Smith leads the game with 67 yards while James has 45. Jonathan Femi-Cole also looked good running back, with a 4-yard gain followed by a bruising 9-yard run in which he ran over a defender. JFC has 18 yards in the game. Brooks hasn't been able to find a hole yet, and on five carries, has 6 yards.

The defense is forcing turnovers and making plays. . Three interceptions in the first half, one of them returned for a touchdown by Jaylen Waters. In the secondary, Zo Craighton broke up a pass in the end zone that was intended for Wozniak.

The defensive has also recorded five total sacks in this game, three for Gold and 2 for White.

Special Teams. Emmit Carpenter is 2-for-2, six points on the board for the Gold.

The Bad: The quarterbacks don't look as sharp as we would have thought. Croft is 3-for-9 for 16 yards and two INTS. Green has two completions for 15 yards w/INT while Rhoda is 1-3 for 5 yards. Green also fumbled the handoff to Johanneson which led to a loss of 3 yards.

Second Half

The Good: Johannesson had close to 90 yards rushing in the second half, which included the lone offensive touchdown of the day, a 7-yard TD run that gave the Gold a 13-7 lead, and a 44 yard run, the longest play of the game. The best catch of the day came on a 15 yard catch by Chris Streveler from Conor Rhoda on fourth-and-long.

The secondary continued to shine, highlighted by the biggest hit of the game, a vicious hit by Adekunle Ayinde on Melvin Holland.

The trick play: A flea flicker involving Croft, Brooks and Carter. Croft hands off to Brooks, who launches one deep to Carter, who can't hold on to the ball. Though they did not convert the play, still a nice try.

Emmit Carpenter goes 2-for-2 in the second half to finish 4-for-4 overall.

The Bad: After three successful runs for gains, Femi-Cole fumbles the ball. Fortunately it is recovered by the offense.

Dropped passes: Two memorable dropped passes came from Streveler and Matt Morse in the second half. You could also include Carter dropping the catch on the flea flicker.

Croft was sacked three times in the second half.

At the game, they forced us to sit in shaded section only.

QB--Hard to judge when the wr can not get open, can not catch, Register looks good at the start than injures his leg..plus at the S.G. there are "sacks" when the other guys get close.

RB--JJ looks like he can get PT this year.Femi-Cole did not do well.

WR--Bad game for all of them. Let's HOPE the frosh this fall pick things up fast and the top 3 guys stay healthy.

TE-Only three played--Only Beebe looked good.

OL-Jonah and Calhoun might be all-B10. Weyler is the third best OL.

DE--Winston and Devers are skinny....and fast. Might be 3rd down pass rushers. Hank did not do anything and looked lighter than last year. Weak link of the D.

DT- Jackson is the 2nd best of deep group behind Richardson, Very strong position.
LB-- Great overall group. Rallis is to good not to play a lot.Waters, Cahman, Huff and Barber all look like they will be quality B10 LB soon. Thumper might be all-B10 some day.

DB-They covered the WR like a glove all day and did not miss tackles. All the 2nd year guys looked great today.

K-Carpenter is a quality PK.

Anyone still think this kid should be moved to LB? It is still early, but he might be the best RB on the roster ... thoughts?

June

Several of interest to me & I see some other names mentioned often in Dinkville -- a decent venue if it doesn't rain & if you don't swallow a bug. Tickets on sale starting April 23 through Sue Mclean & Assoc. -- http://suemclean.com/zoo/

June

Five for Fighting with String Quartet – June 10
Blondie – June 11
Home Free – June 12
Ziggy Marley – June 13
Soul Asylum – June 18
Los Lobos with special guest Roger Clyne & The Peacemakers – June 19
Dark Star Orchestra – June 23
Buddy Guy – June 24
Morris Day & The Time – June 30


July

The Jayhawks – July 1
Bruce Hornsby & The Noisemakers – July 2
Guster – July 6
Nitty Gritty Dirt Band – July 9
Trevor Hall – July 13
The Willis Clan – July 15
George Thorogood & The Destroyers – July 20
Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue – July 21
Indigo Girls – July 25
Tower of Power – July 27
Marc Cohn with special guest Blind Boys of Alabama – July 29 & 30
Laurie Berkner – July 31

August

Colvin & Earle – August 2
Grace Potter – August 7 & 8
The Mavericks – August 9
Case/lang/veirs with special guest Andy Shauf – August 10
Har Mar Superstar – August 20
Jerry Jeff Walker – August 27

I know Minnesota is to hockey what Ohio, Florida, and Texas are to football..... But with North Dakota winning the national championship and us not even making the tournament, ARE WE RECRUITING THE RIGHT PLAYERS FROM INSTATE?? Is it a strategy thing or playing style?? I saw we still won the Big Ten but are we a victim of our previous success in that expectations are too high??

You have to be a bit patient with me as I dont know much about hockey, even though I was born in Minnesota.. I understand scoring goals, defending the net, offsides, icing, the blueline but that is about it.. I know its embarrassing that is all I know but I would like your opinion on whether we are getting the best Minnesota kids for a good team or is there a style/strategic problem?? Or are expectations way too high??

The Olympic Team Trials will take place this weekend at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City and these trials will determine who will be on the U.S. Team at the Olympics this summer in Brazil. 5 Gopher Wrestling Alums are in the Trials, and other alums, current and future Gophers competed to be in the Trials along the way. So, (for you serious GI wrestling fans) I've included several other articles in this post that discuss which Gophers aimed to qualify and how the weights are seeded for the Trials.

The Team Trials will be streamed live online at FloWrestling.org and the finals will be shown live on Sat. April 9th at 6pm CT on NBCSportsNet.

Go Gopher Wrestlers!!!
#GopherTough

Five Gopher Alums Set for Olympic Team Trials

With three wrestlers in the freestyle field and two more competing in Greco, the Gophers are well represented at this weekend’s tournament


Two-time NCAA national champion Tony Nelson hopes to represent the U.S. in freestyle at 125 kilograms in Rio this summer.

Gophersports.com
April 7, 2016

As former Gopher Scott Schiller recently observed, kids who grow up playing football or baseball may dream of playing their sport professionally but, for young wrestlers, competing in the Olympics is the ultimate dream. Schiller will be one of five Minnesota alums hoping to make that dream a reality this weekend when they take on the nation’s best at the Olympic Team Trials in Iowa City, Iowa.

Beginning on Saturday and running through Sunday, the Olympic Team Trials will determine who will represent the United States in men’s and women’s freestyle and Greco-Roman at this summer’s Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.

A trio of highly decorated Gophers will compete in freestyle, where Jayson Ness (65 kg), Scott Schiller (97 kg) and Tony Nelson (125 kg) all look for their spots in Rio. The threesome combined to win 11 All-America medals and three national titles during their Minnesota careers.

While there are no easy weights at this level of competition, Ness may face the most daunting bracket of any Gopher alum. He is one of eight wrestlers in the field to have won NCAA titles during their collegiate careers, and four of his competitors have previously represented the U.S. at the World Championships. Ness earned his spot in the field by winning the Dave Schultz Memorial tournament earlier this year.

Last December, Schiller upset top-seeded Dustin Kilgore in the first round of the U.S. Nationals in Las Vegas and marched to the championship bout before falling to Wynn Michalak. That finish clinched Schiller’s spot in this weekend’s field, where he is ranked eighth. Since qualifying, Schiller competed in his first international tournaments, winning the bronze medal at the Pan American Championships and finishing 2-2 at the Yasar Dogu International in Istanbul.

On the Greco side, Pat Smith (66 kg) and Alec Ortiz (75 kg) will look to join their former head coach, J Robinson, and 10 former Gophers who have represented the U.S. in Greco-Roman at previous Olympic games.

Smith earned his spot in the trials by finishing as the runner up at the U.S. Nationals, piling up four wins on his way to the finals, including two victories against wrestlers who will be in this weekend’s tournament. Just six weeks ago, Smith won gold at the Pan American Championships wrestling at 71 kg (a non-Olympic weight). He is ranked No. 4 at 66 kg heading into his Saturday matches.

Ortiz was the last of this quintet of Minnesota alums to claim his spot in the field, earning his chance to wrestle in the trials by winning last weekend’s Last Chance Qualifier in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. After gutting out a 5-3 decision in his opening match, Ortiz defeated his next two opponents by a combined 16 points to put an exclamation point on his qualifying effort.

The Trials will feature all three Olympic styles on both days of the event. Saturday’s schedule includes men’s freestyle at 65 and 125 kg, women’s freestyle at 58, 63 and 69 kg, and Greco at 59, 66, 85 and 98 kg. Sunday will fill in the four remaining weights in men’s freestyle (57, 74, 86 and 97 kg), three in women’s freestyle (48, 53 and 75 kg) and two in Greco (75 and 130 kg).

The qualifier format involves a traditional, American-style tournament bracket, but the finals at each weight are a best-of-three series. Both days will begin with preliminary competition starting at 9 a.m. Central, followed by the best-of-three championship series to crown victors at each weight starting at 6 p.m.

All of this weekend’s action will be streamed live on NBCSports.com. Saturday night's finals will be broadcast live on NBC Sports Network as well. Sunday's will be broadcast on tape delay, beginning at 9:30 p.m. Central.


Ortiz Earns Spot in U.S. Team Trails Field

Alec Ortiz's championship performance in Greco at 75 kilograms guarantees him a spot in next weekend's U.S. Olympic Team Trials tournament

Gophersports.com
April 3, 2016

At the appropriately named Last Chance Olympic Trials qualifier tournament last weekend in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, a championship performance by Gopher wrestling alum Alec Ortiz guaranteed him a spot in the 75-kilogram, Greco-Roman field at next week's team trials, the event which will decide the U.S. team for this summer's Olympic Games.

Nine Gophers - past, present and future - were in Cedar Rapids to compete in both Greco and freestyle this weekend. The prize at every weight class in both styles was the last spot at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials next weekend in Iowa City. Only the winners at each weight class advanced to the trials.

Ortiz survived a tough opening match, a 5-3 decision over Jesse Porter, to begin his run to the title on Friday. Ortiz won his next two matches convincingly, earning a 9-0 tech fall over Curt Calovecchi in the semifinals before an 11-4 decision against Colin Schubert in the championship bout.

By advancing to the team trials, Ortiz becomes the fifth Gopher alum to qualify for the event. He will join Pat Smith (66 kg) on the Greco side next weekend, as well as Jayson Ness (65 kg), Scott Schiller (97 kg) and Tony Nelson (125 kg) in freestyle.

Three other Gopher alums reached the semifinals of their brackets at the last chance qualifier but were unable to advance past that point. Wrestling freestyle at 65 kg, both Chris Dardanes and Nick Dardanes won consecutive matches to reach the final four at their weight, but fell on opposite sides of the bracket in the semis. Kevin Steinhaus, wrestling competitively for the first time since the 2014 NCAA Championships, opened the event with three straight tech fall victories, defeating his opponents by a combined total of 34-2, before dropping his semifinal contest.

Alums Zach Sanders and Dylan Ness fell in the freestyle quarterfinals, Sanders in an 8-4 decision at 57 kg and Ness in a 13-6 decision at 74 kg. Ness entered the freestyle field on the day after he wrestled in the event's Greco competition on Friday, where he fell in his opening match.

Current Gophers Tommy Thorn (65 kg) and Bobby Steveson (86 kg), as well as incoming recruit Mitch McKee (65 kg) all competed in freestyle on Saturday. Both Thorn and McKee picked up victories in Cedar Rapids, but none of the three placed in the tournament.

Full results for all nine competitors are listed below.

Match-by-Match Results

66 kg Greco

Dylan Ness
Champ Rnd 1: Bye
Champ Rnd 2: Blayne Briceno fall (0:45) Dylan Ness
Cons Rnd 2: Bye
Cons Rnd 3: Sahid Kargbo forfeit Dylan Ness

75 kg Greco

Alec Ortiz
Champ Rnd 1: Bye
Quarters: Alec Ortiz dec Jesse Porter, 5-3
Semis: Alec Oriz tech fall Curt Calovecchi, 9-0
Finals: Alec Ortiz dec Colin Schubert, 11-4

57 kg Freestyle

Zach Sanders
Champ Rnd 1: Bye
Champ Rnd 2: Zach Sanders tech fall Jacob Colon, 12-2
Quarters: Frank Perrelli dec Zach Sanders, 8-4
Round of 12: Zach Sanders fall (2:03) Bradley Pataky
Cons Quarters: Stevan Micic inj (3:32) Zach Sanders

65 kg Freestyle

Chris Dardanes
Champ Rnd 1: Bye
Champ Rnd 2: Chris Dardanes tech fall Marcus Cobbs, 10-0
Quarters: Chris Dardanes dec Josh Kindig, 9-2
Semis: Bernard Futrell tech fall Chris Dardanes, 8-0
Cons Semis: Chance Pami forfeit Chris Dardanes

Nick Dardanes
Champ Rnd 1: Bye
Champ Rnd 2: Nick Dardanes dec James Eggemeyer, 2-1
Quarters: Nick Dardanes dec Chance Pami, 10-4
Semis: Nazar Kulchytskyy dec Nick Dardanes, 4-3
Cons Semis: Brandon Wright forfeit Nick Dardanes

Tommy Thorn
Champ Rnd 1: Bye
Champ Rnd 2: Matthew Kolodzik tech fall Tommy Thorn, 12-1
Cons Rnd 2: Tommy Thorn dec D Little, 5-3
Cons Rnd 3: Isaac Dukes tech fall Tommy Thorn, 14-3

Mitch McKee
Champ Rnd 1: Josh Kindig tech fall Mitch McKee, 10-0
Cons Rnd 1: Bye
Cons Rnd 2: Mitch McKee tech fall James Eggemeyer, 13-3
Cons Rnd 3: Sahid Kargbo fall (0:12) Mitch McKee

74 kg Freestyle

Dylan Ness
Champ Rnd 1: Dylan Ness tech fall Jason Clark, 10-0
Champ Rnd 2: Dylan Ness tech fall Connor Keating, 10-0
Quarters: Andrew Sorenson dec Dylan Ness, 13-6
Round of 12: Thomas Domerese forfeit Dylan Ness

86 kg Freestyle

Kevin Steinhaus
Champ Rnd 1: Kevin Steinhaus tech fall Austin Morehead, 10-0
Champ Rnd 2: Kevin Steinhaus tech fall Riley Lefever, 12-1
Quarters: Kevin Steinhaus tech fall Bo Nickal, 12-1
Semis: Timmy McCall tech fall Kevin Steinhaus, 11-0
Cons Semis: Nick Heflin tech fall Kevin Steinhaus, 8-0

Bobby Steveson
Champ Rnd 1: Bye
Champ Rnd 2: Victor Terrell tech fall Bobby Steveson
Cons Rnd 2: Nick Heflin tech fall Bobby Steveson, 9-1


USA Wrestling releases Greco-Roman Olympic Team Trials rankings

USA Wrestling
4/6/2016

USA Wrestling has released a special set of Greco-Roman rankings for those athletes qualified to compete at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, Iowa on April 9-10.

Rankings have been set for the top eight wrestlers for each of the six Olympic weight classes based on following criteria: 1) head-to-head victories, 2) wins over common opponents and 3) whether or not an athlete was a member of the 2015 U.S. World Team. Results that were considered include any tournament an athlete has competed in since Jan. 1, 2015. This includes both domestic and international matches during that time period.

A computer system which compiled all of the relevant data was used to help create these rankings.

If an athlete was a member of the 2015 U.S. World Team and qualified the weight that he will be competing at in Iowa City for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, then that athlete was automatically granted the No. 1 ranking and will be the No. 1 seed at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials.

The three athletes automatically earning the No. 1 ranking include Andy Bisek at 75 kilos, Jordan Holm at 85 kilos and Robby Smith at 130 kilos.

By winning a bronze medal at the 2015 World championships, Andy Bisek has advanced to the best-of-three Championship Series in his weight class and will not participate in the morning Challenge Tournament in Iowa City.

The following rankings will serve as the baseline for which athletes will be seeded at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials. All athletes who have currently qualified for the U.S. Olympic Team Trials are listed below, but only the top-eight have received a ranking. At the seeding meeting in Iowa City, all of the athletes entered will receive a seed and byes will be placed accordingly to the highest seeded wrestlers.

Official U.S. Olympic Team Trials seeding per weight class is subject to change based on the coaches seeding meeting after wrestlers weigh-in in Iowa City.

59 kilos:
Top Eight Ranking
1. Ildar Hafizov, Colorado Springs, Colo. (U.S. Army WCAP)
2. Spenser Mango, Colorado Springs, Colo. (U.S. Army WCAP)
3. Jesse Thielke, Germantown, Wis. (New York AC)
4. Nikko Triggas, Colorado Springs, Colo. (New York AC)
5. Ryan Mango, Colorado Springs, Colo. (Army WCAP)
6. Sam Jones, Folsom, La. (NYAC/NMU)
7. Jermaine Hodge, Colorado Springs, Colo. (U.S. Army WCAP)
8. Max Nowry, Colorado Springs, Colo. (Army WCAP)

Additional Qualifiers
Cade Olivas, Fontana, Calif. (Titan Mercury WC)
Dmitry Ryabchinskiy, Brooklyn, N.Y. (NYAC/NMU)
Justin LaValle, Burnsville, Minn., (Minnesota Storm)

66 kilos:
Top Eight Ranking
1. Bryce Saddoris, Sneads Ferry, N.C. (U.S. Marine Corps)
2. Ellis Coleman, Colorado Springs, Colo. (U.S. Army WCAP)
3. RaVaughn Perkins, Omaha, Neb. (New York AC)
4. Patrick Smith, Minneapolis, Minn. (Minnesota Storm),
5. Christopher Gonzalez, Bolingbrook, Ill. (NYAC/NMU)
6. Brian Graham, Minneapolis, Minn. (Minnesota Storm)
7. Alejandro Sancho, Miami, Fla. (NYAC/NMU)
8. Devin Scott, Minneapolis, Minn. (Minnesota Storm)

Additional Qualifiers
Michael Hooker, Colorado Springs, Colo. (U.S. Army WCAP)
Marco Lara, Colorado Springs, Colo. (U.S. Army WCAP)

75 kilos:
Top Eight Ranking
1. Andy Bisek, Colorado Springs, Colo. (Minnesota Storm)
2. Geordan Speiller, Oviedo, Fla. (Florida Jets)
3. Kendrick Sanders, Homestead, Fla. (New York AC/NMU-OTS)
4. Justin Lester, Colorado Springs, Colo. (U.S. Army WCAP)
5. Cheney Haight, Colorado Springs, Colo. (New York AC)
6. Tarrence Williams, Portland, Ore. (CSU Pueblo Wrestling RTC)
7. Jacob Fisher, Minneapolis, Minn. (Minnesota Storm)
8. Corey Hope, Colorado Springs, Colo. (NYAC/OTC)

Additional Qualifiers
Jon Jay Chavez, Boise, Idaho (Titan Mercury WC)
Mason Manville, Colorado Springs, Colo. (Minnesota Storm)
Taylor Walsh, Cherry Hill, N.J.
Barrett Stanghill, Philipsburg, Montana (NYAC/NMU)
Dillon Cowan, Colorado Springs, Colo. (U.S. Army WCAP)
Alec Ortiz, Minneapolis, Minn. (Minnesota Storm)

85 kilos:
Top Eight Ranking
1. Jordan Holm, Minneapolis, Minn. (Minnesota Storm)
2. Jon Anderson, Colorado Springs, Colo. (U.S. Army WCAP)
3. Jacob Clark, Honolulu, Hawaii (Minnesota Storm)
4. Ben Provisor, Colorado Springs, Colo. (NYAC/OTC)
5. Patrick Martinez, Colorado Springs, Colo. (U.S. Army WCAP)
6. Lucas Sheridan, Colorado Springs, Colo. (Army WCAP)
7. Mark Stenberg, Colorado Springs, Colo. (NYAC/NMU)
8. Ryan Hope, Colorado Springs, Colo. (NYAC/CKWC)

Additional Qualifiers
Kevin Radford, Jr., Fayetteville, N.C. (Sunkist Kids)
Courtney Myers, Colorado Springs, Colo. (U.S. Army WCAP)
Michael Brant, Camp LeJeune, N.C. (U.S. Marine Corps)
Timothy Bleau, Colorado Springs, Colo. (U.S. Army WCAP)
Hayden Zillmer, Crosby, Minn. (CrosbyHay)

98 kilos:
Top Eight Ranking
1. Joe Rau, Minneapolis, Minn. (Minnesota Storm)
2. Caylor Williams, Colorado Springs, Colo. (U.S. Army WCAP)
3. G'Angelo Hancock, Colorado Springs, Colo. (NYAC/OTC)
4. John Wechter, Minneapolis, Minn. (Minnesota Storm)
5. Orry Elor, Walnut Creek, Calif. (NYAC/NMU)
6. Marcus Finau, Ewa Beach, Hawaii (CSU Pueblo Wrestling RTC)
7. Jacob Kasper, Mansfield, Ohio (Roughhouse)
8. Daniel Miller, Camp LeJeune, N.C. (U.S. Marine Corps)

Additional Qualifiers
Jarod Trice, Ames, Iowa (Titan Mercury WC)
Patrick Carey, Minneapolis, Minn. (Minnesota Storm)
John Lorenz, LaCrosse, Wis. (unattached)

130 kilos:
Top Eight Ranking
1. Robby Smith, Colorado Springs, Colo. (New York AC)
2. Adam Coon, Fowlerville, Mich. (Cliff Keen WC)
3. Toby Erickson, Colorado Springs, Colo. (New York AC)
4. Jacob Mitchell, Portland, Ore. (CSU Pueblo Wrestling RTC)
5. Parker Betts, St. Michael, Minn. (Minnesota Storm),
6. Matthew Lamb, Colorado Springs, Colo. (Army WCAP)
7. Donny Longendyke, Vadnais Heights, Minn. (Minnesota Storm)
8. Zach Merrill, Bermuda Dunes, Calif. (Titan Mercury WC)

Additional Qualifiers
Sam Stoll, Kasson, Minn. (Minnesota Storm/Hawkeye WC)
Eric Fader, Camp Lejeune, N.C (U.S. Marines)
Jack Griggs, Brighton, Mich. (NMU-OTS)
Tyrell Fortune, Tempe, Ariz. (Titan Mercury WC)


USA Wrestling releases men's freestyle Olympic Team Trials rankings
USA Wrestling
4/1/2016

USA Wrestling has released a special set of men's freestyle rankings for those athletes qualified to compete at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, Iowa on April 9-10.

Rankings have been set for the top eight wrestlers for each of the six Olympic weight classes based on following criteria: 1) head-to-head victories, 2) wins over common opponents and 3) whether or not an athlete was a member of the 2015 U.S. World Team. Results that were considered include any tournament an athlete has competed in since Jan. 1, 2015. This includes both domestic and international matches during that time period.

If an athlete was a member of the 2015 U.S. World Team and qualified the weight, he will be competing at in Iowa City for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, then that athlete was automatically granted the No. 1 ranking and will be the No. 1 seed at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials.

A computer system which compiled all of the relevant data was used to help create these rankings.

The three athletes automatically earning the No. 1 ranking include Tony Ramos at 57 kg/125.5 lbs., Jordan Burroughs at 74 kg/163 lbs. and Kyle Snyder at 97 kg/213 lbs.

By winning a medal at the 2015 World championships (both gold), Jordan Burroughs and Kyle Snyder have advanced to the best-of-three Championship Series in their weight class and will not participate in the morning Challenge Tournament in Iowa City.

The following rankings will serve as the baseline for which athletes will be seeded at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials. All athletes who have currently qualified for the U.S. Olympic Team Trials are listed below, but only the top-eight have received a ranking. At the seeding meeting in Iowa City, all of the athletes entered will receive a seed and byes will be placed accordingly to the highest seeded wrestlers.

Official U.S. Olympic Team Trials seeding per weight class is subject to change based on the outcome of the Last Chance Olympic Qualifier to be held this weekend in Cedar Falls, Iowa and the coaches seeding meeting after wrestlers weigh-in in Iowa City.

U.S. Olympic Team Trials Men's Freestyle Qualifier Rankings

57 kilos:
Top-Eight Rankings
1. Tony Ramos, Iowa City, Iowa (Titan Mercury WC)
2. Tyler Graff, New Brunswick, N.J. (New York AC)
3. Daniel Dennis, Iowa City, Iowa. (Titan Mercury WC)
4. Coleman Scott, Chapel Hill, N.C. (Sunkist Kids)
5. Erkin Tadzhimetov, Orem, Utah (New York AC)
6. Sam Hazewinkel, Norman, Okla. (Sunkist Kids)
7. Joe Colon, Cedar Falls, Iowa (Titan Mercury WC)
8. Nathan Tomasello, Parma, Ohio (Titan Mercury WC)

Additional Qualifiers
Angel Escobedo, Ames, Iowa (New York AC)
Alan Waters, Columbia, Mo. (Missouri Wrestling Foundation)
Nico Megaludis, Murraysville, Pa. (Penn State/Nittany Lion WC)
Nahshon Garrett, Chico, Calif. (Cornell/Titan Mercury WC)

65 kilos:
Top-Eight Rankings
1. Brent Metcalf, Iowa City, Iowa (New York AC/Hawkeye WC)
2. James Green, Lincoln, Neb. (Titan Mercury WC)
3. Jordan Oliver, Tempe, Ariz. (Sunkist Kids)
4. Jimmy Kennedy, Ann Arbor, Mich. (New York AC/Cliff Keen WC)
5. Reece Humphrey, Columbus, Ohio (New York AC/Ohio RTC)
6. Logan Stieber, Columbus, Ohio (Titan Mercury WC/Ohio RTC)
7. Aaron Pico, Whittier, Calif. (Titan Mercury WC)
8. Kellen Russell, Ann Arbor, Mich. (New York AC/Cliff Keen WC)

Additional Qualifiers
Frank Molinaro, State College, Pa. (Nittany Lion WC)
Jason Chamberlain, Lincoln, Neb. (Titan Mercury WC)
Jayson Ness, Minneapolis, Minn. (Minnesota Storm)
Dean Heil, Brunswick, Ohio (Oklahoma State/Cowboy WC)
Zain Retherford, Benton, Pa. (Penn State/Nittany Lion WC)

74 kilos:
Top-Eight Rankings
1. Jordan Burroughs, Lincoln, Neb. (Sunkist Kids)
2. Andrew Howe, Norman, Okla. (New York AC)
3. Chris Perry, Stillwater, Okla. (Titan Mercury WC)
4. Dan Vallimont, Long Beach, N.Y. (New York AC/Blue and Gold WC)
5. Kevin LeValley, Lewisburg, Pa. (Buffalo Valley RTC)
6. Nick Marable, Morgantown, W.Va. (Sunkist Kids)
7. Logan Massa, St. Johns, Mich. (New York AC/Cliff Keen WC)
8. Adam Hall, Raleigh, N.C. (Titan Mercury WC)

Additional Qualifiers
Quinton Godley, Raleigh, N.C. (Titan Mercury WC)
Isaiah Martinez, Lemoore, Calif. (Illinois/Titan Mercury WC)
Alex Dieringer, Port Washington, Wis. (Oklahoma State/Cowboy WC)

86 kilos:
Top-Eight Rankings
1. Jake Herbert, Ann Arbor, Mich. (New York AC/Cliff Keen WC)
2. Kyle Dake, Ithaca, N.Y. (Titan Mercury WC)
3. David Taylor, State College, Pa. (Nittany Lion WC)
4. Keith Gavin, Charlottesville, Va. (Titan Mercury WC)
5. Ed Ruth, Tempe, Ariz. (Sunkist Kids)
6. Jon Reader, Brookings, S.D. (Sunkist Kids)
7. Richard Perry, Philadelphia, Pa. (New York AC/Penn WC)
8. Clayton Foster, Laramie, Wyo. (GRIT Athletics /Wyoming RTC)

Additional Qualifiers
Tyler Caldwell, Stillwater, Okla. (Sunkist Kids)
Austin Trotman, San Gabriel, Calif. (Titan Mercury WC)
Myles Martin, Penns Grove, N.J. (Ohio State/Titan Mercury WC)
Gabe Dean, Lowell, Mich. (Cornell/Titan Mercury WC)
J'Den Cox, Columbia, Mo. (Missouri/Missouri Wrestling Foundation)

97 kilos:
Top-Eight Rankings
1. Kyle Snyder, Woodbine, Md. (Titan Mercury WC)
2. Jake Varner, State College, Pa. (Nittany Lion WC)
3. J.D. Bergman, Columbus, Ohio (New York AC/Ohio RTC)
4. Dustin Kilgore, Colorado Springs, Colo. (Sunkist Kids)
5. Cayle Byers, Stillwater, Okla. (Titan Mercury WC)
6. Wynn Michalak, Champaign, Ill. (Titan Mercury WC)
7. Kyven Gadson, Ames, Iowa (Sunkist Kids)
8. Scott Schiller, Minneapolis, Minn. (Minnesota Storm)

Additional Qualifiers
Micah Burak, Colorado Springs, Colo. (Titan Mercury WC)
Jeffery Felix, Ann Arbor, Mich. (Titan Mercury WC/Cliff Keen WC)
Enock Francois, Ithaca, N.Y. (New York AC)

125 kilos:
Top-Eight Rankings
1. Tervel Dlagnev, Columbus, Ohio (Sunkist Kids/Ohio RTC)
2. Zach Rey, Bethlehem, Pa. (Lehigh Valley AC)
3. Nick Gwiazdowski, Delanson, N.Y. (New York AC/Wolfpack WC)
4. Dom Bradley, Blue Springs, Mo. (Sunkist Kids)
5. Tyrell Fortune, Tempe, Ariz. (Titan Mercury WC)
6. Bobby Telford, Iowa City, Iowa (Titan Mercury WC)
7. Anthony Nelson, Minneapolis, Minn. (Minnesota Storm)
8. Eric Thompson, State College, Pa. (Nittany Lion WC)

Additional Qualifiers
Connor Medbery, Loveland, Colo. (Titan Mercury WC)
Justin Grant, Bloomsburg, Pa. (New York AC)
Matt Meuleners, Lincoln, Neb. (Titan Mercury WC)

In case you missed it...

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We will give live updates, half by half analysis and full breakdown following today's game.

First half breakdown.

The Good: The combination of Rodney Smith James Johannesson looks really good. 112 combined rushing yards, Smith leads the game with 67 yards while James has 45. Jonathan Femi-Cole also looked good running back, with a 4-yard gain followed by a bruising 9-yard run in which he ran over a defender. JFC has 18 yards in the game. Brooks hasn't been able to find a hole yet, and on five carries, has 6 yards.

The defense is forcing turnovers and making plays. . Three interceptions in the first half, one of them returned for a touchdown by Jaylen Waters. In the secondary, Zo Craighton broke up a pass in the end zone that was intended for Wozniak.

The defensive has also recorded five total sacks in this game, three for Gold and 2 for White.

Special Teams. Emmit Carpenter is 2-for-2, six points on the board for the Gold.

The Bad: The quarterbacks don't look as sharp as we would have thought. Croft is 3-for-9 for 16 yards and two INTS. Green has two completions for 15 yards w/INT while Rhoda is 1-3 for 5 yards. Green also fumbled the handoff to Johanneson which led to a loss of 3 yards.

Second Half

The Good: Johannesson had close to 90 yards rushing in the second half, which included the lone offensive touchdown of the day, a 7-yard TD run that gave the Gold a 13-7 lead, and a 44 yard run, the longest play of the game. The best catch of the day came on a 15 yard catch by Chris Streveler from Conor Rhoda on fourth-and-long.

The secondary continued to shine, highlighted by the biggest hit of the game, a vicious hit by Adekunle Ayinde on Melvin Holland.

The trick play: A flea flicker involving Croft, Brooks and Carter. Croft hands off to Brooks, who launches one deep to Carter, who can't hold on to the ball. Though they did not convert the play, still a nice try.

Emmit Carpenter goes 2-for-2 in the second half to finish 4-for-4 overall.

The Bad: After three successful runs for gains, Femi-Cole fumbles the ball. Fortunately it is recovered by the offense.

Dropped passes: Two memorable dropped passes came from Streveler and Matt Morse in the second half. You could also include Carter dropping the catch on the flea flicker.

Croft was sacked three times in the second half.

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Thoughts?

After keying a doubleheader sweep of No. 25 Michigan, senior Dalton Sawyer was tabbed as the Big Ten Pitcher of the Week, it was announced by the league office on Monday.
Sawyer got the nod on the mound for the back end of the doubleheader on Friday afternoon and put on a masterful performance against one of the league’s most dangerous offenses.
The southpaw went 6.0 innings and struck out a career-high 10 while allowing just two hits to a team that entered the contest hitting .364 in conference games.

This is of the shorter variety because the family has an interesting approach to the visits. They don't want other schools knowing much about the current visit because they want each trip to be authentic and without much copycat from one another. That I understood.

The one question I didn't get an answer to was where Minnesota stood with them after his. I asked it twice. The first answer was short and positive but my final question was unanswered although I was asking the Qs later last evening.

Right now I think Minnesota has as good of a chance as any. Why? Because this family is hard to get scheduled because of dad's work schedule and to visit they all have to go together. When they had the chance they picked Minnesota over other options. I understand that there will be other trips but I think Minnesota being comparable to his home life is a big deal and I think the Gophers getting the fist spring visit is a big deal. Nothing else has been scheduled.

I know that Nebraska wants this kid bad. They have no size at all right now.

https://minnesota.n.rivals.com/news/tshimanga-talks-gopher-visit

I have to admit, I am a Phil Mickelson fan and I kinda lose interest if he misses the cut like this week or is not playing well. The Masters and US Open are the 2 golf tournaments that I will watch on TV.. Man, the conditions looked rough... Those green speeds and undulations are severe and if you got that wind blowing a lot, that makes conditions so brutal.. It was definitely time for Tom Watson to say "GOODBYE" to the Masters.. A driver and 5 wood is so tough on the 18th hole. The course is simply too long for him, anymore, especially with the wind blowing that much. Need to be able to hit short irons, very high, in on the approach so you can stop it on the green where you want it. Tom is a great great champion and it is another transition from a great generation of players.

I hope this next generation of players can do better than what was anticipated with Tiger vs. Phil.. That never really materialized though both are Hall of Fame career players. I see Jordan Spieth vs. Rory McElroy as being good for the sport.. You have Dustin Johnson, who can hit it forever in length... Jason Day can put birdies together on any course in the world. Adam Scott has one of the best golf swings in the game.. The PGA has a ton of young talent but my heart is still with Mickelson and hoping Tiger makes one more run.. I just think BACK SURGERY is the 'kiss of death' for any athlete so I am not convinced Tiger will ever get back to anything close to where he was at, before.

I think Spieth repeats but who do you think will win??

Boom!

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According to the Twitter is filling out an application to be AD. Thoughts?

With Sid this morning I was surprised to hear Tracy Claeys say that Minnesota will only be able to sign 18-20 kids. I figured after signing only 20 in 2016 we would be able to sign at least 25 especially considering the 3 extra you can sign.

I will have stories on both visitors tomorrow.

Neither of them are expected to make a decision shortly after the trips and both are expected to make some more visits.

Jordy is still working on Arizona and Nebraska trips.

Springs is expected to schedule another, is in contact with Butler now, wil talk with Milwaukee about maybe staying, will make decision by end of month, had a good trip here.

If you are unsigned and can catch a football...get your tape to the Gophers! They have openings at all receiver spots.