UFC 128 - Shogun V. Jones

UFC 128

WOW!! To a fan who just watched UFC 128 to see what the hype was all about probably was confused who was champion. I am a big fan of The UFC and I too was unable to grasp that Maurico 'Shogun" Rua was the champion and John 'Bones' Jones was the #1 contender because of how Jones completely dominated the champion.

Jones came in the championship fight as a 2 to 1 favorite and after his performance, those odds were more than justified. Shogun Rua is an incredible fighter, a legend in the young sport and many who have been a fan of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) can attest to his skills and thought those odds would backfire. I was one of them but after seeing the fight, the odds makers were, in a way, respectful to Rua. I could not believe that Jones has only been fighting for only three years, yes only three years whereas Rua has been fighting the best in his weight division for almost a decade.

I can not say anything else other than the fact that Shogun looked like a rookie by a rookie in the sport that is what John Jones is considered. However, Shogun showed that he was rightfully the champion by the effort he displayed by not retreating and giving up on himself, his team and his fans. He showed the heart of a champion even if the outcome of the fight did not make him retain his champion title. Congratulations to John 'Bones' Jones and much respect to Mauricio 'Shogun' Rua, whom I still consider a great fighter or how it said in his native Brazilian Portuguese: Mauricio Rua e um gran lutador com coracao de um campeao.

3rd and Final Day of 2011 NCAA Wrestling Championships

What does Penn State and the San Francisco Giants have in common? They are both sports, yes! They both a storied sports team, yes! They both reach the apex in their respective level and sport in the past years, yes! Penn State won the team title, their first title since 1953. Why did I compare a collegiate sports team to a professional sports team, you might ponder? Well, other than the fact that they achieved greatness, they both had not been at the pinnacle since the 1950s. The Giants had not won a World Series since moving out west in 1957 but won the 2010 World Series. That is how they are linked. Congratulations to Penn State for the team title. As for the individual matches, here's how I saw it:

-@125 Anthony Robles defeats defending National Champion Iowa's Matt McDonough convincingly to capture his 1st National Champion and end his storied career on top. Talk about a feel good story.

-@133 Jordan Oliver also dominated his Boise St. counterpart to become a sophomore National Champion.

-@141 Kellen Russel endured what looked like a painful injury against Boris Novachkov from my alum Cal Poly, to take him down in the last 25 seconds to secure his 1st National Title.

-@149 Kyle Dake simply just dominated Penn State's Frank Molinaro. No other way to put it. Kyle racked up an astonishing 6+ riding time, yes, 6+ riding time. He now is a 2x National Champion and he is only a sophomore.

-@157 Bubba Jenkins pins Freshman Sensation David Taylor in the 1st round to claim his 1st National title. Talk about sticking it to your old team.

-@165 Jordan Borroughs is simply a man amongst boys. Like Kyle Dake was able to accomplish, Jordan did but on his feet. He is simply a takedown machine. He ended his career being Nebraska's only 2x NCAA National Champion. Enjoy to watch.

-@174 Jon Reader dominated Stanford's Amuchastegui to win title.

-@184 Quentin Wright, a #9 seed, defeated Robert Hamlin, #2 seed to give Penn State a lone champion. Not only did he outperform his seed but he wrestled like a man who just wanted it more than anyone else.

-@197 Kilgore was getting beat by Oklahome State's Foster but as every wrestler knows it is not how you start but how you finish. In other terms, the wrestler with the least amount of mistakes win the bout and Foster just happened to make a HUGE mistake and Kilgore capitalized on it and pinned him. Kent State's 1st National Champion.

-@Heavyweight Lehigh Rey defeated Ryan Flores from American 3-1. With a Steve Mocco as your coach, I am sure Rey was well prepared for the National Tournament.

Top 3 Teams: Penn State, Cornell, Iowa

As a avid fan, I thoroughly enjoyed the 2011 NCAA Wrestling Championships. There were a lot of amazing matches with great student-athletes competing for nothing else than the love and desire for the sport. Can't wait till next year. Hopefully, I will be writing to you guys from St. Louis, MO...

2nd Day of The NCAA Wrestling Championships

If I were to say that a top seeded wrestler, who has beaten everyone in his weight class lost by injury default but before that, he was losing by more than six points, who would you say is this wrestler?

If you answered, Cam Simaz, than you're wrong but he did lose. If you answered Kyle Dake, than you're wrong again and he won and will be going to the finals. If you answered Ed Ruth, than you're right. Ed Ruth lost to Stanford's Nick Amuchestegui in the quarter-finals. Not to take anything away from Nick because he did what he had to do to win and is now in the finals defeating Mack Lewnes of Cornell, but Ed Ruth did not wrestle near his ability. However, that is the nature of the beast that is the grind and huge spectacle of the NCAA Wrestling Championships where there are approximately 20, 000+ fans. For some, it a stage where they shine - Quentin Wright who is in the finals and for some it is not, case in point, Ed Ruth. He is only a freshman and will have three more attempts for that coveted NCAA Championship that every wrestler strives to achieve.

Thoughts on the second day......

-Anthony Robles is in the finals @125 and wrestled his match in the semi's over a strong wrestler from Utah State. He will meet McDonough from Iowa and hopefully Robles will come out the victor.

-@141 A fellow Cal Poly Mustang, Boris Novachkov defeated a strong willed Mike Thorn from Minnesota in the semi's 9-3 and will be in the finals over Kellen Moore from Michigan. Being an alum at Cal Poly, I am rooting for Boris to defeat the undefeated wrestler in Moore.

-@157 David Taylor = Amazing. He will wrestle Bubba Jenkins from Arizona State and former Nittany Lion, in which I believe will be an extra ordinary bout with Taylor winning.

-@165 Jordan Borroughs = A man amongst boys. His power doubles are exactly what he does. He powers right through you for double the amount of points given on an escape. Jordan defeating Tyler Caldwell from Oklahoma, who won in triple OT over returning Andre Howe from Wisconsin.

-@184 Quentin Wright is peaking at THEE right time. He pinned his opponent in the semi's and has been wrestling 'out of his mind'. Wright over Hamlin.

-@197 Kilgore defeated the #1 seed that was Cam Simaz and as a result, I have him beating the Oklahoma State wrestler.

-@Heavyweight Ryan Flores looks smaller than his opponents but also looks superior than his opponents and I believe that he will overcome the hurdle that is Rey from Lehigh in the finals.

As for the team race, I still believe that Penn State will get their 1st team title since the days of bread and water, especially after the Quentin Wright pin in the semi's.

1st Day of 2011 NCAA Wrestling Championships

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Let me ask you this? What would you do if you were the favorite to win it all but had to injury default out of the tournament because of an existing injury which made you injury red-shirt a year to heal gets aggravated? Before you answer, I forgot to mention it was your last NCAA tournament EVER!!! Now you can answer. This scenario came to an ugly reality for the 2009 NCAA Champion, Darrion Caldwell of North Carolina State. He was injured during his second match of the 1st day. It is painful to hear but I can only imagine how painful it is to feel such a thing. The physical pain can go away but the mental pain of another potential championship taken away from you because of a previous injury is a pain that will not go away in a day, week, months or even year or it might not even go away forever.

Other than the tragic ending to an amazing collegiate career to a wrestler who did the unbeatable in 2009 when he beat Brent Metcalf, a wrestler who was said to be unbeatable in the big stage, was defeated, here are my recap of the first day.

-David Taylor @ 157 is an amazing wrestler, whom I wish will win the tournament because his style is relentless and technical and extremely fun to watch.

-Jordan Borrough @ 165 is just simply a beast on the mat. His only speed is GO! GO! GO! GO!

-Ed Ruth @ 174 always looks disinterested in wrestling. He looks like he doesn't want to wrestle yet always wins convincingly while making his opponent look elementary. I suppose he is saving his energy for when it counts.

-Quentin Wright @ 184 He looks like he is a man on a mission in the NCAA stage. He knows when to turn it on and be on tip top shape to become a champion.

-Ryan Flores @ 285 He looks like a lighter weight. Correct me if I am wrong but he 'majored (an 8pt advantage)' So far he looks like the bigger wrestler among some big big boys.

-Looks like the teams at the top are the usual in recent memory: Penn State, Iowa, Cornell, Boise State

I can not wait to see day 2 (Quarter-Finals and Semi-Finals) and day 3 (Finals and medal round).

2010 - 2011 Division 1 NCAA Wrestling Finals Week

To most college students, the third week of March means 'Finals Week' (for those in the quarter system but in the semester system its Mid-Term) but for the winter D-1 collegiate athlete, in particular, a wrestler, the third week means NCAA Division 1 Finals Tournament. However, the first two weeks of March is the grind into making it into the 'the tournament'. Its pretty similar, if not the same concept, as March Madness but for the sport of Wrestling. This year the event is being held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on March 17, 18, and 19. This is the culmination of the 2010-2011 wrestling season and the thought of not winning their respective weight class more or less placing (the accomplishment of being the top 8 in the nation in their weight class) is an utter failure. Consequently, this is what a D-1 NCAA wrestler has looked forward too since the beginning of the season. Being a Cal-Poly San Luis Obispo graduate, I am cheering for the three wrestlers that are representing Cal Poly to win it or accomplish a place. I wish all the wrestlers luck because it is already an achievement to be able to participate in such an event, just like it is an achievement to participate in Basketballs coveted 'March Madness.'

2010-2011 Winter Sports Awards Dinner

Every year and every season, there is an awards dinner that the athletes attends to recap the season, in this case, winter sport of wrestling. This year has a personal feel because of the five seniors that are graduating, I have coached since their freshman year. Not only are they my students but they feel as all five of them are my little brothers.

The dinner was the usual dinner that has been giving in the past - pasta and meatballs and an it's-it ice cream. Once the dinner was consumed, the wrestlers and the parents congregated in the auditorium where wrestling awards and speech's were given. Awards were given to the most improved, most promising, and most valuable on all three levels - Freshman, Junior Varsity and Varsity. At the end of awards and speech's, a parent created a video reminiscing the awesome season that was shown on a projector. Unbeknown to the coaches, the parents constructed a money tree for all the coaches that was given at the end of the video that signified their appreciation of the coaches time that was invested throughout the season.

In summary, the awards dinner was such a gratifying yet sad because of the five seniors that I was privileged to coach are now moving on with their life to pursue their dreams and aspirations. I wish them all the luck in the world and remember that we all start from somewhere. Good Luck guys!!

The End of the 2010-2011 Wrestling Season

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The beginning of the end started on Thursday March 3rd on the way to Bakersfield, CA for the state meet (tournament) of the season. Although this tournament wasn't for the whole team rather the only two wrestlers that achieved a top three finish at the Central Coast Section Finals two weeks prior, the head coach decided to bring six other wrestlers to support the participating athletes. After the four plus hour van ride to the state meet, the team finally arrived at the Hotel at around 10PM PST.

On the first day of competition at the Rabobank Arena, the event hosted all the qualified wrestlers throughout the whole state of California on 10 mats. At a regular tournament, the most mats that an event has is around 6 or 7 in two gyms. With that being said, first time wrestlers are amazed how big the venue is and tend to perform solely on nerves, thus creating a tense and uncomfortable environment for them. Consequently, they do not perform at the level that got them to such an event.

One of the two wrestlers suffered from first time jitters and lost his first match to a wrestler that was not on his level but got the better of him that match. However, the next three matches he performed at a level that the people that have seen him are use to him wrestling and came out victorious. To make it to second day of competition, he wrestled against a tough kid that score on him and did not want to get scored on for four plus minutes, which lead our wrestler to lose and be eliminated from the event. He ended his sophomore career, top sixteen in the state at 130lbs.  The second wrestler did not have first time jitters and won convincingly against his opponent 10-3. However, he lost to a wrestler a kid ranked second in the state and ranked nationally in his next match. On to his third match, he wrestled a kid equally to his skills but the other kid committed less mistakes than our kid which gave him the victory.

The end of the state meet was Friday March 4th after both kids were eliminated, however our team stayed the weekend to see the best California High School wrestlers. The team saw history in the making as a kid has not lost a match nor has given up an offensive takedown in two years, in California and throughout the nation. In addition, a kid is vying to become the second high school wrestler to be a 4x state champion next year after he won his third this past weekend. Once the finals were over, we decided to return back to Northern California and congratulate the kids on a great season, wish them luck on their future endeavors and hope to see them next year!!!