GreatWhiteNorth

Go the 10:00 mark in the video and listen to what JB says... now THAT is a Freudian slip.

I like your posts and you seem like a cool guy. But I doubt what you're saying. I think most folks see a couple of seriously dominant wrestlers in Gable and Spencer who stood out in a field of other really good wrestlers. Both dominant in different ways - hard to compare styles between little guys and heavies. (Per the recent Yianni/JB interview, it's almost like they are different sports.) I, for one, couldn't care less about any Heisman awards... or Hobey Baker or whatever. Wrestling is a different animal altogether - as is the Hodge. I'm with dman and Chapman. Hodge award is a good thing, and they are doing a plenty fine job awarding it.

...or maybe you're still grouchy about the milkman. He does make his rounds. A year ago: Yianni was a noodle armed, no chest, mat rat who most liked but also felt he needed to hit the weight room to be considered a serious Hodge contender No-knee Lee was obviously significantly injured but still had almost God like status from throngs of people in addition to his devout followers - he did what needed to be done Gable Steveson was an absolute monster who, to the surprise of nobody, destroyed every heavyweight in his way. Was widely considered GOAT at Hwt and perhaps more. Now: Yianni is being portrayed here as the best wrestler since Cael? Lee may not be able to compete in half a season worth of matches or more (which sucks) - and yet he's tentatively being awarded the trophy here? Steveson (although he may not actually return to NCAA wrestling) is being discounted as not a threat as a Hodge contender? This is one whack board.

1st in your class and category of "Basic participant with nothing special to add. Emphasis on basic." Good work.

So if it goes to one popular wrestler it's OK, but if it goes to (2) popular wrestlers then it's "just a popularity contest"? Hmmm... you and I both know that logic isn't up to par.

The Hodge has always been primarily about dominance - the most dominant wrestler. And, as has been stated many times, pinning is the most dominant thing a wrestler can do - provides the most team points in duals and most individual points in tournaments. It's the home run/touchdown/knockout of wrestling. That's why pins matter so much. The converse, however, isn't true. The wrestler with the most pins on the season isn't necessarily the most dominant wrestler. Nor is the most dominant wrestler required to have a huge pin count. Similarly, losses show lack of dominance. Yet it's not necessarily true that the most dominant wrestler doesn't have any losses. 1- or 2-point wins are still wins, but they don't show dominance the way a major or tech does. Dominance also shows up in multiple other ways that aren't reflected in statistics. Coming up with a set of "criteria" that can be used to mathematically determine the most dominant wrestler is impossible. That's why there isn't one. What we have is a criteria "guide" that helps define what factors into dominance. (It would be helpful to stop using the word "criteria" in the description of the Hodge, it causes a great deal of confusion among the wrestling community who frequently misinterpret what "criteria" means in this particular application. It is not a list of factors to be gone through one at a time to determine the winner in the event of a tie - that's an entirely different application of the word.) Determining the most dominant wrestler is complicated - and every year fans seem to get quite upset when they disagree with the award recipient(s). Enough for them to claim the whole thing is a sham. It isn't. IMO, last year they got it right. Spencer/Gable were the most dominant wrestlers of the year in different ways, and it would be tremendously difficult to justify one over the other. Others disagree with me, which is fine. Like I said, it's complicated.

...not to be confused with the same two guys at the 2003 NCAA Championships.

Minnesota's Ryan Lewis... 2002 NCAA Championships. He was #1 seed and lost in controversial fashion to Johnny Thompson 5-4.

Lee is the better wrestler, but Yianni has better stats and will, to address the OP, rank higher on the lists. Seems weird but stats typically don't tell the entire tale.

O'Toole is crazy good, but I might be willing to put a Cinnabon $5 on Hamiti here.

That is one humdinger of a match lineup - hoping there won't be too many last-minute changes.

Bill Gates is maybe too skinny to carry water... don't know that he'd be much good chopping wood either Speaking of those that need money, many politicians make money pretending to care about things they don't (including you and I) and collecting from lobbyists in the 100k's$ and 1m$ region for themselves. I'm a bit torn. Do we hate the billionaires that may possibly want to help wrestling? Or do we loathe the politicians who are able to fill their pockets and do nearly nothing to serve their constituents and the country. I think I'll cut Zuck a break and welcome the support he is willing to contribute. Of course, we'll still relentlessly check FB's sketchy privacy policies - contributions won't change that.

Your mom.

Yojiro Uetake

... or maybe study that skinny milkman who strangely left town in the middle of the night without packing any of his things.