mma

Sort-of review: McCarthy/Hunt, “Let’s Get It On”

Posted on by Beau Dure

I should say at the outset that I’ve known Loretta Hunt, who wrote Let’s Get It On with “Big” John McCarthy, for a few years now. I don’t think you can know her without being impressed by her ability to maintain her professionalism and passion for the sport in what can only be described as a uniquely hostile work environment. She and I have had terrific conversations, funny and productive, about MMA, its history and the publishing world.

So I’m a little biased on this book, but I have another reason for giving this disclaimer. I’ve known for a while that Loretta was working on this book, and I probably wasn’t as enthusiastic as I should’ve been. He’s one of the sport’s enduring figures, yes, but would people really put a book by a referee at the top of their reading lists?

I mention those misgivings because, of course, I was dead wrong. This is an essential book for anyone who wants to know how the UFC made the transition from outlaw organization to billion-dollar phenomenon.

In retrospect, I clearly should’ve known better. McCarthy has had a unique view of the sport’s growth, being the third man in the cage in hundreds of important bouts from UFC 2 to the present. Yet his role is even larger than that. He didn’t just set the standard for how to be a referee — he developed the rules and sold them to skeptical commissioners and promoters. He saw the promise of the UFC as a legitimate sport and stuck with it.

And in the book, he’s remarkably candid. He speaks freely about other people’s mistakes, but he also takes responsibility for falling out with current UFC management.

The first part of the book is about his police career. Here, again, he has a unique perspective, being in the middle of three generations of law enforcement. Not everyone would agree with his take on a few issues facing the LAPD over the years, but it’s rare to have such a well-expressed view from someone in the line of duty.

His police career continued to overlap with his MMA career, and they’re woven together well. The book is an easy and engaging read. But at its core, it’s far more than an autobiography. It’s essential history.

0
soccer

Single-Digit Soccer: Sharks, minnows and reasonable goals

Posted on by Beau Dure

I’ve been writing about soccer on a steady basis for 12 years and irregularly before that. I’m deeply immersed in the issues of the sport in the USA from the national team through the pro leagues down to the youth level.

Now I’ve got another perspective on the game. I have been an assistant coach for two years at the U6 and U7 level. This fall, I’ll be an assistant on a U6 team and the head coach on a U8 team.

Single-Digit Soccer will be a regular SportsMyriad feature in which I talk about some of the issues I have encountered and will encounter. I’ll talk about striking a balance between those who consider soccer at the U5-U9 level a critical development period and those who consider it a glorified play date. It’s the balance of teaching one-touch skills to kids who can’t tie their shoes.

The issues and debates over youth soccer in the teen years are fairly well-documented. Club vs. school.* Club vs. ODP. Perhaps letting kids take a break from overly complicated drills to shoot the ball at those odd objects with netting at either end of the field.

Continue reading →

15
olympic sports, soccer

Tinkering with the 2012 WPS calendar

Posted on by Beau Dure

Big, big issue here. The World Cup took a lot of players away from WPS for a long time this year, and magicJack owner Dan Borislow was none too pleased.

Next year could be even worse. The Olympic final is Aug. 9. Assuming WPS doesn’t want to hold its playoffs without national team players, we have three general options:

  1. Wrap up the season in late June, before national team camps.
  2. Force national team players to return quickly and hold playoffs on the same schedule as this season: Aug. 15, Aug. 18, Aug. 25.
  3. Run the season into September.

Let’s run through a few questions first. I’ll give short answers that might be debatable.

How early do national team players need to leave? This season, the U.S. players left earlier than others, playing their final WPS games May 28. Players from Canada and Sweden played for Western New York on June 3. Players from England, Brazil and New Zealand stuck around until June 12. Japan’s Aya Sameshima made a cameo appearance for Boston that weekend, and given her team’s World Cup victory, it’s difficult to argue that the extra time in the States ruined her preparations.

So the U.S. players spent a full four weeks with the national team before the World Cup. That’s on top of the training they did at other times during the season. But that’s comparable to the U.S. men in 2010, who left their MLS teams after their May 15 games, played the first of their warmup friendlies on May 25, and kicked off in the World Cup on June 12.

European players actually spent a little longer with their clubs. The Champions League final was May 22. The gap between that game and the World Cup still far exceeded the FIFA regulation (PDF): 14 days.

Realistically, assume three or four weeks before the start of the Olympics. The first soccer games are July 25, so playing games through June 30-July 1 should be reasonable.

After the Aug. 9 final, players can physically make it back for midweek games Aug. 15, but they might not be fully recharged and reconnected with their teams until Aug. 25 or so.

SHORT ANSWER: Gone from July 2 to Aug. 15, with players easing back into WPS teams after that.

Can WPS play in September or later? In 2009 and 2011, the league wrapped up by the end of August. That’s an advantage for players who have coaching jobs during the school year. But the 2010 season, which ran through September, didn’t see an exodus of players leaving WPS teams for their coaching jobs.

The media landscape in the fall is jammed with football (the American kind). But Major League Soccer still has good crowds through the gridiron months. Getting space in a print newspaper is one thing, but as we’re often told (especially by DuNord), soccer is the sport of the Internet.

SHORT ANSWER: Yes.

How many games will national team players miss? I heard Philly coach Paul Riley say national team players might be around for only eight of 20 games next season, but I’m hoping I misheard him. There’s simply no reason for that. None whatsoever.

WPS did take a couple of weeks off this season, though a rescheduled game got in the way of a clean break. The Olympics are nearly a week shorter than the World Cup, and national teams shouldn’t need a prolonged “getting to know you” period. If WPS takes two weeks off out of the six weekends that players will be gone, there’s no reason for players to miss more than four games.

SHORT ANSWER: Four, at most.

How many games should WPS teams play? This one is tricky. In 2009, teams played 20. In 2010, they played 24. This year, 18.

That’s comparable to European leagues, though top teams in those leagues also have Champions League games on the schedule. Germany and France play 22. England started with 14 this year.

From a developmental point of view, players need more games. But the national team players will get more games throughout the year. For the rest of the WPS talent pool, there’s no reason teams can’t play friendlies during the Olympic break or elsewhere during the season. Maybe even take a longer Olympic break to play teams from the WPSL, W-League and NCAA.

SHORT ANSWER: 16 might be enough during a year with a World Cup or Olympic competition. No reason not to build back to 20 or more in 2013.

So let’s flesh out the schedule options:

OPTION 1: END SEASON BEFORE OLYMPICS

Working backwards, that means playoff games (assuming the same playoff format) June 20, June 23 and June 30. Regular season ends June 16.

Now let’s say we’ll play a short season of 16 games, condensed into 14 weeks. First games: March 17. Maybe play the first two weeks in southern venues.

OPTION 2: END SEASON RIGHT AFTER OLYMPICS

Playoffs Aug. 15, Aug. 18, Aug. 25. With a two-week Olympic break, the season would look pretty much like this season did, running from April 7 to Aug. 11. With two fewer games in our proposed schedule, we’d have fewer two-game weeks.

Without a two-week break, the league would have 19 weeks, certainly enough for 18 games.

OPTION 3: END SEASON IN SEPTEMBER

Four games in April, four in May, five in June (five weekends), two in July — that’s 15 before the Olympic break. Perhaps the Olympic break could be three weeks, still allowing plenty of time for 14 games at a leisurely game-a-week pace with no midweek games needed.

Restart with regular season games Aug. 18 and 25 to wrap a 16-game season and reintegrate Olympic players with their club teams. Playoffs follow, all wrapping up by Sept. 8.

Thoughts?

9
olympic sports, track and field

World Track and Field: So close to an incident-free evening

Posted on by Beau Dure

I didn’t have a chance to post an update yesterday during my epic escape from Rochester (see my WPS recap), but you’ve already heard the big news from the Sunday evening (morning in USA) session: Usain Bolt false-started and was disqualified.

A brief history of the false-start rule (intriguing discussion here):

– Before 2003, each runner could have one false start. Mess up once, and you get a warning. Twice, you’re out.

– The problem was that you’d have major races in which 3-4 guys would have false starts. That made everyone rather grumpy, particularly the meet officials who are trying to keep things on time for the broadcasters. So the change came down in 2003: If someone false starts, the whole field gets a warning. If someone else false starts, he/she is out. No matter who it is.

– In 2009, they took it even farther. One false start, and you’re gone. It’s not usually a judgment call — sensors in the blocks flag sprinters who react faster than humans are theoretically able to react (though in Bolt’s case, it was obvious to the naked eye).

– After the premature exits of Bolt and Olympic 400-meter champion Christine Ohuruogu, this rule is going to be revised. The thoughtful Twitter feed of American hurdler David Oliver has a suggestion: Keep the current “one and done” for most competitions, but in major events like the World Championships and the Olympics, go back to the warning system.

So on Sunday night, that incident pretty much upstaged everything else, including the fact that the 100-meter title remained in Jamaica. Yohan Blake ran away from the field — a strong headwind kept his time down to 9.92 — with the USA’s Walter Dix edging the venerable  Kim Collins for silver.

It’s a pity because we had two good thrilling moments among the four other medal events Sunday:

– Decathlon: Young American Ashton Eaton ran a terrific 1,500 meters to move up to second behind Trey Hardee for an American 1-2.

– 10,000 meters: Ethiopia’s Ibrahim Jeilan beat Britain’s Mo Farah by a slim margin of 0.26 seconds. The USA’s Galen Rupp ran a season best for seventh.

– Long jump: Remember Brittney Reese‘s struggles in qualification? Not this time. She nailed it with her first jump and held on for the win.

– Women’s discus: No late drama in this one, as no thrower improved her mark with either of her last two throws. China’s Li Yangeng threw about a foot and a half farther than Germany’s Nadine Muller.

– Men’s 20k walk: 1-2 for Russia.

So that was Sunday. Could we get through Monday by keeping the focus on the events?

Almost. All six finals had something of interest.

– Men’s hammer: Japan’s Koji Murofushi was the only thrower over 80 meters until the last throw, when Hungary’s Krisztian Pars came with six centimeters of his mark.

– Men’s pole vault: Favorite Renard Lavillenie flew over his first few attempts but suddenly went three-and-out for bronze. Cuba’s Lazaro Borges sailed past his personal best and cleared 5.90 meters on his third and final attempt. Poland’s Pawel Wojciechowski, who had fewer misses than Borges and was therefore in first place, wasn’t able clear 5.95 and had to wait anxiously as the stadium got up to see Borges take his last shot. It was anticlimactic — Borges went through the pit without a real attempt.

– Women’s shot put: The throwers struggled through the first three rounds until New Zealand favorite Valerie Adams cleared 20 meters at 20.04. Then the big throws came quickly — American Jillian Camarena-Williams at 20.02 with her fourth throw, Adams out farther to 20.72 with her fourth, China’s Gong Lijiao in medal contention at 19.97 with her fifth, Belarus’s Nadzeya Ostapchuk to 20.05 with her fifth. On the sixth throws, Camarena-Williams and Ostapchuk remained in third and second, but even with the gold clinched, Adams threw a championship record 21.24.

– Women’s 400: It’s the USA’s Allyson Felix, going for a rare 200-400 double! No, it’s Botswana’s Amantle Montsho, going for her country’s first World Championship medal! It’s Felix pulling close! Montsho pulling ahead! Felix coming up at the line …. and Montsho holds on by 0.03 seconds. A thriller.

– Men’s 110 hurdles: A poor start doomed American favorite David Oliver. The other two favorites, China’s Liu Xiang and Cuba’s Dayron Robles, pulled ahead and battled until the last hurdle, when Liu lost his rhythm and let Robles and American Jason Richardson fly past. Another thriller. But wait …

– Women’s 100: Four runners under 11 seconds into a strong headwind, with American Carmelita Jeter fulfilling her promise with the big win ahead of three big-time Caribbean rivals.

So a big night for big events with no incidents to report … uh oh …

Back to the hurdles. Robles and Liu made contact late in the race. The IAAF blamed Robles and disqualified him.

Your 110 hurdles champion, in a stunning upset: Jason Richardson. And Britain’s Andrew Turner, who finished in the same time as Oliver, gets an equally surprising bronze.

That’s disappointing for Cuba, which so nearly had two gold medals in a 30-minute span. But it’s a boost for Britain, whose usually rapt attention to these championships is dialed up a notch with the Olympics coming to London next year. And Britain’s Jessica Ennis has the lead after Day 1 of the heptathlon, a predictable place for her but not in predictable fashion.

Tuesday: Heptathlon wraps up, and we have five other finals. The men’s 800 and women’s pole vault should be the most competitive, unless Russia’s Yelena Isinbayeva really is back in top shape in the vault.

1
olympic sports, track and field

World Track and Field, Day 2b

Posted on by Beau Dure

What you should know at this stage of the World Track and Field Championships (all times ET), particularly if you’re waking up in a couple of hours:

– Usain Bolt races in the men’s 100 semifinals at 5:30 a.m. ET and almost certainly the final at 7:45 a.m.

– Americans Trey Hardee and Ashton Eaton are currently 1-2 in the decathlon, which wraps with the 1,500 meters at 7:15 a.m.

– Kenyans won all six medals on Day 1 (women’s 10,000 and marathon).

– Russia then claimed second in the medal table with gold and silver in the men’s 20k walk.

– Britain, hoping for a lot of medals next year on home soil, got a rough start — a false start, actually, with Olympic champion Christine Ohuruogu disqualified in the 400 heats.

– Some clutch qualifications for U.S. women in field events — Brittney Reese posted the best jump of Group A on her final attempt, and Jenn Suhr needed a third attempt at 4.50 meters before making the grade in the pole vault.

– Sogelau Tuvalu set a personal best in the 100 meters — 15.66 seconds.

0
olympic sports, track and field

The biggest non-Olympic Olympic sports event is upon us …

Posted on by Beau Dure

Live from Daegu (assuming you don’t sleep during normal hours in U.S. time zones), it’s the 2011 IAAF World Championships. (That’s track and field/athletics.)

Given the time difference, soccer duties and the uncertainty of having power by the time Hurricane Irene has finished with the East Coast, I won’t be live blogging or anything like that. But as long as I’m able, I’ll post daily recaps and previews.

Not that Day 1 has much to offer. It has the first five decathlon events and a lot of qualifying for later in the week. The only finals are in the women’s marathon and women’s 10,000 meters, both of which should give East African countries an early lead in the medal count.

A few things to watch:

– Top Americans in finals: Shalane Flanagan took bronze in the 10,000 in 2008, and her season and personal bests stack up well against the rest of the group.

– Other finals: The women’s marathon, as Track Super Fan points out, draws a better start list than the men’s marathon, but not by much. The big names aren’t here.

– First glimpses: Usain Bolt gets a bye past the preliminary round of the 100 meters, and the way his challengers are dropping out with injuries and other problems, he might as well save his strength for one good shot at the record. Surprise Beijing gold medalist Stephanie Brown Trafton is in the women’s discus qualifying rounds.

VITAL INFO: Results, live streaming, predictions, etc.

– Live streaming and a lot of news coverage at Universal Sports. Webcasts cost $14.99 for the whole nine days or $3.99 per day.

– Predictions and previews at TrackSuperFan.com

– My 2012 medal projections include a quick look at the top athletes in each event: Men’s running events, women’s running events, field events.

– More coverage at ESPN, espnW, USA TODAY, somewhere on SI’s site — and for a more worldly view, the BBC and Eurosport.

– A Twitter list that I may revise as the competition goes on.

Happy running, throwing, jumping and walking.

 

 

0
medal projections, olympic sports

2012 women’s swimming and synchro: All about the Franklins

Posted on by Beau Dure

Once again: These projections will obviously draw quite heavily from the just-concluded World Championships, and the FINA site’s “rankings” page that generates the best times in any given time period — in this case, since the really fast high-tech suits were banned (1/1/2010).

This post includes projections for synchronized swimming. And with that, we will be done with every single Olympic event.

Continue reading →

0
medal projections, olympic sports

2012 men’s swimming: Lochte, Lochte, Phelps, Lochte, Phelps, Phelps …

Posted on by Beau Dure

The USA-Australia rivalry has given way to the Phelps-Lochte rivalry. That’s not to say the USA is poised to add to their already-substantial medal counts — the contenders are simply spread out among the rest of the world. China had a fantastic World Championship at home, and the USA still lacks dominant swimmers at breaststroke and long-distance freestyle.

These projections will obviously draw quite heavily from the just-concluded World Championships, but the FINA site has a neat feature worth checking out as well — a “rankings” page that generates the best times in any given time period. So if you want to know the fastest times since the really fast high-tech suits were banned (1/1/2010), knock yourself out. Yes, I did that.

Continue reading →

3
medal projections, mma, olympic sports

2012 wrestling: Not just an MMA prep course

Posted on by Beau Dure

With all due respect to the revamped formats international wrestling organizers trot out every couple of years, mixed martial arts is the best and worst thing to happen to wrestling in the past decade. Hard-core MMA fans have expanded their combat-sport interests to the more traditional mat-and-singlet sport, and the possibility that today’s U.S. champion could be tomorrow’s UFC champion doesn’t hurt the interest level.

On the flip side, the sport’s top talents may decide that learning to punch someone and get paid beats toiling in international tournaments in the former Eastern Bloc for a shot at the Olympics. That trend is extending to women’s wrestling as well, with 2004 silver medalist Sara McMann now plowing through the women’s MMA ranks. Some people, like Joe Warren, will try to balance MMA with a run at London.

But that migration is happening mostly in the Western world. This sport is still huge in Russia, Iran, Azerbaijan and elsewhere in the Eastern Europe/Central Asia range. In women’s wrestling, which merges the seven World Championship weight classes down to four in the Olympics, add Japan and Canada.

This is another combat sport with two bronze medals per class. And World Championships every year — last September in Moscow, this September in Istanbul.

Unfortunately, FILA basically doesn’t compile rankings based on any other competitions. Think I’m deterred by any of that? Nah. Here’s what we’ll do: Take the 2010 World Championships previews at USA Wrestling’s lively site, TheMat.com, which compile plenty of information from the past several years. Then check the 2010 results.

MEN’S FREESTYLE

55kg: Russia’s Victor Lebedev moved up from bronze to gold in 2010. The two wild cards here are North Korea’s Yang Kyong-Il, the 2009 champion but a no-show in 2010, and gold medalist Henry Cejudo, who has taken time off but plans to return. Japan’s Yasuhiro Inaba won the 2010 Asian title and was third at Worlds behind Lebedev and Azerbaijan’s Togrul Asgarov. The other 2010 medalist was Cuba’s Frank Chamizo.

2008: Henry Cejudo (USA),  Tomohiro Matsunaga (Japan), Besik Kudukhov (Russia),  Radoslav Velikov (Bulgaria)

Projection: Russia, USA, Japan, Azerbaijan

Top Americans: In Cejudo’s absence, Obe Blanc ranked 10th at Worlds.

60kg: Three of four 2009 medalists repeated in 2010, including champion Besik Kudukhov of Russia. Ukraine’s Vasyl Fedoryshyn has vacillated (sorry) between silver and bronze over the past three World and Olympic events. Azerbaijan’s Zalimkhan Huseinov has moved up from fifth in 2008 to silver in 2009 and bronze in 2010. The other 2010 bronze medalist also is no stranger to the podium — Iran’s Seyed Morad Mohammadi won the 2006 world title and Olympic bronze in 2008. Falling off the podium from 2009 to 2010 was Uzbekistan’s Dilshod Mansurov.

2008: Mavlet Batirov (Russia), Vasyl Fedoryshyn (Ukraine), Seyed Morad Mohammadi (Iran), Kenichi Yumoto (Japan)

Projection: Russia, Azerbaijan, Ukraine, Iran

Top Americans: Mike Zadick took silver in 2006 but hasn’t been in the top 10 since.

66kg: Russia has taken second in this class at two straight World Championships with two different wrestlers. India’s Sushil Kumar bounced around the top five — bronze in 2008, fifth in 2009 — before taking the world title last year. Azerbaijan’s Jabrayli Hasanov took the European title and World bronze last year. Cuba’s Geandry Garzon has medaled in four of the last five Worlds and was fifth in Beijing.

2008: Ramazan Şahin (Turkey), Andriy Stadnik (Ukraine), Sushil Kumar (India), Otar Tushishvili (Georgia)

Projection: Russia, India, Azerbaijan, Cuba

Top Americans: Brent Metcalf was a disappointing 20th at Worlds.

74kg: All Russia, with Denis Tsargush taking over from the decorated Bouvaisa Saitiev and winning two straight world titles. Iran’s Sadegh Goudarzi has taken bronze and silver in the last two Worlds. The 2010 bronze medalists were the relatively unheralded Abdulhakim Shapiev (Kazakhstan) and Gabor Hatos (Hungary). Bulgaria’s Kiril Terziev, who took bronze in 2008, was seventh at Worlds.

2008: Bouvaisa Saitiev (Russia), Soslan Tigiev (Uzbekistan), Murad Gaidarov (Belarus), Kiril Terziev (Bulgaria)

Projection: Russia, Iran, Hungary, Bulgaria

Top Americans: Travis Paulson couldn’t make any headway at Worlds. This was Ben Askren’s weight class before his departure for MMA.

84kg: Bulgaria’s Michail Ganev had been bubbling under the podium for a while before dethroning Uzbekistan’s Zaurbek Sokhiev in last year’s final. Sokhiev didn’t medal at the Olympics but had taken bronze in 2006 and 2007 in addition to his 2009 title. The bronze medalists were Russia’s Soslan Ktsoev (the European champion) and Cuba’s Reineri Salas. Ukraine’s Ibragim Aldatov slipped from third to fifth in 2010.

2008: Revaz Mindorashvili (Georgia), Yusup Abdusalomov (Tajikistan), Taras Danko (Ukraine), Georgy Ketoyev (Russia)

Projection: Uzbekistan, Bulgaria, Russia, Ukraine

Top Americans: Jake Herbert had a rough time at Worlds but has had some success in this class, where “King” Mo Lawal once roamed.

96kg: Azerbaijan’s Khetag Gazyumov completed the progression from bronze (2008) to silver (2009) to gold, ending a long run for Russia atop the weight class. In the final, he beat four-time world champion and 2004 Olympic champion Khadshimourad Gatsalov, who did not compete in 2008 while his countryman Shirvani Muradov won gold. Georgia’s Georgi Gogchelidze has bronze in three straight competitions. Alexei Krupniakov of Kyrgyzstan took the other bronze in 2010 after some quarterfinal appearances in the past.

2008: Shirvani Muradov (Russia), Taimuraz Tigiyev (Kazakhstan), Georgi Gogshelidze (Georgia), Khetag Gazyumov (Azerbaijan)

Projection: Azerbaijan, Russia, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan

Top Americans: Jake Varner was ninth in 2009; J.D. Bergman 10th in 2010.

120kg: Another class in which Russia has a multiple-time world champion (Beylal Makhov)  missed the 2008 Games. He beat 2008 gold medalist Artur Taymazov (Uzbekistan) in the 2010 final. Greece’s Ioannis Arzoumanidis has taken bronze twice in a row. Georgia has had a couple of different wrestlers in the mix, and Iran’s Fardin Masoumi has the 2009 silver along with some quarterfinal performances.

2008: Artur Taymazov (Uzbekistan), Bakhtiyar Akhmedov (Russia), David Musulbes (Slovakia), Marid Mutalimov (Kazahkstan)

Projection: Russia, Uzbekistan, Greece, Iran

Top Americans: Tervel Dlagnev took bronze in 2009. Les Sigman beat him to earn a spot on the 2010 team and placed ninth.

WOMEN’S FREESTYLE

48kg: We’ll make a potentially dangerous assumption here — this weight class is so stacked that few 51kg wrestlers will make the effort to cut weight and wrestle in this class. Azerbaijan’s Mariya Stadnik added a 2009 world title to her 2008 bronze, and Olympic champion Carol Huynh (Canada) returned from a year off to take bronze in 2010. And yet they were upstaged in 2010 by Japan’s Hitomi Sakamoto, who had retired after winning six world titles at 51kg but returned to make a run at the Olympics at 48kg. She beat European champion Lorisa Oorzhak (Russia) for the title. China’s Shasha Zhao took the other bronze, while Britain has a contender in quarterfinalist Yana Stadnik.

2008: Carol Huynh (Canada), Chiharu Icho (Japan), Mariya Stadnik (Azerbaijan), Irina Merleni (Ukraine)

Projection: Japan, Canada, Azerbaijan, Russia

Top Americans: Clarissa Chun won the 2008 world title (yes, a separate competition was held) and placed fifth in the Olympics, but Alyssa Lampe took her spot in 2010 without making an impact at Worlds.

55kg: Now we have two weight classes to deal with — 51 and 55. The 51kg contenders are Sofia Mattsson (Sweden) and Aleksandra Kohut (Ukraine), who traded gold and bronze in the past two Worlds. Two different Japanese wrestlers also medaled at 51, but they’ll never qualify at 55 ahead of the legendary Saori Yoshida, who has dominated the 55kg class for the better part of a decade. Azerbaijan threw two different wrestlers at her in the past two Worlds, each taking silver. North America counters with 2008/2009 bronze medalist Tonya Verbeek (Canada) and 2010 bronze medalist Tatiana Padilla (USA).

2008: Saori Yoshida (Japan), Xu Li (China), Tonya Verbeek (Canada), Jackeline Renteria (Colombia)

Projection: Japan, Azerbaijan, USA, Canada

Top Americans: See above for Padilla. Jessica Medina was ninth at 51.

63kg: No dominant wrestler at 59kg — Soronzonbold Battsetseg (Mongolia) won the 2010 world title ahead of China’s Zhang Lan, who won the 2010 Junior Worlds and could be poised to move up. Japan’s four-time world champ Ayako Shoda shared bronze with 2009 Euro champion Johanna Mattsson (Sweden). Canada’s Tonya Verbeek, moving up from 55kg, shared fifth with American Kelsey Campbell. But Shoda, Campbell and Mattsson might have a hard time qualifying at this weight class ahead of 2010 world medalists Kaori Icho, Elena Pirozhkova and Hanna Johansson. Icho has two Olympic golds and five world titles; countrywoman Mio Nishimaki took the titles when Icho took a post-Olympic break. Russia’s Lubov Volosova has medaled in the last three Worlds.

2008: Kaori Icho (Japan), Alena Kartoshova (Russia), Yelena Shalygina (Kazakhstan), Randi Miller (USA)

Projection: Japan, USA, Sweden, China

Top Americans: Russian-born Pirozkhova’s silver medal was a good follow-up to two top-10 finishes at Worlds. Sara McMann wrestled here before jumping into the cage.

72kg: Canada’s Martine Dugrenier owns the 67kg class, winning three straight world titles. Nigeria’s Ifeoma Inenacho has two straight bronze. At 72kg,  Bulgaria’s Stanka Zlateva has won four of the last five Worlds along with the 2009 bronze and Olympic silver. Canada’s Ohenewa Akuffo has two medals from the last three Worlds. Russia has stiff competition just to make the team, and Ekaterina Bukina took bronze in 2010. China also has depth here. Japan’s Kyoko Hamaguchi won five world titles from 1997 to 2003 and keeps making the podium, taking bronze in 2010.

2008: Wang Jiao (China), Stanka Zlateva (Bulgaria), Kyoko Hamaguchi (Japan), Agnieszka Wieszczek (Poland)

Projection: Bulgaria, Canada, Russia, China

Top Americans: Kristie Davis (formerly Marano) has nine World Championship medals. The bad news is that they’re mostly at 67kg, and she struggled at 2010 Worlds. Stephanie Lee reached the 2010 quarterfinals, while Ali Bernard was fifth in the 2008 Games.

MEN’S GRECO-ROMAN

55kg: Hamid Sorian Reinhanpour (Iran) is one of those perennial world championships who disappointed in Beijing. He took the 2010 world title ahead of Asian champion Choi Gyu-Jim (South Korea), 2008 gold medalist Nazyr Mankiev (Russia) and 2008 bronze medalist Roman Amoya (Armenia). Fifth place was shared by two European bronze medalists — Peter Modos (Hungary) and Vugar Ragimov (Ukraine). European champion Elchin Aliev (Azerbaijan) was ninth. Basically, we have a lot of consistent performers here, making an outright shock unlikely but making it tough to pick from a few elite guys.

2008: Nazyr Mankiev (Russia), Rovshan Bayramov (Azerbaijan), Park Eun-Chul (South Korea), Roman Amoyan (Armenia)

Projection: Iran, Russia, South Korea, Azerbaijan

Top Americans: Spenser Mango had a disappointing run in the 2010 Worlds but has had some top 10s in big competitions and a strong junior record.

60kg: In case you haven’t noticed yet, Azerbaijan is pretty good at wrestling. Vitaly Rahimov has moved up, and 2009 European champion Hasan Aliev stepped up to win the 2009 European and 2010 World titles. Ryutaro Matsumoto (Japan) was a slightly surprising 2010 silver medalist. Kazakhstan and South Korea shook up their rosters and took 2010 bronze medals anyway. Not sure what happened to teen phenom Islam-Beka Albiev after his gold medal in 2008.

2008: Islam-Beka Albiev (Russia), Vitaly Rahimov (Azerbaijan), Nurbakyt Tengizbayev (Kazakhstan), Ruslan Tumenbaev (Kyrgyzstan)

Projection: Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Japan, South Korea

Top Americans: Jeremiah Davis qualified for Worlds and won the first period of his bout with former world champion Dilshod Aripov but lost the next two.

66kg: European champion Ambako Vachade (Russia) won the 2010 world title ahead of 2008 bronze medalist Armen Vardanyan (Ukraine), Turkey’s Vasif Arzimanov and the aforementioned Vitaly Rahimov (Azerbaijan). France’s Steeve Guenot, the 2008 gold medalist and copy desk nightmare, shared fifth with Hungary’s Tamas Loerincz.

2008: Steeve Guenot (France), Kanatbek Begaliev (Kyrgyzstan), Armen Vardanyan (Ukraine), Mikhail Siamionau (Belarus)

Projection: Russia, Azerbaijan, Ukraine, France

Top Americans: Faruk Sahin was 11th at Worlds.

74kg: Turkey’s Selcuk Cebi has won two straight world titles. Armenia’s Arsen Julfalakyan took silver as one of several good performances in 2010. The class has had some turnover beyond those two — Russia’s Imil Sharafetdinov and Kyrgyzstan’s Daniar Kobonov shared bronze ahead of yet another wrestler from Azerbaijan, Rafig Huseynov.

2008: Manuchar Kvirkelia (Georgia), Chang Yongxiang (China), Yavor Yanakiev (Bulgaria), Christophe Guenot (France)

Projection: Turkey, Armenia, Russia, Azerbaijan

Top Americans: Jake Fisher was introduced to World Championship competition in 2010.

84kg: Bulgaria’s Hristo Marinov came from nowhere to win the world title. Cuba’s Pablo Shorey was a little less surprising runner-up, having taken bronze the year before. Russian veteran Alexei Mishin shared bronze with Croatia’s Nenad Zugaj. 2009 champion Nazmi Avluca (Turkey) shared fifth with Poland’s Damian Janikowski.

2008: Andrea Minguzzi (Italy), Zoltán Fodor (Hungary), Nazmi Avluca (Turkey), vacant (Sweden’s Ara Abrahamian tossed the medal aside soon after its presentation and was officially stripped of it for disrupting the medal ceremony)

Projection: Cuba, Turkey, Russia, Bulgaria

Top Americans: Jacob Clark ranked 11th at Worlds.

96kg: Amir Ali Akbari (Iran) moved up from bronze to gold in 2010. Timofej Dzeynichenko (Belarus) was second at Euros and Worlds. Sweden’s Jimmy Lidberg has a silver and bronze from the last two Worlds, while 2008 gold medalist Aslanbek Khushtov (Russia) has bronze in the last two.

2008: Aslanbek Khushtov (Russia), Mirko Englich (Germany), Adam Wheeler (USA), Asset Mambetov (Kazakhstan)

Projection: Iran, Belarus, Sweden, Russia

Top Americans: Justin Ruiz is a legit contender, holding a bronze from 2005 and a fifth-place finish in 2010.

120kg: Cuba’s Mijian Lopez is simply the best — 2008 Olympic gold, world titles in 2005, 2007, 2009 and 2010, plus a silver in 2006. Armenia’s Yuri Patrikeyev added world silver last year to his 2008 Olympic bronze. Riza Kayaalp (Turkey) has two straight bronze medals, sharing the 2010 prize with Nurmakhan Tinaliev (Kazakhstan). Veterans abound in this class — former world and Olympic champion Khassan Baroev (Russia) was seventh at Worlds, and former world champion and Rulon Gardner training partner Dremiel Byers (USA) was fifth.

2008: Mijain Lopez (Cuba), Khasan Baroyev (Russia), Mindaugas Mizgaitis (Lithuania), Yuri Patrikeyev (Armenia)

Projection: Cuba, Armenia, Turkey, USA

Top Americans: Byers is gearing up for that elusive Olympic medal.

 

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soccer

A brainstorm on mixing pro and elite amateurs

Posted on by Beau Dure

A unique problem for U.S. soccer, on both the women’s and men’s sides, is that the vast majority of good players between the ages of 18 and 22 are busy with college soccer from August to December. Then they’re in school (and playing unmarketed tournaments) until May.

That leaves a narrow window for those players to participate in any league on the American soccer pyramid — the PDL, the NPSL, the WPSL and the W-League. They have to wrap up early to get their players back to school. (On a related note, congratulations to the league champions determined this weekend — Orange County Waves in the WPSL, the winner of this evening’s Atlanta Silverbacks-Ottawa Fury game in the W-League, and Jacksonville United in the NPSL. The PDL has one more weekend.)

And college players can’t play on pro teams. So if you want to pay your players a few bucks, you can’t have college players alongside them. College players can play against pros, but not with them.

In men’s soccer, the pro/am split isn’t that big a deal. Clubs that want to go pro can do so, either by spending megamillions to join MLS, or a good bit less to play in the NASL or USL Pro.

But in women’s soccer, we’re seeing some rumblings of lower-tier leagues that have already had a couple of pro teams exploring full-fledged pro divisions. The challenge will be getting enough teams willing to make the leap.

If they don’t, here’s a wild idea:

– Spend the summer playing in mixed pro and amateur leagues as we have now.

– In the fall, once the kids have gone back to school, play a Pro Cup. Take all the pro teams in the country, including WPS teams reunited with international stars who spent much of the summer at the Olympics, and play a short season leading to a couple of playoff games.

The advantages:

– The pro teams get enough games to make the season worthwhile.

– College players get to face pros in competition.

– The pro teams will have all their national team players together in a short season that should be perfect for capitalizing on any momentum from the Olympics, World Cup or any other tournament. (While I’m revamping things, I’d also like to lobby for a Copa Americas for Western Hemisphere teams, perhaps in odd non-World Cup years like the Euro championship.)

– Teams that want to just dip their toes into the pro waters can do so, playing amateur teams through much of the summer.

– Between the pro teams and amateur teams, we should have enough teams to split up into regions through most of the regular season, keeping travel costs down.

The necessary disclaimer: I have absolutely no reason to think this is under discussion anywhere. Just throwing it out for people to kick around. So go ahead …

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