Sunday, March 20, 2011

This should actually precede the entry just before it.  I got excited about getting the results in.  Russia is close to locking it up.  They lead Iran 3-1 and arre in the third period at 84kg.  I'm gonna' have to let the suspense build, as they are asking us to pack up.  Iran just won at 84kg, so it's 3-2- Russia.  This is a brand new building, named for the great champion, Ali Aliyev.  It should hold around 6,000 and I'm positive there are 8,000 here.  These are, arguably, some of the most well-versed wrestling fans in the world.  Gotta' go.  Here's that post for Sunday...

            So, when I went to bed, Penn State was gonna' win it.  While is didn't seem anyone could catch ‘em, still I'm anxious to see if it happened.  If so, I'll say, "Good for the Nittany Lions and good for Coach Cael".  It's nice to see good things happen to good people.

            On the other side of the world, we've got a closer mix.  In the ‘A' pool, Russia pounded all four opponents.  In the ‘B' pool, we won't know until we finish Round 5, which was postponed until this morning (Sunday). 

Yesterday, Iran beat Azerbaijan, soundly, in the first round of the day.  Later, Azerbaijan beat Cuba in, what sounded like, a very controversial match.  I was chairing mat ‘A' and didn't get to see the fluff.  I certainly heard it though.  There were about 4,000 locals in attendance and it seems they either really like Cuba or really don't like Azerbaijan.  I have my thoughts on that and the later seems more likely.

So, it comes down to the last dual in the pool, this morning.  If Iran beats Cuba, they lock the pool and meet Russia in the final.  If Cuba beats Iran, they force a three way tie.  I haven't seen the points that will determine the outcome... can't get printed results yet.

I've been on the mat with Russia all day, and I can't see anyone beating them, right now.  They're solid and they're deep.  They've moved their lineup to get a lot of guys in.  They push hard... very aggressive... and make the fight.  They seem to really be able to cash in on all the current rules have to offer.

I know Azerbaijan didn't bring all their Number Ones, with big fish to fry in the upcoming European Championship, but Iran looks better than I expected.  Cuba looks great through the middle weights, but they ate some tough calls.

Ciao