DamonMBarnes

Opening ceremonies.

I know. I'm stuck here for a few more hours. I also got a very favorable report on parking and seating comfort.

Not discounting them at all. They have a great group of wrestlers. I just happen to look at facts. At the end of the day subtract the points the Myers accrue and I bet their place is quite different.... The late season transfers are what will have people cheering against CC, if they do in fact do so. That is all I'm saying. Anyone who thinks different needs to come look at this great deal I have on ocean-front property here in Louisville.

How did they do it? Simple, they had two transfers come in at the end of the season. It's a fact. All I'm saying is I don't think this "Campbell vs The World" mentality came about because they ARE favorites but more so HOW they became favorites. Don't read anymore into it than that. Unlike most, I use my actual full name on here so that should show you that I'm not afraid to stand by my statements.

Thanks for the info. That seems to be the norm at the smaller schools.

To be clear, I'm indifferent. Just acknowledging the "elephant in the room".

This is posted from that app. Seems to be working great. I much prefer it to the mobile site. Thanks for activating it.

Let's be for real. It's not as much that they are favorites it's HOW they became favorites...

If it almost killed wrestling in WKY I have to ask, how many middle schoolers on average started for the WKY teams this year?

LaRue and Union might be better off meeting somewhere around Beaver Dam and having a dual there. Would save a lot of time and money.

This is a pretty good compromise and an event that might actually promote some growth as it will be something else to give wrestling exposure. Is anyone familiar with how basketball decides which teams are invited to the "All A Classic"?

A change I would like to see happen is to move it from Henry Clay. If you want to increase participation in the state a good option would be to have events in other areas of the state. Now that the individual state championship is in Lexington they have a monopoly on the wrestling state championships. I know last year when there were talks of where to move the state championship I researched the driving distances and Louisville was just as close if not closer on average than Lexington. But more importantly, the Louisville Metro Population dwarfs the Lexington Metro Population. More people = more attendance and more interest.

Not a fan at all. The small school tournament should just be changed to a dual between Union and LaRue as it would save a lot of time and travel. If there was an option for the small schools to opt-in to the big school tournament then I would probably view it more favorably.

Probably splitting hairs, but I'd argue that BJ Carmen and Drew Newberry did as well. Either way, Union showed up and took care of business. Congrats to them.

Coach Smith, Is Moore for sure sending their JV?

Pool C would be BRUTAL!

I agree with your assessment that this dual will be close and most definitely won on bonus points. But, I'd be a little surprised if Newberry didn't pin at 220.

Here is the list of 6A schools in the state without wrestling: Boone County Butler George Rogers Clark Graves County Greenwood Henderson County Male Marshall County Muhlenberg County Shelby County Ballard (listed but didn't have a SQ the last two years) I find it upsetting that there are 11 6A schools in this state (which is over a quarter) that do not have a wrestling program. Each school has over 600 boys enrolled. It seems that a pretty decent team could be formed with such a talent pool to choose from. Out of curiousity does anyone have any information on why these teams don't have wrestling or what the current status is on a wrestling team at the schools?

What reasons did the AD give for not allowing a program? And another sad story to hear.

Any idea why the two coaches at Male were anti-wrestling? I have always heard that about Redman but never really knew why. Not being very familiar with Louisville athletics why do you say Butler won't start a program until Male does? If it's because of "rivalry reasons" the logical move seems to be to start one BEFORE your rival. Also, I would be very interested to hear how both coaches caused the deat of the Waggener program. I remember back in the late '90's and early '00's Ballard had a pretty decent team. Seems a shame a school like Ballard can't field a successful team year in and year out. Where exactly is the Martha Layne Collins school going to be located?

You are correct. They did have three wrestlers compete this year. Good news for sure.

In my rotation scenario for the western part of the state E.A. Diddle in Bowling Green and the Sportscenter in Owensboro both look to be good options.

I did not see them listed under the region alignments. Are they a brand new team? Either way, this is great news.

The old way wins hands down in my humble opinion.

Here are some randomn and unsolicited thoughts from one wrestling fan. As far as Louisville is concerned I do agree that Freedom Hall and Yum! Center are not good options. Both facilities are too big to host an event that draws roughly 5k spectators for the finals. But I think Broadbent should be considered. I truly wish that there was a newer facility that seated around 5-7k spectators in Louisville that could host the event...because logically I think that Louisville is the best spot to hold the finals. I also agree with the sentiments that the number of spectators would increase if held in Louisville. It's just common sense to think that if you hold an event in the state's largest population area that more people will show up. I'm not opposed to NKU---even when considering the extra burden you'd be putting on practically every team for driving time. The huge positive is NKY is probably the most passionate wrestling area in the entire state and I think you'd see a very cool atmosphere and a bump in attendance. One final idea that I don't think has been discussed anywhere. And this idea comes with just a rudimentary amount of thought right now...I wouldn't mind seeing some kind of rotation between the discussed sites and maybe even other places across the state. Some other sites to consider that haven't been mentioned are the Eastern Kentucky Exposition Center in Pikeville which seats roughly 7k people. How about The Arena in Corbin also? I believe it's similarly sized. And I'm sure there are several good spots in the western part of the state that are capable of hosting the event. If promoting the sport is the #1 concern then letting all areas of the state get a shot to host could really help to drive up the interest. Just a thought though and I will already acknowledge that this could be a logistics nightmare.