BSD Mailbag 3.15.17

What on Earth do I do for five-plus months before the next meaningful PSU football game?--Blumski13

You tailgate with your Penn State family in April at blue/white, then debate neverendingly on the merits of the third or fourth stringer who looked balls-out amazing on the field and deserves a starting shot but won't get one on here with your fellow PSU die hards. And then before you know it, it'll be May, and we'll be counting down the days until football comes back - and all of the preseason magazines have Franklin's squad either way too low, or too high. And Franklin won't be able to focus them with season expectations, or last season was a fluke that no one will be able to replicate.

Basically, internet debate over internet debate. It'll be fun times.

Pat Chambers' better look--With or without hair on his noggin?--MrNoPants

I like the no-hair look on him.

Selection Sunday, two parts:

1) How many brackets are too many?

2) Am I the only one that think the NCAA should select fewer power 5 teams and more "lesser" teams? I absolutely hate that the 9th and 10th place team in the ACC and a 15 loss team are projected to get in over teams that lost 1 game (Belmont, Monmouth, Illinois State). Am I alone in this?--rpm5103

1)

2) No, you are not alone. I'm a believer that some of those teams would absolutely compete, if not win, a first round game in the tournament - unlike a lot of the teams that actually make it in, and then get blown out in the first round.

But, as with anything with a human component, there's abject subjectivity at play here. The committee is full of people, with biases and preconceived notions; therefore the most deserving teams don't always get in. And the seedings don't always make the sense they should (and in the latter case, nothing says that more to me than the seeding and bracket placement of Maryland's women's team in their tournament this year).

Wrestling Orientation

1) If you could be any Penn State wrestler, past or present, who would you be?

2) Which current Penn State wrestler’s personality most closely matches your own?

3) Could you live a Mormon lifestyle?

4) Would you let your son (if you had one) wrestle sans headgear?

5) Do you feel badly about your Jimmy prediction? :blush: --Smee

1) Ed Ruth. Dude was just so smooth, and cool, and let nothing get to him. He was a baller on the mat, and I'd like to live that way - hard working but letting the haters hate and just doing my thing and getting on with it - in my life.

2) Nick Nevills. Naturally because of his wardrobe choice in this video:

3) Definitely not by choice. I love coffee, tequila, beer and wine way too much.

4) If that's what he wanted, ok - personally, I think cauliflower ear is attractive. And there doesn't seem to be more long-term life-altering damage of it.

5) Words cannot describe. I have failed the Penn State community, and I don't know how I will make it up.

NCAA tournament points record: will we break it in 2018 if everyone stays healthy next year? McCutcheon could be our lowest ranked wrestler when Cortez comes back and Lee slots in.--kdm628496

I doubt that Mouse is our lowest-ranked wrestler next year (he’s a current five seed, and J’Den Cox and Brent Pfarr are both seniors), as Cortez will be a complete unknown coming back from injury - and he was ranked below Mouse when he was wrestling. Nick Lee is already on campus and could slot in at 141 right away, unless he’s gained more weight - it seems the ultimate goal is to take over for Zain at 149. He could be the Suriano-level unknown at that weight for us.

But, yeah, scoring won’t be a problem - Zain and Nolf will continue to be on their own levels, both Nicks are scoring machines (and Gilman, Dance, Walz and Medbery are all seniors - and who knows if Snyder comes back for his final year?). Cenzo Joseph has potentially been the most underrated high-scoring guy in the room (Ike Jordan is also a senior). Oh, and there’s this little guy named Bo Nickal who is a pinning machine, who won’t have Gabe Dean to deal with next year. We’ll be pretty well set up for scoring.

I have 2 hotel rooms booked in downtown Cleveland for the 2018 NCAA's. When can I expect tickets to go on sale? And more importantly, how do I find out where the Penn St. section will be?--Claypool3

Tickets go on sale the day this is posted - March 15! And keep an eye out on the Penn State Wrestling Club's site for where they might be sitting.

Who will Tom Brands blame when he and Terry are fired after the 2017-2018 season?--Bro-Lo El Cunado

Listen, I don't *dislike* Brands - he's no Tom Ryan or Rob Koll, after all. But I find all of his protestations about how the Hawkeyes are going to wrestle "the Iowa way" to be tired and old, and flat-out wrong - Iowa wrestling was exciting years ago, but under Brands they have devolved and most of their wrestlers are seemingly content to ride out low-scoring wins, scoring few (if no) takedowns and letting their opponents dictate pace and shots. Many wrestlers (for example, Mike Evans) went to Iowa City very offensive-minded, and had that beat out of them in the training room; they left no longer focused on takedowns, turns, and pins, but rather grinding out wins. That's just not fun. Of course, there have been exceptions to the rule, but if Brands had been winning national titles while implementing this style, then there would be patience in Iowa. Since Cael got to Happy Valley, though, their dominance has waned immensely, and patience has worn thin. All slight problems have been manifested. So I wouldn't be surprised if calls for his head persist - especially if Kevin Dresser can make an immediate impact across the state in Ames.

Incoming Penn State freshmen this year would have been born right about when I graduated. Am I… old???--glaucon50

I started feeling old when most NFL players were younger than me. Welp.

sheetz or wawa--Life of the Marte

I believe I have answered this in the past.

What would you do if a student told you that the sun was precipitation? I dropped my head on my desk and questioned my purpose in life.--Gerry Dincher

I feel like yours are valid responses. Wow.

Went on kind of a long bender, from October-February, that resulted in me getting fat as fuck. With that said, I gave up booze for Lent (with St. Paddy’s, First Round of March Maddness, and Opening Day being the exceptions). Now, I travel almost weekly for work, and spend a lot of time in bars with coworkers or clients, so, I need some help. What are some respectable non-alcoholic drinks to order at a bar?--IronCityLion

I am an adult and I still love shirley temples. Also, don't be ashamed - just order whatever non-alcoholic beverage you want (a non-alcoholic strawberry daquiri if you're feeling frisky) with gusto and panache and own it. Who cares whether others think it's respectable or not? If it's making you feel better in the long run, then go for it--and I guarantee you aren't the only one giving it up for Lent, and others would understand. If they don't they're dicks.

On the other side, though, if you are completely miserable doing it, and you don't have a drinking problem, I say limit your caloric intake some other way, or work out profusely to counteract the calories, if that's the ultimate reason why you're doing it. At least after Lent.

Is there anything better than getting drunk by yourself in a bar in a strange part of town while your fiancee is at a dumb movie with her friends? Viva Ivy City!--WorldBFat

Getting drunk with them while watching the dumb movie. Go MST3k on that ish.

Why do clocks go clockwise instead of widdershins?--RWReese

See, this is why I love BSD. You learn something new every day! Widdershins? My new favorite word. (Side note? it's because of sundials, which preceded clocks, and because the shadows on sundials went clockwise)

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