THE ILLINI WRESTLING BLOG AND FORUM

  Coach Mike Poeta discusses the team's 5-0 start to the season, each of the starters individually, the 2005 ILLINI Big Ten Champions and what to expect at the BIG TEN TAKEDOWN event that is scheduled for Fan Fest in Indianapolis the day before the conference football championship game.  And here's a short trailer: Music credit to Red Rider for Lunatic Fringe, the ultimate wrestling song forever and ever, Amen. Video and photo credits to the University of ILLINOIS Athletic Department. Credit to Ross Bendik of Wrestle Chicago for the incredible title image.  In the trailer video only,  Outro music by Audio Beats. Photo credits in the outro sequence to FightingILLINI.com, NCAA.com, uiaa.org, wrestlingchangedmylife.com, ILLINOISMatmen.com, flowrestling.com, intermatwrestle.com. This video is not to be monetized. Stay tuned to this space for a preview of the BIG TEN TAKEDOWN event featuring the dual between your FIGHTING ILLINI and the Indiana Roundballers. SPOILER ALERT...

  This may not be up for long given copyright issues, so if you want to see the full match, watch the video. Our good friend Jackie Brower gave the UNC two-piece a thumbs down. Our guy over at Intermat forums ionel gave it a thumbs up. We think that their two-piece is pretty good except for the back, which looks way too 1970s California.  Also, the bare foot reminds us of Lil Abner, and maybe that's not the impression that North Carolina should seek out.  If you want to see a short video of highlights, then we've got what wrestlers crave here: Lucas Byrd did Byrd things with a double under in a 1-1 match that put his previously-undefeated and 15th-ranked opponent, Ethen Oakley, on his back. Lucas earned a major decision. The ILLINI have really embraced Greco. It's great to see! Lucas Byrd made an age group World Team in that style, and you can see he has the chops.  At 141, Danny Pucino used some of that Italian leprechaun in him to escape multiple times from a ver...

  WHO : The ILLINI v. University of North Carolina WHAT : Away Dual in North Carolina WHEN : Monday, November 25 at 6:00 pm (Central) WHERE : Chapel Hill, North Carolina TV/STREAMING : ACCNX THE GOOD NEWS / BAD NEWS The good news is that the ILLINI have an excellent opportunity to leave this dual 5-0. The bad news is that most ILLINI fans won't get to see it. The dual will be broadcast on ACCNX.  You can find the match listed on the ESPN.com and ESPN+.com schedule: Once you click on the event you want to see, though, a screen will come up that looks like this: After clicking on your provider, you will be greeted with a page from your provider with a request for your email or username and password and so on. There are other providers, but they're all small cable companies in states where you are mandated by law to marry your cousin if'n you ain't already married to your sister. If you have one of the providers in the image above, we would suggest that you test the set-up...

  What a night!  Dolly Parton has a theater in Myrtle Beach that for twenty years has included dinner and a spectacle that involves two teams of actors staging a battle. Depending on where you sit, you root for one of those teams. It has been HUGELY successful. The ILLINI did the same thing except the action was not scripted. These were not actors, but actual wrestlers with their reputations and records on the line.  IMAR AND AOC GREETING THE VIPS THE DUAL Missouri came in at #6 in the country, but they were missing three starters. More on that later. The ILLINI were without the services of RAMAZAN ATTASAUOV , who was there in warmups, and he appeared to be quite thin, so fingers crossed.  It was LUCAS BYRD who put the ILLINI on the scoreboard first. He manhandled a very tough Kade Moore coming up just shy of the tech fall with a 17-4 major decision. Lucas looked very, very good.  He scored with his patented ankle pick, you know, the one where his opponent's bu...

  WHO: ILLINI v. Missouri Dual WHAT: Home Opener and a Big Party! WHEN: Thursday, November 21 @ 7 pm (Central) WHERE: Lot 31, Stadium Club (near Memorial Stadium; see diagram below) TV/STREAMING: BTN+  (subscription service; $12.99/month) LIVE STATS: Link to Stats  (Free; Trackwrestling) TICKETS: Link to Tickets VIDEO PREVIEW PREDICTIONS The Voice of the ILLINI Brian Swaw and your friendly neighborhood blog get together for a video preview of the matches coming up on Thursday: LOT 31, STADIUM CLUB We think the pre-match entertainment, the buffet dinner and the dual will take place in a tent in Lot 31. You see, we haven't been to an ILLINI football game in something like twenty years, so the following map is based upon research and not experience: A DAY IN HISTORY It was just an awful day. It was February 10, 2000, a Thursday. We had just come to grips with the fact that the entire world could be shut down because of one coding error. Sure, Y2K didn't happen, but it...