Wide world of sports
A news release from David Bazzel says an announcement is coming this week that eight Arkansas high schools are prepared to add wrestling to their varsity sports menus. The release doesn't say if they'll be offering the sport for both men and women, as is the case in international competition.
Insurance man Greg Hatcher, a wrestler in college at Michigan, also will offer $10,000 each to install wrestling mats for the first 20 schools that apply. Once Arkansas begins wrestling, only Mississippi will lack it as a high school varsity sport.
Personal note: I played football and basketball and did field events in track, but had no exposure to wrestling until P.E. and intramurals. in college. It was the hardest of them all. No contest. It lacks a little as a spectator sport, but say that in Iowa or Oklahoma and you might get your head torn off.
Comments
Will that result in the hiring of eight new coaches? What else will they teach, advanced math or maybe clothing management?
Posted by: saywhat![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.arktimes.com/blogs/arkansasblog/nav-commenters.gif)
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September 25, 2006 11:09 AM
Great news!!!!
I'm glad we can finally have wrestling competition and not the garbage on WWE that so many kids in Arkansas look up too, way to go Baz!
Posted by: John Baine![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.arktimes.com/blogs/arkansasblog/nav-commenters.gif)
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September 25, 2006 11:29 AM
Why is Bazzel announcing this? What does he have to do with High School Athletics?
Posted by: ItsWorseThanYouThink![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.arktimes.com/blogs/arkansasblog/nav-commenters.gif)
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September 25, 2006 11:59 AM
As a sport, wrestling has as much appeal as box hockey and tetherball. I am waiting breatlessly. Will high school wrestlers get to adopt names and personas? If so, Gorgeous George II will probably come from Hope.
Posted by: Louie![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.arktimes.com/blogs/arkansasblog/nav-commenters.gif)
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September 25, 2006 12:14 PM
Louie, hope the Scrappers take it up. Perhaps that would be a sport our hunkahillbillies could whup on you and win. I figure Friday night will be a bad 'un for us.
Posted by: Rasputin![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.arktimes.com/blogs/arkansasblog/nav-commenters.gif)
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September 25, 2006 01:45 PM
This is excellent news. A variety of sports should be offered because people have a variety of interests and talents. My dad wrestled in college and won trophies. My brother wrestled in high school (Texas) and also did well. Both took opportunities at home to pin the other down and my sis and I would count. Great fun, bonding, memories.
Posted by: R4G![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.arktimes.com/blogs/arkansasblog/nav-commenters.gif)
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September 25, 2006 03:00 PM
I'm not sure how, but we had wrestling (not rasslin') at my AAA (what would not be a AAAA) school when I was in high school about 15 years ago. It was quite popular, and plenty of people actually came out to watch the matches. I recall they were just after school, so many of us just stayed around to watch. It was quite entertaining.
I guess that with time, wrestling moved off the rader, but now it's back. I feel good that various sports are offered for students, as with all extra-curricular activities. The more diverse, the better. However, I wish some insurance man or any profession, for that matter, would offer money like that to put books in our classrooms or materials in our science labs or manipulatives in our math classes.
Any takers?
Posted by: Liberal and Proud![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.arktimes.com/blogs/arkansasblog/nav-commenters.gif)
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September 25, 2006 04:45 PM