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Tom Brands Stalemates interview

Love how Brands is always Brands.

1. PLEASE let go of the "programs are paying people to put out bad information" bit. It's not true and its a weird thing to say. This is still wrestling. Ain't NOBODY paying to give out bad news about the Hawks.

It is funny to hear Tom say he doesn't understand why. He really doesn't get that he and the Hawks are lightning rod. Non-fans absolutely root for bad things to happen to the Hawks.

2. I need to know about this alum that burned down a program for another alum. Anyone?
 
Love how Brands is always Brands.

1. PLEASE let go of the "programs are paying people to put out bad information" bit. It's not true and its a weird thing to say. This is still wrestling. Ain't NOBODY paying to give out bad news about the Hawks.

It is funny to hear Tom say he doesn't understand why. He really doesn't get that he and the Hawks are lightning rod. Non-fans absolutely root for bad things to happen to the Hawks.

2. I need to know about this alum that burned down a program for another alum. Anyone?
So, you are calling Tom a liar???
 
Zach does such a nice job with his interviews. He asks the questions the fans would want to know and goes for it. Their niche is in the story telling, not going over wrestling matchups. Their video following Army West Point between Ames and Iowa city was a lot of fun.
I wish he would have pushed a little more with the Gilman topic, Tom brought it up and I thought he had an opening for some more info there but Stalemates changed the topic.
 
So, you are calling Tom a liar???

He absolutely does not have PROOF that programs are paying people to release bad news about the Hawks. Is he right that people are being used to put out bad info about the Hawks? That is most definitely true. But being paid? Come on man.
 
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Love how Brands is always Brands.

1. PLEASE let go of the "programs are paying people to put out bad information" bit. It's not true and its a weird thing to say. This is still wrestling. Ain't NOBODY paying to give out bad news about the Hawks.

It is funny to hear Tom say he doesn't understand why. He really doesn't get that he and the Hawks are lightning rod. Non-fans absolutely root for bad things to happen to the Hawks.

2. I need to know about this alum that burned down a program for another alum. Anyone?

i have an educated guess that it’s cenzo not having 100% loyalty to stanford. there was smoke to the woods and griffith thing in my opinion.
 
Dude. Do you believe it? And we all know what one "media" he is talking about.
Do we?

edit: everyone thinks it’s Pat Mineo (obviously) but that doesn’t mean that’s who he is talking about. Does the NLWC pay Justin Basch and his company? While he has had Hawks on the show on occasion he is no stranger to shitting on the hawks when he can
 
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Do we?

edit: everyone thinks it’s Pat Mineo (obviously) but that doesn’t mean that’s who he is talking about. Does the NLWC pay Justin Basch and his company? While he has had Hawks on the show on occasion he is no stranger to shitting on the hawks when he can

Basch is also not releasing "fake news" to disparage the hawks. There's only 1 person releasing news like he's Adam Schefter - but with a significantly lower accuracy rate.
 
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Do we?

edit: everyone thinks it’s Pat Mineo (obviously) but that doesn’t mean that’s who he is talking about. Does the NLWC pay Justin Basch and his company? While he has had Hawks on the show on occasion he is no stranger to shitting on the hawks when he can

And Tom initially said it at the height of the Spencer not wrestling, Kem's done wrestling, Nelson is done wrestling rumors/facts. I don't particularly like Basch (just too boring), but he's not in the business of saying something completely untrue about the Hawks. And it's not Flo or Willie, so who else does that leave?
 
Do we?

edit: everyone thinks it’s Pat Mineo (obviously) but that doesn’t mean that’s who he is talking about. Does the NLWC pay Justin Basch and his company? While he has had Hawks on the show on occasion he is no stranger to shitting on the hawks when he can

i just looked up his website and he lists a few nlwc guys and cael as a client. you might be on to something but who knows. maybe he is one of mineo’s sources. i definitely don’t think someone is paying mineo directly
 
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i just looked up his website and he lists a few nlwc guys and cael as a client. you might be on to something but who knows. maybe he is one of mineo’s sources. i definitely don’t think someone is paying mineo directly

It's completely fascinating to me that Tom believes someone would have to be paid to want to talk trash about the Hawks. He literally has no idea why someone would want to do that out of sheer spite.
 
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Because it's not true and I have the contacts to know if it were.
You know, I don’t really care one way or another but I find it funny how I am supposed to take your word for it that it isn’t true because of your contacts. I am sure you are in the know much more than I. But I still think it is a bad take for you to assume you know what Tom knows.
 
He absolutely does not have PROOF that programs are paying people to release bad news about the Hawks. Is he right that people are being used to put out bad info about the Hawks? That is most definitely true. But being paid? Come on man.
He's not saying it unless he can back it up. And from any dealings I've had with Tom or any of the guys on the staff, that is a fact. They don't just throw stuff out there to see if it will stick...
 
He's not saying it unless he can back it up. And from any dealings I've had with Tom or any of the guys on the staff, that is a fact. They don't just throw stuff out there to see if it will stick...

So here's the problem with that. If Tom is saying there's proof - he's literally saying he's seen copies of checks or seen cash being handed off. And we all know that isn't true.

Tom absolutely believes and has been given "proof" by someone that he trusts that people are being paid. But its just untrue. It goes more to show that he thinks it HAS to be true, because what other reason would someone bad mouth the Hawks?
 
Coming from the guy who thinks Rocky Jordan is a significant upgrade over Abe or Nelson and we need to get him in the program stat.

I'll defer to Tom on this one.
Fair. I was wrong on that one. (I still think he'd be a great addition because he'd actually get great coaching)
 
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So here's the problem with that. If Tom is saying there's proof - he's literally saying he's seen copies of checks or seen cash being handed off. And we all know that isn't true.

Tom absolutely believes and has been given "proof" by someone that he trusts that people are being paid. But its just untrue. It goes more to show that he thinks it HAS to be true, because what other reason would someone bad mouth the Hawks?
This isn't an episode of Law & Order. You aren't Jack McCoy and Tom Brands sure ain't Lennie Briscoe catching someone red-handed. Tom doesn't need first hand proof to throw it in the open. He's relying on his sources and believes what they tell him. Why shouldn't he?

But what I find goofy is that you're asking the online community to rally behind your opinion because of your sources, all the while demanding we should question Tom and his. Who are you and why should we buy what you're selling? So unless you're the J. Edgar Hoover of collegiate wrestling, then your sources don't mean jack shit.

I simply don't understand why you so adamantly believe it's untrue. Of all the ****ery we've been through over the past two years, lies-by-check definitely falls within the realm of possibility.

But please, continue to die on this weird ass hill. It is entertaining.
 
This isn't an episode of Law & Order. You aren't Jack McCoy and Tom Brands sure ain't Lennie Briscoe catching someone red-handed. Tom doesn't need first hand proof to throw it in the open. He's relying on his sources and believes what they tell him. Why shouldn't he?

But what I find goofy is that you're asking the online community to rally behind your opinion because of your sources, all the while demanding we should question Tom and his. Who are you and why should we buy what you're selling? So unless you're the J. Edgar Hoover of collegiate wrestling, then your sources don't mean jack shit.

I simply don't understand why you so adamantly believe it's untrue. Of all the ****ery we've been through over the past two years, lies-by-check definitely falls within the realm of possibility.

But please, continue to die on this weird ass hill. It is entertaining.

Then I guess you're cool with dying on the Penn State/tOSU/ASU/NC State pay people to bad mouth the Hawks hill.

Because I mean, no one would just WANT to talk bad about the Hawks, right?
 
Then I guess you're cool with dying on the Penn State/tOSU/ASU/NC State pay people to bad mouth the Hawks hill.

Because I mean, no one would just WANT to talk bad about the Hawks, right?
I don’t see it as every time someone has talked crap about Iowa wrestling they’ve been paid to do it. Saying that would be silly. But, I can sure as hell envision a scenario where someone was paid to talk badly or spread disinformation about the program.

You’re making it sound like every bad thing said about Iowa wrestling is just because people hate Iowa wrestling, and not because they’ve been paid to due so. I think it’s more nuanced than that. In fact, I think both instances have occurred.

I don’t think anyone is dying on any hill here, but it would be foolish to rule out the possibility that pay for disinformation or negative information has never happened. In my opinion…of course.

P.S. your sources will never be as reliable as what the head coach at Iowa has to say about Iowa wrestling. Tom could be wrong, but the real burden of proof here is on your sources and not him.
 
I don’t see it as every time someone has talked crap about Iowa wrestling they’ve been paid to do it. Saying that would be silly. But, I can sure as hell envision a scenario where someone was paid to talk badly or spread disinformation about the program.

You’re making it sound like every bad thing said about Iowa wrestling is just because people hate Iowa wrestling, and not because they’ve been paid to due so. I think it’s more nuanced than that. In fact, I think both instances have occurred.

I don’t think anyone is dying on any hill here, but it would be foolish to rule out the possibility that pay for disinformation or negative information has never happened. In my opinion…of course.

P.S. your sources will never be as reliable as what the head coach at Iowa has to say about Iowa wrestling. Tom could be wrong, but the real burden of proof here is on your sources and not him.
The world is literally full of the kind of shit Tom Brands is referencing on a daily basis, and the large majority of it has nothing to do with Iowa.

So do I believe Tom Brands when he knows he's being recorded? Ummm, yeah.
 
It would take a can of Keystone Light to get Mineo to post shit about the Hawks. Drives all his attention and gets a free beer? Money, baby.
 
Because it's not true and I have the contacts to know if it were.

Not busting your balls but you can see how this statement plays, right?


It's completely fascinating to me that Tom believes someone would have to be paid to want to talk trash about the Hawks. He literally has no idea why someone would want to do that out of sheer spite.

Sure...random internet guys like us talk trash but recruiting in college is part of a business. Look at what is going down between Saban and Jimbo Fisher. On a micro level, it would take very little to try and control the narrative in wrestling. Nobody covers wrestling on a large scale so most of our news comes from social media. Even our own "media" fashions themselves as fanboys and don't step on the toes of big dawgs. So words, right or wrong, spread through back channels from sources that may or may not have an axe to grind.

I don't have a lot of connections in the sport but even I heard about some big news items before it happened. But I don't know about this one and am not saying you are right or wrong. However, it would be naive to think that it couldn't happen.
 
There are people that get "paid" for traffic to their website, podcast, etc. If I want to generate traffic, and am an unscrupulous piece o' monkey dung, I would toss out bait for the Hawkeye haters to chomp on. Not only do you get the haters coming to your site, but you will get plenty of blood thirsty Hawkeye fans as well. Not positive that is what Tom meant, but I am about 83% sure.
 
This goes pretty deep. Look who’s gotten access and who hasn’t lately…. Also, look how a lot of teams wrestle us. It’s not paranoia, it’s fact. It’s disgusting.
And the whole Larry Lee thing is still beyond laughable, but there’s so many sheep, idiots, and haters out there that this shit plays now. Much like the state of the country right now. People have becoming addicted to rage and now take feelings over facts. Scary stuff.

College wrestling is changing and getting away from its purity and roots. And I don’t think it’s a good thing. Things will only continue to get worse.

Now get off my lawn!
 
Good stuff from Tom Brands. He's always a straight shooter with good intentions. He is exactly the sort of coach that we need in these times where the haters weaponize everything. It shouldn't surprise anyone that some of this could come from jealous haters who are even willing to pay to smear.

They aren't so jealous of the Hawkeyes' winning as they are jealous of us, the Hawkeye faithful who actually care so much about wrestling. For most of them, their wrestling teams are a backwater like the bowling team or the squash team, not to speak ill of bowling or squash. We really care, and that's why they hate us so much, because their teams will never have fans like us.

Goblin is right: it will only get worse. Sorry about your lawn, Goblin.
 
Good stuff from Tom Brands. He's always a straight shooter with good intentions. He is exactly the sort of coach that we need in these times where the haters weaponize everything. It shouldn't surprise anyone that some of this could come from jealous haters who are even willing to pay to smear.

They aren't so jealous of the Hawkeyes' winning as they are jealous of us, the Hawkeye faithful who actually care so much about wrestling. For most of them, their wrestling teams are a backwater like the bowling team or the squash team, not to speak ill of bowling or squash. We really care, and that's why they hate us so much, because their teams will never have fans like us.

Goblin is right: it will only get worse. Sorry about your lawn, Goblin.
You’re spot on…. And F my lawn. I have 3 labs... It’s a battle I can’t win and I ain’t no yard nazi.
 
The world is literally full of the kind of shit Tom Brands is referencing on a daily basis, and the large majority of it has nothing to do with Iowa.

So do I believe Tom Brands when he knows he's being recorded? Ummm, yeah.

This. Brands very very rarely responds to anything negative or talks about anything controversial (for example he still won’t say anything about Schwab in the interview).

There is no way he would mention this in a recorded interview unless he 110% believed it were true and could back it up if necessary. That’s just not his style.
 
could back it up if necessary
I think Coach Brands would never see it necessary. When it came to a potential UNI dual, he indicated what was stated was not complete/accurate without completing or correcting. That's fine by me, because I really think he prefers not to expend energy on distractions.

And even if he did attempt to clarify the record, then it likely would still be a 'he said/he said' situation. Subsequently, fans would align based on their bias. Whenever that's likely the case, Coach Brands might as well leave it to fan loyalty without providing additional information.
 
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