Be a Man. Wrestle a Girl.

Posted inWrestling
When wrestling makes the news, it is often for the wrong reasons. Sure, those of us who have competed or stay connected to the sport will never stop hearing the…

Andrew Alton’s Headlock

Posted inWrestling
Wrestling fans - ignore the "commentator" yelling at you and enjoy. The kid who got decked is a two-time New York state champ. Holy Christmas, this group of Penn State…

My Officiating Experience

Posted inColumns, Sports, Wrestling

When I first got out of college 20 years ago, I wanted to find ways to stay involved with wrestling.
I couldn’t decide between officiating and coaching so I did the sensible thing – I did both. That lasted for two seasons when work and life made it clear that I had to give up one or the other.

Coaching won for a number of reasons. I thought many times about getting back into officiating, especially after I stopped coaching in 2001, but I always found a reason to stay away for one more year.

That all changed last fall. I took the officiating test and started working some local matches at the elementary and junior high levels.

New Sport Has a Kick

Posted inColumns, Freelance Writing, MMA, Sports, Wrestling

I didn’t have any plans a couple of Sundays ago. We planned on having some friends over the Saturday before to grill and hang out, so I assumed I would spend the next day napping and watching sports.

Then I got a fateful phone call.

Well, it wasn’t fateful, but it was intriguing. The fine folks over at the York Daily Record wanted me to come out and cover an event for the paper.

Sure, I said. A little freelance money never hurt anyone. Plus, I could take part in a little bit of history.

They wanted me to cover the state’s first legal mixed martial arts event. I was going to get paid to see guys beat the snot out of each other. I love this country.