Mir defeats Lesnar in 1st round
Ex-champion spoils former WWE wrestler’s UFC debut

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira took the UFC interim heavyweight title, forcing former two-time champion Tim Sylvia to tap in the third round on Saturday night.

In the co-main event, former heavyweight champion Frank Mir spoiled former NCAA wrestling champion Brock Lesnar’s UCF debut, grabbing Lesnar’s leg and securing a kneebar that forced him to submit at 1:30 of the first round.

Nogueira took the title vacated when Randy Couture suddenly retired from the organization.

Sylvia showed superior striking, repeatedly landing punches throughout a dominant first round. Sylvia defended Nogueira’s takedown attempts and landed effective punches in the second round.

But in the third round, Nogueira reversed a Sylvia takedown and gained side control. Sylvia was able to escape side control, only to fall directly into a guillotine choke which forced him to tap 1:28 seconds into the round.

Nate Marquardt beat Jeremy Horn, finishing off the veteran of more than 100 MMA fights by guillotine choke 1:37 seconds into the second round, and Ricardo Almeida defeated Rob Yundt by guillotine choke at 1:08 in the first round.

“You are going to be thinking about it. There’s no way around that.” These are the words of Cael Sanderson, one of the few Americans who can speak directly to the experience of being athletically perfect. During his four years as an Iowa State wrestler, Sanderson went 159-0. He is the only wrestler in Division I history to go undefeated in more than 100 matches.

“I think I thought more about how I would answer the media’s questions,” he said. “After my freshman year, I knew I wanted to go undefeated, but I also knew I had to keep my focus simple and direct. However, that means giving a boring media interview. I had to focus on being my best for the next match, and I had to move my feet and attack with my hands. It had to be that simple. I would guess that the Patriots are very aware of the magnitude of what they are doing.”

(Larry Owings shocks Dan Gable at the 142 lb finals at the 1970 NCAAs… handing the Cyclone his only loss in HS and college in his very last college match. — Moderator’s caption)

This was posted at the Wrestling Talk forum, apparently originally posted by King Cole himself at The Guillotine website…

The text of this message has been posted in the FILES section of NCAA Heavyweight Champs 2

Well i said i would hop on here and give an update as to how the weekend went, so im staying true to my word.

As im sure many of you noticed, i was upfront with the Jets on the importance of my wrestling and one way or the other both Tommy and I weren’t planning on staying past monday night. It was three days to showcase our skills… (i would say natural skills but i dont believe in ‘natural skills’) So mainly what they were looking for was our foot speed, and most importantly balance. Everyday we went from 6 am until 10pm learning everything you could imagine in the football world; plays, strategies, calls with different formations from the defense, and actually a lot about the press and displaying a positive image… which is quite tricky actually, you would be surprised how the press phrases questions to get arrogant sounding responses even when its not intended that way (i saw how that happened to a guy and will likely never believe an arrogant quote i see again, you only here a response… not the question). Then twice a day we took to the field working plays, foot drills, bag drills, conditioning, even once a guy who trains pro boxers came in and we did a boxing workout which was a lot of fun. All in all it was a great experience and i would do it again in a heartbeat.

College wrestlers attend Jets’ minicamp
By DENNIS WASZAK Jr., AP Sports Writer
Sun May 13, 4:19 PM ET

HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. — Cole Konrad looked down at the football gear spread out in front of his locker, shook his head and smiled.
“There’s tons of stuff here,” Konrad said with a laugh Sunday in the New York Jets’ locker room.

Konrad, a two-time NCAA wrestling champion at Minnesota, is used to wearing very little while competing in his natural sport. As one of 51 players participating in the Jets’ rookie minicamp, Konrad is in new surroundings, with a multipiece football uniform and helmet replacing his usual wrestling singlet and head gear.

“Football’s foreign to me, just like a lot of these guys would feel if they tried wrestling,” said Konrad, wearing a gray Minnesota Wrestling T-shirt. “I’m just learning every day as I’m coming in here. Everything’s new to me.”

He’s not alone. Tommy Rowlands, also a two-time NCAA wrestling champ from Ohio State, is in camp with the Jets on a tryout. The two wrestlers are roommates during the three-day camp — and opponents on the mat.

Five years ago, life was a lot different for Stephen Neal. At times struggling financially, his future was in limbo. He was training for the U.S. Nationals, where he looked to become the top U.S. heavyweight again.

Just one year earlier, Neal was the defending World champion, before getting unseated by Kerry McCoy in 2000. But going into the 2001 U.S. Nationals, Neal knew it would be his last year as a wrestler - no matter what happened. He had made the choice to try out for NFL scouts and work to be signed as a free agent.

Improbable? Neal did not play football in college. Impossible? His mix of size, strength and athleticism made him an interesting prospect for any team that had nothing to lose by taking a risk.

There were other options, too. Kurt Angle had become a star entertainer for the WWE, and Neal had been approached by their executives. But that was not a life he was interested in.

Marvin Lewis is in his third season as Bengals head coach, following two campaigns during which he has re-established the team as a playoff contender while attracting fan support in record numbers.

Lewis has led the Bengals to consecutive 8-8 records. In his rookie head coaching season of 2003, Cincinnati was the NFL’s most improved team, and he finished second behind Bill Belichick of New England in Associated Press voting for NFL Coach of the Year. In 2004, Lewis guided the Bengals to a .500 finish while QB Carson Palmer was seeing his first NFL action, and also while adjusting to injuries that sent 18 players to season-ending medical reserve lists.

The Bengals have set regular-season home attendance records each of the past two years, last year topping the half-million mark for the first time with a total of 524,248. All eight games were sellouts, marking the franchise’s first such sellout sweep since 1992 at Riverfront Stadium.

The first seven games on the 2004 schedule drew the seven largest crowds in team history, including a record 65,806 for the Oct. 25 Monday night contest vs. Denver. The Bengals enter the 2005 season with a streak of 11 straight regular season sellouts, dating back through the last three games of 2003.

CINCINNATI - The Cincinnati Bengals signed fourth-round pick Eric Ghiaciuc, a center from Central Michigan, to a four-year contract on Saturday.

Ghiaciuc, 6-foot-4 and 302 pounds, started the final 35 games of his Central Michigan career and blocked for a 1,000-yard rusher in each of his three seasons as a starter. He is a former Michigan state wrestling champion.

Ghiaciuc is the fifth of the Bengals’ seven draft choices to sign for 2005. Previously signed were wide receiver Chris Henry of West Virginia, third round; offensive tackle Adam Kieft of Central Michigan, fifth round; wide receiver Tab Perry of UCLA, sixth round; and defensive end Jonathan Fanene of Utah, seventh round.

The Bengals also signed free agent offensive lineman Reese Hicks to a two-year contract on Saturday. He was released by the Denver Broncos on July 25.

The NFL – and wrestling – aspirations of Greg Jones, a three-time national champion from West Virginia University, are currently on hold.

A West Virginia spokesman confirmed Monday that Jones underwent successful sports hernia surgery Thursday, and will be shut down for ten weeks.

In January Jones was honored as the recipient of the Hardman Award as the 2004 West Virginia state Amateur Athlete of the Year. In March he claimed the 184 pound NCAA national title. In April Jones, a native of Slickville, Pa., worked out for about an hour with the Pittsburgh Steelers, who were looking at Jones as a possible free agent signing as a defensive back or special teams player.

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