The United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) announced on Tuesday that an independent arbitrator from the American Arbitration Association (AAA)/North American Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has ruled that Greco-Roman wrestler Joe Warren committed a second anti-doping rule violation. Warren, a 2006 World champion, received a two-year suspension (Photo/John Sachs).

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HAWKEYES OWN THE MAT

Iowa wins first National Duals crown since ‘96

By Andy Hamilton

CEDAR FALLS — Tom Brands sat comfortably in his chair Sunday afternoon and watched the championship meet at the National Duals from the best seat in the UNI-Dome.

The Iowa wrestling coach didn’t have to worry about the events unfolding in front of him. His Hawkeyes took ownership of the championship mat against Nebraska, staked a claim to their first National Duals title in 12 years and quite possibly regained the top spot in the national rankings.

The Hawkeyes hammered the Huskers 24-6 with a bullying style reminiscent of the days when Brands wrestled for Iowa teams that ruled the sport and the mats it wrestled on.

“They didn’t want to be on the mat with us,” Iowa 133-pounder Joey Slaton said. “We had to drag them back on the mat, and they still didn’t want to be on it. They were crawling off.”

To be fair to Nebraska, nobody at the National Duals seemed enthralled with the idea of tangling with the Hawkeyes (11-1).

Minneapolis, MN – Wrestling 411 is becoming a reality January 17, 2008 at 12:30PM ET on CSTV. The new highlight show will continually provide the sport of amateur wrestling with an effective center for educating, marketing and promoting the sport of wrestling.

Each Thursday for 11-weeks, the show will be aired on various other networks, independent stations as well as over the Internet. To receive the weekly webcast, log-on to:

www.mediasportsproductions.com

J Robinson, one of the leaders behind Media Sports Productions, stated the reason why Wrestling 411 is so important, is because, “TV validates everything. Wrestling needs television because society talks about what they see on TV; we want people to talk about wrestling so the sport will grow.”

Each week the entertainingly fast-paced highlight show, Wrestling 411, will share with the world what is happening today in man’s oldest sport. Everything from America’s best competitions to what is hot and what is not with opposing viewpoints, weekly results, rankings, competition highlights, interviews, human-interest stories and insider commentary on important issues. Get ready, the mat is not the only place to “bring it on”.

Jason Behnken/Tampa Tribune

Brandon wrestlers react to their loss to South Dade at the Jim Graves Challenge the Streak Dual Meet Tournament Saturday night at Brandon High School. The loss ended a 459 meet winning streak for Brandon.

By ADAM ADKINS, The Tampa Tribune

BRANDON – Joey Cozart wanted the weight of The Streak square on his 140-pound frame’s shoulders. The only problem was The Streak ended before he got that chance.

When 135-pounder Tico Baez scored a major decision against Brandon’s Kevin Timothy on Saturday night, it gave Homestead South Dade an insurmountable lead against the Eagles in the final of the sixth annual Jim Graves Challenge the Streak Dual Meet Tournament. For the first time since Feb. 20, 1973, the Brandon Eagles’ wrestling team tasted defeat.

The Streak, as it has been widely known, came to an end at 459 consecutive victories and 468 matches without a defeat after South Dade’s 32-28 victory. Both marks are national records for a high school team in any sport.

Following the Baez-Timothy match that gave South Dade the win, longtime Brandon coach Russ Cozart sprinted across the mat to congratulate South Dade coach Victor Balmeceda. At the same time, the entire crowd inside the Brandon gymnasium rose to its feet to applaud the Eagles’ program on its lengthy accomplishment.