Travesty!

I know I promised I'd be back to regularly scheduled Cubs stuff today but I just can't.

Let me start off by saying I think I might have picked up a curse!

Sunday's post was about my 2012 Tony Campana Topps minis. Later that day, he was designated for assignment by the Cubs.

Monday's post was a recap of my sons' wrestling filled weekend. Tuesday morning it is announced that the IOC had voted to eliminate wrestling from the 2020 Olympics. What?!? I was upset when they cut baseball but wrestling?!? Which sport exemplifies the Olympics more than wrestling? I usually deal with change pretty well as a military brat but when you have an event such as the Olympics that is so focused on tradition, why do you remove the most traditional sport?

I have loved watching the Olympics as far as I can remember and I may be biased towards wrestling but this is ridiculous. I was never going to play basketball or football and when baseball coaches overlooked me because of my size to start bigger, but not as good players, wrestling became my sport of choice. Unlike football, basketball or baseball, nobody got cut from my high school wrestling team. The sport itself weeded out those who didn't want to be there.

There are no politics in wrestling for who gets the starting job. It's settled on the mat. One on one against guys your own size. If you can beat the guy, you're now the guy. There's a bond between wrestling teammates as there is in many other sports but nobody can help you once you're on the mat. You get out of it what you put into it. Great life lesson there.

You can't tell me that golf (being introduced for the 2016 Olympics) is more exciting to watch than wrestling. I play golf myself. Not often, but I enjoy it when I do. But watch it on TV? No thanks! If they actually showed wrestling on one of the bigger channels and a reasonable time, that would help the ratings.

Oh, I get it. That might hurt the ratings of the some of the sports that utilize judges that can be bought. This might alienate some of you, but in my opinion, I don't think sports that use subjective scoring criteria should be in the Olympics. And when it comes down to it, that includes the big breadwinners, gymnastics and skating. With a tenth of a point deduction from one judge here and two tenths from another judge there, it's downright silly when you think about it. How can you compare one stumble or wobble or other miscue to the next? I'm not saying they're not athletes, those sports are tough in their own rights. But give me a sport where the winner decides their own fate any day.

Wrestling is 7 minutes (or less with a pin) of speed, strength and technique that dates back to the original Olympics hundreds of years ago. There is no sport, I believe, more triumphant and/or gut-wrenching  I urge you to go check out your local high school's team as most of them are moving onto the postseason this time of year. That makes for some exciting wrestling!

Or if you're more of an armchair sports watcher, the NCAA Championships are in mid-March and are shown on one of the ESPN channels. They do a pretty good job with the coverage, giving background stories on each of the guys so you have a vested interest in the outcome of each match. And there's no money in wrestling so you know these guys are doing it for the love of the sport, not just a seven or eight figure payday. Now that there's not even Olympics to shoot for, I fear the future of this sport.

But if you prefer flips and pirouettes and being told who the winner is, I guess the IOC has your back.

And seriously, Cubs stuff tomorrow as my 2013 cards are trickling in.