NO HOLDS BARRED

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman once again spoke with Coach George Hero, the legendary coach and founder of the Midwood High School wrestling team in Brooklyn, New York.

On Friday, May 8, Midwood High School will be the scene of this year's edition of what has now become an annual tradition, MidwoodMania VI: Monsters on the Mat.

The event runs from 3:30pm to 6:30pm, at the Campus Road Gymnasium of Midwood High School, 2839 Bedford Ave., Brooklyn, New York 11210, right across the street from Brooklyn College.

There will be ten wrestling matches featuring alumni, wrestlers, and coaches from Midwood High School and other schools and colleges, competing in American folkstyle, freestyle, and Greco-Roman wrestling.

Among the innovative matches at MidwoodMania will be folkstyle tag team matches. Coach Hero, now 57, will be teaming with Midwood alumnus Jake Pawlowski against a team of NYU wrestlers, Jon Guarino and Jay Jazikoff.

But this will be a very special MidwoodMania, as Coach Hero, after 32 years of teaching and serving as the Director of Social Science Research since 1984, has announced that he will be retiring as a teacher at the end of this school year.

We spoke with Coach Hero by phone Tuesday.

"It's hard to believe this is number six already. We started this back in 2010, and it's been an annual event ever since," he said.

"It's going to be once again alumni, the older guys, including myself, wrestling. But again, it's kind of bittersweet, because this is my last year. I'll be retiring. I'll probably still be wrestling in one form or another. But this is my last year at Midwood. 32 years has been quite a long run. And it's always hard when you're sort of bowing out and other people are taking over."

While Coach Hero will be retiring from teaching, and possibly from coaching as well, he has plans which will keep him quite busy. He intends to travel, to do research and write more books, and also to be involved in wrestling. One of his ideas is to expand the concept of MidwoodMania beyond Midwood High and establish a league for recreational wrestlers who have already finished their high school and college careers.

We also discussed more on why he is retiring now, the need for a real pro wrestling league, the importance of marketing and exposure to build the popularity of wrestling, the depiction of wrestling in film and the media, and much, much more.

You can play or download No Holds Barred here and here. If one link doesn't work, please try another.

No Holds Barred is also available on mobile phones and iPads through Stitcher.

Also, No Holds Barred is available through iTunes.

The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", which is also available on iTunes by composer Ian Snow.

No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by:

American Top Team. Whether you're a beginner or a champion, train with the champions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, wrestling, grappling, and mixed martial arts at American Top Team. Check out their web site at AmericanTopTeam.com.

Defense Soap, an effective, deep penetrating body soap with natural antifungal, antiviral, and antibacterial soap ingredients. Defense Soap is the best cleansing body soap for men and women athletes who are involved in contact sports such as MMA, wrestling, grappling, jiu-jitsu, and judo, to help their antifungal, anti-ringworm, anti-jock itch strategy. Check out their web site, at DefenseSoap.com.

Labels: Brooklyn, Coach George Hero, Eddie Goldman, Midwood High School, MidwoodMania, No Holds Barred, retirement, wrestling

Photo: Makar Tchekalenkov, in red, vs. Javlon Xaydarov, in blue.

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman once again spoke with Coach George Hero, the legendary coach and founder of the Midwood High School wrestling team in Brooklyn, New York, and team co-captain Makar Tchekalenkov.

On Thursday, October 30, at a packed Campus Road Gymnasium in Midwood High School, the team held the Midwood Wrestling Exhibition 2014, now an annual event which kicks off and promotes the upcoming wrestling season.

In this event, the current Midwood wrestlers were divided into two teams, red and blue. As it went to the final match, the team score was tied at 18-18.

The last match had Makar Tchekalenkov, originally from Moscow, Russia, and weighing 128 pounds, representing the red team, against Javlon Xaydarov, originally from Tashkent, Uzbekistan, and weighing 145 pounds, for the blue team. These two were at first scheduled to be partners in a planned tag-team match under high school wrestling rules, but that match had to be cancelled when one of the wrestlers on the opposing team suffered an injury and had to withdraw.

As they wrestled in the first period, it appeared that the heavier Javlon Xaydarov had the advantage. He scored a takedown to go up 2-0. Makar Tchekalenkov did get an escape, and the period ended with a 2-1 score. Javlon started the second period on top, but Makar escaped again, making it 2-2 as it went to the third and final period. With Makar on top, he not only rode Javlon the entire period, but also secured a near fall to score three more points. That was enough to win this exciting match by a score of 5-2, and for his red team to win the meet in dramatic fashion by a score of 21-18.

We spoke with Coach Hero and Makar Tchekalenkov right after the matches ended.

"It was a very exciting match," said Coach Hero. "It was a lot of fun. and I've got to say, I'm very proud of the boys. All the matches were very good and they were very competitive."

"I'm very good of a top wrestler," said Makar Tchekalenkov, who is a senior this year. "I knew I just had to either let him up, or just ride him out and get the back points and win it. So it's 2-2 and I got my back points and I won the match, and I was really excited for that."

We also discussed the importance of events like this in promoting wrestling, the prospects for the team this season, what Makar plans to do after graduating high school and going to college, Coach Hero's assurances that he will indeed wrestle at MidwoodMania in the spring of 2015, and more.

You can play or download No Holds Barred here and here. If one link doesn't work, please try another.

No Holds Barred is also available on mobile phones and iPads through Stitcher.

Also, No Holds Barred is available through iTunes.

The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", which is also available on iTunes by composer Ian Snow.

No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by:

American Top Team. Whether you're a beginner or a champion, train with the champions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, wrestling, grappling, and mixed martial arts at American Top Team. Check out their web site at AmericanTopTeam.com.

Defense Soap, an effective, deep penetrating body soap with natural antifungal, antiviral, and antibacterial soap ingredients. Defense Soap is the best cleansing body soap for men and women athletes who are involved in contact sports such as MMA, wrestling, grappling, jiu-jitsu, and judo, to help their antifungal, anti-ringworm, anti-jock itch strategy. Check out their web site, at DefenseSoap.com.

Takedown Wrestling Media, America's wrestling TV and radio shows, which are hosted by founder Scott Casber, and have been airing on radio and Internet for over 17 years. Takedown Media produces a weekly TV program seen in 54 million homes in the U.S. on DirecTV, Dish Network, and cable affiliates around the country, called Takedown TV. Takedown Media also produces the weekly USA Wrestling TV show for the governing body of the sport, USA Wrestling. For more information, go to TakedownRadio.com.

Labels: Brooklyn, Coach George Hero, Eddie Goldman, Makar Tchekalenkov, Midwood High School, No Holds Barred, Wrestling Exhibition

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman once again spoke with Coach George Hero, the legendary coach and founder of the Midwood High School wrestling team in Brooklyn, New York.

On Thursday, October 30, Midwood High School will be the scene of the Midwood Wrestling Exhibition 2014.

The event runs from 3:30 PM to 6:30 PM, at the Campus Road Gymnasium of Midwood High School, 2839 Bedford Avenue, Brooklyn, New York 11210, right across the street from Brooklyn College.

As in previous years, the Midwood Wrestling Exhibition 2014 kicks off and promotes the upcoming wrestling season.

We spoke with Coach Hero by phone Tuesday.

"We're going to have quite a few good matches" at this event, he said. "We have a very strong squad this year."

This year's matches all involve current Midwood High wrestlers, and will be held under American folkstyle rules. However, much attention is being given to a match which adds a twist to these rules: a tag-team match.

In it, Midwood wrestling captain David Nemirovsky will team up with David Tskhvedadze to face a team of Midwood's other captain, Makar Tchekalenkov, and Javlon Xaydarov.

They are "four of the best wrestlers on the team," Coach Hero said, and this tag-team match "should be very, very exciting."

The tag-team match combines the usual high school wrestling rules with a format of three four-minute periods, and two-out-of-three falls. Each team is allowed only one tag per period, and only when there is a stop in the action.

"We created tag-team rules for actual folkstyle wrestling, and they've been very successful and very popular at the MidwoodMania [held each spring], so we're now trying it with the kids at the Exhibition," he explained.

A key reason for organizing the Midwood Wrestling Exhibition is to build interest in the sport of wrestling, which Coach Hero said is the "greatest sport" in the world. "It needs more exposure," and he added that it is "disgusting" that non-sports are included in the Olympics, a move "motivated by profit, nothing else."

We also discussed how he plans to propose holding regular large tournaments for ex-wrestlers, how other schools should try putting on tag-team matches, plans for MidwoodMania in the spring where he will again return to the mat, and much more.

You can play or download No Holds Barred here and here. If one link doesn't work, please try another.

No Holds Barred is also available on mobile phones and iPads through Stitcher.

Also, No Holds Barred is available through iTunes.

The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", which is also available on iTunes by composer Ian Snow.

No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by:

American Top Team. Whether you're a beginner or a champion, train with the champions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, wrestling, grappling, and mixed martial arts at American Top Team. Check out their web site at AmericanTopTeam.com.

Defense Soap, an effective, deep penetrating body soap with natural antifungal, antiviral, and antibacterial soap ingredients. Defense Soap is the best cleansing body soap for men and women athletes who are involved in contact sports such as MMA, wrestling, grappling, jiu-jitsu, and judo, to help their antifungal, anti-ringworm, anti-jock itch strategy. Check out their web site, at DefenseSoap.com.

Takedown Wrestling Media, America's wrestling TV and radio shows, which are hosted by founder Scott Casber, and have been airing on radio and Internet for over 17 years. Takedown Media produces a weekly TV program seen in 54 million homes in the U.S. on DirecTV, Dish Network, and cable affiliates around the country, called Takedown TV. Takedown Media also produces the weekly USA Wrestling TV show for the governing body of the sport, USA Wrestling. For more information, go to TakedownRadio.com.

Labels: Brooklyn, Coach George Hero, Eddie Goldman, folkstyle, greatest sport, Midwood Wrestling Exhibition 2014, No Holds Barred, tag teams

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman once again spoke with Coach George Hero, the legendary coach and founder of the Midwood High School wrestling team in Brooklyn, New York.

On Saturday, May 10, Midwood High School will be the scene of this year's edition of what has now become an annual tradition, MidwoodMania V: May Madness on the Mat.

The event runs from 11 AM to 3 PM, at the Campus Road Gymnasium of Midwood High School, 2839 Bedford Ave., Brooklyn, New York 11210, right across the street from Brooklyn College.

This year there will be ten matches involving Midwood alumni, wrestlers, and coaches, as well as alumni from other schools. Matches will be held under NCAA, freestyle, and Greco-Roman wrestling rules, as well as a folkstyle tag team match.

In the main event, the 56-year-old Coach Hero will be returning to the mat in a heavyweight tag team match. He will team with Jon Guarino of NYU and face the pair who were Coach Hero's opponents at last year's MidwoodMania, Brian Anderson and Anthony Chu, both of NYU.

The tag team match will be held under folkstyle rules, but with some important modifications. It is scheduled for three, four-minute periods. A wrestler can only tag out when there is a break or a lull in the action, and must indicate this to the referee. Each team is allowed only one tag per period. Also, a pin ends the period, but not the match.

We spoke with Coach George Hero by phone last Monday.

"Oh yeah, I'll be on again," said Coach Hero.

"I can't believe it's been five years already. It's MidwoodMania V. The event has really grown. We're getting more and more wrestlers now who are not Midwood alumni. And hopefully, as I said, this can be a model for something city-wide eventually, maybe even the creation of some kind of a league just for former high school and college wrestlers who may not necessarily want to go and get involved in international competition or national competition per se, but just wrestle for their own pleasure or just to be able to stay in shape."

Besides discussing the idea of establishing an organization for recreational wrestlers who are out of school to compete, we also talked about his continuing to wrestle at age 56, the need for other schools to hold similar events, some of the other matches planned for MidwoodMania V, and much more.

You can play or download No Holds Barred here and here. If one link doesn't work, please try another.

No Holds Barred is also available on mobile phones and iPads through Stitcher.

Also, No Holds Barred is available through iTunes.

The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", which is also available on iTunes by composer Ian Snow.

No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by:

MMA World Expo. The mixed martial arts community comes to New York City July 26 and 27, 2014, for the fifth annual MMA World Expo, featuring the Fighters Source U.S. Nationals amateur MMA tournament, two days of ADCC no-gi and gi grappling tournaments, MMA fighters, seminars with world-class trainers, vendors, panel discussions, catch wrestling competition, and much more. The MMA World Expo takes place Saturday, July 26, and Sunday, July 27, 2014, at the Jacob Javits Center in New York City.

ONE Fighting Championship. ONE FC is Asia's largest and most prestigious mixed martial arts event. ONE FC features the best Asian fighters and has initiated the ONE Asia Partnership Network, which includes most of the major MMA promotions and MMA gyms in Asia. For more information, go to their web site, at ONEFC.com.

American Top Team. Whether you're a beginner or a champion, train with the champions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, wrestling, grappling, and mixed martial arts at American Top Team. Check out their web site at http://americantopteam.com/.

Labels: Brooklyn, Coach George Hero, Eddie Goldman, Midwood High School, MidwoodMania, No Holds Barred, tag teams, wrestling

by Eddie Goldman

BROOKLYN, April 1 -- At a packed news conference held outdoors on the famed Boardwalk at Coney Island, International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach today announced that the 2016 Summer Olympics are being moved from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to Brooklyn, New York, USA.

"We are well aware of the massive protests, unpopularity, and allegations of corruption about the present plans to hold the 2016 Olympics in Rio," he said. "The executive board of the IOC has thus voted unanimously to move it to the sporting capital of the world, Brooklyn. We never want to embarrass ourselves with the public."

He added, "The IOC deeply regrets the problems caused for the people of Rio and Brazil. We thus will fully compensate anyone in Brazil who was inconvenienced by us, including the people of the favelas."

He continued, "We also always strive to make the Olympics affordable for the average person. Thus, we have decided that admission to all events in the 2016 Brooklyn Olympics will be US$2.50, the current price of a subway ride in New York, as well as providing free Metrocards to all ticket-holders so they can use public transit."

Since there is an unusually short period of time to prepare for the Olympics in Brooklyn, he announced that the events will be mainly held at existing facilities, including the Coney Island Aquarium and Boardwalk, Gleason's Gym, Floyd Bennett Field, MCU Park, the Barclays Center, Brooklyn College, the Millennium and Oceana Theatres, and on Eastern Parkway.

The IOC will also finance the entire cost for the rebuilding of the former home of the Brooklyn Dodgers, Ebbets Field, which will serve as the Olympic stadium.

In a separate statement, Major League Baseball's Los Angeles Dodgers, which abandoned Brooklyn after the 1957 season, announced that the team will permanently return home in 2016.

To make the Brooklyn Olympics more enticing to the people of Brooklyn and the surrounding area, the following traditional events have been added to the Olympic program: stickball, hot dog eating, subway car racing, and roller coaster riding.

Because the people of Brooklyn share with the people of Brazil a great tradition of mat sports, the IOC will also add Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, no-gi grappling, and catch wrestling to the 2016 Brooklyn Olympics. "We do try to do the right thing," said Bach.

Added to the membership of the IOC are the following, all of whom were born in Brooklyn: boxing legend Mike Tyson; baseball legend Sandy Koufax: pro wrestling legend Steve Lombardi AKA the Brooklyn Brawler; wrestling legend Coach George Hero of Midwood High School; and combat sports media legend Eddie Goldman.

The reaction from longtime Brooklynites to these announcements was overwhelmingly positive.

When asked if he approved of them, the Brooklyn-born actor and dancer Jerome Lester Horwitz replied, "Soitenly!"

"Well, I hope you liked the 2014 edition of my April Fool's Day prank," said Eddie Goldman. "But if you don't like it, then tough noogies."

Labels: 2016 Olympics, April Fool's, BJJ, Brazil, Brooklyn, catch wrestling, Eddie Goldman, grappling, No Holds Barred, Rio de Janeiro

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman once again spoke with Coach George Hero, the legendary coach and founder of the Midwood High School wrestling team in Brooklyn, New York.

On Friday, October 11, Midwood High School will be the scene of the Midwood Wrestling Exhibition 2013.

The event runs from 3:30 PM to 6:30 PM, at the Campus Road Gymnasium of Midwood High School, 2839 Bedford Avenue, Brooklyn, New York 11210, right across the street from Brooklyn College.

As in previous years, the Midwood Wrestling Exhibition 2013 both kicks off and promotes the upcoming 2013-14 wrestling season, and features a number of alumni matches, all under American folkstyle rules.

The current Midwood wrestlers have been divided into a blue team against a red team. Coach Hero, now 55 years old, will be wrestling in a folkstyle tag team match, otherwise under NCAA rules, teaming with Dan Brereton against the team of Brian Anderson and Jon Guarino. This match will have three four-minute periods, with only one tag allowed per period, and only when there is a lull or stop in the action. There will also be three individual alumni matches under folkstyle rules.

We spoke with Coach George Hero by phone Monday about the Midwood Wrestling Exhibition 2013 and the state of wrestling.

Besides what is going on at Midwood wrestling, the historical and abject failure of the people running wrestling to publicize and promote the sport was one of our main topics.

"Again, part of the problem is we really don't advertise the sport enough. People aren't familiar enough with it," said Coach Hero. "And as a result, most people tend to associate wrestling with WWE and the sideshows. And they really don't understand what wrestling is.

"For me, I think wrestling is probably the purest sport in the sense that it's physical chess. It really requires not only conditioning and strength, and drilling and technique, it also requires a lot of strategy. It's a thinking person's sport. It really is."

He continued, "It's the purest form, because you're not beating someone bloody or knocking them out. You're not putting them in holds to punish them, to make them submit. You're actually using skill, technique, endurance, and strategy to beat the person, to pin their shoulders, or to be able to scores point. And I think that there's something about that that makes it even more challenging."

We also discussed the need for wrestling to be aggressively promoted, why his favorite wrestling style is American folkstyle, why champion wrestlers like Jordan Burroughs and Kyle Dake should be major sports stars, and much more.

You can play or download No Holds Barred here and here. If one link doesn't work, please try another.

No Holds Barred is also available on mobile phones and iPads through Stitcher.

Also, No Holds Barred is available through iTunes.

The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", which is also available on iTunes by composer Ian Snow.

No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by:

ONE Fighting Championship. ONE FC is Asia's largest and most prestigious mixed martial arts event. ONE FC features the best Asian fighters and has initiated the ONE Asia Partnership Network, which includes most of the major MMA promotions and MMA gyms in Asia. For more information, go to their web site, at ONEFC.com.

Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. Your #1 source for exciting auction shopping and outstanding deals on just about anything! Top rated, most trusted auction site online. Where do you shop? Beezid.com - Penny Auctions.

American Top Team. Whether you're a beginner or a champion, train with the champions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, wrestling, grappling, and mixed martial arts at American Top Team. Check out their web site at http://americantopteam.com/.

Labels: Brooklyn, Coach George Hero, Eddie Goldman, folkstyle, Midwood Wrestling Exhibition 2013, No Holds Barred, purest sport, tag teams, wrestling

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman spoke with our correspondent Keisha Morrisey and "The Fight Professor" Stephen Quadros.

We were all at the Glory 9 kickboxing card, which took place Saturday, June 22, at the Hammerstein Ballroom at the Manhattan Center in New York.

Keisha Morrisey also shuttled between this event and the boxing card at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, headlined by the Adrien Broner-Paulie Malignaggi fight. This provided her an unparalleled opportunity to compare both live shows.

Right after the fights, we had a short discussion with Stephen Quadros, who was a TV commentator for Glory 9, about the highs and lows of this card, including the three victories by Tyrone Spong to win the eight-man, light heavyweight tournament.

We spoke with Keisha Morrisey Sunday by phone about how she evaluated these two events.

"Just in walking into the Glory event, you automatically felt the illumination in the room, the energy of the fans. The music was beautiful, the ambiance, everything about the setting was right on point," she said in this interview.

As far as the boxing at the Barclays Center, she added, "It's unreal the energy that you do not have at a boxing event there."

We discussed why Glory 9 was by far the better event, the future of boxing and kickboxing in the combat sports world, and much more.

You can play or download No Holds Barred here and here. If one link doesn't work, please try another.

No Holds Barred is also available on mobile phones and iPads through Stitcher.

Also, No Holds Barred is available through iTunes.

The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", which is also available on iTunes by composer Ian Snow.

No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by:

ONE Fighting Championship. ONE FC is Asia's largest and most prestigious mixed martial arts event. ONE FC features the best Asian fighters and has initiated the ONE Asia Partnership Network, which includes most of the major MMA promotions and MMA gyms in Asia. For more information, go to their web site, at ONEFC.com.

Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. Your #1 source for exciting auction shopping and outstanding deals on just about anything! Top rated, most trusted auction site online. Where do you shop? Beezid.com - Penny Auctions.

American Top Team. Whether you're a beginner or a champion, train with the champions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, wrestling, grappling, and mixed martial arts at American Top Team. Check out their web site at http://americantopteam.com/.

Labels: Adrien Broner, boxing, Brooklyn, Eddie Goldman, Glory 9, Keisha Morrisey, kickboxing, New York, No Holds Barred, Paulie Malignaggi, Stephen Quadros, Tyrone Spong

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman and our colleague and correspondent Malaak Shabazz provide coverage of the main event of MidwoodMania IV, which was held Saturday, April 27, at the Campus Road Gymnasium of Midwood High School in Brooklyn, New York.

MidwoodMania IV featured ten wrestling matches under American folkstyle and freestyle rules. The last three matches for the first time were tag team folkstyle matches, with three, four-minute periods and only one tag allowed per period, and only during a break.

In the main event, the 55-year-old Midwood Coach George Hero scored a last-second takedown over Anthony Chu to lead his team, along with Chris Amro, to a 13-12 come-from-behind victory over Chu and Brian Anderson. Amro, Chu, and Anderson are currently college wrestlers for NYU.

Right after the final match, along with Malaak Shabazz, we spoke with Coach George Hero, Anthony Chu, Brian Anderson, Chris Amro, NYU assistant wrestling coach Mike Torriero, and several others about their experience at this event.

Coach Hero paid tribute to Anthony Chu.

"Let me tell you, Anthony is powerful. He can move for a big man. It was the first time in my career that I was actually outweighed," said Coach Hero. "So this was a new experience."

We discussed the successful debut of real, tag team folkstyle wrestling, and how that increased the action and scoring in the three matches held in that format. We discussed the need for more wrestling programs both for women and alumni wrestlers, the need for innovation and creativity in marketing and advertising wrestling, and much more.

Some photos of MidwoodMania IV can be seen here.

You can play or download No Holds Barred here and here. If one link doesn't work, please try another.

No Holds Barred is also available on mobile phones and iPads through Stitcher.

Also, No Holds Barred is available through iTunes.

The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", which is also available on iTunes by composer Ian Snow.

No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by:

ONE Fighting Championship. ONE FC is Asia's largest and most prestigious mixed martial arts event. ONE FC features the best Asian fighters and has initiated the ONE Asia Partnership Network, which includes most of the major MMA promotions and MMA gyms in Asia. For more information, go to their web site, at ONEFC.com.

Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. Your #1 source for exciting auction shopping and outstanding deals on just about anything! Top rated, most trusted auction site online. Where do you shop? Beezid.com - Penny Auctions.

American Top Team. Whether you're a beginner or a champion, train with the champions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, wrestling, grappling, and mixed martial arts at American Top Team. Check out their web site at http://americantopteam.com/.

Labels: Anthony Chu, Brian Anderson, Brooklyn, Chris Amro, Coach George Hero, Eddie Goldman, Malaak Shabazz, Midwood High School, MidwoodMania, No Holds Barred, NYU, tag teams, wrestling

Here are a few photos from MidwoodMania IV, which was held Saturday, April 27, at the Campus Road Gymnasium of Midwood High School in Brooklyn, New York.

              First tag of the tag team matches, between Matt Eulau and Sean Billings


 


 
                   Coach Hero and Brian Anderson   
  

         


 


 


 


 


 


 


 

Labels: Brooklyn, Coach George Hero, Eddie Goldman, Midwood High School, MidwoodMania, No Holds Barred, tag teams, wrestling

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman speaks with Coach George Hero, the legendary coach and founder of the Midwood High School wrestling team in Brooklyn, New York.

On Saturday, April 27, Midwood High School will be the scene of this year's edition of what has now become an annual tradition, MidwoodMania IV. The event runs from 11 AM to 3 PM, at the Campus Road Gymnasium of Midwood High School, 2839 Bedford Ave., Brooklyn, New York 11210, right across the street from Brooklyn College.

While MidwoodMania IV will see a full slate of wrestling matches in folkstyle, freestyle, and Greco-Roman wrestling involving Midwood alumni, coaches, wrestlers, and their rivals, this year there will be a major difference from previous years: Three of the ten matches will be tag team matches.

"We were thinking about doing something a little bit different," Coach Hero said in this interview, which was recorded by phone Tuesday. "One of the things that slows down a lot of wrestling matches is, it is very, very physically demanding." Many wrestlers, he noted, "get kind of tired by the third period, and things really tend to slow down a lot. And I thought what might be an interesting idea would be to create freestyle, folkstyle, real wrestling tag teams."

The three tag team matches at MidwoodMania IV will be held under folkstyle rules, but with some important modifications. Each match will be scheduled for three, four-minute periods. A wrestler can only tag out when there is a break or lull in the action, and must indicate this to the referee. Each team is allowed only one tag per period. Also, a pin ends the period, but not the match.

Coach Hero, who recently turned 55, will be wrestling in one of the tag team matches.

Our discussion with Coach Hero included many more details about MidwoodMania IV, his experience since returning to the mat, how events like this can be used to popularize wrestling, the possibility of the establishment of more tournaments for wrestlers who have finished their schooling, the absurdity of the decision to drop wrestling from the Olympic program, and more.

You can play or download No Holds Barred here and here. If one link doesn't work, please try another.

No Holds Barred is also available on mobile phones and iPads through Stitcher.

Also, No Holds Barred is available through iTunes.

The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", which is also available on iTunes by composer Ian Snow.

No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by:

ONE Fighting Championship. ONE FC is Asia's largest and most prestigious mixed martial arts event. ONE FC features the best Asian fighters and has initiated the ONE Asia Partnership Network, which includes most of the major MMA promotions and MMA gyms in Asia. For more information, go to their web site, at ONEFC.com.

Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. Your #1 source for exciting auction shopping and outstanding deals on just about anything! Top rated, most trusted auction site online. Where do you shop? Beezid.com - Penny Auctions.

American Top Team. Whether you're a beginner or a champion, train with the champions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, wrestling, grappling, and mixed martial arts at American Top Team. Check out their web site at http://americantopteam.com/.

Labels: Brooklyn, Coach George Hero, Eddie Goldman, Midwood High School, MidwoodMania, No Holds Barred, tag teams, wrestling

Labels: Bob Backlund, Brooklyn, Coach George Hero, Eddie Goldman, Jakub Pawlowski, John Klein, Midwood Wrestling Exhibition 2012, No Holds Barred

Labels: Brooklyn, Coach George Hero, Eddie Goldman, Midwood High School, Midwood Wrestling Exhibition 2012, No Holds Barred, wrestling

Labels: Brooklyn, Coach George Hero, Eddie Goldman, Midwood, MidwoodMania, No Holds Barred, wrestling

SecondsOut Radio with Eddie Goldman

On this week's edition of SecondsOut Radio, host Eddie
Goldman begins by speaking with unbeaten junior middleweight Yuri Foreman (24-0, 8 KOs) of Brooklyn, N.Y. He next fights Thursday, April 3, against veteran Saul Roman (28-4, 24 KOs) at the Aviator Sports Arena in Brooklyn, N.Y. This card will be televised live in the U.S. on Versus.

Next, we turn our attention to the issues of the media, the Internet, and boxing. We speak with Jacqui Snow, a moderator of the very popular MySpace Boxing Forum, which has over seven thousand members. We discuss the importance of the Internet in general and MySpace in particular for boxing, and how the pay-per-view business model being used by many television networks such as HBO is being outstripped by the growth of technology.

It is free to listen to SecondsOut Radio, but you must register to gain access to it. Just click here, and listen, learn, and enjoy.

Labels: Aviator Sports Arena, boxing, Brooklyn, Eddie Goldman, HBO, Jacqui Snow, MySpace, MySpace Boxing Forum, pay-per-view, Saul Roman, SecondsOut Radio, Versus, Yuri Foreman

SecondsOut Radio with Eddie Goldman

On this week's edition of SecondsOut Radio, host Eddie Goldman reviews the IBF junior welterweight title fight between champion Paulie Malignaggi (24-1, 5 KOs) and challenger Herman Ngoudjo (16-2, 9 KOs), which was held Saturday, January 5, 2008, at Bally's Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City. In this fight, Malignaggi retained his title with a 12-round unanimous decision.

We spoke with both Paulie Malignaggi and Herman Ngoudjo, as well as Malignaggi's promoter, Lou DiBella of DiBella Entertainment, and Ngoudjo's promoter, Yvon Michel of GYM (Groupe Yvon Michel), shortly after this fight Saturday night. We discussed their divergent views on the judges' scoring and the fight itself.

We also spoke with former light heavyweight world champion Glen Johnson, who scored an eighth-round TKO over Hugo Pineda on the undercard, about his fight and his plans to face WBC champion Chad Dawson April 12.

It is free to listen to SecondsOut Radio, but you must register to gain access to it. Just click here, and listen, learn, and enjoy.

Labels: Atlantic City, boxing, Brooklyn, Cameroon, Canada, Eddie Goldman, Glen Johnson, Herman Ngoudjo, Lou DiBella, No Holds Barred, Paulie Malignaggi, Quebec, Radio-Canada, Showtime, Yvon Michel

NO HOLDS BARRED on PodOmatic

On this edition of NO HOLDS BARRED, host Eddie Goldman previews the IBF junior welterweight title fight between champion Paulie Malignaggi (23-1, 5 KOs) and challenger Herman Ngoudjo (16-1, 9 KOs). This fight will be held Saturday, January 5, 2008, at Bally's Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey, and shown live on Showtime in the U.S. and on Radio-Canada Television in Canada.

We spoke with both Paulie Malignaggi and Herman Ngoudjo at the prefight news conference Wednesday in New York. We also spoke with Malignaggi's promoter, Lou DiBella of DiBella Entertainment, and Ngoudjo's promoter, Yvon Michel of GYM (Groupe Yvon Michel), about what to expect in this fight.

To listen to NO HOLDS BARRED, click here and just press the play button on the player.

You can also download it by scrolling down that page and clicking on the download link (right-click to save it).

You can also listen to it through the player on this blog and the NO HOLDS BARRED MySpace page, also by pressing the play button on the player.

Also, NO HOLDS BARRED is available through iTunes.

The show is in MP3 format, so may take some time to download.

If you want to leave a comment on the show, you can do so at on this blog.

The NO HOLDS BARRED theme song is called "The Heist", by musician Ian Carpenter.

NO HOLDS BARRED is free to listen to and is sponsored by:

Art of War, the undisputed arena fighting championship, promoted by SUN Sports and Entertainment, producing world class mixed martial arts events. For more information, check out their web site, ArtOfWarLive.com.

IFL, the International Fight League, the world's first professional mixed martial arts league. Make sure to check out their regular TV shows on FSN (Fox Sports Net) in the U.S. and to check your local listings for dates and times. Check out the IFL web site, ifl.tv, for a listing of IFL live events and their TV schedule.

Gladiator Challenge, shaking up the mixed martial arts world since 1999, and now with 30 shows per year. For more news and info, check out their web site, GladiatorChallenge.com.

BJJMart.com, your premier source for all Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu gear, videos, books, and much more.

Gladiator Magazine, for in-depth coverage of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, submission grappling, and MMA, as well as lifestyle articles on surfing, cars, movies, and more. Gladiator Magazine is available at any major bookstore and online at BJJMart.com or Jiu Jitsu Pro Gear.

FightBeat.com, for news, results, interviews, and free exclusive videos from the worlds of boxing and mixed martial arts.

Labels: Atlantic City, boxing, Brooklyn, Cameroon, Canada, combat sports, Eddie Goldman, Herman Ngoudjo, Lou DiBella, No Holds Barred, Paulie Malignaggi, Quebec, Radio-Canada, Showtime, Yvon Michel