NO HOLDS BARRED

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman spoke with independent journalist, freelance writer, St. Louis cab driver, and youth wrestling coach Umar Lee.

Ferguson is a city in St. Louis County, Missouri, is part of the Greater St. Louis metropolitan area, and is just north of the City of St. Louis. It became the focus of international scrutiny when, on August 9 of this year, an unarmed African-American teenager, Michael Brown, was gunned down by a white police officer, Darren Wilson. Many eyewitnesses have said that Brown was surrendering, with his hands up, when he was shot and killed by Wilson. His body was left in the street for four hours.

Months of mass protests charging systematic police brutality, white supremacy, and racism have followed. Currently, there is a grand jury investigation going on to determine whether or not to bring charges against Wilson, as well as a civil rights investigation by the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Many people, however, are skeptical that these investigations will lead to justice for all in this case.

Ferguson is also a city which used to be known as a high school wrestling powerhouse. But in recent years, with the emergence of a majority African-American population, there has been disinvestment in the city along with white flight to the suburbs. Wrestling has declined as a result.

While working full-time and being active in the movement demanding justice for Michael Brown, Umar Lee has also found the time to issue a call for the development of more youth wrestling programs in Ferguson. We spoke with him by phone Thursday.

He explained: "When this whole situation in Ferguson developed -- you know, I'm a political guy, too, and I've been out there in the streets from day one -- I re-issued the call and said, 'Hey, all this fraternity of ex-wrestlers need to really think about what we can do for these kids that seem to be having a problem. We really need to reinvigorate our efforts to start this wrestling program.'"

While from the 1950s to the 1990s the area was a wrestling powerhouse, he said, "Over the course of the last 15 years, there's been a sharp decline in wrestling in North St. Louis County, which was once really a breadbasket for wrestling talent." Factors included job loss and the closing of factories in the area, resulting in white flight to other counties, many coaches leaving the area, and the subsequent drying up of many high school wrestling programs in the largely African-American areas.

We discussed the plans to create new wrestling programs to provide the benefits of wrestling to the youth of the area, the need for wrestling to reach out much more into the inner cities, the role of former wrestlers in continuing their commitment to the sport, how the holding of the NCAA Div. I Wrestling Championships in St. Louis numerous times in recent years has not resulted in the growth of wrestling in places like Ferguson, what to expect in the political situation in Ferguson and St. Louis, and much, much more.

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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: Eddie Goldman, Ferguson, Michael, Mike Brown, Missouri, No Holds Barred, St. Louis, Umar Lee, wrestling

NO HOLDS BARRED on PodOmatic

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman speaks with our correspondent, veteran wrestling journalist and photographer Bob Mayeri, with our annual preview of the NCAA Div. I Wrestling Championships. This event takes place from Thursday, March 19, to Saturday, March 21, at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Missouri.

We discuss the clear favorite to capture yet another national championship, the unbeaten Iowa Hawkeyes. We preview the title race both for the teams and for the ten weight classes, listing who the favorites seem to be. And we discuss the new qualifying system put in place this year by the NCAA to avoid some of the inequities of past years.

There will be extensive live television and online video coverage in the U.S. of the 2009 NCAA Div. I Wrestling Championships.

The finals start Saturday, March 21, at 6:30 PM EDT, and will be shown live both on TV on ESPN and online at ESPN360.com. Here is the entire schedule, with all times EDT:

Fri., Mar 20
11 a.m. - Quarterfinals – Live on ESPNU HD / ESPN360.com
7 p.m. - Semifinals – Live on ESPNU HD / ESPN2 HD / ESPN360.com

Sat., Mar 21
10:30 a.m. - Championship Medal Round - Live ESPNU HD / ESPN360.com
6:30 p.m. - Finals – Live ESPN HD / ESPN360.com

You can play or download No Holds Barred here. You can also download No Holds Barred here. If one link does not work, please try another. The show is in MP3 format, so may take some time to download.

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:

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.

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

Wrestling 411, providing coverage of the sport of wrestling on TV, the Internet, and radio. Wrestling 411 is produced by Media Sports Productions, whose sole mission is the marketing and promotion of the sport of wrestling.

Labels: Bob Mayeri, college wrestling, Eddie Goldman, FILA, freestyle wrestling, Greco-Roman wrestling, NCAA, NCAA wrestling, No Holds Barred, St. Louis, USA Wrestling, women's wrestling, wrestling

NO HOLDS BARRED on PodOmatic

On this edition of NO HOLDS BARRED, host Eddie Goldman speaks with our correspondent, veteran wrestling journalist and photographer Bob Mayeri, about the 2008 NCAA Div. I Wrestling Championship. This event takes place from Thursday, March 20, to Saturday, March 22, at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Missouri.

We discuss the relative parity which has emerged this season in college wrestling, and both preview the team race and list the favorites in each of the ten weight classes. We also discuss some of the important wrestling-related activities which will be going on between sessions of this tournament.

The finals will be shown live on ESPN and ESPN360.com starting at 8:30 PM EDT/7:30 PM CDT Saturday night, March 22. The quarterfinals will air on ESPNU and ESPN360.com Friday, March 21, starting at 11 AM EDT/10 AM CDT. The semifinals will be syndicated by ESPNU Friday evening starting at 7 PM EDT/6 PM CDT, so check your local listings. ESPNU will also carry the medal rounds live Saturday morning, March 22, starting at 11 AM EDT/10 AM CDT.

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

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Also, NO HOLDS BARRED is available through iTunes.

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

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:

YAMMA Pit Fighting. The producers of the original UFC and Live Nation, worldwide leaders in live entertainment, present YAMMA Pit Fighting mixed martial arts. On the streets, it's against the law. In the pit, it IS the law.

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: Bob Mayeri, college wrestling, Eddie Goldman, FILA, freestyle wrestling, Greco-Roman wrestling, NCAA, NCAA wrestling, No Holds Barred, St. Louis, USA Wrestling, women's wrestling, wrestling