NO HOLDS BARRED

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman presents a no holds barred analysis of why the sport of wrestling, dropped from the Olympic program in February, received a reprieve at the International Olympic Committee's Executive Board meeting of May 29, and was included on a shortlist of three sports vying for inclusion on the program of the 2020 Olympic Games.

Discussed are the blunders and some of the backroom machinations which led to wrestling at first being dropped from the Olympics, as well as the real power struggle which resulted in it finishing first in the voting for the sports on this shortlist.

Essential to understanding this power struggle is grasping analysis of investigative reporter Jens Weinreich in his article Who rules world sport? Part 1: Vladimir Putin, Marius Vizer and Sheikh Ahmad Al-Sabah. (That article is in German, so use a service like Google Translate if needed.)

The influence of Putin and his allies on events that transpired in both the IOC and FILA, the international wrestling federation, is highlighted. Also discussed are why FILA dropped grappling and amateur MMA, the urgent need for a battle against corruption in wrestling, the election of Marius Vizer as president of SportAccord and his proposal for a united World Championship event for the many Olympic and non-Olympic sports which are part of SportAccord, 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: corruption, Eddie Goldman, FILA, grappling, International Olympic Committee, IOC, Jens Weinreich, Marius Vizer, MMA, No Holds Barred, Russia, shortlist, SportAccord, Vladimir Putin, wrestling

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman presents the audio of the May 29 and May 31 news conferences by the International Olympic Committee announcing the shortlist of three sports to be considered for inclusion on the program of the 2020 Olympics. Both news conferences took place in St. Petersburg, Russia, where the IOC was having its Executive Board meeting.

The May 29 news conference started with the announcement by Mark Adams, IOC's Director of Communications, of the three sports which made the shortlist: wrestling, the joint bid of baseball and softball, and squash. Questions from reporters were also answered by Franco Carraro, the chairman of the Olympic Programme Commission. They explained the official criteria used to rate the Olympic sports and federations, and how the process of dropping and adding sports takes place. The full IOC is scheduled to decide in September which one, and only one, of these three sports will be on the 2020 program.

The May 31 news conference featured IOC President Jacques Rogge, whose term also ends in September, when there will be elections for his successor. He discussed, among other topics, why the IOC put in place a limit on the number of sports, federations, and athletes in the Olympics; why some sports and federations are made to leave the Olympic Games so as to have the "best Olympic program"; his views on the changes in wrestling since the new regime took over in FILA, the international wrestling federation, in February; the proposal by incoming SportAccord President Marius Vizer for a new united World Championships event involving all SportAccord federations, both Olympic and non-Olympic, to be held every four years; reflections on his career as IOC President; 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: baseball, Eddie Goldman, Franco Carraro, International Olympic Committee, IOC, Jacques Rogge, Marius Vizer, Mark Adams, No Holds Barred, shortlist, softball, SportAccord, sports, squash, wrestling