By Michael Kelley ’14 & Mick Kowaleski ’14

In last weekend’s matchup between Cal and USC, Golden Bears’ coach Mike Montgomery shoved Allen Crabbe, his star player, during a timeout when his team was down by12. 

Kelley: It is never okay for a coach to shove or engage in a physical altercation with a player.

With that out of the way, allow me to explain why, and I will steer clear of the obvious reason. I don’t think it works. Before the shove, Cal was down 12. Ten minutes after the shove, they were down 10. After re-entering the game, Crabbe went 1-6. Then, nine minutes later, out of the blue, he began stroking it, making three threes in less than two minutes. Cal went on to win, in large part due to Crabbe, but I am adamant that it had nothing to do with the shove. Rather, it is a matter of a superior player and a superior team on the court that won this game.

The icing on the cake is when Montgomery justified the shove, saying, “It worked, didn’t it?” What a moron. He embarrassed his leading scorer, his program, his university, and himself.

Montgomery has been reprimanded by the Pac-12, and although the punishment has not been disclosed, it has been confirmed that there will be no suspension.

Now I ask, what would the aftermath of this incident be if Cal did not pull off the comeback?

Kowaleski: Whoa, Mike. Easy there, tiger.

I know you were a big track guy back in your heyday, but I don’t know how much experience you’ve had playing an organized sport as intense and emotionally driven as basketball or football. You really need to play in the right state of mind, and when you look as listless as Crabbe was pre-shove, sometimes you need a jolt of emotion in order to jumpstart your play.

I played football for a decade, from when I was seven through my junior year of high school. It was not uncommon for a coach to grab me, or other players, by the jersey or even forcefully tap my helmet in order to get my head into the game. I needed it. It grabbed my attention and I was motivated to play harder to avoid another altercation like that. A lot of people don’t understand the intensity of organized sports. I didn’t have a problem with it when it happened to me, and I think people are drastically overreacting to the situation.

I’m not saying Montgomery didn’t go over the line with the two-handed shove. He did. But Crabbe picked up the pace after that, went on a nice run, and finished with 23 points and six steals. The Bears won by eight.

The amount of coddling in sports is getting ridiculous. Everyone needs to stop worrying about whether people’s feelings are getting hurt and play the game.

Wrestling, the oldest Olympic sport, was recently cut from the 2020 Games by the International Olympic Committee. 

Kelley: I blame the WWE for this: Monday Night Raw, the Royal Rumble, The Rock, Stone Cold Steve Austin, the Big Show, etc. It’s no lie – it has appeal, as evidenced by when its performers are jumping off ladders to grab a suitcase, or brawling in the famous Steel Cage match.

Amateur wrestling, on the other hand, doesn’t have much TV appeal, which is the reason for its exclusion. But that doesn’t mean it should be removed from the Olympic Games. Its place in Olympic history goes back to the first games held in Greece in 776 B.C. It is a sport that draws participants from over 200 nations.

Instead of wrestling, the IOC opted for the modern pentathlon – a five day event that features pistol shooting, show jumping, a cross-country run, a freestyle swim, and fencing.

So you’re telling me that the pentathlon belongs over wrestling? Outrageous.

The battle isn’t over yet. There remains one vacancy in the 2020 games, and wrestling is among the sports that have to lobby for its survival. The decision will be made in May.

Kowaleski: Insult show jumping as much as you like, but don’t come after the WWE and WrestleMania unless you want the People’s Elbow, my friend.

Besides that, though, I’m in complete agreement. Yeah, people don’t watch as much wrestling as they do gymnastics, soccer, and swimming, but c’mon. They were wrestling in Olympia, for Zeus’ sake. OLYMPIA. As in the city that the OLYMPICS are named after.

Wrestling’s place in history is not the only reason that it shouldn’t be cut from the Olympics. It is still a relevant sport, after all. Who can forget Rohan Murphy, the double amputee who wrestled for Penn State and won the hearts of a nation?

Not only that, but now wrestling has to petition for its inclusion in the 2020 games with such acclaimed competitions as show climbing and wakeboarding. Wait, maybe exclamation points will make that sound better: Show climbing! Wakeboarding! Coming to the 2020 Olympics!

Nope. Still sucks.