My last comment on this issue: I just received notification from another individual, a moderator, of an email they received making comment about me and my activity on these forums, even calling me an “attention whore,” and talking about things that I have “pimped on the board.” The email even stated that “You know if there is anyone I wouldn’t trust with my kid it would be him.” There was much more but truth be told that I believe that it is appropriate to have fun, am not afraid to speak up and when it comes to standing up for the kids or supporting this great sport of wrestling. I have coached for over 30 years now on some level, and have participated in sport for a longer period than that.

I find it sad that much has been said to me on and off board about some of the issues surrounding the issue of trading singlets at USA events. There is the impression that because one has a negative opinion of a current event that they all of a sudden don’t have a valid opinion. Yet when I looked at this poll this morning, there was not a single voice of opposition to the kids trading singlets at Fargo or other national tournaments. The overwhelming majority of posts and opinions by others on the national forums also support this position.

To the individual who will send someone else an email but don’t have the courage to contact me personally. Rest assured, I have no desire to be everyone’s friend, frankly there are some people that I don’t like, and people who go behind another’s back to spread discord is someone I could really care less for. Regarding “the pimping” of items, as a point of clarification, I checked my records this morning and I lost $558 on the t-shirts that I had made up last year for the Kansas All-American’s. Many people can verify that I gave away most of those t-shirts. Individuals at the state tournament were just given shirts last year without even asking for them. The wrestlers on the tag-teams gave them out, and I personally gave them out, even had some offer me money and I wouldn’t take it. I don’t know who they are but they do.

I must also say this in closing, and this is no joke. I have issue with they way some of the things on this board has been going. For a moderator to call someone out and essentially call another moderator a liar is something I have issue with. I have issue with it because many individuals on this forum know that when they have spoken bad to me about certain persons I have stood up for them, and taken up for them, even discouraging the comments that are made, I won’t reveal who those people are but they will read this and know. The concept of an “attention whore” frankly bothers me. I would be lying if I said otherwise. I would have hoped that my contributions to Kansas wrestling would have been positive, unfortunately for some they have not been and their perceptions of my involvement with wrestling has been taken the wrong way. As a result I am removing myself from these boards for a lengthy period of time. I have already spoken this morning to my wife and son about making sure to hold me accountable to not be on here again, at least until the start up of the kids wrestling season.

For those that I have sent private messages to, encouraging peace, encouraging the support of wrestling, you know where I am coming from. To those who make assumptions without ever making the effort to get to know the person, hopefully this will be evidence of the fact that the last thing I wanted to be was a voice of dissention and disruption. For those others that know me, you will know that I try to keep my word so any correspondence after the posting of this post will need to be made via email as I won’t be back on the boards for a while, at least until the start of the kids wrestling season. Until then, keep posting, keep it clean, and support the kids.

I, for one, am really saddened by the events of the past few days. So much of the negativity of recent posts is in essence, “airing of dirty laundry” and in some cases “personal attacks” that I feel have no place in our forum. Our forum is supposedly to support a “kids” organization and is read by many minors.

Do I support everything that individuals have to say and the battles they choose to fight? Absolutely not! But if I am strongly in disagreement I have a couple of choices to make. (I try to do this every time) Seldom, do I respond immediately to people I have issue with. I run the scenarios through my head, examining whether I feel strong enough about an issue to make it an issue. If I do I will try to gently persuade, perhaps publicly, that person to my line of thinking. If that fails I will take the issue up privately with that individual. Kind of the old bear bait should be honey!

I guess I am a victim of my upbringing. I was taught the value of the “Golden Rule.” I do care what others think of me and do not wish to be on the public scene of either calling someone out or being called out. (a recent event has really troubled me where I didn’t do this) Seldom am I confrontational … maybe to a fault.

Do we have people on our forum that are after the attention they get from posting? Maybe … maybe not … either way, I don’t really care, it is entertainment (sometimes informational) for me and I can choose to read postings or not. Perhaps we have a few people with thin skin and big toes but I still respect their opinion, whether or not I agree with it.

I am saddened … that I felt compelled to write this.

Mike, I find your information valuable and I don't agree with everything that people post and I read. I have always thought what you do, you do for the good and information of the wrestling community. I will look forward to you showing back up on the wrestling sites. Don't stay away too long.

I think it is ridiculous that people are being pushed away from this forum because of what others have to say about them. Who in the world would insult a guy like Mike Furches. He's one of the best guys I know. I've been very lucky to become close to Mike since the Buhler clinic where the first tag team match was wrestled. How can anyone have negative comments about an individual that would dedicate so much time to helping Tyler? Mike is a great guy, and he wants to make wrestling in the state of Kansas better. At times I really think it's a lost cause. There are a few individuals that seem to have nothing good to say about other people. I think it's out of pure jealousy to be honest. What's sad about this is the jealous one's are big names in Kansas wrestling, not because they were once good wrestlers, but because they are in high places. And if you have problems with a person, why don't you take that problem to them? As opposed to being a coward about it and pretty much tattling on them. I know many individuals will miss the presence of Mike on this forum. And I think it's only a matter of time before I take the same road he did. Things are getting to ridiculous for even me.

Mike, don't let em' get to you ..... don't let em' get in your head and cause you to abstain from participating on the forum ........ we're doing OK here on the forum ....... sure there are a few rough spots ....... but this is for wrestling ...... for wrestlers, coaches, fans and other supporters ...... you are all of the above and a much valued member of this community ....... I certainly will respect your decision either way because I respect you ...... but please reconsider ........ consider the source of this calumnious name-calling and put it aside ...... with the loss of members such as yourself, minds narrow and spirits dampen ....... not good for any "forum" ....... hope to hear from you soon

What the heck did I miss? Someone direct me to where all of this commotion started.

I'm with you Swayz. What happened?

Ms. Jenni

I for one do not know exactly why this happened but I find it revulsive. A man, Mike Furches, A Coach, A Father, A Supporter, and most of all a man. He says what he feels is right and is his own opinion. He doesn't do it for the attention or the controversy he does it because that's what we all do. Sure there are the few people who do it for the wrong reasons but overall everyone on the boards does it out of pure entertainment, that is to reply to posts and be as witty and funny as we can be and serious also when needed. Just because Mike may be one of the more vocal people on here doesn't mean he's an "attention whore". It just means he has a lot to say or feels stronly about an issue at present.

If you cannot trust a minister with your kids who can you trust? You must be a true waste of an individual and need some help. Mike is a family man, that truely has experienced things we can only imagine in today's society, from his upbrining to where he is now. If you don't believe this, get to know him as a person not who he is on the boards. He truely has won a life long battle and now you come on here and attack the kind of man he is. Worse yet you come on here and don't even tell him what you think, last time I checked that was spelled c-o-w-a-r-d. If you really feel that strongly may I suggest you talk to him next time first before you go renting and raving on about how bad of a person he is to someone else?

Mike "pimping on the boards" I don't believe that for even one second. He has done nothing but support USA Wrestling to the fullest and has done things to further the advances of the sport. He was the one who organized our tag team match at state last year, a person who is such a bad person wouldn't have done that. A bad person also wouldn't have setup a foundation to honor an 8 year old hero like he did. A bad person wouldn't care so much about what he does and what he stands for.

I know first hand that those shirts were handed out at state last year, I helped throw them out to the stands. You never heard him say how much he lost and how bad the state was for not backing the idea. He just took his loss and kept fighting.

Now to whom this may concern-

I find you a coward as mentioned above. If you want to attack me I don't care. I believe that if you were any kind of man at all you wouldn't have done what you did but rather called Mike or emailed him etc. and told him how you felt instead of trying to act like an immature child about it and emailing someone and telling them how you felt. That's really mature on your part let me tell you.

Alex Ryan

Revulsive it not a word. Repulsive is though. So is revolting. I don't know which one you were going for.

Either describe the accusations rather well Lancer.

I have become friends with Mike Furches from this forum. I believe he is one of the best ambassadors that Kansas wrestling can have. I do not have any experience with this issue of the trading of the singlets at the Freestyle tournaments that has been prohibited by the contracts with the vendor All American Wrestling Supply (I believe that is the correct vendor). I have not posted on the issue for that reason. I have a tendency to side with Mike on this issue just because I trust him and his motives.

I will comment on Mike though. I do not know Mike as well as some of you because I am from the Overland Park area and he is from Wichita. But Mike makes so many tournaments that I have seen him at KC, Wichita and of course in Topeka at State. I always enjoy talking to him. He is a man devoted to God, family, other people and of course wrestling (especially Kansas wrestling). So I agree with Alex, Mike is a very fine man who gives a lot for his son Nathan and for the entire Kansas wrestling community.

I really enjoyed reading some of the other posts of support on this thread. Randy like Mike is also a man that I have gain a lot of respect for. Randy, I think that was a great post that rivals your reporting on the Metro Classic which is always excellent. There are some lessons for all of us in that post. Those were also very good posts of support from Curtis, superiorsteve and Alex.

Mike, as you know I took about an 8 month break from the boards a year ago for about the same reason. It was a good thing for me and I needed to do it at the time. I would not personally hesitate to do it again if I felt I needed it. For that reason I understand what you are doing but I hope it will not be for too long. In fact if you decide to break this fast, I believe it would be the best thing for this forum. You are a very good man and in my opinion that is how you project yourself on this forum. I think this forum needs you more than you need it. The time you spend off of it is a loss to the Kansas wrestling community. Hopefully you understand that you are held in very high esteem by probably 99% of the Kansas wrestling community and that part of the community knows you to be a man with great integrity and certainly not a person seeking fame from his extensive time committment to wrestling.

God bless you Mike. Take the time you need but hopefully it won't be that long. We will give you another hour. Just kidding, take all the time you need. I don't think you are going to need all the time I took. You handle this a lot better than I do, but sometimes a little time off for mental health can be a very good thing.

Vince and James,

I'll make sure I pass on you encouraging support to Mike. I talked with him today and he is just embarrased to say the least about certain behaviors and accusations that attack his devotion and integrity. I have been one that has been around Mike quite often and helped coach some of those young men we took up to Council Bluffs for the Mid American Nationals.

Mike is a man of God and doesn't make as much money as the average person in his profession. He finds himself making hospital visits and house calls at all times. He does this for the love of God and for being a decent human being. He approaches wrestling the same way...he doesn't have to do so many things for wrestling that he does, but he is always willing to help out.

He took a financial loss with his All American shirts so everybody could afford them at a reasonable price. He is a man of character and integrity and won't talk about people in an email behind their back like someone has about me on this site. I hope Mike will resurface on this site soon. I have been to his church and have heard him use the spirit of the sport to convey the message of God. He is truly an inspiring man who for some reason or another has incompotent idiots attacking him because he's an "attention whore." While some people might have posts that are 90% valid, at least his are 90% his own thoughts.

You get what you see with Mike and if he is angry he will tell you to your face. I know that several of us have learned from this site that there are snakes amongst the grass. Needless to say I hope we all know that Mike Furches isn't the one with the venomous tongue.

Who exactly is this person impugning Fike Murches's integrity? While I don't really know of the situations that brought this on (though I'm going to guess that the minister probably isn't at fault here), I would like to know who is involved, especially with the moderator vs. moderator controversy.

While I don't know the person in question, please inform me. On a note that may or may not be related...SichardDRalyer has been absent from this thread...

Those who are absent are those who usually instigate then flee when the masses come hunting.

Just an example of what lengths the guru of all things (Richard) will go to in order to prove he knows about EVERYTHING, even if it means arguing with those who live in that locale and try to correct the man. He may have time on his hands to research wrestling results to inform the wrestling community but besides that he means what to USAW-KS ? What exactly is his background in the sport ? Does he Coach or teach the sport or has he ever competed ? ...It was likely because he had his name out there so often posting results that got him the notoriety to win his position. How many post does he have by the way and a great many of late have not been about posting results. Perhaps he may be a little jealous of Mr. Furches. ..I'm sorry but I think if anyone desires attention it would be Richard. Anyone whom has been paying attention to the boards of late has been able to see his true colors & Frankly, I don't believe he is fitting of an officer of our organization.

Kevin Calhoon

P-Ridge is located between Leavenworth and Atchison.

SlamBam
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RichardDSalyer

Member
Member # 1977

posted April 14, 2005 11:37 AM
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quote:
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Originally posted by P. Pitbull's Old Dog:
Where exactly is Pleasant Ridge located?

Coach Peterman
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Pleasant Ridge High School

Pleasant Ridge High School is located in Easton, Kansas which is approximately fifteen miles West of Leavenworth.

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Richard D. Salyer
RichardDSalyer@sbcglobal.net
(316)541-2764
"We didn't get any handouts. We earned everything" Gene Keady

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Posts: 2536 | From: Wichita Metropolitan Area! | Registered: Jan 2003 | IP: Logged |

TIGER-75
Member
Member # 373

posted April 14, 2005 01:31 PM
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Pleasant Ridge is between Leavonworth and Atchison and NOT in Easton, although that is the mailing address.
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RichardDSalyer

Member
Member # 1977

posted April 14, 2005 02:10 PM
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quote:
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Originally posted by TIGER-75:
Pleasant Ridge is between Leavonworth and Atchison and NOT in Easton, although that is the mailing address.
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fanatic:

Easton is due West of Leavenworth, while Atchison is Northwest of Leavenworth. Kindly check you map and you will discover Easton is not between the two.

Where is Leavonworth?

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Richard D. Salyer
RichardDSalyer@sbcglobal.net
(316)541-2764
"We didn't get any handouts. We earned everything" Gene Keady

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TIGER-75
Member
Member # 373

posted April 14, 2005 02:31 PM
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How many times have you been to any of these places? Pleasant Ridge is just off Hwy 73 which is the highway between Atchison and Leavonworth. Easton is another few miles west. Then again he didn't ask where Easton is. If you find Lowemont on the map, the school is within a mile of it.
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KCWrestlersMom

Member
Member # 356

posted April 14, 2005 02:32 PM
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Easton is not due west of Leavenworth, but northwest. It looks more even on the map than it seems when you drive it. As the crow flies, it's not between Leavenworth and Atchison, but as the highway goes, it is.
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Posts: 252 | From: Kansas | Registered: Jan 2002 | IP: Logged |

RichardDSalyer

Member
Member # 1977

posted April 14, 2005 07:03 PM
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quote:
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Originally posted by TIGER-75:
How many times have you been to any of these places? Pleasant Ridge is just off Hwy 73 which is the highway between Atchison and Leavonworth. Easton is another few miles west. Then again he didn't ask where Easton is. If you find Lowemont on the map, the school is within a mile of it.
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Some years ago I traveled extensively throughout the state auditing Western Auto stores, however you have found a town I have never been to or heard of. Curiosity got the better of me and I had to dig out my official Kansas map again and Lowemont is not on the map.


quote:
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Originally posted by KCWrestlersMom:
Easton is not due west of Leavenworth, but northwest. It looks more even on the map than it seems when you drive it. As the crow flies, it's not between Leavenworth and Atchison, but as the highway goes, it is.
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I do not wish to belabor a trivial matter, however if one were to draw a line on a map from Leavenworth to Easton to Atchison, and back to Leavenworth the line would be triangular in shape. U. S. Highway 73 from Leavenworth to Atchison does not include Easton. A traveler has to exit off U. S. Highway 73 onto State Highway 192 and travel southwesterly to Easton, so as the highway goes, Easton is not between Leavenworth and Atchison!

The only direction I know for sure that the crow flies, is out of the milo field, directly towards one of my vehicles to leave a lovely splatter design on the hood and windshield.

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Richard D. Salyer
RichardDSalyer@sbcglobal.net
(316)541-2764
"We didn't get any handouts. We earned everything" Gene Keady

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bubowski
Member
Member # 4321

posted April 14, 2005 08:46 PM
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Easton is 4 miles down hiway 192 however pleasant ridge high school is not in Easton it is off hiway 192 just after the turnoff from hiway 7. technically easton is not directly between atchison and leavenworth but the high school is.
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Posts: 61 | From: kansas city | Registered: Dec 2004 | IP: Logged |

usawks1

Member
Member # 36

posted April 14, 2005 09:00 PM
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I'm glad we cleared that one up!

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Are you making a POSITIVE difference in the life of kids?

Randy Hinderliter
USAW Kansas
Coaches Certification and Development

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Posts: 750 | From: Ottawa | Registered: Jul 2001 | IP: Logged |

To a good man, a devout Christain, a loving father and a friend to Kansas wrestling:

Rocky Top will always be,
Home sweet home to me.
Good 'ol Rocky Top,
Rocky Top, Tennessee!

Randy and I were going to try a little "Seven Bridges Road" but the harmony would be a bit tricky. Be well, my friend, come back soon!

... and I don't think either of us is a tenor!

Bracketman, I think you and Randy should sing the national anthem at the opening of the Steveville Open Dodgeball tournament!

"Daddy sang bass, Mama sang tenor"...oh, never mind.

Superiorsteve - That is a wonderful idea! We could get Mike Furches to set up the accoustics. Very much looking forward to seeing you guys on Aug. 13. We could spare the good folks their hearing if we could get the National Anthem on tape or CD, though...

I'm a little like Randy, if it is more complicated than an 8-track or those round vinyl things (that's what my kids call records/LP's), we may be out of luck! I'm game for whatever works best...it's all good, isn't it?

if it wasn't as far away as it is i would volunteer to sing the national anthme for u guys but i don't think my ma will let me drive that far by myself