Well, if someone is into doing the opponent a favor and helping them win, I suppose they will handle to their utmost ability each time out of holds, thereby placing the burden back on their own dog again every other handle.

You wouldn't be able to see if I was sandbagging it a bit as a handler when the other entry is up, but you could be damned sure I was going to show the other guy up when it was our turn to scratch, even if it meant pulling my dog from the bottom and forcing the other guy to handle his.

Jack, there's no rule that says you must be anywhere other than in the pit when the show is going on. Now, I'm not suggesting that being 16 feet away in an opposite corner is a good place to be, but you don't need to be in the ready position the whole show after the first turn either. If you're up against a 300+ pound man who is over 60 years old, do you think he is going to be as fast on the handle as the 21 year old kid who is in shape? I'm not going to help a guy out any, that is "poor sportsmanship" to my own dog! My pick ups are going to match his pace when he is up to scratch, and there isn't a good ref in the country who would call a foul on that.