COLUMBUS, Ohio – Former Ohio State wrestling standouts J Jaggers and Mike Pucillo have been added to the Buckeye coaching staff head coach Tom Ryan announced Wednesday. Jaggers and Pucillo join Ryan and associate head coach Lou Rosselli . “We are proud to add one of the great wrestling Buckeyes to the Ohio state coaching staff,” Ryan, who is entering his fifth season leading the Scarlet and Gray, said. “Mike has been a standout in every aspect of his life for many years.

When Evan Dunham first stepped into the Octagon at UFC 95 against Per Eklund, it would have come off as a fool’s notion to think that just a year-and-a-half later the up-and-comer would be talking about Sean Sherk as a worthy opponent for him. It’s nothing cocky, it’s just the nature of mixed martial arts—put together a four-fight winning streak in the UFC en-route to an overall 11-0 professional record and suddenly former champions are turned into challengers in this sport. It doesn’t help that Sherk hasn’t fought since a loss to Frankie Edgar in May of 2009—a length of time that stretches back further than Dunham’s entire time as a lightweight in the UFC—but still. It’s funny how quick a one-time cable guy from the Northwest can gain status over a battle-tested star in the game.

COLUMBUS, Ohio – With the release of the Ohio State wrestling team’s 2010-11 schedule, highlights include home matches vs. Big Ten opponents Michigan in January and Minnesota the following month. Also of note are the Buckeye Duals Nov. 21 in which the Scarlet and Gray will welcome programs from around the region to compete at historic St. John Arena. The Buckeyes, who finished second in the regular-season standings in 2009-10, will again contend for the league title in arguably the toughest conference in the country – five Big Ten programs, including Ohio State finished in the Top 10 at the 2010 NCAA Championships. The Scarlet and Gray will begin its conference quest Dec. 19 when it travels to Penn State. The road does not get any easier as the Buckeyes will head to Iowa Jan. 23, Illinois Feb. 4 and Wisconsin Feb. 11. The Buckeyes’ home schedule proves just as exciting with Michigan State and Michigan traveling down Route 23 to Columbus Jan. 16 and Jan. 28, respectively. The Spartans return to Columbus in 2010-11 after the Buckeyes wrapped up their regular-season home slate last year with a 30-7 victory vs. Michigan State on Senior Day. Ohio State is hosting the Wolverines in back-to-back seasons for the first time …

A chance meeting with UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar provided Sunderland scrapper Ross ‘The Real Deal’ Pearson with all the answers he was looking for. Over the course of seven days, Pearson quickly realized Edgar would be too strong for BJ Penn in their return match and also discovered just what it takes to reach and remain at the top of the lightweight pile. “I recently visited Frankie’s camp in New York and had the chance to train and wrestle with him and his Rutgers wrestling team,” says Pearson. “I learned so much from those guys in seven days. The stuff I’ve picked up has improved my game so much and also given me an insight into just how talented and hard-working the current UFC lightweight champ is. “I wasn’t working too much on taking guys down, but I was learning how to keep things on my feet and deal with a wrestler who wants to take me down. It was a tremendous experience, as Edgar is one of the best wrestlers in the UFC, and the kind of fighter I wouldn’t be able to work with back home in …

Chad George: A Man Converted Sep-3-2010 By Frank Curreri Image may help a fighter pay the rent, but it won’t win him many scraps. Until recently, Chad George acted like it did. Ever since turning pro back in 2005, part of the Californian’s pre-fight ritual involved dreaming up outrageous hairstyles. Developing new styles was a time-consuming endeavor, but George trusted that the wacky hairdos would boost his marketability and actually help him mentally transform into a warrior as a fight inched closer. That five-year-old philosophy died on March 6 following a 31-second loss to Scott Jorgensen. George, 28, now professes to be a changed man. No more pink dyes. No more eye-catching manes. Suddenly, in his mind, conventional has become cool. “You’re going to see a clean-cut kid who’s going to go out there and just let my hands speak for me,” George declared weeks before his Sept. 30 showdown against Antonio Banuelos (17-6) at WEC 51. “I’ve always tried to outdo each hairdo that I had in the past. I did that my whole career since 2005, when I created …

We’ve heard the tale time and again.

U.S. FREESTYLE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS ROSTER 55 kg/121 lbs. – Obe Blanc, Stillwater, Okla. (Gator WC) 60 kg/132 lbs. – Mike Zadick, Solon, Iowa (Gator WC) 66 kg/145.5 lbs. – Brent Metcalf, Iowa City, Iowa (New York AC) 74 kg/163 lbs. – Travis Paulson, Ames, Iowa (Sunkist Kids) 84 kg/185 lbs. – Jake Herbert, Evanston, Ill. (New York AC) 96 kg/211.5 lbs. – J.D. Bergman , Columbus, Ohio (New York AC) 120 kg/264.5 lbs. – Les Sigman, State College, Pa. (Nittany Lion WC) Coaches – Zeke Jones (Colorado Springs, Colo.); Bill Zadick (Colorado Springs, Colo.); Brandon Slay (Colorado Springs, Colo.); John Smith (Stillwater, Okla.); Terry Brands (Iowa City, Iowa) College affiliations – Iowa (Zadick, Metcalf, Coach Brands, Coach Zadick), Oklahoma State (Blanc, Coach Smith), Iowa State (Paulson), Lock Haven (Blanc), Northwestern (Herbert), Ohio State (Bergman), UN-Omaha (Sigman), Arizona State (Coach Jones), Univ. of Pennsylvania (Coach Slay) COLORADO SPRINGS – Past World champions Dremiel Byers and Kristie Davis will lead the 21-member U.S. wrestling team…

KO 1 Igor Vovchanchyn – PRIDE Total Elimination 2003 – August 10, 2003 “Right leg hospital, left leg cemetery.” Maybe the greatest, and certainly the most intimidating, quote in mixed martial arts history, and it definitely applies to the fighting style of Cro Cop, who used his signature left head kick to blast out the vastly underrated Vovchanchyn out in the first round. It was Cro Cop’s sixth MMA win against no losses and two draws, and coupled with his knockout of Heath Herring two months earlier, it put him right on track for a shot at the PRIDE heavyweight title. KO 1 Dos Caras Jr. – PRIDE Bushido 1 – October 5, 2003 Before Cro Cop would get that shot at the interim heavyweight belt though, there was a little business to be taken care of, as he helped kick off PRIDE’s Bushido series against pro wrestler Dos Caras Jr. Now mind you, this will never match some of Cro Cop’s big wins over legit competition, but as far as being a guilty pleasure, it doesn’t get any guiltier than this. Looking almost disdainful at the mask-wearing …

BOSTON, August 28 – Hometown jitters? Not for Bridgewater’s Joe Lauzon, who thrilled his local fans at TD Garden with a one-sided submission victory over his Ultimate Fighter season five teammate Gabe Ruediger, who saw his Octagon return spoiled Saturday night by a first round armbar. Lauzon took the fight to Ruediger at the bell, landing with two quick rights before scoring with a slam to the mat. While on the ground Lauzon got even busier, searching for submissions in between hard strikes to the head. With a little over three minutes left, Ruediger got back to his feet briefly, only to get slammed back to the mat. Moments later, Lauzon ended the bout, sinking in an armbar that produced a tap out at 2:01 of the round. With the win, Lauzon – who was fighting in Massachusetts for the first time since 2006 -ups his record to 18-5; Ruediger falls to 17-6. Nik Lentz remained unbeaten in the Octagon, scoring an uneventful three round unanimous decision win over Andre Winner in a…

BOSTON, August 28 – Let the reign truly begin. In what was almost a continuation of their April bout, UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar shut out the man he beat for the belt at UFC 112, BJ Penn, via unanimous decision in the UFC 118 main event Saturday night at TD Garden, silencing any naysayers who called the first win a fluke. “I want to thank BJ, he truly brought the best out of me,” said Edgar, who took the bout via three scores of 50-45. “Frankie fought a great fight, he’s the man,” said Penn. “Much respect.” Penn was emotionless as he made his way into battle; conversely, the champion practically ran up the aisle from his locker room to the Octagon, eager for the fight to begin. At 12:11am local time, he got his wish, and the action got underway immediately, with the two trading punches and Edgar following up with a takedown of the former champ. Penn locked Edgar’s arms up, and with 3:22 …