Ohio State redshirt freshman Logan Stieber won the NCAA wrestling title at 133 lbs on Saturday, helping Ohio State to a 5th-place finish in the team standings. Penn State won their second national title in a row with three individual national champions, and were followed in the team standings by Minnesota and Iowa, giving the Big Ten four of the top five teams in the tournament. Big Ten wrestlers won the championships in 7 of the 10 weight classes.

Stieber defeated the top seed and defending national champion Jordan Oliver of Oklahoma State in the finals, avenging his last loss, a decision to Oliver in the National Duals, after which Stieber won 17 straight matches to win the Big Ten and NCAA championships.

For those of you who thought that Free Agency was just a myth, a legend perpetrated by the bourgeoisie to enrage us, a few Free Agents have been spotted and even signed by the Browns in the last 24 hours.

Yesterday, Cleveland signed Frostee Rucker - DE, formerly from Cincy - to a 5 year, $21 million ($8 mil guaranteed) contract.  It appears that the Browns have informed Frostee that he will start at RDE in place of the invisible Jayme Mitchell.  At 6'3, 280 lbs, Rucker is a decent End, certainly an upgrade over Mitchell, even if he's probably not going to be a true game-changer.  He had 44 tackles and 4 sacks last year and was part of one of the better D-Lines in the league.

Although he'll start at End, Rucker has the size and experience to play inside on clear pass-rush downs.

To further add depth to the position, the Browns added Juqua Parker - DE, formerly from Philly.  He signed a 1 year, $3 mil contract today.  The 6'2, 250 lb. Parker is clearly a depth signing.  He only had 1.5 sacks last season in sparing play, but logged 14 in '09-'10.  He will likely only take the field on pass-rush downs.

Last, Cleveland re-signed Dimitri Patterson (CB) to a 3 year, $16 mil contract ($6 mil guaranteed).  Patterson played the Nickel for the Browns last season and was generally solid.  His contract is starter-type money, and it is thought that he will start in place of Sheldon Brown this year, moving Brown to Safety and Buster Skrine to Nickel.  If this is the case, you can likely cross Morris Claiborne off your draft list at the #4 slot.

Peyton Hillis, on the other hand, signed a 1 year, $3 mil contract to back up Jamaal Charles in Kansas City.  Hillis' people claim that the Browns never made him an offer, but it's hard for a team to make a counter-offer when you sign the first contract that comes down the pike.  It's pretty clear that Hillis just wanted the hell out of Cleveland, and Heckert probably didn't feel he was important enough to stop.  Hillis is a decent back and his departure leaves a hole, but he's hardly irreplaceable.  There's not too much available in Free Agency, so look for Cleveland to take a RB in the first 3 picks.

Cleveland Browns General Manager Tom Heckert met with media members for the first time since having heart surgery last month to answer questions about the upcoming free agency period and the 2012 NFL draft.

Heckert talked about the quarterback position and squashed any expectations for the Browns going after recently released quarterback Peyton Manning, "That's probably not a direction we're going to go.'' He later hinted toward shying away from signing any quarterback via free agency, so that likely eliminates Matt Flynn and Kevin Kolb from consideration.

The Browns like four quarterbacks in this year’s draft class. Luck and Griffin are the obvious candidates, but Heckert is also high on two other Big 12 quarterbacks in Ryan Tannehill and Brandon Weeden. Heckert practically gushed when talking about Weeden, praising his maturity, "I like him a lot. He's 28, but he's mature. He's won a lot of games, thrown for a lot of yards."

Heckert also said the Browns are happy to be selecting fourth overall -- and he may as well have been talking with the Rams organization rather than Cleveland media when he said, “We feel comfortable staying at No. 4 and getting a really good player. We feel comfortable moving back and getting extra picks too.'' Most seem to think that this comment -- combined with his remarks about Brandon Weeden -- hint toward a little gamesmanship toward the Rams, who hold the No. 2 pick in the draft. If the Browns want a realistic shot of attaining Griffin, they’d have to trade up to get him.

More details of Heckert’s presser can be found here and here.

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Ohio State dropped its fifth conference game of the year in a 63-60 loss to the Wisconsin Badgers Sunday evening, but the Buckeyes still have a chance to win a share of the Big Ten regular season championship if it wins out.

The Buckeyes (11-5 in the Big Ten) are currently tied for second place with Michigan, and both teams are just one game back in the loss column from the Spartans. Michigan State had a strong grip on first place and could have locked up the conference championship last night -- but the Spartans fell on the road to a tough Indiana team. Michigan State’s loss gives the Buckeyes new life -- and if Ohio State can beat Northwestern on the road -- the Buckeyes will travel to East Lansing to battle Michigan State for a share of the conference title. The Wolverines could also claim a share of the title if they beat their remaining opponents (Illinois and Penn State), but that's only if Ohio State beats Northwestern and Michigan State.

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The Cleveland Browns signed ILB D'Qwell Jackson to a 5 year extension today, a deal worth reportedly around $42.5 million ($19 million guaranteed).

The Browns had planned on using the Franchise tag on DQ if they were unable to come to an agreement, but this signing not only frees up some cap space (with the prorated contract amount vs. the Franchise amount) but the Franchise tag as well, which can now be used to keep someone like, say, Phil Dawson from leaving.

The contract specifics are obviously not out yet, so there is really no reason to debate if it was too much to pay or not.  Essentially, the contract is for $19 mil, since that's all that's guaranteed.

What we do know is that while DQ is hardly an All Pro Linebacker, he's certainly more than functional at a position of weakness (his 158 tackles in 2011 was 2nd in the NFL, and - no - they were not all 5 yards down the field as the sadists would have you believe).  On the field, his internal value is increased by his role as "QB of the Defense".  Not to mention that he is truly one of the few veteran team leaders on the team, and the fact that he chose to sign this contract and essentially make himself a career Brown sends a message to the locker room as well.

D'Qwell is 28 now and will be 33 at the end of his contract (in the event he makes it that far), so a 5 year deal seems a bit lengthy.  But he also spent the bulk of 2009-2010 sidelined with an upper body (pectoral) tear - hardly putting the miles on his body that he would have had he played.  Regardless, if you get 3-4 solid years out of him, this contract is probably worth it.  It's not like he wouldn't have gotten similar somewhere else.

Some have speculated that DQ might be better served to be moved to the outside, where his speed and lack of size wouldn't be as much a detriment.  Which I find an interesting idea.  But working in the more concrete, even if he stays in the middle, he may never be a world-beater but at least the Browns shouldn't have to worry about that position for a while.

On senior day, the Cleveland State men's basketball team took care of business.

They secured the No. 2 seed in the Horizon League tournament Saturday with a 77-55 win over Wright State before 3,891 at the Wolstein Center.

With the No. 2 seed, CSU gets a double-bye into the Horizon semifinals on Saturday at Valparaiso and only needs to win two games to get back to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2009.

They also get some much needed rest.

"I think we are in a great place right now to go into this tournament," said CSU head coach Gary Waters. "We are banged up right now. Trey (Harmon) needs the rest and D'Aundray (Brown) needs another week at least."

Brown, who was expected to return for Saturday's game, missed his seventh game in the last eight with a groin injury. Harmon has been dealing with a broken toe. And Jeremy Montgomery has a thigh bruise.

"(D'Aundray) couldn't move laterally," said Waters.

After losing five straight, CSU closed out the regular season with back-to-back home wins against Detroit on Thursday and WSU to improve to 22-9 overall and 12-6 in the Horizon.

Montgomery feels confident heading into the tournament.

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The Spring Training injury bug bit another victim out in Goodyear, AZ, this time chomping down on the midsection of Chris Perez. The Indians closer suffered a strained left oblique and will miss the next 4-6 weeks. Indians head athletic trainer Lonnie Soloff did not rule out a return prior to Opening Day, which is 39 days away.

Perez, who went 36/40 in save chances last year, threw one live mound session this past week and was scratched from all subsequent appearances. Soloff addressed the media saying that the cause for the injury was that Perez's body "wasn't ready for the intensity" that he threw with during his first bullpen of the Spring.

The Indians are hopeful that Perez will be able to make a few Spring Training apperances near the end of the Cactus League schedule. They are optimistic that the shorter time period needed for closers to build their arms up and get in game shape will allow Perez to be ready for Opening Day.

If Perez is unavailable to close at the start of the season, Vinnie Pestano would likely shift to the closer's role with Joe Smith becoming the primary eighth inning right handed setup man. Guys who could get extended looks in Spring Training for the additional bullpen spot, if there is one, would include Jeremy Accardo, Chris Ray, Chen Lee, Dan Wheeler, and Frank Herrmann.

He knew he did wrong as soon as he reached down to field a grounder.

"I knew it was a mistake," Indians outfielder Grady Sizemore said. "I knew I shouldn't have taken that bet with Felix Pie that I could stay healthier longer than him. It was just asking for trouble. I jinxed myself and I feel horrible about it."

The Indians have now decided to shut Sizemore down from baseball activities, which will likely keep him out until Opening Day and make his 2012 debut later than everyone elses. The Tribe's newest old edition will have to wait to play.

Because he did not make it to March 1st without an injury, Sizemore's contract dictates that he will forefit $1 million in salary.

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You just wish that last sentence was true right?

Of course if you've read news (and if you haven't, you missed the voice of Cleveland giving you a Charlie Brown UGH), you know that Grady Sizemore is indeed injured and he will likely miss Opening Day. What that actually means? He'll miss more than just one game, but how much is really an unknown at this point. Because the Indians will be shutting him down from baseball activities, it's tough to gauge just how long it will take to get him back going and ready to play a full game consistently. He could very well hit the disabled list, but we haven't reached that point yet.

Whatever the case may be, the Indians are paying him $5 million dollars in base salary this year and did so on a free agent contract because they believed he could return to form. So far, no good. Here is a healthy reminder for you though. The season is long and this can all turn around in an instant. Remember when Grady came back last season to make his debut and did so in grand style? Of course the end results did not cause as much jubilation, but the point is there.

It is just another bump in that Sizemore road for the Indians. But don't go jumping off the cliff quite yet. The Indians signed a plethora of veterans in the outfield for just this reason. Fred Lewis, Felix Pie, Ryan Spilborghs, get your running shoes on, you just got a boost in your battle for a roster spot.

So much for that normal spring training, right? I guess I'm really the one to be blamed here. 

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Cleveland State got a lift from its freshmen Thursday night as the Vikings snapped their five game losing streak with a 77-64 victory against Detroit at the Wolstein Center.

"This team really needed (this win)," said CSU head coach Gary Waters. "I thought our freshman did a great job of giving us a lift. Our freshman did very well in a lot of areas today and if they continue to do that, that will only make us stronger down the stretch."

Senior Trey Harmon led the Vikings with 16 points. CSU's freshman trio of Marlin Mason, Charlie Lee and Ike Nwamu combined to score 35 points.

Also credit CSU's defense as they held Detroit to five field goals in the second half and held them without a field goal for the final 9:15.

The win also keeps CSU's (21-9, 11-6) chances alive for the No. 2 seed in the Horizon League tournament and the all important double-bye into the semifinals.

The Vikings are currently tied with Butler (18-12, 11-6) for the No. 2 seed.

In order for CSU to get the No. 2 seed, they need a loss by Butler at Valparaiso on Friday night and a Viking win over Wright State on Saturday.

If Butler wins Friday, the best CSU can hope for is the No. 3 seed.

If CSU gets the No. 3 seed or less, they would host a first round game on Tuesday and have to win four games in eight days to win the Horizon championship -- something only the 2008-09 Vikings have accomplished.

Midway through the second half, CSU was forced to play Lee, Nwamu, and Mason on the floor as Trey Harmon and Aaron Pogue sat on the bench with foul trouble and Jeremy Montgomery left the game with a thigh bruise.

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