Nick Mangold is an entertainer, no doubt about it. If you follow the former Ohio State center on Twitter (@nickmangold), you know this all too well. Mangold took his likable ways to another level on Tuesday night’s Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. If you missed it, let’s just say his upper body is a lot smoother. That’s right, Mangold had his chest waxed on national tv during a skit called “Wax On, Wax Off.” It looked painful — nothing an NFL player can’t handle, though — and, wow, was it funny. Watch the videos of the hilarious segment.

The Big Ten Conference announced the 2012 All-Big Ten Softball Teams on Wednesday afternoon, and five-time reigning champ Michigan dominated the honors. The Wolverines swept all of the individual laurels, with first baseman Amanda Chidester taking home Player of the Year for the second consecutive season. See all the teams and the superlative winners in this post.

Next up in my schedule analysis series: Purdue. What will be the Boilermakers’ toughest non-conference and conference games? Where is the schedule seemingly easiest, and then when does it get really rugged? Go ahead and guess which game I call their “must win” game, then read the rest of this post and see what I picked. You can find all of my Big Ten schedule analysis posts here. All of the teams are included except for Wisconsin, which you can look for Thursday.

We are talking playoffs today. That’s correct, Jim Mora … playoffs. An honest-to-goodness playoff. Feel free to rub your eyes and shake your head.

The Big Ten Conference released the 2012 All-Big Ten Rowing Teams on Wednesday afternoon. Big Ten champ Michigan, which won its fifth crown last week, swept the individual honors, highlighted by Felice Mueller winning Athlete of the Year. See all the winners and teams in this post.

When you think of Wisconsin, offense usually comes to mind. Big, tough physical lines blocking for a strong running game. But the Wisconsin defense deserves credit for the program’s consecutive Rose Bowl appearances. The Badgers had the Big Ten’s No. 3 defense (316.4 ypg) in 2011 and allowed just 19 points per game (13th in the nation). I talked with co-defensive coordinator Chris Ash—who is in his second as co-coordinator working in concert with Charlie Partridge–to get his breakdown of the Badger defense. See the Q&A in this post.

BTN’s unofficial MLB Ballpark Tour came to a close Tuesday night, with Michigan State beating Central Michigan 5-2 at Comerica Park, home of the Detroit Tigers. Earlier this season, BTN aired Missouri’s 5-4 win over Illinois at Busch Stadium and Penn State’s 5-1 victory over Minnesota at Target Field. Read game recaps and watch highlights from all three games in this post.

The outcry came about a nanosecond after the 2012 College Football Hall of Fame inductees were announced: How come Nebraska quarterback Tommie Frazier didn’t get elected? I wish I had an answer. But, alas, I don’t. It remains a mystery of the universe—and a Titanic miscarriage of justice. I am a member of the National Football Foundation, and thus a voter for the Hall. And Frazier gets the nod from me. The guy, without a doubt, is the greatest quarterback in the history of one of America’s greatest college football programs.

Would you turn down a possible six-figure salary? Former Ohio State linebacker Andrew Sweat is doing just that. Sweat, who had a chance to make the Cleveland Browns roster as an undrafted rookie, recently announced he will give up football to attend law school. The linebacker referenced concussion symptoms for his decision and tweeted “Health trumps football any day.” As a senior in 2011, Sweat tallied 72 tackles, five tackles for loss, one interception and one forced fumble.