By Doug Lesmerises (Cleveland Plain Dealer) -

Ohio State coach Jim Tressel will now miss at least the first five games of the 2011 season after asking Ohio State to increase his suspension to match the suspensions handed to five Buckeyes for selling memorabilia.

The news came late Thursday night after the NCAA denied Ohio State’s appeal of the five-game suspension handed down to players Terrelle Pryor, Dan Herron, DeVier Posey, Mike Adams and Solomon Thomas in December. Ohio State had hoped mitigating factors - claiming the players didn’t know they were breaking NCAA rules by selling memorabilia and that they were doing it to get money for their families - would aid the appeal. But the NCAA held firm, and it was only Tressel’s suspension that changed.

“Throughout this entire situation my players and I have committed ourselves to facing our mistakes and growing from them; we can only successfully do that together,” Tressel said in a statement released by Ohio State on Thursday night. I spoke with Athletics Director Gene Smith, and our student-athletes involved, and told them that my mistakes need to share the same game sanctions. Like my players, I am very sorry for the mistakes I made. I request of the university that my sanctions now include five games so that the players and I can handle this adversity together.”

Tressel originally was suspended for two games and fined $250,000 by Ohio State last…..

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