Football playoffs and more

In the final week of the regular season, the Cleveland Browns will play the Pittsburgh Steelers in Cleveland today at 1:00pm EST. For the Browns it is a win or most likely die situation to make the playoffs. The Browns are tied W10-L5 with 4 other teams vying for 3 wild card spots in the AFC. Playoff picture from CBS Sports.

In college football yesterday #3 ranked Ohio State (W7-L0) beat #2 ranked Clemson (W10-L2) 49-28 to earn the chance to play #1 ranked Alabama (W12-L0) in the National Championship Game on January 11.

I am not a big football fan, but I will watch the Browns-Steelers game. It could hardly be a more exciting time for Ohioans who love football, with maybe an exception for Cincinnati Bengals fans. Two Ohio teams in big games. The Pro Football Hall of Fame is in Canton, Ohio, largely because pro football was born in Ohio 100 years ago. Pro Football Hall of Fame history. 

Two dear friends (husband and wife), my wife, and I visited the Hall about 5 years ago. It was the first visit for all. We all enjoyed it, even both wives. My petite wife stepped into a leg cast of Leonard Davis (6 feet 6 inches tall and 355 pounds) and was dwarfed. 😮 Much room left over (image). 

I was reminded of Super Bowl XX in 1986, which the Chicago Bears won and when I lived near Chicago. That Bears team included four future Hall of Fame players – Richard Dent, Dan Hampton, Walter Payton, Mike Singletary – and was coached by Hall of Fame tight end "Iron Mike" Ditka. It also included 335 pound lineman and occasional fullback William "The Refrigerator" Perry, who played for Clemson in college, and colorful QB Jim McMahon. Several players danced and rapped in the oft-televised "Super Bowl Shuffle."  

The Ohio State-Clemson game reminds me of 4 years ago. We attended a Science Cafe Cleveland talk. At the time, Ohio State was to play Clemson in the National Championship Game. The guest speaker was from Clemson University and her talk was about sleep. During the Q&A a member of the audience asked - my paraphrase - I have a son at Ohio State and a daughter at Clemson. Who should I root for? The guest speaker responded, "Take a nap." The audience roared with laughter. 😄 😄

The Science Cafe talks are very enjoyable and about a wide variety of topics. They have been halted due to the pandemic. I eagerly await their resuming. My wife and I have attended talks about space travel, cybersecurity, police operations, the effect of worms on soil, prosthetics, etc., etc. The speakers are often from nearby Case Western Reserve University (CWRU), but there are sometimes guest speakers from elsewhere. CWRU's website has several articles or links about the pandemic here. 

Update Jan 3: The Cleveland Browns beat the Pittsburgh Steelers, 24-22. It's onto the playoffs as a wild-card team.