Go Buckeyes

Unfazed by freezing weather, 45,000 Ohio State University football fans celebrated the Buckeyes' national championship at Ohio Stadium yesterday.

The event honored the Buckeyes’ victory in the inaugural College Football Playoff (CFP), a postseason tournament in American college football for the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), which started in the 2014–2015 season.  Using a 13-member committee to select and seed the participating teams, CFP is different from the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) used by FBS from 1998 to 2013. BCS used computer rankings and coach polls that sometimes, e.g. in the 2003 and 2004 seasons, caused controversy.

Never give up. Ohio State Buckeyes was only 16th in the first CFP rankings. However, they managed to bulldozed Wisconsin Badgers 59-0, which allowed them to bypass Texas Christian University (TCU) Horned Frogs and Baylor Bears for a final playoff spot. Then they went ahead to beat the odds by overcoming a 21-6 deficit and upsetting Alabama Crimson Tide with a 42-35 win. In the showdown with No. 2 ranking Oregon Ducks on January 12, 2015 at AT&T Stadium, Arlington, TX, the Buckeyes won decisively 42-20, despite Heisman-winning quarterback Marcus Mariota scored early during their first drive.

It is the first national title since 2002 for the Buckeyes. Previously, they did have three BCS championships under their belt. It is also the third national title for coach Urban Meyer who won BCS championships twice when he was the head coach for Florida Gators.

Postcard US-1844593 to the Netherlands shows a map of The Oval at the Ohio State University campus. However, North is on the right side, and West is on top of the postcard. Ohio Stadium, northwest to The Oval, would be on the upper right of the postcard.

Cadzand, the Netherlands

Postcard DE-3445237 from Germany shows Cadzand, a town by the North Sea with 804 residents as of 2007 in the Dutch province of Zeeland. It is located in the municipality of Sluis, about 8 kilometers or 5 miles northwest of Oostburg. The nearby beach at Cadzand-Bad, a nature reserve and bird sanctuary, is very popular for the European visitors in the summer. It is only 1.6 kilometers or 1 mile from the Netherlands and Belgium border. Visitors can walk across to the beach at Knokke-Heist on the Belgium side.  The town is cyclist and pedestrian friendly.

I also got my first German Football World Champions 2014 stamp. On July 17, four days after Germany lifted their fourth World Cup, a special , Designed by Lutz Menze from Wuppertal, the 60 cent stamp commemorates the 1:0 victory over Argentina in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil at the 2014 FIFA World Cup. The scores from the title games in 1954, 1974, 1990, and 2014 are printed on the side of the stamp.

Casey Tibbs

Postcard US-2869228 to Japan shows the June 1956 cover, one of Western Horseman's most popular ever, featuring legendary world champion saddle bronc rider Casey Tibbs of Fort Pierre, South Dakota. This shot of Tibbs, in his trademark bib shirt, was taken during the Pikes Peak or Bust Rodeo in Colorado Springs. The magazine sells for 35 cents per copy.

Island of Options

The caption on postcard DE-3212323 from Germany says "Inmitten von Schwierigkeiten liegt immer eine Insel der Möglichkeiten." This German proverb means "in the midst of difficulties, there is always an island of options."

A similar Chinese proverb "车到山前必有路，船到桥头自然直" can be directly translated into "When you get to the mountain, there'll be a way through; when you get to the pier-head, the boat will go straight with the current." Therefore, Don't worry too much beforehand; let's deal with it as it happens. Everything will turn out for the best in the end.

Another Chinese proverb "水到渠成" is the best for describing Germany's crowning at the 2014 FIFA World Cup today: "When water flows, a channel is formed." When conditions are mature, success will come. At the final match, Germany felt the heat from Argentina in the 22nd minute of the match when Argentinian forward Gonzalo Higuain intercepted the ball from German midfielder Toni Kroos and was one-on-one with German goal-keeper Manuel Neuer. Also, at the second half, Lionel Messi, Argentinian captain and forward, posed a threat for a goal with his left-footed curling shot.

When the match headed towards extra-time, history was against Germany as Argentina had never conceded a goal in the extra-time before. However, German super-substitute Mario Götze broke the dead-lock with the help from another substitute André Schürrle. The Germans are the 2014 FIFA World Cup champions, winning the Trophy for the fourth time after overcoming Argentina 1:0 at the Maracana in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

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