Phil Mickelson was 3-under through one round of Waste Management Phoenix Open 2017.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The PGA Tour's Waste Management Phoenix Open, where players and fans annually put on quite a show, unfolds Thursday through Sunday at TPC Scottsdale in Arizona.

Among those competing: Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas, Hideki Matsuyama, Jon Rahm, Rickie Fowler, Bubba Watson and Phil Mickelson.

Waste Management tee times

Spieth has won eight PGA Tour titles, including two majors. He is ranked sixth in the world.

Thomas, Spieth's close friend, is seeking to win his third straight PGA Tour start. In five official starts in the 2016-17 season, he has finished T8, 1, T23, 1 and 1. The two most recent victories came on the Hawaii swing. Thomas is ranked eighth in the world.

Matsuyama, defending champion at Waste Management, is ranked fifth in the world.

Rahm won the Farmers Insurance Open last week in California.

Fowler, world No. 14, is one of the game's most popular players.

Watson and Mickelson have won a combined five Masters and own tremendous resumes at TPC Scottsdale.

Waste Management leaderboard

Players are extra-motivated at this event because of huge galleries that take pride in making noise. The par-3 16th hole, in particular, is famous for creating a football-type atmosphere in a stadium setting.

Friday's live leaderboard:

PGA TOUR

WASTE MANAGEMENT PHOENIX OPEN

Site: Scottsdale, Ariz.

Course: TPC Scottsdale. Yardage: 7,216. Par: 71.

Purse: $6.7 million (First place: $1,206,000).

Television: Thursday-Friday, 3-7 p.m. (Golf Channel); Saturday-Sunday, 1-2:30 p.m. (Golf Channel), 3-6 p.m. (CBS Sports).

Defending champion: Hideki Matsuyama.

Last week: Jon Rahm won the Farmers Insurance Open.

Notes: Justin Thomas is playing for the first time since sweeping the Hawaii events. The last player to win three consecutive PGA Tour events was Rory McIlroy in 2014 (British Open, Bridgestone Invitational, PGA Championship). ... Jordan Spieth at No. 5 is the highest-ranked player in the field. ... Rickie Fowler last year had a two-shot lead with two holes to play until losing to Matsuyama in a playoff. Fowler, coming off a victory in Abu Dhabi, has not won anywhere in the world since then. ... Steve Stricker makes his 2017 debut. He turns 50 in three weeks. ... Harris English is playing for the last time before getting married next week. ... The tournament last year reported having 618,364 fans for the week. ... Phil Mickelson has another opportunity to become the first four-time winner of the event. A victory also would give Mickelson seven victories in Arizona, breaking a tie with Johnny Miller. ... Mickelson (twice), Mark Calcavecchia and Grant Waite hold the course record of 60. ... Asked if he would be willing to allow caddie races on the 16th hole that the PGA Tour banned, Commissioner Jay Monahan said he "doesn't expect to see any change on that front."

Next week: AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.

Online: www.pgatour.com

(The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

Super Bowl memories of the Chicago Bears' Refrigerator Perry, the Cincinnati Bengals' Paul Brown, future Cleveland Browns' coach Bill Belichick, U2's halftime, and the newspaper business.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- It's Super Bowl LI week. Since it's in Houston -- Think: L.A. traffic without the L.A. destinations -- I'm fine with not being there. I never liked covering it that much, anyway.

It was pack journalism at its worst, with obnoxious celebrities like Hammer butting into Media Day interviews to ask jackass questions. As my friend Charlie Pierce, the Esquire.com political writer, said, "Looks like I picked the wrong week not to bring my Taser."

Former  commissioner Paul Tagliabue's press conferences made haircuts seem exciting.

The caption compulsion

In 1972,  I was a cub reporter at the Dallas Morning News. The Miami-Dallas Super Bowl was played in the afternoon in New Orleans. I was not there. Instead, I had to go into the office and write headlines on, roughly, a bazillion stories and "cutlines" (captions) on almost that many photos.

The sports editor had a fetish for captions. He wrote each one after Cowboys' home games. He always managed to make both lines of type the same length.

This proved to be my undoing after an exhibition game in the summer of '71. In the photo, Dallas' Walt Garrison ran up the middle for a short gain. My caption kept being rejected because of the brevity of the second line. After a few more failed tries, in exasperation, I added: "What more can be said about a simple handoff?"

The head of the copy desk, the slot man, noted only that the lines were finally of equal length and dropped the sheet of copy paper in a container inside a vacuum tube to whisk it to the backshop, where the printers worked.

It was not a hit with the sports editor. The word went down before the Super Bowl game:"Keep an eye on Billy. He likes to screw around with the cutlines."

Years later, "What more can be said?" became my reaction to the bloated, overwrought Super Bowls of the 1980s that I covered for The Plain Dealer. The Bud Bowl was more competitive.

Refrigerator's rollout

My favorite play of the Bears-Patriots Super Bowl after the 1985 season was when Bear coach Mike Ditka gave a sneering salute to the Ultimate Game by having enormous defensive lineman Refrigerator Perry, a staple of the goal-line offense for his blocking and 1-yard TD stampedes, roll out on an option pass.

Nobody was open and Perry ate the ball, probably because it was there.

PB's dance

In the second Super Bowl between the Bengals and 49ers after 1988 season, I recall, as much as the great game,  Bengals owner Paul Brown, then 79, doing for the media the Ickey Shuffle, the touchdown celebration of running back Elbert "Ickey" Woods.

As a  dance, the Ickey Shuffle ranked ahead of the Freddie, but not much else.

As a conversationalist, he was a great coach

My friend, former Plain Dealer Browns writer Tony Grossi, argued that the New York Giants beat the no-huddle Buffalo Bills of Jim Kelly and Thurman Thomas  after the 1990 season with their ball-hogging offense, not defensive coordinator Bill Belichick's defense. The Bills lost, 20-19, and had the ball for only 19 minutes, 27 seconds.

That was much longer than most of the conversations with Belichick, the Browns' coach-in-waiting, who squirmed through several awkward questions on Media Day before the game.

To loosen him up, Michael Gee, then a sports columnist at the Boston Herald, volunteered that he had gone to Wesleyan University at the same time in the 1970s as Belichick, who was a center and tight end on the football team.

Several gambits opened, conversationally.

Did you go to our games? What was your major? Did you have a fake ID? (Sorry. Lets keep it legal, OK?)

After a half-minute or so of agonizing silence, Belichick said, "So?"

The greatest halftime show ever

May there never be a need for another halftime tribute like that of U2 at the first Super Bowl after the 9-11 terrorist attacks.

There were the haunting lyrics, describing flame, dust and ruin, of  "Where the Streets Have No Name."

There were huge banners, unfurling from the roof of the Superdome in New Orleans, bearing the names of the dead. So many, many names!

Finally, Bono opened his jacket at the end, revealing a stars-and-stripes lining.

Few reporters were typing in the press box at halftime, a usual practice because of tight deadlines. Not during that halftime. If they were working, they were doing so while fighting back tears.

Fittingly, the Patriots won the game.

What more could ever be said?

Kyle Shanahan orchestrated his exit from the Browns after the 2014 season and is set to become head coach of the 49ers after the Super Bowl. Watch video

HOUSTON -- Former Browns offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan admitted that walking into Mike Pettine's office after the 2014 season and asking out of his three-year contract after only one year was one of the toughest things he's ever had to do.

"It wasn't a Power Point presentation,'' he said Thursday at the Super Bowl, clarifying the reports. "It was all on paper. I gave a number of points -- 32 of them, which you guys were accurate on. I gave them to the head coach.

"I told him he could do whatever he wanted with those, whether he gave them to the owner or the general manager. I'm sure that he did. I just wanted to be up front about it. I had some specific reasons I didn't think it was going in the right direction, why it wasn't the best place for me and my family. Pet was real cool about it. He understood."

Shanahan walked in with trepidation and wasn't sure how it would all work out. But two years later, he's in the Super Bowl as coordinator of one of the most high-powered offenses in league history, and is set to be named head coach of the 49ers shortly after the game is over.

"Fortunately, it worked out well,'' he said.

Shanahan admitted that factions inside the building working against each other caused him to leave.

"It's tough to win when you're not on the same page," he said. "It's tough to win even when you are on the same page.''

Among other things, Shanahan was rankled by former Browns general manager Ray Farmer's impermissible in-game texts to assistants questioning playcalling and use of personnel. Farmer was ultimately  suspended four games and the Browns fined $250,000 for the infraction. But there were 31 other things, likely including that Shanahan wanted either Derek Carr or Jimmy Garoppolo in the draft and the Browns drafted Johnny Manziel instead.

"There was a number of things,'' said Shanahan. "Obviously, the texts were one of the few things. When you get a feeling not everyone's going in the same direction, when you have that feeling, it makes it very tough to win. That was the feeling for a number of reasons that I had there."

Still, Shanahan -- who might be competing with the Browns for Garoppolo this off-season --  insists that he derived some good from his lone Browns season.

"Cleveland wasn't as bad of an experience as everyone's made it out to be,'' Shanahan said. "I really enjoyed my time in Cleveland. I was only there for 11 months, but I loved the people out there, thought they were great football fans. We started out real well going 7-4, and it was a real fun part of the year.

"We thought we had a chance but we had some injuries, we started to lose it a little bit and we ended up losing out after that. We went 7-9, it didn't end the way we wanted.''

Kyle Shanahan liked Carr and Garoppolo 1 and 2 in 2014

Was there anything that could've convinced him to stay?

"I don't really look back at it that way,'' he said. "It was what it was and there's a lot of good things about it. A lot of good things. It was one of the hardest decisions I had to make in my life, so it's not like it was an easy decision. There were a lot of things that my wife and I really loved about Cleveland.

"But I also have a family to think about, I have a career to think about and that's really what it came down to. That's why I was open with those guys about it and the fact that they understood and let me move on is something that I really appreciate all of them for.

Shanahan complimented Jimmy and Dee Haslam for their desire to turn things around.

"I think the Haslams do a great job,'' he said. "They're as good of people as I've been around. They want to do things the right way and I think it's a matter of time until they get it done.''

Shanahan admitted that there was pressure to start Manziel when the Browns were going south after a 7-4 start with Brian Hoyer.

"Any time you spend a first-round pick on any player there's always pressure to play that guy, from everybody," he said. "It's always there. It doesn't really matter where you're at.

"We were 7-4, and we were able to stand in for a while. Then it got tougher and tougher. We gave Johnny an opportunity. You never know if a guy's totally ready until he gets into a game. He wasn't quite ready. I think we found that out the hard way."

Shanahan never dared to dream that his decision would work out this well, this quickly. His Falcons' offense is No. 1 in the league, and he's finally got his long-awaited chance to be a head coach.

"You never know, really,'' he said. "I tried not to worry about the outcome. It was a hard thing to put yourself out there a little bit. But there were certain things I felt strongly about for myself and for my family. It wasn't something that just happened fast. It was something that I thought about for a long time and had a lot of discussions with my wife about and it was something I felt was important for me to do.''

He knew he'd be vilified by some for walking on out on a struggling team. Pettine and Farmer were fired a season later, and the Browns went 1-15 last season under Hue Jackson.

"You've got to sit there and you understand people are going to say things,'' he said. "It's part of the business, but you've got to do what you think is right and live with the consequences and you never know what's going to happen. It could be good, it could be bad, but I was extremely confident and proud of how I felt and that's all you've got to worry about and let the rest take care of itself.''

Besides, the ordeal will make him a better head coach.

"I've been through a number of different situations and when I look back at them I think they've made me more battle-tested," he said.

Ohio State basketball has eight games remaining to turn its season around.

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Thad Matta shook up his starting lineup for Ohio State's game against Maryland on Tuesday night. He started Micah Potter at center over Trevor Thompson.

That's the extent to which Matta has experimented with starting lineups this year, and it hasn't been that radical. He started Potter for the first 11 games because Thompson is prone to early fouls. Potter got hurt, and Thompson started avoiding those early fouls, so he started the next 11 games. Thompson was foul-ridden at Iowa last weekend, so Potter went back into the starting lineup.

Nothing crazy.

Maybe it's time to get a little crazy.

Ohio State has problems that go beyond simple lineup changes, but the Buckeyes have eight Big Ten games remaining and something needs to change. The Buckeyes need a shakeup, something to maybe get things going in the right direction.

Too little, too late? Maybe. But Matta can't afford to operate that way.

He's never been one to make drastic lineup changes, or one to have his bench players heavily involved in the rotation. Some years that's worked fine because his starters were really good. This year it seems like it might be having a drastic impact, because the five players who play the most minutes are collectively putting up some of the worst defensive numbers of the Matta era.

A possible solution: Start playing reserves C.J. Jackson, Andre Wesson and David Bell more.

If Ohio State can get a little more solid on defense, it might start winning some of these close games.

"It's gotta be every possession," Matta said after the Maryland loss. "We gave up 77 tonight, 85 the other night,  we gotta get back to locking down on defense."

The Buckeyes (13-10, 3-7 Big Ten) have been close to worst defensive team in the Big Ten during conference play. Here are some troubling stats from this season:

* They're currently allowing 68.7 points per game, which would be the highest average allowed by any Matta-coached Ohio State team. In Big Ten play, that number goes up to 75.9 points per game. 

Should Ohio State backup point guard C.J. Jackson lose the backup tag? Or at least be playing more?Jay LaPrete, Associated Press 

* Opponents are shooting 40.8 percent this season, which is the best they've shot in seven years. In Big Ten play they're shooting 44.5 percent.

* Opponents are shooting 34.3 percent from 3-point range this season, which is the best they've shot in nine years. In Big Ten play they're shooting 37.3 percent.

* The Buckeyes have allowed 70 or more points 12 times this year, which puts them on pace for the most games allowing that many points in any of Matta's seasons in Columbus. The record right now is the 14 they had last year. (Sensing a trend?)

* Ohio State was No. 86 in the country Ken Pomeroy's adjusted defensive efficiency as of Thursday night, which would be by far its lowest rating under Matta. The current record low is No. 62 in 2008-09.

That's a long way of saying this is probably Matta's worst defensive team in Columbus, which is problematic for a coach who built a lot of what he's done here on strong defense. Perhaps guys like Jackson, Wesson and Bell can help solve some of that.

"We rode them down the stretch (against Maryland)," Matta said. "Those guys were competing and did a nice job. C.J. was just so much more disruptive with the ball screens ... Andre Wesson, what he was doing defensively with his size, he did a tremendous job of being in help ... I think those two guys are playing really good basketball right now."

Trying to figure out if Matta likes this team

Jackson and Wesson played 16 minutes together against Maryland, and the Terrapins shot 44.4 percent (25 percent from 3) in that time. When they weren't on the floor together, Maryland shot 51.3 percent (44.4 percent from 3).

I wouldn't label either Jackson or Wesson as defensive stoppers, but they've been better than three most-used backcourt and wing players -- JaQuan Lyle, Kam Williams and Marc Loving -- in defensive rating per 100 possessions.

Bell has offensive limitations, but he's proven much better than Micah Potter on the defensive end. He didn't play at all against Maryland.

basketballreferece.com 

Ohio State plays at Michigan on Saturday night (6 p.m., ESPN2), and the Wolverines are the second-best offensive team according to KenPom that the Buckeyes will have played this year, behind only UCLA. It might be time to see if playing Jackson, Wesson and Bell more might actually make Ohio State a substantially better defensive team.

That would require a serious change in the way Matta operates. He's actually using his bench less than he has in any of the previous four seasons, 25.3 percent of the minutes, which is in the bottom 50 of the country.

Perhaps a change is starting already, at least when it comes to Jackson and Wesson. Jackson averages 15.3 minutes per game on the season, and is up to 17.3 over the last three games. Wesson averages 9.9 minutes per game on the season, and is way up to 18.3 over the last three games. Get Bell more in the mix and the Buckeyes might have something.

Ohio State is not a particularly deep team, but it's also not so top heavy that players like Lyle, Williams, Loving, Thompson and Jae'Sean Tate should be dominating the minutes the way they are. The Buckeyes need everyone -- and that means everyone -- playing to get this thing turned around.

If it's not too late.

Cleveland Cavaliers hold tryouts for backup point guard, inviting Jordan Farmar, Mario Chalmers, Kirk Heinrich and also wing player Lance Stephenson.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- On Wednesday, the Cleveland Cavaliers invited three guards to audition for backup point guard in response to LeBron James's and Kyrie Irving's requests for additional help in handling the ball.

The three guards invited were Jordan Farmar, Mario Chalmers and Kirk Hinrich. The Cavs also tried out wing player Lance Stephenson.

Of the three, Farmar has played in the NBA the most recently. Chalmers is trying to return from a torn Achilles last March and Hinrich hasn't played at all this season.

Hopefully, one of the three will be able to fill Matthew Dellavedova's backup point guard shoes.

Crowquill, by Plain Dealer artist Ted Crow, appears three times a week on cleveland.com.

Cavs guard Iman Shumpert was arrested and charged in August with driving under the influence of marijuana outside of Atlanta, but his case has yet to make its way to trial.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Cavs guard Iman Shumpert was arrested and charged in August with driving under the influence of marijuana outside of Atlanta, but his case has yet to make its way to trial.

The Fayette County, Ga. Superior Court will hear motions filed by Shumpert's attorney next week to throw out Shumpert's refusal of a blood test and the result of the field test he took Aug. 10, after he was pulled over for twice failing to maintain his lane.

Shumpert admitted to the sheriff's deputy to smoking marijuana before driving the car, and a sheriff's deputy found what was believed to be marijuana in the trunk of the car.

But William "Bubba" Head, who is said on his website to be considered both the best DUI attorney in Georgia and, separately, the United States, told cleveland.com that the field test Shumpert submitted to is designed for alcohol, not marijuana.

"That's like me giving you a reflex text by hitting you in the knee cap and then taking your blood pressure," said Head, whose list of famous clients includes rapper Lil' Wayne. "You're not measuring the same thing."

What all of this means for the Cavs and their fans -- Shumpert's legal issue down south has not interrupted his day job, at all. A trial is tentatively set for Feb. 13, but Head said there would likely be appeals by either the prosecution or defense after the motions to suppress are heard, which would further push back any trial.

The Cavs are off that day but would fly in the afternoon to Minnesota.

According to the NBA's marijuana policy, Shumpert's admitting he smoked weed and possible conviction would land him in the league's treatment policy. If it's his second offense, he'd get a $25,000 fine, and a third offense would result in a five-game suspension.

Though Shumpert admitted to smoking before driving that night, he entered a plea of not guilty.

Shumpert, 26, is averaging 8.0 points and shooting career highs from the floor (.434) and 3-point range (.413) this season. He's been the Cavs' starter at shooting guard the last 10 games, and in that stretch is averaging 12.4 points on 42-of-88 shooting, including 29-of-58 (50 percent) from 3-point range.

"He hired me for a reason," Head told cleveland.com. "I intend to keep him up there playing in Cleveland. How's that sound?"

Tiger Woods withdrew from the Dubai Desert Classic on Friday with back spasms after shooting an opening-round 77 a day earlier. Woods' manager, Mark Steinberg, said Woods suffered from spasms on Thursday night after dinner.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates -- Tiger Woods withdrew from the Dubai Desert Classic on Friday with back spasms after shooting an opening-round 77 a day earlier, marking another frustrating start to his return to golf from a lengthy injury layoff.

Woods' manager, Mark Steinberg, said Woods had back spasms on Thursday night after dinner.

"Tiger Woods went into a spasm in his lower back fairly late last night ... got treatment done early this morning for 3 1-2 hours, but can't get it out," Steinberg said. "He says it's not the nerve, but back spasm, and he can't get the spasms to calm down. He can move around, but he can't make a full rotation in his swing."

Woods made a comeback after multiple back surgeries after a 16-month layoff, and was expected to play four times in five weeks, starting from last week's Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines, where he missed the cut.

The European Tour, without giving a reason, announced his withdrawal on Friday before Woods began his second round in Dubai.

After his opening round, Woods said: "I wasn't in pain at all ... I was just trying to hit shots and I wasn't doing a very good job."

Last week in San Diego, Woods returned to the PGA Tour and lasted only two days.

Woods never got anything going after starting with a birdie in the Farmers Insurance Open and didn't come close to making the cut. He missed a 12-foot birdie putt on his final hole on the North Course for an even-par 72 and missed the cut at Torrey Pines for the first time in his career.

Woods was coming off the longest layoff of his career as he recovered from two back surgeries. He had last played on the PGA Tour in August 2015 at the Wyndham Championship, where he tied for 10th. He played in the Bahamas the first week of December in an unofficial event with an 18-man field and no cut.

After Dubai, Woods has a week off before playing back-to-back weeks on both ends of the country, Los Angeles (Genesis Open) and Florida (Honda Classic).

Iran has banned U.S. wrestlers from competing in the Freestyle World Cup this month.

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) -- Iran on Friday banned U.S. wrestlers from participating in the Freestyle World Cup competition this month in response to President Donald Trump's executive order forbidding visas for Iranians, the official IRNA news agency reported.

A senior Iranian cleric vowed, meanwhile, that his country would continue its missile program, despite threats from the Trump administration that it was preparing to levy new sanctions.

IRNA quoted Iran's foreign ministry spokesman Bahram Ghasemi as saying a special committee reviewed the case of the U.S. wrestling team and "Eventually the visit by the U.S. freestyle wrestling team was opposed."

The decision marks the first action taken by Iran in response to Trump's executive order banning visas for seven Muslim countries. Earlier this week, Iran said it would take retaliatory action.

Ghasemi said the policy of the new U.S. administration left Iran no other choice but to ban the wrestlers.

The competition in the western Iranian city of Kermanshah is scheduled for Feb. 16-17.

USA Wrestling had said it would send a team to the Freestyle World Cup, one of the most prestigious competitions in international wrestling.

Among the wrestlers hoping to compete is Ohio State's Kyle Snyder, the youngest world and Olympic champion in U.S. wrestling history.

U.S. freestyle wrestlers have competed in Iran since the 1998 Takhti Cup in Tehran, which followed an absence of nearly 20 years. Since then, Americans have attended Iran-hosted wrestling competitions 15 times. The American athletes were warmly welcomed by cheerful Iranian spectators and sport centers were packed as they appeared on the mats to compete.

The Iranians, for their part, have made 16 visits to the U.S. as guests of USA Wrestling since the 1990s.

Wrestling is extremely popular in Iran and is rooted in an ancient practice of combining the sport with other physical education and meditation.

Tehran Friday prayer leader Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami said Iran would continue its missile program despite opposition from the U.S. government. The Trump administration said Thursday it is preparing to levy new sanctions on Iran in the first punitive action since the White House put Iran "on notice" after it test-fired a ballistic missile on Sunday.

"We have missile drills. Our missile drills are a show of our might," he said. "We are living in a world of wolves. Wolves such as the arrogant government of America. In this world of wolves should we remain unarmed and they do whatever damn things they want? No way! This will never happen!"

Khatami said the new U.S. new administration is reiterating an "old message" that has been aired by previous U.S. administrations regardless of their affiliation with Republican and Democrat parties.

"Your message is aimed at confronting religion and Islam," he said. "You have been against Islam" since 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Ohio State signed three receivers in 2017, all 6-foot-3 or taller. Is that indicative of a philosophical change? Watch video

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- As Urban Meyer explained it, this has always been Ohio State's plan. It's just never worked out this well before.

The Buckeyes signed three receivers in their 2017 recruiting class that you could label as "prototypes", both in physical stature and in the fact that they come to Columbus as no-doubt-about-it receivers. No position changes, no major learning curve.

Some are further along in their development than others, but they know what they are.

That feels different, but Meyer is saying it's not be design.

"It's not a philosophical shift," Meyer said on National Signing Day. "Not at all."

Maybe that's just something Meyer is saying because he doesn't want the next undersized speedster on Ohio State's recruiting board to go elsewhere when he thinks the Buckeyes are only interested in monsters now. But the signings of Trevon Grimes (6-foot-3, 202 pounds), Jaylen Harris (6-foot-5, 210 pounds) and Elijah Gardiner (6-foot-5, 185 pounds) this year certainly feels like a philosophical shift.

When you look at Ohio State's track record of recruiting receivers under Meyer, this feels like a 180-degree turn.

From 2013-2015, Meyer signed 12 players as either receivers or hybrid receiver/running backs. Those 12 players averaged 6-foot, 189 pounds. Only three of those players -- Noah Brown, Torrance Gibson and Alex Stump -- were 6-foot-2 or taller.

Over the last two classes, including Austin Mack and Binjimen Victor last year, Ohio State's receiver signees have averaged 6-foot-3, 196 pounds. All five have been 6-foot-2 or taller. There's not a hybrid in the bunch.

That's a shift.

"Everybody wants Julio Jones," Meyer said. "They don't come around very often. Ben Victor is going to be a dynamite player here. We saw Clemson's guys presented match-up issues, but everybody wants big and fast. I don't think any school in the country is looking for small. No. It's the best quality player that's available."

It felt an awful lot like Ohio State was seeking out small, at least in 2013 and 2015 when Brown was the only receiver the Buckeyes signed taller than 6-foot and heavier than 200 pounds. Once Michael Thomas (who was not recruited by Meyer) left, it felt like there was serious imbalance in the receiver room.

You have to wonder what effect having mostly undersized receivers, some out of their natural position, had on the Buckeyes' passing game last year.

Signing Mack and Victor in 2016 was an obvious solution to that problem. But then adding on three more receivers with similar big builds this year made it look like that's the direction Ohio State is taking its recruiting plan moving forward, collecting freaks.

Maybe not. Meyer chalked some of this year's success up to right place, right time.

"I know we go out and try -- it's the top 15 receivers in America, and you don't say, but they have to be 6-foot-3 because that also limits your pool," Meyer said. "And all of a sudden out of the top tall receivers in the country, six are from California, one from Arizona, two from Texas, that's not in our backyard.

"It happens Jaylen Harris, we had one in Cleveland, Ohio. Trevon Grimes (from St. Thomas Aquinas in Florida), that's one of our schools that we have a very close relationship with, and it just worked out very well."

Maybe Ohio State got a little lucky, and had some inroads at places that just happened to produce this kind of receiver this year. They added Gardiner late, but he's an interesting fact about him: He took the spot of the decommitted Tyjon Lindsey, a 5-foot-9 receiver who projected as a slot guy or an H-back.

The Buckeyes lost a little guy, and replaced him with a big guy. Adding a smaller receiver was not a priority like its been in the past, and they went heavy the other way for the second straight recruiting class.

So here's a guess for the future: The Buckeyes won't completely faze out players like Lindsey, K.J. Hill or Johnnie Dixon. But they also won't have another class go by where they sign only undersized receivers or projects.

They'll find a Grimes, Harris or a Victor for every class -- no matter where he's from.

"Next year we're going to go try to find the biggest, fastest receiver we can and hopefully we can get involved with him," Meyer said.

Hosting a Super Bowl bash can feel like trying to dodge a blitz. Here's how homeowners insurance can keep your wallet from taking a hit.

Hosting a Super Bowl bash can feel like trying to dodge a blitz. With lots of guests, alcohol and charged emotions, disaster can strike from any direction. Here's how homeowners insurance can keep your wallet from taking a hit.

Intercepted belongings

Even small parties could include a few friends of a friend whom you don't know. If you discover come super-cleanup Monday that your prized autographed football is gone, home insurance can help. Personal property coverage pays to replace stolen items, up to your policy's limit.

Extra point: "Take a personal contents inventory," says State Farm agent Greg Sherlock. Even going room to room and photographing belongings with your phone will help you provide claim details if something's stolen, he says.

>> MORE: 9 kinds of damage home insurance won't cover

The action heats up ... at the same time as the grill

Super Bowl Sunday is a big cooking day -- and not only in the kitchen. More than 1 in 4 grill owners brave the weather to fire up grub for the game, according to the Hearth, Patio & Barbecue Association.

Unfortunately, Sherlock says, the festive atmosphere makes cooking fires one of the more common party accidents. If your house is damaged by fire or even destroyed, you can file a claim through your home insurance's dwelling coverage for repairs or reconstruction.

Extra point: Ask your insurer to help determine your home's current rebuilding cost, Sherlock says. If it exceeds the dwelling insurance, increase limits on that coverage.

>> MORE: Understanding homeowners insurance

Guests on the injured list

It's your job to keep your property and party safe, Sherlock says. You could be financially responsible if that big-screen TV topples onto someone's foot or your appetizers trigger food poisoning.

A standard home insurance policy includes medical payments coverage for injuries to visitors. It also includes liability coverage, which kicks in if you're sued for injuries, Sherlock says.

Extra point: It's wise to check your medical payments insurance limit. A standard home policy provides about $1,000 in medical coverage per person, which might not be enough to pay for treatment of a guest's injury.

>> MORE: 5 football tailgating blunders insurance will pay for

Ineligible partygoer behind the wheel

Alcohol plays a part in many fans' festivities. In 2016, BACtrack examined over 5,000 tests by users of its smartphone-enabled Breathalyzer. The average blood-alcohol content measured during that Super Bowl was 50% higher than on other nonholiday Sundays.

If your guests leave sloshed, you could be on the hook for what happens on the road, depending on the laws in your state. Liability insurance with your homeowners policy might help pay for damage or injuries in these cases. But it's not a sure thing, Sherlock says, since coverage depends on the incident and your policy.

If your home insurance policy includes liquor liability coverage, limits are often capped at $100,000 to $300,000, according to the Insurance Information Institute.

Extra point: Taking steps to prevent drunken driving is the surest way to avoid a lawsuit, so invite designated drivers. In some states, hosts could face criminal charges, not just civil penalties, if a drunken guest causes injuries or damage while driving.

Alex Glenn is a staff writer at NerdWallet, a personal finance website. Email: aglenn@nerdwallet.com.

This article was written by NerdWallet and was originally published in USA Today.

The article Super Bowl Party Fouls: How Home Insurance Defends Your Turf originally appeared on NerdWallet.

Lady Gaga says Super Bowl halftime show is for everyone.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Super Bowl 51 between the New England Patriots and Atlanta Falcons is Sunday at NRG Stadium in Houston.

FOX will televise the game at 6:30 p.m. and stream live at FOX Sports GO.

Here's a look at FOX Sports programming for Super Bowl Sunday:

• 11 a.m. -- The Road to the Super Bowl, tracking the season for the Patriots and Falcons.
• 12 p.m. -- The Undisputed Super Bowl Special with Shannon Sharpe and Skip Bayless.
• 1 p.m. -- FOX Super Bowl Kickoff with Colin Cowherd.
• 2 p.m. -- FOX Super Bowl pregame show with Terry Bradshaw, Curt Menefee, Howie Long, Michael Strahan and Jimmy Johnson.
• 6:30 p.m. -- Super Bowl 51.

What others are saying about the Super Bowl

• How do the New England Patriots and Atlanta Falcons stack up?
• A preview of things to watch in the Super Bowl.
• Can the Atlanta Falcons provide a pass rush against Tom Brady?
• According to Madden 17, the Patriots will beat the Falcons and the Falcons will beat the Patriots.
• President Donald Trump could steal Super Bowl thunder this weekend.
• Here is a Super Bowl prediction New England vs. Atlanta.
• Patriots running back LeGarrette Blount appreciates running people over.
• The NFL owners award 2019 Super Bowl to Atlanta.
• Why Matt Ryan will outplay Tom Brady in the Super Bowl.
• Why former Browns WR Taylor Gabriel won't sneak up on Patriots.

Getting fired up for Sunday and #SuperBowl. pic.twitter.com/zlXmsZJrTM

-- George Bush (@GeorgeHWBush) February 1, 2017

UHQ PHOTOS: Lady Gaga attends NFL Super Bowl Press Conference in Houston, TX (Feb. 2) https://t.co/6NquOrzYWF pic.twitter.com/1MEXlOnnDC

-- Lady Gaga Now (@LadyGagaNowNet) February 2, 2017

Freeney's experience and some help from some NBA execs helped Falcons' defense get to the Super Bowl: https://t.co/trUPLajAbt

-- Steve Wyche (@wyche89) February 1, 2017

In this Prepare for List Off, Bud Shaw and Doug Lesmerises decide what the New England coach's seven Super Bowl trips really show. Watch video

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Bill Belichick will certainly break the record for the most Super Bowl appearances by a head coach with No. 7 on Sunday. He could break the record for the most Super Bowl wins, if the New England Patriots beat the Atlanta Falcons for their fifth title under his watch.

He'll also maintain his mark as the most miserable-looking Super Bowl coach in history - scowl your way to victory.

As Belichick reaches these numbers, what should we think of him? How should we commemorate his achievement as the guy who had Tom Brady fall in his lap?

In this edition of Prepare for List Off, Bud Shaw and I stand on decidedly different sides of the Belichick greatness discussion.

He is great. We just went through the numbers. But why, really? And what should we remember most?

Watch and then see whose side you join.

Clemson QB Deshaun Watson told NFL Network he wasn't trying to avoid the Cleveland Browns when he declined an invitation to play for Hue Jackson's South team at the Senior Bowl. The more important question: should the Browns avoid him?

CLEVELAND, Ohio - DeShaun Watson told NFL Network this week his decision to decline a Senior Bowl invitation was not a message about avoiding the Cleveland Browns.

He said he had a "good conversation" with head coach Hue Jackson, whose staff prepped the South team for the annual exhibition game.

 He said Jackson "understood" his reason for wanting to wait until the NFL Combine to show off his skills.

In the same interview, Watson said Clemson coach Dabo Swinney called and explained a comment he made regarding Michael Jordan.

Swinney compared a team passing on Watson to the two NBA teams (Houston and Portland) that passed on Jordan in the 1984 draft - basically predicting they would regret it just as much.

"I'm just applying the pressure to Cleveland right now," Swinney told Watson.

While comparing a college QB to one of the greatest players in NBA history.

No unnecessary pressure on Watson there.

* The Johnny Manziel autograph session in Texas Thursday drew a sizable crowd.

One Manziel fan told espncleveland.com the Browns didn't know how to handle Manziel.

"You don't put a stallion in a stall," the fan said. "He's going to kick his way out. This guy needed to play."

Yes. When hasn't further enabling someone with Manziel's issues worked?

* Via CBS Sports, Manziel said he wanted to play again.

"I just want to get back on the field," he said. "If I played in a  preseason game I'd treat it like the Super Bowl."

Presumably he doesn't mean he'd need the two weeks prior off or that he'd clean out his locker and call it a season after.

* Speaking in support of LeBron James, Dwayne Wade said Charles Barkley should "shut up."

Now that would make for good TV.

* Barkley and Shaquille O'Neal exchanged points on the topic of Barkley's criticism of James.

O'Neal said Barkley got personal when he suggested James didn't want to compete.

True.

Barkley countered by saying his point is James team is the defending NBA champion, so he obviously already has a good roster around him.

Also true.

But please take the conversation somewhere else, guys.

There's no place for valid points in TV sports talk these days, at least not at a reasonable volume.

* Patriots owner Robert Kraft says he knows how long Bill Belichick will coach.

"He knows and I know but he won't be done this year," Kraft said.

Leaving the Improv stages to the other standup comedians for the time being.

* NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said he would have no problem handing the winner's trophy to the New England Patriots Sunday night despite rancor overt his Deflategate ruling, particularly Tom Brady's four-game suspension served at the start of the 2016 season.

As for traveling to Foxboro for a game, Goodell said he'd happily go "if invited."

Right. The only thing that kept him away this postseason was an Evite.

* Kyle Shanahan says his reasons for asking out of Cleveland two seasons ago were never delivered via a PowerPoint presentation as we've reported on numerous occasions, that it was all on paper.

No doubt single spaced.

* Shanahan told cleveland.com leaving Cleveland was a difficult decision but that it's "tough to win when you're not on the same page."

He did not specify the hymnal, as Mike Pettine did.

So Ray Farmer, Pettine and the coaching staff must've put the hymnals away and just locked arms in a display of harmony.

* Baltimore Orioles catcher Caleb Joseph made $523,000 last season.

The club offered him $700,000 this year. He went to arbitration asking for $1 million.

Baltimore won, in part because Joseph wanted one million more dollars than he had RBI.

* I have it on not-so-good authority that Mario Mendoza now wants to make a comeback.

Despite being 66 years old and a lifetime .215 hitter.

* Lane Kiffin did a promotional video as the new head coach of Florida Atlantic.

Players will run through a brick wall for some coaches. Kiffin was so monotone his guys would have trouble running through a paper banner.

On the second try.

 * Tiger Woods withdrew from the Dubai Desert Classic. His agent cited back spasms, though a day earlier Woods did not blame his opening-round 77 on anything physical.

Tiger Woods, since turning pro:

First 322 starts: Five WDs
Last 19 starts: Four WDs

-- Jason Sobel (@JasonSobelESPN) February 3, 2017

Woods, who shares a Dec. 30 birthday with LeBron James, is 41. His game is 61.

* Woods flew commercial from L.A. to Dubai. It was believed to be his first commercial flight in 10 years.

If only that was a feasible reason for withdrawing from the second event of the new golf season.

But unless he had a middle seat in coach behind Recliner Guy that's doubtful.

* Arizona Cardinals quarterback Carson Palmer apparently has pulled his kids from school and moved out of the state, according to Fox Sports 910 in Phoenix.

It has fueled speculation he might retire.

But we all know it probably just means he's bought a house between Jon Gruden and Bill Cowher in Strongsville in anticipation of saving the Browns.

* Aren't you glad all the unfounded rumors about Browns head coaching searches are finally behind us now that the Browns have put them to rest with a 1-15 season?

* The Indians signed Wily Mo Pena and invited him to minor league camp.

It seems they did it on a recommendation from Edwin Encarnacion.

It won't cost much.

That means his new nickname -- Almost Free Wily - has a better chance of sticking than he does.

You're welcome.

* Illinois State signed Kobe Buffalomeat, a 6-7, 285 pound lineman who told reporters he is named after Kobe Bryant.

Also buffalo.

And meat.

John Greco is the second offensive lineman featured in the building blocks series.

CLEVELAND, Ohio - After a 1-15 season that featured numerous quarterback injuries, a league-worst 66 sacks allowed and an inconsistent run game, the Browns' offensive line remains an area of contention for fans.

Some see improvement in young linemen. Some point to injuries as a downfall. Others think the line needs a makeover.

That brings us to John Greco, the latest player in our Cleveland Browns building blocks series. He's a nine-year veteran with the versatility to switch from guard to center. He's also a player who finished the last two seasons on injured reserve.

So it's probably no surprise that Greco finished with 58 percent of the yes vote. Most fans seem fine with keeping Greco around for now, but he fell short of our 67-percent threshold for building block status, indicating many fans would like an upgrade.

Greco is the fifth player to fall short, joining Cameron Erving, Joe Haden, Isaiah Crowell and Cody Kessler. Accepted building blocks include Terrelle Pryor, Jamie Collins, Danny Shelton and Christian Kirksey.

Here is what some of you had to say about Greco, the 31-year-old Youngstown native:

Hokey Wolf: John had a nice year in 2016. Will he be ready for the start of next season after suffering the dreaded Lisfranc injury near season's end? He will play next year at 32 years old, the final year of a club friendly contract paying less than $1 million. He can play center in a pinch but didn't show starter quality when he played there. He should be useful next season, but after that he shouldn't be considered a building block moving forward.

Tboner: I'd like a better option, but if not he's fine

Dummy Dystopia: Availability is the most important ability, that's why Mack and Thomas are so valuable. I like Bitonio and Greco, but they are repeatedly hurt and miss games.

jim1130: Building block? I don't know, but you can never have enough solid lineman.

Dolemite: Greco is a good player, but he isn't exactly a spring chicken as he'll be 32 years old soon.  So no, he isn't a building block

Moosie: John Greco is a good backup guard always has been but not a starter on a good offensive line which we don't have.

Dontfeedtrolls: John Greco at 31  soon to be 32  is not a building block on a building team. He is a good fill in until a replacement is developed. 

ap1987: This is a tough one. I don't think he makes much money so I would keep him because he can play both guard positions and center. He would be a great backup to have

Bakedbrownie: Greco is a crumbling block

Woody: You gotta be kidding me!  Greco a building block?  Even at his best he's never been anything other than mediocre!  On a Good-Fair-Poor scale, he's just fair.  A decent guy to have on the bench because he can play center without dropping the ball or sailing it over the QBs head, but in no respect is he a building block.

Dave Keith: Not a building block, but a reasonably solid player.

johnnyrob: He's not necessarily a building block, but a part of the existing foundation you can leave in place for awhile while you fix gaping holes at center and RT.

Accepted Browns Building Blocks

* Terrelle Pryor

* Jamie Collins

* Danny Shelton

* Christian Kirksey

Rejected Browns Building Blocks

* Cameron Erving

* Joe Haden

* Isaiah Crowell

* Cody Kessler

The Ohio State head coach explained for the first time how the departures of former assistants Ed Warinner and Tim Beck went down. Watch video

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- How did Ohio State hire two new offensive coaches without ever getting rid of any of their current coaches?

Tim Beck and Ed Warinner are in new jobs at Texas and Minnesota, and Ryan Day and Kevin Wilson have replaced them on the Ohio State offensive coaching staff.

That's old news. But Ohio State has never been clear on how all this happened.

Was anybody fired?

Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith told cleveland.com's Bill Landis in a recent interview, when asked specifically about Warinner, that he was not fired.

"He had a contract until April 30," Smith said. "We knew Ed was gonna leave, but he was not fired. He was looking to go. We knew that, we had vetted Kevin, went through the process of a background check and got him on board."

Something needed to change. There was no way Warinner and Beck could both return in their current roles. There was no doubt about that, and the 31-0 loss to Clemson in the College Football Playoff made the final point.

But the changes were already underway, clearly. News of Beck leaving to become a co-offensive coordinator at Texas under former Ohio State assistant Tom Herman broke the morning of Jan. 3, about 56 hours after Ohio State's season ended. 

There's no way that happens that quickly if it wasn't already a possibility before the game. Herman was forming a staff after taking the Texas job in late November. He wouldn't have been holding that spot for Beck if he didn't know Beck was coming.

That same morning on Jan. 3, a source told cleveland.com that Warinner was staying at Ohio State. A week later, Warinner was the new offensive line coach at Minnesota and Wilson was in at Ohio State in Warinner's old job.

Warinner took a lesser job - offensive line coach, no coordinator title - at a lesser program - no offense Minnesota. He didn't decide that on his own.

Meanwhile, contact between Ohio State and Wilson had been floated on an Ohio State message board at BuckeyeGrove.com well before the Fiesta Bowl. That proved to be true.

So what's the point here?

Day and Wilson are in, Beck and Warinner are gone. I'm not arguing with those decisions. I just want Ohio State and Meyer to take some responsibility for what happened. The offensive play-calling structure for two seasons didn't work. It didn't magically fix itself. Meyer had to initiate change because everyone saw the problems.

So before we move on to celebrating the Wilson and Day hirings (reporters should be talking with both of them in the weeks ahead) I wanted Meyer to explain what happened. Signing Day on Wednesday was our first chance to talk to Meyer since the Clemson loss.

Here's what I asked and what Meyer said. You know what I think. Here's how he answered. Watch the video at the top to see exactly how Meyer answered these questions.

Q. On the offensive coaching changes, it seems like the way things went down, things were in the works before the Clemson loss; is that true? And in the end, did you let Tim and Ed go, or what transpired there?

Meyer: No, they wanted to pursue other opportunities. There was good conversation. It was amicable, and there was no one fired. There was no one that you had to leave. There was going to be some changes made. I wasn't quite sure what they were. But to say that all took place before the Clemson game, that's not correct.

There was some conversation before the Clemson game, but our focus was do the very best, go win that game, and then afterwards let's have conversation. That's what happened. But there was no dismissal or anything like that. Guys just pursued other opportunities and moved on.

Q. Ed goes from play caller and co-coordinator at Ohio State to not a coordinator at Minnesota. That's not a sideways move, that's a move down.

Meyer: Well, I don't look at it that way. And once again, I don't want to speak for Ed. That would be maybe something you could visit with him about, but I know one thing, that he did a helluva job here at Ohio State.

Wrapping up Ohio State's National Signing Day

It's the same, annual song and dance -- the tubs of bubble gum, the crates of water bottles, Terry Francona's scooter. It's a yearly rite of spring, and a sign that a new baseball season is on deck. Watch video

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- It's the same, annual song and dance -- the tubs of bubble gum, the crates of water bottles, Terry Francona's scooter.

This year, though, Truck Day arrived quickly.

That's a result of the Indians playing into November and spring training starting a bit earlier because of the World Baseball Classic. No one's complaining. It's a yearly rite of spring, and a sign that a new baseball season is on deck.

A pair of semi trucks, each carrying somewhere between 17,000-20,000 pounds of equipment, apparel and other personal items, were scheduled to depart the Progressive Field loading docks around lunchtime on Friday. They'll reach the Indians' complex in Goodyear, Arizona, and be unloaded sometime Tuesday.

Pitchers and catchers are scheduled to report to the spring training facility on Feb. 12. The rest of the squad reports on Feb. 16.

The Indians' clubhouse staff initiated the budgeting and ordering process within two days of the conclusion of the World Series.

"It brought many more challenges, from a logistics standpoint," said clubhouse manager Tony Amato. "It's just making sure we have everything. There's stuff from the offices we have to grab, stuff from the weight room, the trainer's room. People bring Ballpark Mustard down here. Merchandising. The scoreboard."

The trucks will haul golf clubs, video equipment, baseball equipment, workout machines, sunflower seeds, water, mustard, about 15 bicycles and a slew of new TVs for the complex. The staff already shipped bats and 1,500 dozen baseballs directly to Goodyear.

"There's an eagerness," said Amato, who has worked on the staff since 1988 and in his current role since 2002. "Once you start getting into the workload, you're right back into it. You forget about how [last season] ended and you go right into 2017."

Ed Fisher will drive one of the two trucks for the 10th consecutive year. He'll drive about 650 miles per day, with stops somewhere near Brazil, Indiana, or Effingham, Illinois; somewhere near Oklahoma City and somewhere near Albuquerque, New Mexico. Fisher has worked as a driver for more than 40 years. He said he's racked up nearly 3 million miles on the road.

"This is the best day of my life, every year," Fisher said.

Related: Meisel's Musings as spring training nears

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- With Super Bowl LI (51) just around the corner we decided to make a video showing all the Super Bowl MVP's from the previous 50 years.  As of right now both Joe Montana and Tom Brady are the only two NFL players in history to be 3-time Super Bowl MVP's. However, if Tom Brady get the MVP...

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- With Super Bowl LI (51) just around the corner we decided to make a video showing all the Super Bowl MVP's from the previous 50 years. 

As of right now both Joe Montana and Tom Brady are the only two NFL players in history to be 3-time Super Bowl MVP's. However, if Tom Brady get the MVP for Super Bowl LI he will be the first player in history to be a 4-time Super Bowl MVP. 

The New England Patriots and Atlanta Falcons will square off Sunday on FOX at 6:30PM for Super Bowl LI and after the game we will figure out who will be added to this prestigious MVP list.

Weather conditions for Super Bowl 51 in Houston, Texas with the New England Patriots playing the Atlanta Falcons.

CLEVELAND, Ohio - Super 51 kicks off at 6:30 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 5, at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas, where the New England Patriots face off against the Atlanta Falcons. And the game will have some pretty balmy weather.

Sunday's high is 77 degrees; the low is still warm, at 66 degrees. There's a slight, 30 percent, chance of showers, but they dip to below 20 percent after 6 p.m., right in time for the game. It'll be quite humid, with an average 70 percent humidity, and dew points in the 60s. Winds will reach 15 mph from the south in the afternoon.

During game time, the high temperature will be about 69 degrees, 6.3 degrees above the average Super Bowl high temperature, with a low of 65 (depending on the length of the game), 21.6 degrees warmer than the average.

Super Bowl 51 temperature comparison to average.Kelly Reardon, cleveland.com 

Conditions are looking dry, humid, and mostly cloudy during the game.

Check out the forecast:

6:30 p.m.

Temperature: 69 degrees

Chances of precipitation: 20 percent

Humidity: 78 percent

Winds: 10 mph, from the south

-

8:00 p.m.

Temperature: 66 degrees

Chances of precipitation: 15 percent

Humidity: 85 percent

Winds: 10 mph, from the south

-

9:30 p.m.

Temperature: 65 degrees

Chances of precipitation: 15 percent

Humidity: 90 percent

Winds: 10 mph, from the south

Sunday evening hourly temperature forecast.Kelly Reardon, cleveland.com 

Most notable Super Bowl weather:

The coldest non-domed Super Bowl was in New Orleans, Louisiana, between the Dallas Cowboys and the Miami Dolphins in 1972, when temperatures ranged from 43 to 24 degrees.

The coldest domed Super Bowl was between the San Francisco 49ers and the Cincinnati Bengals in 1982 in Pontiac, California, with temperatures ranging from 16 to 5 degrees.

The warmest Super Bowl of all time was in 2003, when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers faced the Oakland Raiders in San Diego, California, and high temperatures reached 82 degrees.

The snowiest Super Bowl was in 2006, between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Seattle Seahawks in Detroit, Michigan, when 1.1 inches of snow accumulated outside the domed field.

The wettest Super Bowl of all time was in Miami, Florida, in 2007 when the Indianapolis Colts played the Chicago Bears, and 0.92 inches of rain fell on the game.

Fun Super Bowl weather statistics:

• 17 of 50 played indoors (34 percent)
• 19 of 50 had a trace or more of rain (38 percent)
• 2 had snow on game day (1982, 2006)
• 1 played during an ice storm (2000)
• Outside games with high wind gust (1980, 1984, 1989,2007, 2016)

Previous Super Bowl weather, 1967 - 2016 from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration:

Super Bowl weather, 1967-2016.NOAA Southern Region Headquarters 

Super Bowl weather, 1967-2016.NOAA Southern Region Headquarters 

What team are you rooting for?

Keep checking cleveland.com/weather for daily weather updates for Northeast Ohio, and don't forget to submit any weather questions you may have!

Leonhard started five games for the Browns in 2014. At age 34, he was named Wisconsin's defensive coordinator this week.

CLEVELAND,  Ohio -- When Ohio State lost co-defensive coordinators to head coaching jobs in the last two years - Chris Ash after 2015 and Luke Fickell after 2016 - the Buckeyes went to NFL veterans to replace them.

Greg Schiano, 50, the former head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, replaced Ash. Bill Davis, 51, with more than two decades as an NFL assistant, replaced Fickell.

Wisconsin lost its defensive coordinator to a head coaching job in mid-January when Justin Wilcox left for Cal.

The Badgers also went the NFL route - not with an NFL coach, but a recent NFL player.

Jim Leonhard is familiar to Browns fans as a safety who started five games in Cleveland in 2014, knowing the whole time his one year in Cleveland would be in his last in the NFL.

A former walk-on at Wisconsin who made a 10-year career in the NFL after going undrafted, Leonhard wasn't hard to peg as a future coach. He father told cleveland.com in 2014 that he thought his son might end up a college coach.

After retiring, Leonhard studied the college game for a year, then was hired by Wisconsin head coach Paul Chryst as the Badgers' defensive backs coach for 2016. Thursday, he was named the Badgers defensive coordinator at age 34.

My goodness. Jim Leonhard has been named Wisconsin's defensive coordinator. What an ascension for an all-time #Badgers great.

-- Jesse Temple (@jessetemple) February 2, 2017

Wisconsin walk-on
UW Hall of Famer
10yr NFL veteran

Our new coordinator needs no introduction. #OnWisconsinhttps://t.co/8jDzVjl9F7

-- Wisconsin Football (@BadgerFootball) February 2, 2017

Leonhard's quick rise is similar to that of Mike Vrabel, the former Buckeye who retired from the NFL at age 35 in 2011 to join his friend and former teammate Fickell during Fickell's year as Ohio State's head coach.

Vrabel stuck around under Urban Meyer two two years, then left for the NFL, joining the Houston Texans staff. At age 41, he was named the Texans defensive coordinator in January.

But Meyer hasn't made a hire like Leonhard, preferring more veteran coaches. Receivers coach Zach Smith is the only one of the nine OSU assistants in his 30s. Meanwhile, when Fickell left for Cincinnati, he hired former OSU linebacker Marcus Freeman, 31, as his defensive coordinator.

As Leonhard shows, there are some teams in the Big Ten willing to go young with some of their most critical hires.

Why now did Ohio State sign five five-star prospects in one class after signing signing five total in the previous five years? Watch video

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Urban Meyer stands up in the team meeting room in the Woody Hayes Athletic Center every National Signing Day and raves about the top-five class he just signed. It's an annual tradition. 

Ohio State signs elite classes because Meyer may be the best recruiter in college football, but it's also about Ohio Stadium and the facilities and the academics and everything else the Buckeyes sell. 

You know the selling points by now. 

"Everybody is going to have nice facilities," Urban Meyer said this year. "Everybody is going to have a big stadium." 

That's correct. 

Ohio State is in the top percentile of college football with those things, but the schools it recruits against the most -- like Alabama? -- have all of the same things. Everyone has some unique version of a waterfall in their locker room. 

Which brings us to the final question of the five-part series diving into how Meyer signed the best recruiting class in Ohio State history in 2017: Why now? 

Why now did Ohio State sign five five-star prospects in one class after signing signing five total in the previous five years? 

Why now did Ohio State's class finish with an average player rating of 94.47, the highest average in the history of modern-day recruiting? 

Why? 

Ohio State player personnel director Mark Pantoni, the mastermind behind Meyer's recruiting strategy and philosophy, had a very pointed answer to that question. 

"Yeah," Pantoni responded. "I think the three things are, No. 1, the National Championship two years ago, and then last year with the NFL Draft, and then finally just the evolvement of our Real Life Wednesdays program." 

Let's take a closer look at those three things: 

1. The 2016 NFL Draft: Everyone knows about the success Ohio State had in the NFL Draft because the Buckeyes don't stop reminding you with graphics and mentioning it in press conferences. Ohio State had 12 players selected total, two in the top five, three in the top 10 and five in the top 20. 

Ezekiel Elliott became the best running back in the NFL, Joey Bosa produced after a high-profile holdout and Michael Thomas could be the receiver of the future. 

Look, this has been written about a lot. But it's important to reiterate that the NFL Draft is by far the most important thing to prospects trying to pick a school. They may talk about facilities, life after football and school, but every 17-year-old kid who commits to Ohio State thinks he's going to the league. 

"Your best salesmen, to see Zeke Elliott's father and family and to see Josh Perry's mom and dad, they're around," Meyer said. "They speak to players when they're allowed to, on official visits. And the greatest salespeople we have are the people in that locker room and our parents." 

Both of those sets of parents have kids in the NFL. 

2. The 2014 national championship: You may be asking yourself, "If the national championship is playing a role, why didn't it carry over the last two years?" That's a good question. It should be asked. 

First, it's important to remember that it's not like Ohio State didn't sign really, really good classes the previous two years. The 2015 and 2016 recruiting class were top-five classes, so the title probably did have so impact. 

The reason it culminated now is because the recruiting cycles are so sped up. With five-star prospects who live far away, Ohio State has to start recruiting them and building that relationship when they're sophomores. The people in this class were sophomores when Ohio State won a national title, so winning it all was the foundation of some of these relationships. 

3. Real Life Wednesdays: Ohio State has been doing this for a few years now, but it's a 14-week course the program provides players during the spring semester. Meyer invites former athletes and successful business people to speak to the team every Wednesday to give players a chance to learn about positioning themselves for life after football.

The guests have ranged from former running back Robert Smith -- who is now a television personality -- to Jamie Dimon, the president and chief executive officer of JPMorgan Chase. 

"To not only be able to say, 'Here's what we do' and have these great speakers, but then show Billy Price doing an internship with Nike, to have Joe Burrow, Austin and Sam Hubbard go to Goldman Sachs in New York, and so now these are testimonies," Pantoni said. "Our guys actually do this instead of just having guys speak and giving us great information, but now we have guys in the real world doing these great internships.

"I think that was huge for Baron (Browning) and Jeffrey (Okudah) and among others, and I think between those three different things I just mentioned is the huge success we've had." 

* How Urban Meyer assembled Ohio State's best recruiting class ever, part 1: Taking care of Ohio

* How Urban Meyer assembled Ohio State's best recruiting class ever, part 2: Conquering Texas

* How Urban Meyer assembled Ohio State's best recruiting class ever, part 3: Taking Bishop Gorman

* How Urban Meyer assembled Ohio State's best recruiting class ever, part 4: Keeping guys like Shaun Wade