TigerBlog is looking pretty good these days.
Well, at least better than he looked two months ago.
TB has been dieting, and the result has been a loss of about 15 pounds. Mostly what he's done is eliminate red meat, pasta and bread from the daily routine, as well as anything that would be considered sweets.
Yup, that means not a single M&M for more than seven weeks. No ice cream. None of the mini Kit Kat bars that sat in a candy jar on the desk of a coworker.
TB has been at multiple events, including the Ivy League men's lacrosse tournament, where there have been plates of cookies, brownies and cakes. Before the diet, TB would have put up big numbers with such a spread.
And now? Nothing.
It wasn't easy.
So what has he been eating? Lots and lots and lots of fruit, vegetables and fish. Lots of salad. Lots of baked potatoes, which, though being a starch, still fits in with what his doctor told him: If it comes out of the ground, you can eat it.
Baked potatoes make a good lunch. In fact, TB has his fourth one of the week waiting in the fridge as he writes this. No butter though. Well, just a little. And either peas, green beans, mushrooms and/or broccoli mixed in.
Oh, and salads? No smothering it in ranch dressing anymore.
TigerBlog loves cantaloupe, but it's a real pain to cut it up and all. The same is true if you buy an actual pineapple. Grapes are good, the red ones over the green ones.
Mostly he's eaten apples and bananas.
Apples come in all different varieties. TB likes the crispy crunchy kind, so he goes with gala. Also, it's a must to have cold apples, as opposed to room temperature ones.
And then there are bananas, which have to be about the toughest food in the world to figure out. Do you buy the green ones? The yellow ones?
How many days do you need to wait to eat them when you buy them, because they're rarely ready to eat at first. And then there are the old ones. They turn brown on the outside and look like they've rotted long before they actually have. So when do you throw the old ones out?
Can TB keep this new way of eating going? He hopes so.
TigerBlog has a long way to go before he'd be in the lightweight boat, so for as much as his diet has been working, he'd still be a heavyweight rower.
It's a big weekend for Ivy League rowing, as the men will compete in Eastern Sprints on Lake Quinsigamond in Worcester, Mass., and the women will be at the Ivy League championships in South Jersey on the Cooper River.
The Ivy League crowns 33 team champions each year. If you've forgotten, the five Princeton teams that don't compete for an Ivy League title are men's and women's water polo, sprint football, men's volleyball and women's lightweight rowing, who finished second last weekend at Eastern Sprints.
So far in the 2012-13 academic year, the Ivy League champion has been determined in 30 of those 33 sports, and as always, the rowing titles awarded this weekend will be the final ones of the year.
Princeton has won 11 Ivy titles this academic year. Harvard and Cornell have won seven each, so no matter what happens this weekend, Princeton will have won the most. Also, Princeton has already clinched the Ivy League's unofficial all-sports points championship.
The Harvard men are the top seed for both the lightweight and heavyweight races. Princeton is the third seed among the lightweights and fourth seed among the heavies.
As an aside, as TB understands it, the lightweights are determined by the overall weight of everyone in the boat, rather than by a weight-limit for each individual.
The women switched from competing in the Eastern Sprints to having an Ivy League championship a year ago, largely because having an Ivy championship gets the league an automatic bid to the NCAA championships.
The NCAA champion is determined by the overall points totals awarded through races involving three boats, the first varsity 8, the second varsity 8 and the varsity 4.
The Ivy League champion is the first varsity 8 winner, but the automatic bid goes to the other two boats from that school as well.
Princeton, by the way, has twice had the first varsity 8 NCAA champion boat but not won the overall NCAA championship. Princeton is one of three schools to have competed at every NCAA championships since the event began back in 1997, along with Brown and Washington.
For this Ivy championship, the Princeton first varsity 8 is the number one seed, though it is hardly a lock that the Tigers will win. Princeton has defeated No. 2 Yale, who has defeated No. 3 Radcliffe, who has defeated the Tigers.
The weather should be perfect and the racing should be fast.
And if you'll excuse TigerBlog, he has a banana to go eat.
Friday, May 17, 2013
Thursday, May 16, 2013
Stronger Than The Storm
TigerBlog can't even remember what he was watching last night when the commercial came on. Maybe it's because the commercial was so good.
It was the "Stronger Than The Storm" commercial, the one with Governor Christie and his family and some others, inviting people back to the Jersey Shore this summer.
The title refers to Superstorm Sandy, which devastated the Jersey Shore and other areas back on Oct. 29. The inference is that New Jersey is, as the title says, stronger than Sandy, and as devastating as Sandy was, New Jersey - and especially the Shore - is too tough.
When TigerBlog is asked where he grew up, he usually says near the Jersey Shore. Not on the beach per se. Just close enough to it to go whenever he wanted, without having to plan or rent a beach house or anything.
It wasn't until he got to college that he realized that people actually had to plan beach vacations and trips and all, rather than simply roll out of bed, decide it was a good beach day and know that toes could be on sand within 20 minutes.
The roller coaster that was demolished in the Atlantic Ocean off of Seaside Heights two days ago was part of a boardwalk and amusement park that TB went to often when he was in high school. His favorite ride there was, for the record, the pirate ship.
And then last October, it all was wiped out in one act of nature.
TB has been to the Shore since then, and it was a heart-breaking sight. Roads closed. Beach access denied. Houses wiped out.
Now, as Memorial Day weekend - the unofficial start of the summer tourism season - closes in, the Shore is most of the way to it's comeback. And the mantra "Stronger Than The Storm" is perfect.
While he's been blessed to have traveled around the country and the world, TigerBlog has lived all of his life basically within a 50-mile radius of where he currently sits.
There is something different about New Jersey, which sits between New York City and Philadelphia and tries to fight its way out of the shadow of both, especially NYC. It's often the butt of jokes and not always a pretty state, politically or oil refinery-wise, but it has it's own personality, that's for sure.
The biggest news in college athletics in New Jersey yesterday was the hiring by Rutgers of its new Director of Athletics, Julie Hermann, who comes to the school after being the No. 2 person at Louisville.
The fact that she is the third female AD at a BCS school isn't nearly as big a deal as is the task in front of her, and she too will need to be stronger than any storm.
Rutgers finds itself reeling a bit these days after the Mike Rice situation, the forced resignation of its former AD (the very well-liked Tim Pernetti) and the recent revelation that new men's basketball coach Eddie Jordan isn't actually a Rutgers graduate.
Beyond that, Rutgers, much like the state itself, wrestles with finding its own identity in the shadow of some of the giants of college athletics, and that's only going to intensify more as the school moves to the Big 10.
Rutgers ended the winter tied for 102nd in the Learfield Sports Directors' Cup, tied with Brown, as a matter of fact. Princeton, as a point of reference, is 26th.
The hiring of Hermann as RU AD became a bigger story than the hiring of Pernetti was because of all the recent doings at the school, and because she's a woman, and because of her former employer.
TB is fascinated by it.
Rutgers is 20 minutes away from Princeton. The two played in the first college football game, back on Nov. 6, 1869. They continue to play annually in any number of sports, including men's and women's basketball and lacrosse.
On the other hand, Rutgers is heading into the Big 10, a league by the way for which it is a much better fit than it ever was in the Big East, and as it does so, its eyes are firmly on becoming a national big-time football power, and men's basketball to a slightly lesser extent.
Princeton is in the Ivy League and will be in the Ivy League forever.
Rutgers has basically been at the forefront of the conference realignment situation, and its move to the Big 10 is a huge piece of that puzzle. Its impact resonated throughout big-time college athletics.
Princeton enjoys a level of stability in the tumultuous world of college athletics these days.
When TB read the stories (and comments under them) about Hermann's hiring, they were mostly about her lack of direct oversight experience in football. There was almost no talk about a broad-based commitment, the kind that is the cornerstone of Princeton and Ivy League athletics.
The differences between Rutgers and Princeton have always fascinated TB, largely because they basically started in the same place athletically and academically.
Both were among the nine pre-Colonial colleges and universities (seven Ivies minus Cornell, plus Rutgers and William & Mary). Their roots from that first football game bound them for decades after that.
Rutgers long ago went in a different direction than Princeton.
Maybe TB's fascination with it all is what Princeton Athletics would look like today if this school had made some of those same choices.
Yeah, that's it.
Either way, good luck to Julie Hermann. Hopefully she has a great tenure on the banks of the Raritan, a place 20 minutes away - and in another universe.
It was the "Stronger Than The Storm" commercial, the one with Governor Christie and his family and some others, inviting people back to the Jersey Shore this summer.
The title refers to Superstorm Sandy, which devastated the Jersey Shore and other areas back on Oct. 29. The inference is that New Jersey is, as the title says, stronger than Sandy, and as devastating as Sandy was, New Jersey - and especially the Shore - is too tough.
When TigerBlog is asked where he grew up, he usually says near the Jersey Shore. Not on the beach per se. Just close enough to it to go whenever he wanted, without having to plan or rent a beach house or anything.
It wasn't until he got to college that he realized that people actually had to plan beach vacations and trips and all, rather than simply roll out of bed, decide it was a good beach day and know that toes could be on sand within 20 minutes.
The roller coaster that was demolished in the Atlantic Ocean off of Seaside Heights two days ago was part of a boardwalk and amusement park that TB went to often when he was in high school. His favorite ride there was, for the record, the pirate ship.
And then last October, it all was wiped out in one act of nature.
TB has been to the Shore since then, and it was a heart-breaking sight. Roads closed. Beach access denied. Houses wiped out.
Now, as Memorial Day weekend - the unofficial start of the summer tourism season - closes in, the Shore is most of the way to it's comeback. And the mantra "Stronger Than The Storm" is perfect.
While he's been blessed to have traveled around the country and the world, TigerBlog has lived all of his life basically within a 50-mile radius of where he currently sits.
There is something different about New Jersey, which sits between New York City and Philadelphia and tries to fight its way out of the shadow of both, especially NYC. It's often the butt of jokes and not always a pretty state, politically or oil refinery-wise, but it has it's own personality, that's for sure.
The biggest news in college athletics in New Jersey yesterday was the hiring by Rutgers of its new Director of Athletics, Julie Hermann, who comes to the school after being the No. 2 person at Louisville.
The fact that she is the third female AD at a BCS school isn't nearly as big a deal as is the task in front of her, and she too will need to be stronger than any storm.
Rutgers finds itself reeling a bit these days after the Mike Rice situation, the forced resignation of its former AD (the very well-liked Tim Pernetti) and the recent revelation that new men's basketball coach Eddie Jordan isn't actually a Rutgers graduate.
Beyond that, Rutgers, much like the state itself, wrestles with finding its own identity in the shadow of some of the giants of college athletics, and that's only going to intensify more as the school moves to the Big 10.
Rutgers ended the winter tied for 102nd in the Learfield Sports Directors' Cup, tied with Brown, as a matter of fact. Princeton, as a point of reference, is 26th.
The hiring of Hermann as RU AD became a bigger story than the hiring of Pernetti was because of all the recent doings at the school, and because she's a woman, and because of her former employer.
TB is fascinated by it.
Rutgers is 20 minutes away from Princeton. The two played in the first college football game, back on Nov. 6, 1869. They continue to play annually in any number of sports, including men's and women's basketball and lacrosse.
On the other hand, Rutgers is heading into the Big 10, a league by the way for which it is a much better fit than it ever was in the Big East, and as it does so, its eyes are firmly on becoming a national big-time football power, and men's basketball to a slightly lesser extent.
Princeton is in the Ivy League and will be in the Ivy League forever.
Rutgers has basically been at the forefront of the conference realignment situation, and its move to the Big 10 is a huge piece of that puzzle. Its impact resonated throughout big-time college athletics.
Princeton enjoys a level of stability in the tumultuous world of college athletics these days.
When TB read the stories (and comments under them) about Hermann's hiring, they were mostly about her lack of direct oversight experience in football. There was almost no talk about a broad-based commitment, the kind that is the cornerstone of Princeton and Ivy League athletics.
The differences between Rutgers and Princeton have always fascinated TB, largely because they basically started in the same place athletically and academically.
Both were among the nine pre-Colonial colleges and universities (seven Ivies minus Cornell, plus Rutgers and William & Mary). Their roots from that first football game bound them for decades after that.
Rutgers long ago went in a different direction than Princeton.
Maybe TB's fascination with it all is what Princeton Athletics would look like today if this school had made some of those same choices.
Yeah, that's it.
Either way, good luck to Julie Hermann. Hopefully she has a great tenure on the banks of the Raritan, a place 20 minutes away - and in another universe.
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
Remembering An Old Friend On A Day With Nothing To Say
TigerBlog has been procrastinating.
Why? Because he couldn't think of anything to write about.
It happens once every few weeks. Eventually he comes up with something. He will today, too.
TB has never missed his self-imposed noon deadline, and he won't today either.
Some weeks he has it all figured out in advance. This Monday. That Tuesday. That Wednesday.
Other times he has some things in his mind that he wants to talk about, and so he uses them as reserve.
Most days, though, something just sort of presents itself, either over his Corn Flakes or Rice Krispies or on the drive in or when he starts to look at the day's headlines.
Today?
Nothing.
With nothing jumping out at him today, TB figured he'd look back to see what he wrote about this time last year.
If you go back exactly one year, to May 15, 2012, then he wrote about how there were no more event meetings for the year. If you go back 52 weeks, to Wednesday, May 16, 2012, then there was a guest TigerBlog by men's soccer coach Jim Barlow, on the end of the Premier League season.
Perhaps inspired by the fact that Barlow wrote such a good piece, TB decided to ask the next coach who walked by to write a guest TB for him. That coach turned out to be water polo coach Luis Nicolao, which led to this exchange:
TB: Want to write a guest blog?
LN: Sure. Can I write about how great the Oakland Raiders' draft was?
TB isn't sure of which is more likely: the Raiders' draft class' dominating and returning the Silver and Black to prominence or Nicolao's writing a guest blog.
Intrigued, TB went back exactly two years and then 104 weeks to see what he wrote.
Back in 2011, the subjects were Princeton's league-record 15th Ivy League championship of that academic year and then how Sam Mulroy had inadvertently been named Ivy baseball Player of the Year, only to be told later it was a math error and then how Mulroy said that it was okay with him because he didn't want to win an award he hadn't earned.
In 2010?
The entry on this Wednesday was about how Princeton had locked up the Ivy League's all-sports points championship again. The entry on May 15? There wasn't one, because it was a Sunday. On Monday the 16th? TB wrote about how Princeton had lost a tough game to Notre Dame in the opening round of the NCAA men's lacrosse tournament, to an ND team that would go on to lose in the championship game in OT.
The Princeton-ND entry centered around Chris Bates' comment that "the finality is hard to stomach," which remains perhaps the best commentary TB has ever heard about how harsh the end of college seasons can be, something that was true for both the men and women this year.
And in 2009?
On May 15, TB wrote about the next day's NCAA lacrosse quarterfinal between Princeton and Cornell and had a pretty good analysis of what might happen. He never would have in his wildest dreams thought that it was going to be Bill Tierney's final game as Tiger head coach and that Tierney would leave for Denver a month later.
That game, by the way, would be won 6-4 by Cornell. The Big Red led 5-1 at halftime, and Princeton then played ferocious defense the rest of the way, allowing only one second-half goal. Unfortunately, the Tigers fell short in a game that's in the top five all-time of outcomes that still bother TB (the men's basketball game against Michigan State in the second round of the 1998 NCAA tournament is first).
On the Wednesday of that week, TB wrote a more poignant piece about the death of Gary Pietruch, who was the long-time engineer at the studio for Princeton games on the radio. TB had talked to Pietruch a million times on his headset as he connected, checked levels and broadcast games, but he'd never actually met him.
Then, on that morning, TB had seen Pietruch's obituary in the newspaper. It was a shocking experience, one that TB remembers vividly.
He then sat down and wrote this:
TigerBlog spoke to him all the time and never once actually saw him in person. When TB stumbled upon the obituary, he was at a total loss for words. In fact, when TB first saw it and saw that he was 52 years old, the first thought was that it had to be the father, since TB would have guessed that Gary was much younger. Even after reading that he had graduated from Ewing High and was active on the alumni committee there and that he had then gone to Mercer County College and Temple, and even after seeing that it listed his passion as radio, TigerBlog didn't believe it was the same person.
There have been many occassions in the 20 years that TB has been broadcasting Princeton sports that there has been worry about the engineer. Will he show up? Will he be on time? What if he isn't? Then what? How are we going to get on the air?
With Gary, there was never any of that. In fact, during men's lacrosse broadcasts, we had developed a routine. TB would get to the location of the game and call in to connect the radio equipment. This would then enable TB to hear what was playing on the station at that moment.
Eventually, around 40 minutes before gametime, TigerBlog would call into the studio and ask for Gary. He was there, of course, 100% of the time. He'd always answer the phone the same way, with an elongated calling of TB's first name, starting high and then getting deeper.
We'd exchange a few pleasantries, and then we'd do a check of levels. Once that was done, he'd tell me that he was playing the open in 15 minutes or whatever it was, and that would be it. TB would put his headset on in 14:30 and then go when the cue was played.
During the games, TigerBlog would often hear Gary's voice through the headset, reminding him to take a station ID at the top of the hour or that we were getting either ahead or behind in breaks or sometimes even to comment on how the game was going. The only time TB even got remotely mad at him was when a two-minute break would be requested and Gary would only put on one minute of commercials. In the grand scheme of things, that's not quite a big deal.
TB could often imagine his sitting in the studio on a beautiful day, listening to a game that he often said he had never seen and knew little about. It's a pity that it took until reading his obit to realize that the studio was where he loved to be.
After reading Gary Pietruch's obit, TigerBlog felt like he'd lost a friend. Perhaps he was a friend TB had never met, but a friend nonetheless.
On a day when TB had nothing to say, there are worse things to do than remember Gary Pietruch.
Why? Because he couldn't think of anything to write about.
It happens once every few weeks. Eventually he comes up with something. He will today, too.
TB has never missed his self-imposed noon deadline, and he won't today either.
Some weeks he has it all figured out in advance. This Monday. That Tuesday. That Wednesday.
Other times he has some things in his mind that he wants to talk about, and so he uses them as reserve.
Most days, though, something just sort of presents itself, either over his Corn Flakes or Rice Krispies or on the drive in or when he starts to look at the day's headlines.
Today?
Nothing.
With nothing jumping out at him today, TB figured he'd look back to see what he wrote about this time last year.
If you go back exactly one year, to May 15, 2012, then he wrote about how there were no more event meetings for the year. If you go back 52 weeks, to Wednesday, May 16, 2012, then there was a guest TigerBlog by men's soccer coach Jim Barlow, on the end of the Premier League season.
Perhaps inspired by the fact that Barlow wrote such a good piece, TB decided to ask the next coach who walked by to write a guest TB for him. That coach turned out to be water polo coach Luis Nicolao, which led to this exchange:
TB: Want to write a guest blog?
LN: Sure. Can I write about how great the Oakland Raiders' draft was?
TB isn't sure of which is more likely: the Raiders' draft class' dominating and returning the Silver and Black to prominence or Nicolao's writing a guest blog.
Intrigued, TB went back exactly two years and then 104 weeks to see what he wrote.
Back in 2011, the subjects were Princeton's league-record 15th Ivy League championship of that academic year and then how Sam Mulroy had inadvertently been named Ivy baseball Player of the Year, only to be told later it was a math error and then how Mulroy said that it was okay with him because he didn't want to win an award he hadn't earned.
In 2010?
The entry on this Wednesday was about how Princeton had locked up the Ivy League's all-sports points championship again. The entry on May 15? There wasn't one, because it was a Sunday. On Monday the 16th? TB wrote about how Princeton had lost a tough game to Notre Dame in the opening round of the NCAA men's lacrosse tournament, to an ND team that would go on to lose in the championship game in OT.
The Princeton-ND entry centered around Chris Bates' comment that "the finality is hard to stomach," which remains perhaps the best commentary TB has ever heard about how harsh the end of college seasons can be, something that was true for both the men and women this year.
And in 2009?
On May 15, TB wrote about the next day's NCAA lacrosse quarterfinal between Princeton and Cornell and had a pretty good analysis of what might happen. He never would have in his wildest dreams thought that it was going to be Bill Tierney's final game as Tiger head coach and that Tierney would leave for Denver a month later.
That game, by the way, would be won 6-4 by Cornell. The Big Red led 5-1 at halftime, and Princeton then played ferocious defense the rest of the way, allowing only one second-half goal. Unfortunately, the Tigers fell short in a game that's in the top five all-time of outcomes that still bother TB (the men's basketball game against Michigan State in the second round of the 1998 NCAA tournament is first).
On the Wednesday of that week, TB wrote a more poignant piece about the death of Gary Pietruch, who was the long-time engineer at the studio for Princeton games on the radio. TB had talked to Pietruch a million times on his headset as he connected, checked levels and broadcast games, but he'd never actually met him.
Then, on that morning, TB had seen Pietruch's obituary in the newspaper. It was a shocking experience, one that TB remembers vividly.
He then sat down and wrote this:
TigerBlog spoke to him all the time and never once actually saw him in person. When TB stumbled upon the obituary, he was at a total loss for words. In fact, when TB first saw it and saw that he was 52 years old, the first thought was that it had to be the father, since TB would have guessed that Gary was much younger. Even after reading that he had graduated from Ewing High and was active on the alumni committee there and that he had then gone to Mercer County College and Temple, and even after seeing that it listed his passion as radio, TigerBlog didn't believe it was the same person.
There have been many occassions in the 20 years that TB has been broadcasting Princeton sports that there has been worry about the engineer. Will he show up? Will he be on time? What if he isn't? Then what? How are we going to get on the air?
With Gary, there was never any of that. In fact, during men's lacrosse broadcasts, we had developed a routine. TB would get to the location of the game and call in to connect the radio equipment. This would then enable TB to hear what was playing on the station at that moment.
Eventually, around 40 minutes before gametime, TigerBlog would call into the studio and ask for Gary. He was there, of course, 100% of the time. He'd always answer the phone the same way, with an elongated calling of TB's first name, starting high and then getting deeper.
We'd exchange a few pleasantries, and then we'd do a check of levels. Once that was done, he'd tell me that he was playing the open in 15 minutes or whatever it was, and that would be it. TB would put his headset on in 14:30 and then go when the cue was played.
During the games, TigerBlog would often hear Gary's voice through the headset, reminding him to take a station ID at the top of the hour or that we were getting either ahead or behind in breaks or sometimes even to comment on how the game was going. The only time TB even got remotely mad at him was when a two-minute break would be requested and Gary would only put on one minute of commercials. In the grand scheme of things, that's not quite a big deal.
TB could often imagine his sitting in the studio on a beautiful day, listening to a game that he often said he had never seen and knew little about. It's a pity that it took until reading his obit to realize that the studio was where he loved to be.
After reading Gary Pietruch's obit, TigerBlog felt like he'd lost a friend. Perhaps he was a friend TB had never met, but a friend nonetheless.
On a day when TB had nothing to say, there are worse things to do than remember Gary Pietruch.
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
Sour Grapes
TigerBlog wrote last week about the NCAA men's lacrosse selections and said very clearly that his thoughts should not be construed as sour grapes.
Now, after watching the first weekend of the tournament, TB is back with something that is a little closer to the sour grape department.
The eight teams remaining in the NCAA tournament include two that Princeton beat (Yale and Cornell, who is the interest of full disclosure also beat Princeton) and two others that Princeton lost to be one (top five seeds Syracuse and North Carolina).
Cornell blasted Maryland in the opening round in a game that was never close. Yale, down big at the half, thundered past Penn State in the second half.
What does this tell you? That the Ivy League was pretty good this year.
Loyola lost a tough first-round game to Duke, falling in the second OT after a great performance by Greyhounds goalie Jack Runkel, who made 22 saves. The key moment of that game came in the final minute of regulation, when on the face-off after Duke had tied the score, Loyola coach Charlie Toomey called timeout when his face-off man Blake Burkhart reached the box - and a split-second before Burkhart shot and beat Duke goalie Kyle Turri, only to have it waved off.
It wasn't easy for Toomey, who led the Hounds to last year's NCAA championship, to have to explain after the game what happened, but he absolutely 100% made the right call. Burkhart had one goal on the year, and had he shot wide, Duke would have probably gotten the ball back with plenty of time to clear and score.
As the chair of the committee said, the Greyhounds were the last team in, while Bucknell was the first team out. TB presumes that Princeton and Penn were the second and third teams out.
The logic for including Loyola was that the Greyhounds had a top five RPI win, which as TB detailed last week, was against Ohio State back in March when OSU was ranked 16th (in the polls, not in RPI).
Bucknell was left out because it did not have a top five win, though Bucknell did beat Cornell when ranked second in the polls (not in RPI, which hadn't been released yet). In fact, Bucknell's win over Cornell would have been a top five win had Princeton not beaten Cornell in the Ivy tournament semifinals, but it dropped out of the top five after that and knocked Bucknell out of the tournament.
In truth, Princeton's chance to get in the NCAA tournament was to win the Ivy tournament, and the Tigers were tied with Yale 6-6 in the third quarter of the final.
The team's at-large chances disappeared when Lehigh beat Bucknell in the Patriot League final and Towson upset Penn State in the ECAC final.
And going by the selection criteria, yes, Princeton should not have gotten an at-large bid, so this isn't really a situation where TB feels that Princeton was done in by the committee.
No, it was the criteria. That's the problem. The criteria are black and white, with no room for gray area. And choosing a field should be all about the gray area of deciding Team A had a better year than Team B.
How to do that? Well, if it's done relying on RPI, then nothing distinguishes wins in April and May from wins in March and even February, and losses by one goal and 15 goals are treated equally.
Bucknell's claim to an at-large bid was a four-day stretch in March when it defeated Cornell and Albany. Of course, a win over Cornell was something Princeton also had. And Bucknell beat Cornell in the snow on a Tuesday in early March in a game in which Cornell's Steve Mock didn't play.
Loyola's big win was Ohio State, followed by Fairfield (a solid win) and Johns Hopkins (a team Princeton also beat, only back when JHU was playing better). And the Ohio State win to TB gets a big asterisk, as Ohio State beat Loyola 18-11 in the ECAC tournament three days before the selections.
Anyway, TB's point is that he saw nothing last week to convince him that Princeton wasn't one of the eight best teams in the country that didn't get an automatic bid.
Unfortunately, the team didn't get its chance, and it made watching the first round a bit unsatisfying.
TB's pre-tournament Final Four picks were North Carolina, Syracuse, Cornell and Duke.
When he gets to Lincoln Financial Field a week from Saturday for the Final Four, he'll be very surprised if it's not Cornell-Duke in one semi and far less surprised if it's Yale-Denver in the other.
Denver can score with anyone and can win enough face-offs to have enough possession to outrun the Tar Heels in a game that TB figures will have more than the 33 goals in the Denver-Albany game last weekend.
Yale could definitely impose its will on Syracuse by winning face-offs and dominating possession time. The Cuse won just one face-off against Bryant last week, and while Yale doesn't figure to win 22 of 23 like Bryant's Kevin Massa did, it's still a big advantage for the Bulldogs, who are playing great right now.
Oh, and in case you couldn't guess, TB is rooting for Denver to win the title.
Still, Carolina - woefully underseeded at No. 5 - is TB's pick to win it all. And why is that?
Carolina is the best team that TB has seen this year.
Princeton lost to Carolina by one. At Carolina.
Sour grapes.
Now, after watching the first weekend of the tournament, TB is back with something that is a little closer to the sour grape department.
The eight teams remaining in the NCAA tournament include two that Princeton beat (Yale and Cornell, who is the interest of full disclosure also beat Princeton) and two others that Princeton lost to be one (top five seeds Syracuse and North Carolina).
Cornell blasted Maryland in the opening round in a game that was never close. Yale, down big at the half, thundered past Penn State in the second half.
What does this tell you? That the Ivy League was pretty good this year.
Loyola lost a tough first-round game to Duke, falling in the second OT after a great performance by Greyhounds goalie Jack Runkel, who made 22 saves. The key moment of that game came in the final minute of regulation, when on the face-off after Duke had tied the score, Loyola coach Charlie Toomey called timeout when his face-off man Blake Burkhart reached the box - and a split-second before Burkhart shot and beat Duke goalie Kyle Turri, only to have it waved off.
It wasn't easy for Toomey, who led the Hounds to last year's NCAA championship, to have to explain after the game what happened, but he absolutely 100% made the right call. Burkhart had one goal on the year, and had he shot wide, Duke would have probably gotten the ball back with plenty of time to clear and score.
As the chair of the committee said, the Greyhounds were the last team in, while Bucknell was the first team out. TB presumes that Princeton and Penn were the second and third teams out.
The logic for including Loyola was that the Greyhounds had a top five RPI win, which as TB detailed last week, was against Ohio State back in March when OSU was ranked 16th (in the polls, not in RPI).
Bucknell was left out because it did not have a top five win, though Bucknell did beat Cornell when ranked second in the polls (not in RPI, which hadn't been released yet). In fact, Bucknell's win over Cornell would have been a top five win had Princeton not beaten Cornell in the Ivy tournament semifinals, but it dropped out of the top five after that and knocked Bucknell out of the tournament.
In truth, Princeton's chance to get in the NCAA tournament was to win the Ivy tournament, and the Tigers were tied with Yale 6-6 in the third quarter of the final.
The team's at-large chances disappeared when Lehigh beat Bucknell in the Patriot League final and Towson upset Penn State in the ECAC final.
And going by the selection criteria, yes, Princeton should not have gotten an at-large bid, so this isn't really a situation where TB feels that Princeton was done in by the committee.
No, it was the criteria. That's the problem. The criteria are black and white, with no room for gray area. And choosing a field should be all about the gray area of deciding Team A had a better year than Team B.
How to do that? Well, if it's done relying on RPI, then nothing distinguishes wins in April and May from wins in March and even February, and losses by one goal and 15 goals are treated equally.
Bucknell's claim to an at-large bid was a four-day stretch in March when it defeated Cornell and Albany. Of course, a win over Cornell was something Princeton also had. And Bucknell beat Cornell in the snow on a Tuesday in early March in a game in which Cornell's Steve Mock didn't play.
Loyola's big win was Ohio State, followed by Fairfield (a solid win) and Johns Hopkins (a team Princeton also beat, only back when JHU was playing better). And the Ohio State win to TB gets a big asterisk, as Ohio State beat Loyola 18-11 in the ECAC tournament three days before the selections.
Anyway, TB's point is that he saw nothing last week to convince him that Princeton wasn't one of the eight best teams in the country that didn't get an automatic bid.
Unfortunately, the team didn't get its chance, and it made watching the first round a bit unsatisfying.
TB's pre-tournament Final Four picks were North Carolina, Syracuse, Cornell and Duke.
When he gets to Lincoln Financial Field a week from Saturday for the Final Four, he'll be very surprised if it's not Cornell-Duke in one semi and far less surprised if it's Yale-Denver in the other.
Denver can score with anyone and can win enough face-offs to have enough possession to outrun the Tar Heels in a game that TB figures will have more than the 33 goals in the Denver-Albany game last weekend.
Yale could definitely impose its will on Syracuse by winning face-offs and dominating possession time. The Cuse won just one face-off against Bryant last week, and while Yale doesn't figure to win 22 of 23 like Bryant's Kevin Massa did, it's still a big advantage for the Bulldogs, who are playing great right now.
Oh, and in case you couldn't guess, TB is rooting for Denver to win the title.
Still, Carolina - woefully underseeded at No. 5 - is TB's pick to win it all. And why is that?
Carolina is the best team that TB has seen this year.
Princeton lost to Carolina by one. At Carolina.
Sour grapes.
Monday, May 13, 2013
Finding Consolation
TigerBlog turned on the women's lacrosse videostream Friday evening just in time to see a disallowed Princeton goal and an over-the-back call on a draw control that took possession away from the Tigers when they needed it most.
TB isn't saying either was a bad call. Far from it.
What he's saying is that Princeton's 10-9 loss to Duke in the opening round of the NCAA tournament was obviously a tough one, and the finality of such a loss in the postseason is always cruel.
Almost nothing separated Princeton and Duke Friday night, other than the fact Duke got to move on and Princeton had its season ended abruptly after the charging call on the Princeton non-goal in the first OT and then the turnover on the draw control that led to the only possession of the sudden-death part of overtime, as the Blue Devils cashed it in for the game-winner.
Duke is still playing, after having doubled-up Navy 10-5 in the second round to advance to a quarterfinal meeting with No. 1 Maryland. Princeton, clearly Duke's equal, got to come home after the loss.
It's not an easy way for a season to come to a close. In fact it's downright harsh.
It's also the reality of the NCAA tournament, and TB has seen it so many times, from both sides.
TigerBog has been in both lockerrooms at those moments, and the 180-degree change in emotions stems from a 1-degree separation between the teams during the game. It comes as little consolation at that moment that it was a great game or that it was a great season. In the moment, it just stings.
Another Princeton team that lost in the NCAA tournament Friday had a wildly different emotional experience.
TigerBlog can't think of any other NCAA tournament that has a consolation round other than the water polo tournaments. In the case of the Princeton women's water polo team this weekend, there was all kinds of consolation after losing the first game.
Princeton played a close game against third-seeded UCLA Friday in the quarterfinal round before falling 8-6. After that, it was a win over Iona in the first consolation game and then an OT win over fifth-seeded UC San Diego yesterday for fifth place.
Princeton's Ashleigh Johnson broke the tournament record for saves with 38, including 14 yesterday in the win over UC San Diego.
USC won the title 10-9 over Stanford in the longest game in NCAA championship history, as it went through the two play-it-out overtimes and then into the third sudden death overtime.
TB also doesn't understand why the team that won its first game and lost its next two gets to be fourth and the team that loses its first and wins its next two gets to be fifth.
Still, Princeton came home with a 2-1 record in an eight-team field that included five teams from California plus one from Hawaii.
Princeton water polo, both the men and women (both coached by Luis Nicoloa and Derek Ellingson), is on a tremendous run in the last few years, and their best moments have come in the consolation rounds, which don't exist in other sports. The men have twice finished third, while the women have now gone 3-1 in the consolation rounds the last two years.
The golf championships don't quite have consolation rounds per se, but they do have a format that allows individuals to continue to advance beyond when their team is eliminated. That's something of a consolation, no?
Princeton's Kelly Shon, the Ivy League champion, played three rounds at Auburn this weekend knowing that if she finished among the top two individuals after the players from the eight teams that would advance that she would earn a spot in the NCAA finals May 21-24 at Georgia.
It's a tough way to play, because it's hard to know who the competition is from minute to minute, unless it's clear that the players nearest to you are also there as individuals.
Shon shot a 71-68-70 to go seven-under and finish second overall, eliminating any of the suspense. Shon's bid to the NCAA finals is Princeton's second and first since Mary Moan in 1997.
It's a huge accomplishment for Shon and for the Princeton program.
And those were some of the headlines from Princeton's weekend.
Consolation for some.
TB isn't saying either was a bad call. Far from it.
What he's saying is that Princeton's 10-9 loss to Duke in the opening round of the NCAA tournament was obviously a tough one, and the finality of such a loss in the postseason is always cruel.
Almost nothing separated Princeton and Duke Friday night, other than the fact Duke got to move on and Princeton had its season ended abruptly after the charging call on the Princeton non-goal in the first OT and then the turnover on the draw control that led to the only possession of the sudden-death part of overtime, as the Blue Devils cashed it in for the game-winner.
Duke is still playing, after having doubled-up Navy 10-5 in the second round to advance to a quarterfinal meeting with No. 1 Maryland. Princeton, clearly Duke's equal, got to come home after the loss.
It's not an easy way for a season to come to a close. In fact it's downright harsh.
It's also the reality of the NCAA tournament, and TB has seen it so many times, from both sides.
TigerBog has been in both lockerrooms at those moments, and the 180-degree change in emotions stems from a 1-degree separation between the teams during the game. It comes as little consolation at that moment that it was a great game or that it was a great season. In the moment, it just stings.
Another Princeton team that lost in the NCAA tournament Friday had a wildly different emotional experience.
TigerBlog can't think of any other NCAA tournament that has a consolation round other than the water polo tournaments. In the case of the Princeton women's water polo team this weekend, there was all kinds of consolation after losing the first game.
Princeton played a close game against third-seeded UCLA Friday in the quarterfinal round before falling 8-6. After that, it was a win over Iona in the first consolation game and then an OT win over fifth-seeded UC San Diego yesterday for fifth place.
Princeton's Ashleigh Johnson broke the tournament record for saves with 38, including 14 yesterday in the win over UC San Diego.
USC won the title 10-9 over Stanford in the longest game in NCAA championship history, as it went through the two play-it-out overtimes and then into the third sudden death overtime.
TB also doesn't understand why the team that won its first game and lost its next two gets to be fourth and the team that loses its first and wins its next two gets to be fifth.
Still, Princeton came home with a 2-1 record in an eight-team field that included five teams from California plus one from Hawaii.
Princeton water polo, both the men and women (both coached by Luis Nicoloa and Derek Ellingson), is on a tremendous run in the last few years, and their best moments have come in the consolation rounds, which don't exist in other sports. The men have twice finished third, while the women have now gone 3-1 in the consolation rounds the last two years.
The golf championships don't quite have consolation rounds per se, but they do have a format that allows individuals to continue to advance beyond when their team is eliminated. That's something of a consolation, no?
Princeton's Kelly Shon, the Ivy League champion, played three rounds at Auburn this weekend knowing that if she finished among the top two individuals after the players from the eight teams that would advance that she would earn a spot in the NCAA finals May 21-24 at Georgia.
It's a tough way to play, because it's hard to know who the competition is from minute to minute, unless it's clear that the players nearest to you are also there as individuals.
Shon shot a 71-68-70 to go seven-under and finish second overall, eliminating any of the suspense. Shon's bid to the NCAA finals is Princeton's second and first since Mary Moan in 1997.
It's a huge accomplishment for Shon and for the Princeton program.
And those were some of the headlines from Princeton's weekend.
Consolation for some.
Friday, May 10, 2013
Open Wide
TigerBlog went to the dentist yesterday.
His dentist, Dr. Brody, is a nice guy. A Penn grad, which doesn't make him a bad person.
The stereotype, of course, has the dentist carrying on a conversation while the patient tries to answer, despite having all kinds of instruments, suction devices, cotton balls and fingers jammed in his/her mouth.
Bill Cosby did a great spoof of this in his one-man show from the 1980s.
"So, you do much fishing?"
"mbdlaefjaosda."
"Oh, I've fished there many times myself."
TigerBlog isn't sure why people become dentists. If you're going to go through all that trouble to go to school that long and work that hard, why not become a doctor?
Why spend all day every day with your hands in people's mouths? TB doesn't even like putting his fingers in his own mouth.
On the other hand, somebody has to be a dentist, and Dr. Brody has the perfect temperament for it.
He's very calm, very pleasant. He doesn't overdo it on the hysteria about gums and stuff. He cleans your teeth, tells you to floss more, does an x-ray or two every few years and sends you on your way for another six months.
Oh, and he gives you a new toothbrush and floss when you leave. How great is that?
Dr. Brody has a flat screen in his office so patients can watch TV while sharp metal instruments are used to probe their teeth.
Yesterday, while TB was in the chair, the TV was on a news channel, and for the entire time he was watching, the only story covered was the Jodi Arias murder trial. TB gets it: attractive woman, tawdry details. What he doesn't get is why strangers outside a courthouse would cheer so happily and chant "USA, USA" when a verdict is read.
Or, for that matter, why a woman would thrust her middle finger into the face of Joakim Noam of the Chicago Bulls in Miami the other night, but hey, that's another story for another day.
Dr. Brody, in mid-clean, lamented what this said about contemporary America, how it's getting harder and harder to separate reality TV from reality.
TB agreed completely and said so. It came out this way: "mbdlaefjaosda."
When TB got back from the dentist, he saw the women's lacrosse team finishing its last practice before heading to Annapolis for the NCAA tournament. The Tigers take on Duke tonight at 7:15, and the winner gets the winner of Navy-Monmouth Sunday to advance to the quarterfinals in the 26-team field.
The athletic year at Princeton is quickly winding down, with very little left on the schedule.
The men's golf team is at Washington State next weekend for the NCAA regionals. The Ivy League rowing championships are next weekend as well, with the national championships to follow.
Track and field is still going strong, with the IC4A/ECAC championships here this weekend and then the NCAA events after that. Matija Pecotic of the men's tennis team competes next week in the NCAA tournament as well.
Kelly Shon of the women's golf team is trying to become one of two individuals to move out of her regional to the NCAA finals, other than the players on the eight teams that will qualify. Her 1-under yesterday in the first round has her in contention, with rounds today and tomorrow.
And then there's women's water polo, which plays this weekend in the NCAA championships as well. Princeton, the sixth-seed, plays No. 3 UCLA this afternoon at 3:30 in the quarterfinals and then is guaranteed two more games after that.
Though it seemed like it just began, the 2012-13 academic year will be completely finished soon.
The PVC senior awards banquet is coming up. So is Reunions. And graduation. And summer.
Time continues to fly. It must mean TB is in the right profession.
Beats shoving his fingers into strangers' mouths all day.
His dentist, Dr. Brody, is a nice guy. A Penn grad, which doesn't make him a bad person.
The stereotype, of course, has the dentist carrying on a conversation while the patient tries to answer, despite having all kinds of instruments, suction devices, cotton balls and fingers jammed in his/her mouth.
Bill Cosby did a great spoof of this in his one-man show from the 1980s.
"So, you do much fishing?"
"mbdlaefjaosda."
"Oh, I've fished there many times myself."
TigerBlog isn't sure why people become dentists. If you're going to go through all that trouble to go to school that long and work that hard, why not become a doctor?
Why spend all day every day with your hands in people's mouths? TB doesn't even like putting his fingers in his own mouth.
On the other hand, somebody has to be a dentist, and Dr. Brody has the perfect temperament for it.
He's very calm, very pleasant. He doesn't overdo it on the hysteria about gums and stuff. He cleans your teeth, tells you to floss more, does an x-ray or two every few years and sends you on your way for another six months.
Oh, and he gives you a new toothbrush and floss when you leave. How great is that?
Dr. Brody has a flat screen in his office so patients can watch TV while sharp metal instruments are used to probe their teeth.
Yesterday, while TB was in the chair, the TV was on a news channel, and for the entire time he was watching, the only story covered was the Jodi Arias murder trial. TB gets it: attractive woman, tawdry details. What he doesn't get is why strangers outside a courthouse would cheer so happily and chant "USA, USA" when a verdict is read.
Or, for that matter, why a woman would thrust her middle finger into the face of Joakim Noam of the Chicago Bulls in Miami the other night, but hey, that's another story for another day.
Dr. Brody, in mid-clean, lamented what this said about contemporary America, how it's getting harder and harder to separate reality TV from reality.
TB agreed completely and said so. It came out this way: "mbdlaefjaosda."
When TB got back from the dentist, he saw the women's lacrosse team finishing its last practice before heading to Annapolis for the NCAA tournament. The Tigers take on Duke tonight at 7:15, and the winner gets the winner of Navy-Monmouth Sunday to advance to the quarterfinals in the 26-team field.
The athletic year at Princeton is quickly winding down, with very little left on the schedule.
The men's golf team is at Washington State next weekend for the NCAA regionals. The Ivy League rowing championships are next weekend as well, with the national championships to follow.
Track and field is still going strong, with the IC4A/ECAC championships here this weekend and then the NCAA events after that. Matija Pecotic of the men's tennis team competes next week in the NCAA tournament as well.
Kelly Shon of the women's golf team is trying to become one of two individuals to move out of her regional to the NCAA finals, other than the players on the eight teams that will qualify. Her 1-under yesterday in the first round has her in contention, with rounds today and tomorrow.
And then there's women's water polo, which plays this weekend in the NCAA championships as well. Princeton, the sixth-seed, plays No. 3 UCLA this afternoon at 3:30 in the quarterfinals and then is guaranteed two more games after that.
Though it seemed like it just began, the 2012-13 academic year will be completely finished soon.
The PVC senior awards banquet is coming up. So is Reunions. And graduation. And summer.
Time continues to fly. It must mean TB is in the right profession.
Beats shoving his fingers into strangers' mouths all day.
Thursday, May 9, 2013
Off To Annapolis
One of the best games that TigerBlog has ever seen was the one where Bobby Nystrom scored in overtime to beat the Flyers and give the Islanders their first Stanley Cup.
Of course, since it was in May 1980, it wasn't quite the best hockey game that TB had seen that year.
The "Miracle On Ice" notwithstanding, that Islanders-Flyers game was an extraordinary one, even before Nystrom's game-winner. TB isn't going to look up all the details, though he does remember a controversial goal after the Islanders appeared to be offsides and a back-and-forth OT before Nystrom's goal off a perfect feed from John Tonelli.
TigerBlog doesn't watch much of the NHL during the regular season. Actually, he doesn't watch much during the Stanley Cup playoffs either.
If he had to pick a favorite NHL team, it would be the Islanders, who won four straight Stanley Cups beginning with the one in 1980. The team has been awful for years, and being saddled with a long-out-of-date arena hasn't helped.
Now the team is in the playoffs again for the first time in a long time, tied 2-2 with the Penguins heading into tonight's Game 5 in Pittsburgh.
Like most casual NHL watchers, TB does recognize the drama of playoff overtime.
Last night, TB stumbled upon the Maple Leafs-Bruins game just as it was going to OT, so he stayed with it until the Bruins' game-winner.
TB was in Toronto once and absolutely loved it. He likes Boston as a city, but he would never, ever root for the Bruins. Some teams are just like that.
The drama of playoff overtimes is obvious, and it's even more acute in a Game 4 where one team leads 2-1. Unfortunately for the Maple Leafs (why isn't it Maple Leaves?), the series turned against them in a major way when they lost that game. Instead of 2-2, it's now 3-1 in favor of the Bruins, who have two home games left. That's a lot riding on one goal.
TB doesn't understand why women's lacrosse plays two three-minute overtimes and then goes to sudden death, rather than just starting out in sudden death, like hockey and men's lacrosse (and college soccer).
The drama quotient is way higher when the next goal wins, and TB has seen so many wild overtime games on the men's side, especially in NCAA championship games (Princeton has won four of its six NCAA titles in OT).
TB also can't stand when the team that wins in overtime in women's lacrosse wins by more than one goal. He wishes he had the stats on how many times a team that scores first in OT ultimately loses.
Penn won this year's Ivy League women's lacrosse title, going 7-0 in the league while winning four of those games in overtime.
Princeton finished second in the league, going 6-1 with just a loss to Penn in, of course, overtime. The Tigers then fell last week to Dartmouth in the league tournament semifinals.
Those two results left Princeton on the NCAA tournament bubble, and it broke Princeton's way when the seedings were announced Sunday.
Oh, and why did the NCAA announce the men's and women's tournaments at the same time? With the way the men's selections were spread over an hour when a half-hour or even 15 minutes would do, why not combine the two selections into one show, rather than having the men on ESPNU and the women web-only?
Wouldn't that be a nice thing to do for the women's game?
Princeton's reward is a trip to Annapolis, where the Tigers will take on Duke tomorrow night in the opening round. The winner of that game will play the winner of eighth-seeded Navy and Monmouth Sunday.
The women's bracket has an oddly even number of 26 teams in it, largely because of the rule requiring at least an equal number of at-large bids to automatic bids.
The resulting bracket has some oddities, most notably some sites that have three teams and others than have four. Penn and Dartmouth also received bids, and they are both in three-team brackets, where the winner of their opening-round games will play a team that does not play a first-round game.
As for Princeton's opponent, Duke is a proven NCAA commodity making its 13th straight appearance. The Blue Devils and Tigers both average right around 12 goals per game, so it could be a high-scoring one.
TigerBlog has been to the Naval Academy for women's basketball, and it's an incredible place. Just seeing the Midshipmen as they walk around the campus is beyond impressive.
The lacrosse game will be a few blocks off the campus, at Navy Marine Corp Stadium.
Still, Annapolis in May?
Princeton's goal is to spend the weekend.
Of course, since it was in May 1980, it wasn't quite the best hockey game that TB had seen that year.
The "Miracle On Ice" notwithstanding, that Islanders-Flyers game was an extraordinary one, even before Nystrom's game-winner. TB isn't going to look up all the details, though he does remember a controversial goal after the Islanders appeared to be offsides and a back-and-forth OT before Nystrom's goal off a perfect feed from John Tonelli.
TigerBlog doesn't watch much of the NHL during the regular season. Actually, he doesn't watch much during the Stanley Cup playoffs either.
If he had to pick a favorite NHL team, it would be the Islanders, who won four straight Stanley Cups beginning with the one in 1980. The team has been awful for years, and being saddled with a long-out-of-date arena hasn't helped.
Now the team is in the playoffs again for the first time in a long time, tied 2-2 with the Penguins heading into tonight's Game 5 in Pittsburgh.
Like most casual NHL watchers, TB does recognize the drama of playoff overtime.
Last night, TB stumbled upon the Maple Leafs-Bruins game just as it was going to OT, so he stayed with it until the Bruins' game-winner.
TB was in Toronto once and absolutely loved it. He likes Boston as a city, but he would never, ever root for the Bruins. Some teams are just like that.
The drama of playoff overtimes is obvious, and it's even more acute in a Game 4 where one team leads 2-1. Unfortunately for the Maple Leafs (why isn't it Maple Leaves?), the series turned against them in a major way when they lost that game. Instead of 2-2, it's now 3-1 in favor of the Bruins, who have two home games left. That's a lot riding on one goal.
TB doesn't understand why women's lacrosse plays two three-minute overtimes and then goes to sudden death, rather than just starting out in sudden death, like hockey and men's lacrosse (and college soccer).
The drama quotient is way higher when the next goal wins, and TB has seen so many wild overtime games on the men's side, especially in NCAA championship games (Princeton has won four of its six NCAA titles in OT).
TB also can't stand when the team that wins in overtime in women's lacrosse wins by more than one goal. He wishes he had the stats on how many times a team that scores first in OT ultimately loses.
Penn won this year's Ivy League women's lacrosse title, going 7-0 in the league while winning four of those games in overtime.
Princeton finished second in the league, going 6-1 with just a loss to Penn in, of course, overtime. The Tigers then fell last week to Dartmouth in the league tournament semifinals.
Those two results left Princeton on the NCAA tournament bubble, and it broke Princeton's way when the seedings were announced Sunday.
Oh, and why did the NCAA announce the men's and women's tournaments at the same time? With the way the men's selections were spread over an hour when a half-hour or even 15 minutes would do, why not combine the two selections into one show, rather than having the men on ESPNU and the women web-only?
Wouldn't that be a nice thing to do for the women's game?
Princeton's reward is a trip to Annapolis, where the Tigers will take on Duke tomorrow night in the opening round. The winner of that game will play the winner of eighth-seeded Navy and Monmouth Sunday.
The women's bracket has an oddly even number of 26 teams in it, largely because of the rule requiring at least an equal number of at-large bids to automatic bids.
The resulting bracket has some oddities, most notably some sites that have three teams and others than have four. Penn and Dartmouth also received bids, and they are both in three-team brackets, where the winner of their opening-round games will play a team that does not play a first-round game.
As for Princeton's opponent, Duke is a proven NCAA commodity making its 13th straight appearance. The Blue Devils and Tigers both average right around 12 goals per game, so it could be a high-scoring one.
TigerBlog has been to the Naval Academy for women's basketball, and it's an incredible place. Just seeing the Midshipmen as they walk around the campus is beyond impressive.
The lacrosse game will be a few blocks off the campus, at Navy Marine Corp Stadium.
Still, Annapolis in May?
Princeton's goal is to spend the weekend.
Wednesday, May 8, 2013
Sir Alex
When TigerBlog saw the news that Sir Alex Ferguson was retiring as the manager of Manchester United, his first thought was to wonder if perhaps he was the greatest coach of all time in any sport.
Ferguson. Not TigerBlog, though his record in youth sports is pretty strong.
Then TB started to wonder who in fact is the greatest coach ever, keeping in mind that his criteria includes being overwhelmingly successful and being overwhelmingly successful on the biggest stages in the entire sports world, not just within a smaller sub-culture. The second criteria eliminates some great, great coaches, by the way.
So where does Ferguson rank?
Well, in his 26 seasons with ManU, he won 13 Premier League championships, five FA Cups and two Champions' League titles, as well as some other championships mixed in. He also was as instrumental as anyone in the explosion of the Premier League as an international, world-wide phenomenon, far beyond what it was even 10 years or so ago.
Ferguson helped turn Manchester United into something akin to the Yankees, a franchise that is bigger than the league itself, bigger than the sport itself.
TB isn't the most knowledgeable international soccer fan. He does know that Ferguson is easily the most recognizable name in soccer coaching, and even the most casual fan knows who he is.
Ferguson was here, on campus, nearly three years ago, when he had lunch with Civil War historian James McPherson and others. Turned out Sir Alex is a big Civil War buff.
So where does Ferguson rank among the world's great coaches?
Honestly, TB doesn't know how to compare his record in the Premier League and with ManU to that of, say, Vince Lombardi. Or Phil Jackson. Or Scotty Bowman.
He does know that Ferguson is in the conversation, which says a lot about his record and impact on the international sporting world.
Ferguson was with ManU for 26 years, which means that Princeton's current streak of winning the Ivy League's unofficial all-sports began the year before he arrived.
Princeton's current streak is at 27, as the Tigers have already clinched this 2012-13 championship, even before the final three Ivy titles - in rowing - are contested.
Princeton has 197 points to date, 31.5 points ahead of Harvard. Princeton will move past the 200-point mark at the Ivy League rowing championships, and TB has figured out that 200 points is the sign of great success for any given academic year.
As for Ivy League championships, Princeton now has 11. Harvard and Cornell have seven apiece. With only three remaining, Princeton will win that number again as well.
It's a far cry from last year, when it went down to the last event before Princeton held off Harvard 191.5-190.5.
If you're keeping score, Princeton's 11 Ivy League championship teams to date are: women's soccer, field hockey, men's cross country, women's fencing, women's basketball, men's swimming and diving, women's swimming and diving, men's squash, women's squash, men's golf and men's outdoor track and field.
Princeton has also had seven teams finish in second place.
TigerBlog is of the belief that one of these years, Princeton will not win this championship. It's an extraordinary run, 27 straight years of having the best overall performance within the league.
And not one of those 27 years should be taken for granted.
Certainly next year isn't. When 2013-14 begins, everybody goes back to zeroes.
For now, though, it's a time to be proud of the accomplishment.
Sir Alex put up 26 great years.
Princeton is now at 27 - and counting.
With a warning, as always, that all glory is fleeting.
Ferguson. Not TigerBlog, though his record in youth sports is pretty strong.
Then TB started to wonder who in fact is the greatest coach ever, keeping in mind that his criteria includes being overwhelmingly successful and being overwhelmingly successful on the biggest stages in the entire sports world, not just within a smaller sub-culture. The second criteria eliminates some great, great coaches, by the way.
So where does Ferguson rank?
Well, in his 26 seasons with ManU, he won 13 Premier League championships, five FA Cups and two Champions' League titles, as well as some other championships mixed in. He also was as instrumental as anyone in the explosion of the Premier League as an international, world-wide phenomenon, far beyond what it was even 10 years or so ago.
Ferguson helped turn Manchester United into something akin to the Yankees, a franchise that is bigger than the league itself, bigger than the sport itself.
TB isn't the most knowledgeable international soccer fan. He does know that Ferguson is easily the most recognizable name in soccer coaching, and even the most casual fan knows who he is.
Ferguson was here, on campus, nearly three years ago, when he had lunch with Civil War historian James McPherson and others. Turned out Sir Alex is a big Civil War buff.
So where does Ferguson rank among the world's great coaches?
Honestly, TB doesn't know how to compare his record in the Premier League and with ManU to that of, say, Vince Lombardi. Or Phil Jackson. Or Scotty Bowman.
He does know that Ferguson is in the conversation, which says a lot about his record and impact on the international sporting world.
Ferguson was with ManU for 26 years, which means that Princeton's current streak of winning the Ivy League's unofficial all-sports began the year before he arrived.
Princeton's current streak is at 27, as the Tigers have already clinched this 2012-13 championship, even before the final three Ivy titles - in rowing - are contested.
Princeton has 197 points to date, 31.5 points ahead of Harvard. Princeton will move past the 200-point mark at the Ivy League rowing championships, and TB has figured out that 200 points is the sign of great success for any given academic year.
As for Ivy League championships, Princeton now has 11. Harvard and Cornell have seven apiece. With only three remaining, Princeton will win that number again as well.
It's a far cry from last year, when it went down to the last event before Princeton held off Harvard 191.5-190.5.
If you're keeping score, Princeton's 11 Ivy League championship teams to date are: women's soccer, field hockey, men's cross country, women's fencing, women's basketball, men's swimming and diving, women's swimming and diving, men's squash, women's squash, men's golf and men's outdoor track and field.
Princeton has also had seven teams finish in second place.
TigerBlog is of the belief that one of these years, Princeton will not win this championship. It's an extraordinary run, 27 straight years of having the best overall performance within the league.
And not one of those 27 years should be taken for granted.
Certainly next year isn't. When 2013-14 begins, everybody goes back to zeroes.
For now, though, it's a time to be proud of the accomplishment.
Sir Alex put up 26 great years.
Princeton is now at 27 - and counting.
With a warning, as always, that all glory is fleeting.
Tuesday, May 7, 2013
On Top Five Wins
Before the NCAA men's lacrosse pairings were announced, TigerBlog's pick for the national championship game would have been Denver and North Carolina.
Now that the field of 16 is out there, those two would meet in the quarterfinals next weekend in Indianapolis should they get out of the first round, something that is not a given for either, especially Denver, who has to play high-flying Albany and the amazing Thompsons. Carolina, TB's pick to win it all, has to get through Lehigh in Round .
Don't be shocked to see close to 40 goals in the game between Denver and Albany and then again a week later if the winner plays North Carolina.
Princeton?
The Tigers aren't playing anyway in 2013, which is a shame, because there's not a team in the country that Princeton cannot beat, only there won't be the opportunity to prove it. Still, now that the season is over, the Tigers can't really blame anyone but themselves, which doesn't make it any easier.
The Tigers played for an automatic bid Sunday and fell to Yale. Princeton lost six games in 2013, of which four were by one goal. The Tigers had fourth quarter leads in all four, including a lead and the ball at North Carolina with just over a minute to go, before losing 16-15.
If Princeton had to pick the one game to win that it lost, TB would suggest that Carolina game, which would have given the team a Top 5 win to go along with its two Top 10 wins (Yale and Cornell) and quite possibly would have made all the difference.
TigerBlog understands why Princeton is not in the NCAA tournament. It's how it is with the current selection criteria.
That's where TB finds fault, and this is not at sour grapes because Princeton didn't get in.
The last at-large bid went to Loyola. Why? Because Loyola had a top five RPI win.
Who was it against? Ohio State. On March 30.
The loss dropped Ohio State to 1-2 in the league at the time. The Buckeyes were ranked 16th that week (not in RPI but in the polls).
So how is that a top five win? Because Ohio State went on to win the ECAC tournament, beating Denver in the final. The Buckeyes moved all the way up to the third seed in the NCAA tournament, as a matter of fact.
And so Loyola has a top five win, which equated to an NCAA tournament at-large bid. By virtue of beating the No. 16 team in the country. In March.
Oh, and that's the same Ohio State that just beat Loyola 18-11 last Thursday in the ECAC semifinals. Does that matter? Nope.
TB doesn't really understand how all the math works, but it's possible that had Loyola beaten Ohio State and then lost in the final to Denver, then the Buckeyes wouldn't have been in the top five and Loyola wouldn't have had a top five win. In other words, losing to Ohio State last Thursday might have been the best thing Loyola could have done.
The criteria differentiates between wins over 1-5, 6-10 and 11-20. The difference between beating the fifth team and sixth team in the country is enormous, as is beating 10 rather than 11. It also doesn't matter if it's by one goal or 100 goals. A win is a win. A loss is a loss. Doesn't matter when, where or by how much. Or in what conditions. Or who might or might not have played.
And it wouldn't have been Princeton who got in the tournament had Loyola not made it. No, that would have been Bucknell. How did the Bison not get in?
Well, their big win was over Cornell, whose RPI last week was in the top five, before Princeton beat Cornell last week in the Ivy tournament, knocking Cornell's RPI down to the 6-10 range and knocking Bucknell out.
Cornell was ranked second when it played Bucknell, as opposed to 16th.
Of course, because teams don't play the same number of games as teams do in hockey and basketball, the sample size is much smaller.
There's also the little problem of deciding which team to play year to year. Last year, Colgate and Lehigh were top 10 teams. This year it's Ohio State and Penn State.
Should Princeton have dropped Hopkins and Hofstra to play Ohio State and Penn State? What if the Tigers do that for next year? Where's the guarantee that those games will be as significant?
TB understands the selection criteria. He doesn't like it.
The members of the committee should pick the teams that they think are best, not rely solely on numbers. They should have the courage to stand up and say "we as a committee think Loyola is better than Bucknell," not "Loyola has a top five win" when Loyola's top five win was against the No. 16 team in the country.
If not, why have a committee?
As for Princeton, the Tigers are loaded for 2014, and the disappointing end to this year would figure to drive the team in the off-season and into next year.
Also, Princeton does have the memory of Friday's 14-13 overtime win against Cornell, in what was one of the all-time great lacrosse games TB has ever seen and which featured what might have been the single greatest fourth quarter and overtime ever played.
Unfortunately for the Tigers, that was the highlight of the year. The NCAA tournament goes on without them.
TigerBlog is rooting for Denver to win it all, but he has to stick with North Carolina, the team he's said all year is the best one he's seen, though Syracuse is playing really well now.
How about a Final Four of North Carolina, Syracuse, Cornell and Duke.
Yeah, TB will go with them. And Carolina over Duke in the final.
Now that the field of 16 is out there, those two would meet in the quarterfinals next weekend in Indianapolis should they get out of the first round, something that is not a given for either, especially Denver, who has to play high-flying Albany and the amazing Thompsons. Carolina, TB's pick to win it all, has to get through Lehigh in Round .
Don't be shocked to see close to 40 goals in the game between Denver and Albany and then again a week later if the winner plays North Carolina.
Princeton?
The Tigers aren't playing anyway in 2013, which is a shame, because there's not a team in the country that Princeton cannot beat, only there won't be the opportunity to prove it. Still, now that the season is over, the Tigers can't really blame anyone but themselves, which doesn't make it any easier.
The Tigers played for an automatic bid Sunday and fell to Yale. Princeton lost six games in 2013, of which four were by one goal. The Tigers had fourth quarter leads in all four, including a lead and the ball at North Carolina with just over a minute to go, before losing 16-15.
If Princeton had to pick the one game to win that it lost, TB would suggest that Carolina game, which would have given the team a Top 5 win to go along with its two Top 10 wins (Yale and Cornell) and quite possibly would have made all the difference.
TigerBlog understands why Princeton is not in the NCAA tournament. It's how it is with the current selection criteria.
That's where TB finds fault, and this is not at sour grapes because Princeton didn't get in.
The last at-large bid went to Loyola. Why? Because Loyola had a top five RPI win.
Who was it against? Ohio State. On March 30.
The loss dropped Ohio State to 1-2 in the league at the time. The Buckeyes were ranked 16th that week (not in RPI but in the polls).
So how is that a top five win? Because Ohio State went on to win the ECAC tournament, beating Denver in the final. The Buckeyes moved all the way up to the third seed in the NCAA tournament, as a matter of fact.
And so Loyola has a top five win, which equated to an NCAA tournament at-large bid. By virtue of beating the No. 16 team in the country. In March.
Oh, and that's the same Ohio State that just beat Loyola 18-11 last Thursday in the ECAC semifinals. Does that matter? Nope.
TB doesn't really understand how all the math works, but it's possible that had Loyola beaten Ohio State and then lost in the final to Denver, then the Buckeyes wouldn't have been in the top five and Loyola wouldn't have had a top five win. In other words, losing to Ohio State last Thursday might have been the best thing Loyola could have done.
The criteria differentiates between wins over 1-5, 6-10 and 11-20. The difference between beating the fifth team and sixth team in the country is enormous, as is beating 10 rather than 11. It also doesn't matter if it's by one goal or 100 goals. A win is a win. A loss is a loss. Doesn't matter when, where or by how much. Or in what conditions. Or who might or might not have played.
And it wouldn't have been Princeton who got in the tournament had Loyola not made it. No, that would have been Bucknell. How did the Bison not get in?
Well, their big win was over Cornell, whose RPI last week was in the top five, before Princeton beat Cornell last week in the Ivy tournament, knocking Cornell's RPI down to the 6-10 range and knocking Bucknell out.
Cornell was ranked second when it played Bucknell, as opposed to 16th.
Of course, because teams don't play the same number of games as teams do in hockey and basketball, the sample size is much smaller.
There's also the little problem of deciding which team to play year to year. Last year, Colgate and Lehigh were top 10 teams. This year it's Ohio State and Penn State.
Should Princeton have dropped Hopkins and Hofstra to play Ohio State and Penn State? What if the Tigers do that for next year? Where's the guarantee that those games will be as significant?
TB understands the selection criteria. He doesn't like it.
The members of the committee should pick the teams that they think are best, not rely solely on numbers. They should have the courage to stand up and say "we as a committee think Loyola is better than Bucknell," not "Loyola has a top five win" when Loyola's top five win was against the No. 16 team in the country.
If not, why have a committee?
As for Princeton, the Tigers are loaded for 2014, and the disappointing end to this year would figure to drive the team in the off-season and into next year.
Also, Princeton does have the memory of Friday's 14-13 overtime win against Cornell, in what was one of the all-time great lacrosse games TB has ever seen and which featured what might have been the single greatest fourth quarter and overtime ever played.
Unfortunately for the Tigers, that was the highlight of the year. The NCAA tournament goes on without them.
TigerBlog is rooting for Denver to win it all, but he has to stick with North Carolina, the team he's said all year is the best one he's seen, though Syracuse is playing really well now.
How about a Final Four of North Carolina, Syracuse, Cornell and Duke.
Yeah, TB will go with them. And Carolina over Duke in the final.
Monday, May 6, 2013
Three Straight, 15 Overall
TigerBlog pulled into the Jadwin Gym parking lot close to six yesterday, just in time to see the aftermath of the Heps track and field meet.
TB knew he wasn't going to be back in time to see the men's 4x400 relay, the final event of the day. He'd been following the meet on Twitter while he drove back from Ithaca.
Relax. He wasn't driving and looking at Twitter. He was a passenger, in a car driven by Princeton's Senior Associate Director of Athletics Anthony Archbald.
TB and Archbald spent a lot of time together this weekend. They drove back from Ithaca after the men's lacrosse game Friday night, arriving in the wee hours. Then it was back to Ithaca Saturday night, arriving near midnight. And then the return trip yesterday afternoon.
Archbald has something in his car that TB does not have in his, and that is satellite radio.
If TB had satellite radio, it would almost always be on the E Street channel, when it wasn't on sporting events.
The two got to listen to Game 7 of the Nets and Bulls Saturday night, on the home station of the Bulls. TB could not believe what homers they were, including this stinging postgame interview question one of the broadcasters asked one of the players: "Who is smiling more now, me or you?"
Yesterday, it was Oklahoma City-Memphis Game 1 and Knicks-Pacers Game 1.
Both are Knicks fans from when they were little, but TB has renounced his loyalty for the remainder of these playoffs on the grounds that his team is the least likeable team in all of professional sports. Archbald was also rooting for the Grizzlies, who apparently gave it away at the end.
There's something odd about listening to an NBA game on the radio, in that it's almost impossible to follow, simply because of how often the score changes. Inevitably it becomes background noise, until the second half of the fourth quarter.
Archbald's satellite radio display also had a function that kept the score updated on the screen itself. TB hoped that it did so automatically via some link to a stat feed, rather than having someone whose job it is to manually change the score as the game goes along.
Archbald was intently following the games, especially the Knicks, to a degree that TB admired for its sheer concentration alone.
And so as Archbald made the occasional hand gesture or barely audible sigh at a Knicks foul or turnover, TB enjoyed the passenger seat, something he's almost never in. He sent a few text messages, read Laxpower and Inside Lacrosse to see what speculation was out there about the coming NCAA selections, played a word game or two and followed Heps on Twitter.
It's really hard to keep track of track, and even field, based solely on the team score at any given moment. If you think there are radical swings in NBA games on radio, it's even more pronounced in a track meet on Twitter.
There are a certain number of events remaining to be contested, and there are certain strengths and weaknesses for each team, which means that losing, even by an apparently large margin, at a certain point is no big deal.
On the men's side, TB knew that it would be between Princeton and Cornell, as it always seems to be for the last 12 years or so.
TB also knew that the 4x400 was a Princeton strength, so the Tigers always had that to fall back on, especially when Cornell's lead was erased and the teams were tied at 142-142 with four events left.
Other than that, it was hard to know event-by-event where the meet stood.
Still, it was a fun way to follow what was going on, with pictures and videos on Twitter, not to mention others who were checking about the meet.
In the end, Princeton would win by an apparently comfortable 28 points. It was the third straight outdoor Heps for the Tiger men and the 15th overall.
Every Princeton runner scored points in the 1500, 110 hurdles, 400, 100, 800, 400 hurdles and 200.
It's easy to just look at the results and see that the Tigers won without giving it much thought, but Princeton this has been a glorious era for Princeton's track and field programs, both of which are filled with glorious eras.
As TB arrived back at Jadwin, the visiting teams were loading up buses, gathering their stuff and heading home. Princeton's post-meet celebrations were wrapping up. Parents of all athletes from all eight Ivy schools were everywhere.
TB was struck by the big difference between the event he had been at - the men's lacrosse tournament - and Heps track and field, and that is that Heps felt like a huge party, probably because it involves all eight schools and because it involves the men and women at the same place at the same time.
There are certain dates on the annual Princeton sports calendar that are a little more special than others, and anything that has the word "Heps" in it is on the list.
TB loves the cross country event each fall.
He was hoping to get there for the end yesterday, but he knew he wouldn't.
Besides, Twitter was a great way to follow what was going on, right up to the news that the Tiger men had won.
TB knew he wasn't going to be back in time to see the men's 4x400 relay, the final event of the day. He'd been following the meet on Twitter while he drove back from Ithaca.
Relax. He wasn't driving and looking at Twitter. He was a passenger, in a car driven by Princeton's Senior Associate Director of Athletics Anthony Archbald.
TB and Archbald spent a lot of time together this weekend. They drove back from Ithaca after the men's lacrosse game Friday night, arriving in the wee hours. Then it was back to Ithaca Saturday night, arriving near midnight. And then the return trip yesterday afternoon.
Archbald has something in his car that TB does not have in his, and that is satellite radio.
If TB had satellite radio, it would almost always be on the E Street channel, when it wasn't on sporting events.
The two got to listen to Game 7 of the Nets and Bulls Saturday night, on the home station of the Bulls. TB could not believe what homers they were, including this stinging postgame interview question one of the broadcasters asked one of the players: "Who is smiling more now, me or you?"
Yesterday, it was Oklahoma City-Memphis Game 1 and Knicks-Pacers Game 1.
Both are Knicks fans from when they were little, but TB has renounced his loyalty for the remainder of these playoffs on the grounds that his team is the least likeable team in all of professional sports. Archbald was also rooting for the Grizzlies, who apparently gave it away at the end.
There's something odd about listening to an NBA game on the radio, in that it's almost impossible to follow, simply because of how often the score changes. Inevitably it becomes background noise, until the second half of the fourth quarter.
Archbald's satellite radio display also had a function that kept the score updated on the screen itself. TB hoped that it did so automatically via some link to a stat feed, rather than having someone whose job it is to manually change the score as the game goes along.
Archbald was intently following the games, especially the Knicks, to a degree that TB admired for its sheer concentration alone.
And so as Archbald made the occasional hand gesture or barely audible sigh at a Knicks foul or turnover, TB enjoyed the passenger seat, something he's almost never in. He sent a few text messages, read Laxpower and Inside Lacrosse to see what speculation was out there about the coming NCAA selections, played a word game or two and followed Heps on Twitter.
It's really hard to keep track of track, and even field, based solely on the team score at any given moment. If you think there are radical swings in NBA games on radio, it's even more pronounced in a track meet on Twitter.
There are a certain number of events remaining to be contested, and there are certain strengths and weaknesses for each team, which means that losing, even by an apparently large margin, at a certain point is no big deal.
On the men's side, TB knew that it would be between Princeton and Cornell, as it always seems to be for the last 12 years or so.
TB also knew that the 4x400 was a Princeton strength, so the Tigers always had that to fall back on, especially when Cornell's lead was erased and the teams were tied at 142-142 with four events left.
Other than that, it was hard to know event-by-event where the meet stood.
Still, it was a fun way to follow what was going on, with pictures and videos on Twitter, not to mention others who were checking about the meet.
In the end, Princeton would win by an apparently comfortable 28 points. It was the third straight outdoor Heps for the Tiger men and the 15th overall.
Every Princeton runner scored points in the 1500, 110 hurdles, 400, 100, 800, 400 hurdles and 200.
It's easy to just look at the results and see that the Tigers won without giving it much thought, but Princeton this has been a glorious era for Princeton's track and field programs, both of which are filled with glorious eras.
As TB arrived back at Jadwin, the visiting teams were loading up buses, gathering their stuff and heading home. Princeton's post-meet celebrations were wrapping up. Parents of all athletes from all eight Ivy schools were everywhere.
TB was struck by the big difference between the event he had been at - the men's lacrosse tournament - and Heps track and field, and that is that Heps felt like a huge party, probably because it involves all eight schools and because it involves the men and women at the same place at the same time.
There are certain dates on the annual Princeton sports calendar that are a little more special than others, and anything that has the word "Heps" in it is on the list.
TB loves the cross country event each fall.
He was hoping to get there for the end yesterday, but he knew he wouldn't.
Besides, Twitter was a great way to follow what was going on, right up to the news that the Tiger men had won.
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