Steven Jobs - And Sabrina's Job

TigerBlog was going to write about women's volleyball this morning.

He was going to start out by talking about how he knows little about the sport of volleyball and how he's seen less volleyball than pretty much any sport in his time here.

He was going to go on about volleyball stat keeping, which is clearly the most difficult of any of the sports for which athletic communications types regular keep stats.

Then he was going to segue into the big women's volleyball weekend coming up.

He'll get back to the last part later. As for the background, you'll have to take his word for it that it would have been funny.

TB's plan changed when he heard the news that Steve Jobs - Apple's founder, not to mention the man who turned Pixar into what it became - had died last night.

Steve Jobs changed the world as much as anyone who has ever lived. His impact on the modern world cannot be overstated, and not only in terms of the entertainment value of i-Tunes or the convenience of faster computers.

Jobs' work has touched every aspect of society, leading to huge advancements in areas like health care, commerce, politics, international relations, all of it.

And his company made the "Toy Story" movies. And the greatest commercial ever made.

Back on Super Bowl Sunday 1984 - the Raiders thumped the Redskins - Apple trotted out a mesmerizing commercial announcing the launch of its new product, the MacIntosh computer. The commercial was stunning in its scope, at a time when "plop plop, fizz fizz" was considered cutting edge.

Back in early 1980s, TigerBlog had an electric typewriter - and that put him ahead of most people. Shortly after that, the world was flooded by the personal computer, and Mac became the most powerful tool in the industry.

And that was later followed up, after a rocky patch that saw him leave the company for awhile, with i-Tunes, the I-Pad and all kinds of other advancements in technology, all of which have made the world a much smaller, much more efficient place.

TigerBlog has always used Macs, and they have made arduous tasks simple over the years, with further advancements constantly emerging.

Jobs battled cancer in recent years, ultimately passing away yesterday at the age of 56.

And what about that?

Job was worth $100,000,000 by the time he was 25. He has left a mark on the world that few have ever matched.

But he only got a 56-year run. Would you make that choice? Or would you rather opt for the more mundane, but a much longer life?

Anyway, Jobs passed away yesterday after having a most remarkable life.

Meanwhile, back at the women's volleyball, Princeton under first-year coach Sabrina King is off to a great start.

The Tigers are currently 3-0 in the Ivy League, tied with Yale for first place, one game ahead of Columbia. Princeton is at Columbia Friday and Cornell Saturday and then home next weekend with Yale/Brown.

Princeton has won two of its first three league matches in five games, against both Penn and Dartmouth.

What TigerBlog does know about women's volleyball is that Dillon Gym is quite a venue when the team is playing. The crowds are loud and right on top of the action, and TB assumes the reverse is true now that Princeton takes to the road in the league for the first time.

King was a player and longtime assistant under venerable coach Glen Nelson.

Now in her first season as the head coach (TB was going to go with something like 'King Is The Queen,' but it sounded trite), she's off to a good start.

Of course, there are 11 matches to play, and the league is ultra-competitive.

Still, it's been a great start for the King era of Princeton volleyball.

So far, Sabrina King is doing a great job.

As for Steven Jobs, alav ha shalom.