Eyewitness Weather

TigerBlog saw some interesting things in the morning newspaper, which by the way, he still actually reads.

For instance, there was this headline: "Teen Volunteers To Be Honored."

TB read that very quickly, and read it as one specific teenager volunteered to be honored, as opposed to a bunch of different teenagers who volunteer their time were going to be honored.

Then there was one story that had a direct quote, except the attribution was withheld because the person giving the quote "wasn't authorized to comment publicly on the situation."

TB sees this all the time.

If you're not authorized, keep your mouth shut. Isn't that supposed to be how it works?

It's not always easy, though, when a reporter calls up and asks you for information you have and promises they'll keep your name out of it, especially when it's someone you know and like. Hey, though, that's the job.

Keep your mouth shut.

What else was in the paper this morning?

Oh yeah, there was the weather, which suggests that today and tomorrow are going to be nice and then it's going to rain Sunday and Monday.

Of course, TB could look out the window and see it's nice today. It reminds him of a line from the first episode of one of the most underrated sitcoms of all time, "WKRP in Cincinnati."

Andy, the new program director, is meeting with his staff, and he tells Les Nessman that there's an item called "Eyewitness Weather." When Andy asks him what that is, Les says quite casually "I open up the window, and I witness the weather."

Witnessing the weather this morning is relatively easy. No clouds. Bright sun. Warm. All good.

Because of the forecast, the decision was made to move Princeton-Columbia baseball and softball this weekend from Saturday/Sunday to Friday/Saturday.

It's the kind of decision that TB applauds, and he's always wondered why it's not done more often. Games that are rained out are moved back? Why not move games up to take advantage of good weather.

In situations like this, the paranoid first reaction is always "who gets the advantage," not "it doesn't matter; let's play when it's nice out."

TB has always found that to be the case when he proposes moving games because of television, and they in the heat of the game itself, he realizes that not one player or coach is thinking that the game originally would have been the next day or two hours earlier or whatever.

Meanwhile, back on the Ivy League diamonds, Princeton is hoping to get to next weekend's games against Cornell in softball within striking distance.

The 6-6 Tigers are currently four games back of the Big Red (10-2), while Penn is at 8-4 heading into its four games with Cornell this weekend. To accomplish that, Princeton needs to root hard for Penn.

Princeton will also be rooting hard for Penn in baseball, though without as much urgency.


The four Gehrig Division teams are all at least .500, with Cornell in first at 10-2 and Princeton in second at 9-3. Columbia and Penn are 6-6.

Princeton has four games next weekend with Cornell. Being a game back heading in would require winning three of the four.

The goal, of course, is to get to the Ivy League Championship Series.

If you're looking for home events this weekend, there's women's lacrosse, who has a huge game against Dartmouth as it tries to get to the Ivy tournament, and the Larry Ellis track and field meet, which has more than 200 teams and 2,000 athletes.

Both events are free.

In case you're interested in some on-campus eye-witnessing.