The Date Night Variable

The big news for today is that the season premiere of "The Big Bang Theory" comes up at 8 on CBS.

Or you can DVR it or watch it on demand or something like that, or even DVR it and start it at 8:07 so you don't have to watch any of the commercials, as viewing possibilities have changed radically since TigerBlog first began watching TV on a black-and-white set with a dial that had to be turned with somewhere in the neighborhood of 10 watchable channels.

A year ago, TB had never watched one episode of "The Big Bang Theory." In the last few months, he has seen every one, most of them more than once. Who says TB doesn't spend his time wisely?

TB watched the trailer for Episode 1 of the new season, which starts with Howard in outer space. It is entitled "The Date Night Variable," so presumably Howard does not play a huge role.

Of course, the excitement for the new "The Big Bang Theory" season is nothing compared to what figures to be the highlight of the weekend, the premiere Sunday night of Season 2 of "Homeland."

How much is TB looking forward to that one? It airs from 10-11 Sunday night, and there is zero chance that TB will flip away even for one second to get an update on the Giants-Eagles game, going on at the same time.

An average episode of "The Big Bang Theory" last year drew around 13 million viewers. The last episode of "Homeland" drew 1.7 million. TB is fascinated by what those numbers will be this time around.

Between now and the premiere of "Homeland," there are 23 competitions involving Princeton teams, according to the all-sports schedule.

Of those 23, only two are at home, but they're well worth attending.

Princeton hosts Dartmouth in a soccer doubleheader Saturday, beginning at 2 with the women's game and then concluding at 5 with the men's game. It is the first weekend of league games for the men and the second for the women.

If you think that Ivy women's soccer is pretty tightly bunched, you'd be right.

Last weekend's first four games were all decided by one goal, with two 2-1 games and two 1-0 games. Princeton was on the winning end of its game, knocking off Yale 2-1 in overtime.

Dartmouth defeated Brown by a 2-1 score last weekend as well. Penn and Columbia also won.

Of the eight league teams, seven are at .500 or better overall. It's very unlikely that the league champ will be undefeated, so getting to 2-0 would be a great first step.

Princeton is led by Jen Hoy (whom you can hear on this week's TigerCast) and her 11 goals in nine games. She leads the Ivy League and actually has more than twice as many goals as any other player.

On the men's side, Princeton is 4-3, which makes the Tigers one of three teams over .500 heading into the league. The other two? Cornell at 8-0-0 and Brown at 7-1-0.

Ivy League men's soccer is wildly competitive. The Tigers, winners of their last three, went 7-0-0 in the league two years ago and then struggled last year, showing that the margin of error is slim on the men's side as well.

The men's team features Thomas Sanner, who has won the Ivy Rookie of the Week award three of the four weeks it's been awarded.

Dartmouth comes into the game at 3-4 overall, but everyone is now 0-0 in the league.

The soccer doubleheader on Myslik Field at Roberts Stadium is your only opportunity to see Princeton teams at home this weekend.

And there you have it.

"The Big Bang Theory" tonight.

Soccer Saturday.

"Homeland" Sunday night.

You're on your own for tomorrow.