Winterizing

TigerBlog Jr. had a lacrosse event Sunday at Lehigh.

As the wind ripped down the mountains and across the fields, TigerBlog added layer after layer, until he had on a longsleeve t shirt, a longsleeve dri-fit, two fleeces and two sweatshirts, as well as gloves and a hat.

At one point, TB asked the assembled parents - with whom he's watched lacrosse for a long, long time - what percentage of the thousands of hours they'd been together featured weather that could be described as "pleasant."

Since these tournaments occur in the summer and late fall, the answer is "almost none." It's either says like Sunday was, or sweltering summer weekends.

This in turn led to a discussion of which was preferable, the oppressively hot or the "lazy wind." You know, the wind that goes smashing through everyone because it's too lazy to go around you.

Almost universally, the answer was the heat.

TigerBlog was in full agreement. He's never been a cold weather person. He doesn't understand what the attraction is.

Even if you like to ski, how does the fact that it's freezing in January in Princeton help you do that? You still have to find someplace to go that has snow and a mountain.

TigerBlog walked outside this morning and found something that he never likes to see - snow. Okay, it was hardly a blizzard, just a few wet flakes.

But it's a nasty sign, one that says that winter is creeping up around here and the last of the days where it is sunny and in the 60s are probably gone until the spring.

Actually, this weekend looks like a pretty good one, with Saturday's high around here supposed to be 57.

The winter season, if not actual winter, arrived a few weeks ago with the start of hockey season, and both basketball teams opened their seasons Sunday.

Fall, though, is still around, at least for a little while longer.

Princeton has nine "fall" sports, not including tennis and golf, which also have fall events but whose championship season is the spring.

Of the nine fall sports, women's soccer and sprint football have completed their seasons. Men's soccer has one game left, this Saturday at home against Yale. Women's volleyball has two matches left, against Yale and Brown at home this weekend.

Both cross country teams will be at the NCAA regionals Friday at Lehigh. The NCAA championships will be Saturday the 23rd in Terre Haute, Ind.

The men's water polo team will compete at the Eastern championships at Brown Nov. 22-24, with a spot in the NCAA Final Four on the line.

The NCAA field hockey tournament begins this weekend, and Princeton, the Ivy League champion for the 19th time in 20 years, plays Penn State at Maryland Saturday in the opening round. Penn State defeated Princeton 4-3 earlier this year on Bedford Field.

For the winner of that game there is in all probability Maryland, who will play the winner of the play-in game between Quinnipiac and American.

Princeton and Maryland have combined to win the last three NCAA titles, including Princeton's win last year.

Lastly, there is the football team.

Princeton is 7-1 overall, 5-0 in the Ivy League, and hosting Yale Saturday in a fairly big game. At stake? A win would bring at least a share of the Ivy title and a bonfire. A loss would mean no bonfire and a tougher road to an Ivy title.

Princeton's final game is at Dartmouth, a team that is currently 3-2 in the league, the same as Yale and Penn. Harvard is 4-1.

Dartmouth and Yale currently rank 1-2 in the league in scoring defense. Princeton has been putting up big numbers all year in the league, and in fact the 38 the Tigers scored against Penn were the fewest they have scored in a league game this year.

Dartmouth has allowed 80 points in five league games. Yale has allowed 100.

And with that, the fall season will be over. It'll be all winter teams after that.

On the one hand, that means the coming of the cold, which TB can't stand.

On the other hand, it means the next outdoor event for Princeton will be three months away.

Feb. 22. Men's lacrosse against Hofstra. Women's lacrosse against Loyola.


That's looking on the bright side.