Finally, A Kickoff

TigerBlog isn't sure when he's going to completely give up on "Modern Family." It'll be soon, though.

How can a show go from being as good as it was in Seasons 1-4 and then become what it has become now, which is a show that just isn't funny.

It reminds TigerBlog of another show that was great from Seasons 1-4 and then completely fell apart. That show was the most overrated show in television history - "Seinfeld."

Actually, the issue with "Modern Family" is not that much different than what happened with "Seinfeld." The characters went from being sharp, well-defined and - here's the key word - believable to being vague caricatures of what they once were. What made them funny originally was how they reflected the absurdity of every day life; what they became was merely absurd.

TB isn't sure if it's coincidence that this happened after four seasons of both shows, but the drop-off is precipitous between Season 4 and Season 5.

"The Big Bang Theory" is another show that used to be really funny and isn't what it once was, but this is for a different reason. TB's theory on "Big Bang" is that it's simply out of ideas.

Then there's "Two And A Half Men." As TB said last year, the only one still laughing at this show is Charlie Sheen, for how bad it got when he left. And yet it's still on for one more season?

One show that TigerBlog hasn't seen is "Blackish," but he can't imagine how this show's title ever got approved. Maybe it wasn't meant to be, but couldn't they have come up with something that comes across a tad less offensively?

Most of TB's television watching these days has been focused on "Breaking Bad," which he's seeing on Netflix.

At first, TigerBlog didn't want to start down the path of the show, since it was 62 episodes over five seasons. It seemed like more than he wanted to invest.

Now? He has 48 down, 14 to go. It's a pretty good show, and TB can see why it got all the acclaim it did. It has great characters, and the story is one that makes you think at all times.

Maybe that's the secret. Fewer episodes per season. Fewer seasons per show. Stay true to what made the show great in the first place.

One thing about watching "Breaking Bad" on Netflix is that there are no commercials, so each episode is only 45 minutes, as opposed to an hour. Of course, that means that TB has spent 36 hours watching "Breaking Bad" in the last month or so.

You know what he hasn't watched yet this year? A live Princeton football play.

He's watched pieces of the three away games online. He was at a wedding for the home game.

TigerBlog would have to go back to the 1988 season to have not seen at least one of Princeton's first four football games That's a long time ago.

He will be there tomorrow for Princeton's home game against Brown. 

It's the start of a six-week stretch drive for the Tigers that will see the team play its final six league games. It's also the first of back-to-back home games for Princeton, who will host Harvard next Saturday.

Under the current Ivy League schedule, Brown has the least fortunate annual opener, as the Bears always play Harvard in their first league game. Brown has played Harvard to start its league schedule every year since 2000 (either in Week 1 or Week 2) and is 2-13 in those games - including 0-4 in the last four years.

In other words, Brown almost always starts off in an 0-1 league hole. This year is no different, as Harvard beat Brown 22-14 three weeks ago.

Princeton, on the other hand, opens with Columbia and has every year since 2000. Since that time, Princeton is 12-3 in its league opener, including 1-0 this year after its 38-6 win two weeks ago in New York City.

Brown is used to playing Princeton with its back to the wall, and tomorrow will be no different. The Bears lost to Georgetown and Harvard to start the year but have beaten Rhode Island and Holy Cross since.

And they're playing for their season.

As for Princeton, it's playing to find out what kind of season it'll be. And to get the taste of last week's 31-30 loss to Colgate out of its collective mouths.

Princeton vs. Brown. Kickoff is at 3:30.

TigerBlog will be there. Finally.