Talk about genius television programming.
Put the Sylvester Stallone/Michael Caine epic "Victory" against the World Cup third-place game. Which is better? Sly and Michael Caine as Allied POWs who use a soccer game to escape from the Nazis or an actual soccer game that means nothing?
That was Saturday, when the movie was on opposite Belgium's 2-0 win over England in a game that TigerBlog still can't imagine was played in the first place.
He went with the movie instead of the game. Hey, Pele was great in it.
As for Sunday, well, the TV choice was much tougher. The World Cup final on at the same time as the United States against Canada in the World Lacrosse championships?
What do you think TigerBlog did?
In all seriousness, did nobody at the lacrosse tournament realize that the marquee game of the round-robin stage was being played opposite the second half of the World Cup final? For that matter, he's still not sure why the final is being played at 10 am in Israel, which means 3 am in the Eastern time zone.
Meanwhile, back at the World Cup, there are very few things in all of sports anywhere in the world like the World Cup final. The intensity of every minute of it is obvious, for the players and their fans. It's like the Super Bowl taken to another level.
TigerBlog's prediction of 2-0 Croatia didn't quite come to pass, though he had the Croatia with two part correct. He just wasn't counting on a 4-2 final, but that's how it turned out, as France outscored Croatia 2-1 in each half to win a second World Cup.
He'd give you more of his take on the game, but hey, he was watching lacrosse for most of the second half of the soccer game. Actually, he did a lot of flipping back and forth, though with way more time spent on lacrosse than soccer.
There are two tournaments within the World Championships. The first one consists of the teams that are playing for the championship or at least to get to the quarterfinals, a group that includes the main group plus teams like the hosts, Israel.
Then other tournament is the one where teams are playing for the experience. Those would be the majority of the 46 countries who are there.
TigerBlog didn't realize that Princeton actually had five players in Israel. He thought it was four - Zach Currier of Canada, Tom Schreiber of the U.S., Alistair Berven of England and Andrew Song of China.
Then, during one of the games on TV, the camera panned throughout the crowd to the other teams, many of whom were watching. And there, in with the Argentina team, was a familiar face, former Tiger captain Austin deButts.
As it turns out, Austin - a 2016 Princeton grad and a shortstick defensive middie - was playing with Argentina. He coached with the team in Denver in 2014, and now he's playing with them in Israel.
In fact, he's having a better summer internationally than Lionel Messi did. Argentina lost its opener to Sweden but then defeated Hungary and the Czech Republic, and deButts has scored four goals, including three yesterday against the Czechs in a 12-8 win.
TigerBlog watched that game on ESPN+ on his computer, by the way, while he flipped between the soccer and US-Canada games. The stick skills aren't quite there in the lower division games, but the effort certainly is.
Andrew Song, a rising sophomore longstick midfielder who has exceptional stick skills, had his first goal for China in Israel, as well as six ground balls, in a 13-12 loss to Turkey earlier yesterday.
The United States defeated Canada 11-10 in the first meeting between the two in what was a great, and very physical, game. They're almost surely headed to a rematch in the finals, and if you remember back to four years ago, the U.S. won the round robin game and then lost to Canada in the championship game.
Currier, by the way, did a lot of everything for Canada, including a big goal in transition and a lot of relentlessness everywhere on the field. Currier did as much as anyone to contribute to the intensity and physicality of the game.
Paul Carcaterra on the ESPN2 broadcast mentioned how it still bothers him that Currier wasn't first-team All-America in 2017; if Carcaterra thinks he's annoyed by that, he ought to ask TB how he feels.
Flipping back to soccer for a second, that game was actually outscoring the lacrosse game for awhile.
You have to give Croatia a lot of credit for not folding when France got up big, but the hole was just too deep. TB made sure he watched the last few minutes of soccer, which was during the second quarter of the lacrosse game.
The French seemed happy, though Croatia had an extraordinary run.
And with that, the World Cup is over.
TigerBlog loved the World Cup, even if he didn't watch much of the second half of the final. He'll miss having a bunch of games on every day during the group stage and then the drama of the knockout round.
He's also very glad that the final didn't come down to PKs.
In the meantime there is still most of a week left of the lacrosse tournament. TB will be surprised if it's not a Currier vs. Schreiber rematch in the final.
In fact, the U.S.-Canada has been the final each of the last five times, and it'll probably stay that way for awhile.
TigerBlog still thinks he'll be watching it live.
Monday, July 16, 2018
Friday, July 13, 2018
Happy Friday The 13th
Have you ever heard this word before: paraskevidekatriaphobia?
It looks like a random collection of letters. Apparently it's a real word.
It means a a fear of Friday the 13th. TigerBlog would more fear having to pronounce it than anything to do with Friday the 13th itself.
Today is Friday the 13th. It's the second and last one of 2018 (if you forgot, the other one was in April). If you're petrified, or even mildly uneasy, about Friday the 13th, then when you get through this one, you won't have to worry about another one until September of 2019.
Of course, not all Friday the 13ths are equal. This one is for a July weekend, and how can anyone get that uptight about a Friday in the summer?
We're just six weeks away from the start of the 2018-19 athletic year here. The first event, women's soccer at New Hampshire, is 42 days from today.
Opening kickoff for football is three weeks later, in Indiana against Butler. The home opener is 10 weeks from tomorrow, when Monmouth is on Powers Field at Princeton Stadium.
There are six home games for the Princeton football team in 2019. After the trip to Indiana, there are just three more away games - at Columbia, at Harvard and at Yale. Remember, this is the year the schedule has changed, so the season ends against Penn now.
That's all for later on though.
For this weekend you have the World Cup third-place game (England vs. Belgium) tomorrow and then the final Sunday (France vs. Croatia).
TigerBlog is predicting a 2-0 Croatia victory. He's actually fascinated by the third-place game and why they still have it, for one thing. Also, how hard will the teams play? Do they care?
They have to be crushed that they're not playing Sunday. The game itself means nothing. Will it just be going through the motions?
TigerBlog, as you know, is also interested in the World Championships of lacrosse, which are currently going on in Israel.
There were a ton of games yesterday, including the Ireland-China game TigerBlog was interested in that one because of Princeton rising sophomore Andrew Song, a longstick midfielder for the Tigers.
Ireland won 18-3, but Song and China get right back at it again today, against Denmark at 5:30 this afternoon in Israel or 10:30 this morning in the Eastern time zone. You can see that game on ESPN+, which is also the new home for livestreaming of Ivy League events starting this fall, so you might as well get your subscription now.
TigerBlog Jr. worked at two games yesterday - Germany vs. South Korea and Mexico vs. Latvia. Germany won its game 19-5, with two goals and an assist from TBJ's Sacred Heart teammate Alex Weiss.
TB watched the Israel-Jamaica game on ESPNU and then the United States-Iroquois game on ESPN2 yesterday.
The first game was close for a quarter, though there was a sense that Israel was just better, which proved to be the case in an 11-3 win. As for the second game, there was a lot to that one.
The Iroquois had passport issues that caused the team to miss the 2010 event in England. This time around, the Iroquois were able to get there, but not until a few hours before the opening face-off against the U.S.
Despite sitting on a plane for 11 hours and then getting off and playing, the Iroquois had a 7-5 lead at the half. The U.S. team rallied, finally winning 17-9, and Princeton alum Tom Schreiber had a big goal during the 5-0 run that turned the game around in the third quarter. Schreiber finished with two goals and two assists.
Schreiber hasn't been his usual best-player-in-the-world self since he injured his knee during the indoor National Lacrosse League season, but he looked pretty good yesterday in terms of movement.
The U.S. pulled away against the Iroquois, who finished third four years ago. You have to give the team credit for the effort yesterday, and they'll be tough once they're full acclimated. Having said that, TigerBlog doesn't think they could beat either the U.S. or Canada in a semifinal game.
The other two Princeton alums in Israel play today against each other, as Alistair Berven and England take on Zach Currier and Canada. That game is at 9 pm in Israel or 2 pm here.
There are a lot of chances to see Schreiber and Currier this weekend, including head-to-head Sunday at noon (Eastern) on ESPNU. The U.S. also is on ESPNU tomorrow at 7:30 am against Australia, followed by Canada-Scotland at 11 am Eastern on ESPNU.
At the same time, don't just spend your weekend watching soccer and lacrosse on TV.
Make sure you get outside too and do some summer weekend things.
It looks like a random collection of letters. Apparently it's a real word.
It means a a fear of Friday the 13th. TigerBlog would more fear having to pronounce it than anything to do with Friday the 13th itself.
Today is Friday the 13th. It's the second and last one of 2018 (if you forgot, the other one was in April). If you're petrified, or even mildly uneasy, about Friday the 13th, then when you get through this one, you won't have to worry about another one until September of 2019.
Of course, not all Friday the 13ths are equal. This one is for a July weekend, and how can anyone get that uptight about a Friday in the summer?
We're just six weeks away from the start of the 2018-19 athletic year here. The first event, women's soccer at New Hampshire, is 42 days from today.
Opening kickoff for football is three weeks later, in Indiana against Butler. The home opener is 10 weeks from tomorrow, when Monmouth is on Powers Field at Princeton Stadium.
There are six home games for the Princeton football team in 2019. After the trip to Indiana, there are just three more away games - at Columbia, at Harvard and at Yale. Remember, this is the year the schedule has changed, so the season ends against Penn now.
That's all for later on though.
For this weekend you have the World Cup third-place game (England vs. Belgium) tomorrow and then the final Sunday (France vs. Croatia).
TigerBlog is predicting a 2-0 Croatia victory. He's actually fascinated by the third-place game and why they still have it, for one thing. Also, how hard will the teams play? Do they care?
They have to be crushed that they're not playing Sunday. The game itself means nothing. Will it just be going through the motions?
TigerBlog, as you know, is also interested in the World Championships of lacrosse, which are currently going on in Israel.
There were a ton of games yesterday, including the Ireland-China game TigerBlog was interested in that one because of Princeton rising sophomore Andrew Song, a longstick midfielder for the Tigers.
Ireland won 18-3, but Song and China get right back at it again today, against Denmark at 5:30 this afternoon in Israel or 10:30 this morning in the Eastern time zone. You can see that game on ESPN+, which is also the new home for livestreaming of Ivy League events starting this fall, so you might as well get your subscription now.
TigerBlog Jr. worked at two games yesterday - Germany vs. South Korea and Mexico vs. Latvia. Germany won its game 19-5, with two goals and an assist from TBJ's Sacred Heart teammate Alex Weiss.
TB watched the Israel-Jamaica game on ESPNU and then the United States-Iroquois game on ESPN2 yesterday.
The first game was close for a quarter, though there was a sense that Israel was just better, which proved to be the case in an 11-3 win. As for the second game, there was a lot to that one.
The Iroquois had passport issues that caused the team to miss the 2010 event in England. This time around, the Iroquois were able to get there, but not until a few hours before the opening face-off against the U.S.
Despite sitting on a plane for 11 hours and then getting off and playing, the Iroquois had a 7-5 lead at the half. The U.S. team rallied, finally winning 17-9, and Princeton alum Tom Schreiber had a big goal during the 5-0 run that turned the game around in the third quarter. Schreiber finished with two goals and two assists.
Schreiber hasn't been his usual best-player-in-the-world self since he injured his knee during the indoor National Lacrosse League season, but he looked pretty good yesterday in terms of movement.
The U.S. pulled away against the Iroquois, who finished third four years ago. You have to give the team credit for the effort yesterday, and they'll be tough once they're full acclimated. Having said that, TigerBlog doesn't think they could beat either the U.S. or Canada in a semifinal game.
The other two Princeton alums in Israel play today against each other, as Alistair Berven and England take on Zach Currier and Canada. That game is at 9 pm in Israel or 2 pm here.
There are a lot of chances to see Schreiber and Currier this weekend, including head-to-head Sunday at noon (Eastern) on ESPNU. The U.S. also is on ESPNU tomorrow at 7:30 am against Australia, followed by Canada-Scotland at 11 am Eastern on ESPNU.
At the same time, don't just spend your weekend watching soccer and lacrosse on TV.
Make sure you get outside too and do some summer weekend things.
Thursday, July 12, 2018
The Main Event
So the World Cup final will be France against Croatia.
Somewhat shockingly, England has still only made it to one championship game, back in 1966. TigerBlog would have guessed that the English would have been there a bunch of times in the early days at least.
The latest loss, 2-1 to Croatia in the semifinals, has to really sting the English. They scored early and seemed on the verge of adding two or three more, only to have the Croats tie it in the second half and win it in extra time.
As for France, it is 1-1 in the finals, with a win over Brazil in 1998 and a loss to Italy in 2006. France won in 1998 in Paris, and England won in 1966 in London. France is the only team to win at home since 1978, and of course that won't happen this year, since the game will be in Russia.
TigerBlog was in Ireland in 2008 for the European championships. Ireland wasn't even in it that year and Dublin was nuts.
Can you imagine being in France or Croatia Sunday, or Monday if they win? Well, TB actually knows someone - three someones - who will be in Paris this weekend.
BrotherBlog and Joe, the official brother-in-law of TigerBlog, are headed there today. They'll be in Paris for the World Cup final.
Even BrotherBlog will have to be aware that some major sporting event is in progress.
They'll be joined there early Monday morning by Miss TigerBlog ’22, who will be spending a week in Paris with them. If France wins, the party will still be going when her flight touches down shortly after dawn. If France loses, well, there'll be a lot of hungover people anyway, TB presumes.
It's an international summer for TB's children. MTB was offered a graduation party or the trip to France; she chose very wisely.
As for TigerBlog Jr., he is in Israel. He's been there since June 24, and he'll be there until the end of the World Lacrosse Championships, which began yesterday with a game between Hong Kong and Luxembourg.
From the World Cup to the World Championships. If you're like TigerBlog, then you're glad the main event is finally here.
TBJ is playing in a league separate from the World Championships but at the same site, in the Tel Aviv surburb/beach town of Netanya. He is also working at the championships, doing stats and helping out the ESPN people.
His first 10 days were spent touring, from Haifa in the north of the country, Jerusalem and Tel Aviv and then south to the Negev Desert. He's sent a bunch of pictures, including his "selfie" on a mountain with Syria behind him and one of him and his group covered in mud from the Dead Sea.
Somewhat surprisingly, he's texted more from Israel than he does in an entire school year in Connecticut.
It's a great opportunity for him, of course. Travel. Night life. Lacrosse.
Princeton has four players who are competing in Israel, and they're on four different teams.
Andrew Song, a rising sophomore, is playing for China. The longstick midfielder had a dynamic freshman season for Princeton and is one of the main reasons for the optimism that surrounds the program.
Princeton, if you forgot, will enter the 2019 season with the longest winning streak in Division I, and it will do so with a deep corps of players who are rising sophomores and juniors who already have a ton of experience.
Song played his first game at 9:30 Israeli time this morning, which means 2:30 am Eastern time. TBJ has promised to get some pictures; TB will see if he follows through.
The other three Princeton players are all alums, and they're all in the top division. TBJ is supposed to get pictures of them too.
The final almost surely will be the U.S. and Canada, which would mean Tom Schreiber against Zach Currier. Alistair Berven, who graduated in 2017 with Currier, plays defense for England.
TigerBlog put a story on goprincetontigers.com that has the schedule broken down by each player. You can see it HERE.
There will be a lot of television coverage of this tournament, including this afternoon at 1:30 Eastern when the U.S. opens against the Iroquois, who solved their passport issues to get to Israel.
The championship game is a week from Saturday at 10 am Israel time. That's 3 am Eastern time.
TigerBlog will be awake.
Why wouldn't he be? The final of the biggest world championship event in sports this summer?
Okay, okay. He'll admit it. The World Cup is bigger.
And hey, he can love both.
Somewhat shockingly, England has still only made it to one championship game, back in 1966. TigerBlog would have guessed that the English would have been there a bunch of times in the early days at least.
The latest loss, 2-1 to Croatia in the semifinals, has to really sting the English. They scored early and seemed on the verge of adding two or three more, only to have the Croats tie it in the second half and win it in extra time.
As for France, it is 1-1 in the finals, with a win over Brazil in 1998 and a loss to Italy in 2006. France won in 1998 in Paris, and England won in 1966 in London. France is the only team to win at home since 1978, and of course that won't happen this year, since the game will be in Russia.
TigerBlog was in Ireland in 2008 for the European championships. Ireland wasn't even in it that year and Dublin was nuts.
Can you imagine being in France or Croatia Sunday, or Monday if they win? Well, TB actually knows someone - three someones - who will be in Paris this weekend.
BrotherBlog and Joe, the official brother-in-law of TigerBlog, are headed there today. They'll be in Paris for the World Cup final.
Even BrotherBlog will have to be aware that some major sporting event is in progress.
They'll be joined there early Monday morning by Miss TigerBlog ’22, who will be spending a week in Paris with them. If France wins, the party will still be going when her flight touches down shortly after dawn. If France loses, well, there'll be a lot of hungover people anyway, TB presumes.
It's an international summer for TB's children. MTB was offered a graduation party or the trip to France; she chose very wisely.
As for TigerBlog Jr., he is in Israel. He's been there since June 24, and he'll be there until the end of the World Lacrosse Championships, which began yesterday with a game between Hong Kong and Luxembourg.
From the World Cup to the World Championships. If you're like TigerBlog, then you're glad the main event is finally here.
TBJ is playing in a league separate from the World Championships but at the same site, in the Tel Aviv surburb/beach town of Netanya. He is also working at the championships, doing stats and helping out the ESPN people.
His first 10 days were spent touring, from Haifa in the north of the country, Jerusalem and Tel Aviv and then south to the Negev Desert. He's sent a bunch of pictures, including his "selfie" on a mountain with Syria behind him and one of him and his group covered in mud from the Dead Sea.
Somewhat surprisingly, he's texted more from Israel than he does in an entire school year in Connecticut.
It's a great opportunity for him, of course. Travel. Night life. Lacrosse.
Princeton has four players who are competing in Israel, and they're on four different teams.
Andrew Song, a rising sophomore, is playing for China. The longstick midfielder had a dynamic freshman season for Princeton and is one of the main reasons for the optimism that surrounds the program.
Princeton, if you forgot, will enter the 2019 season with the longest winning streak in Division I, and it will do so with a deep corps of players who are rising sophomores and juniors who already have a ton of experience.
Song played his first game at 9:30 Israeli time this morning, which means 2:30 am Eastern time. TBJ has promised to get some pictures; TB will see if he follows through.
The other three Princeton players are all alums, and they're all in the top division. TBJ is supposed to get pictures of them too.
The final almost surely will be the U.S. and Canada, which would mean Tom Schreiber against Zach Currier. Alistair Berven, who graduated in 2017 with Currier, plays defense for England.
TigerBlog put a story on goprincetontigers.com that has the schedule broken down by each player. You can see it HERE.
There will be a lot of television coverage of this tournament, including this afternoon at 1:30 Eastern when the U.S. opens against the Iroquois, who solved their passport issues to get to Israel.
The championship game is a week from Saturday at 10 am Israel time. That's 3 am Eastern time.
TigerBlog will be awake.
Why wouldn't he be? The final of the biggest world championship event in sports this summer?
Okay, okay. He'll admit it. The World Cup is bigger.
And hey, he can love both.
Wednesday, July 11, 2018
Court Reporting
For TigerBlog, a normal "Court Report" has to do with Princeton women's basketball, not the United States Supreme Court.
Today, it'll be the latter.
Forget politics though. As you know, TigerBlog avoids all subjects political here.
He wants to talk law schools.
The eight current Supreme Court justices all attended either, egads, Harvard or Yale for law school. Brett Kavanaugh, nominated Monday night, went to Yale Law School.
If you're keeping score, that's five from Harvard law and three Yale law grads for right now. Should Kavanaugh be confirmed, then that would be 5-4 Harvard.
You'll notice TigerBlog had to be very specific about the language there, since Ruth Bader Ginsburg never graduated from Harvard law. Instead, she transferred to Columbia when her husband got a job in New York City, leaving her as a rare person to make law review at both Harvard and Columbia.
Anthony Kennedy, who announced his retirement, went to Harvard Law School, as did Antonin Scalia, who passed away in 2016. You have to go back to before Scalia, to Justices William Rehnquist and Sandra Day O'Connor, to find attendees of law schools other than Harvard and Yale who were named to the Supreme Court.
Those two, by the way, went to the same law school - Stanford.
John Paul Stevens is the third-longest tenured Justice in the history of the Court. Stevens, who was a justice for more than 34 years, went to Northwestern law school - which produced one-day Supreme Court Justice John Mack as well - and he retired in 2010 after Rehnquist died and O'Connor retired. That means that since 2010, every member of the Supreme Court, whether they are to the left or the right, has attended of either Harvard or Yale law.
Warren Burger was the Chief Justice when he retired in 1986. That's the last time someone was on the court who didn't graduate from Harvard, Yale, Columbia or Stanford. That includes 16 justices, and it would be 17 if Kavanaugh is confirmed.
Princeton, of course, does not have a law school; otherwise, the entire court would be made up of its grads.
As you probably know, three current Supreme Court Justices went to Princeton as undergrads - Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Samuel Alito. That's two Yalies (Alito and Sotomayor) and one Cantab (Kagan).
Going back a bit further, Alito is a graduate of Steinert High School, which is about 15 minutes from the Princeton campus in Hamilton.
Back in 2011, when Princeton played Kentucky in the NCAA men's basketball tournament in Orlando, the local paper asked each school for one non-basketball or athletic fact about the school. This request came to TigerBlog, who said that Princeton had three alums who were Supreme Court Justices. Kentucky's fact was that it had just set the world record for the largest tug-o'-war.
When it was printed, TigerBlog remembers some stereotyping that resulted, but that wasn't his intention. He just thought it was a great fact.
Back when the women's basketball team was unbeaten in the 2014-15 regular season, Justices Sotomayor and Kagan attended the team's NCAA loss at Maryland, after Barack Obama, himself a Harvard law grad, saw the NCAA win over Green Bay two days earlier.
Princeton played in the Cancun Challenge in that unbeaten season, defeating Wake Forest, Montana and Charlotte.
The 2018-19 Princeton women's basketball schedule has not yet been fully announced, but it's shaping up as another very challenging one. It's also shaping up as a team that's up to that challenge.
What was announced was Princeton's schedule for the next Cancun Challenge, which will be Thanksgiving weekend at the Hard Rock Hotel Riviera Maya on the Yucatan Peninsula.
Princeton will play three games in Mexico, beginning on Thanksgiving Day itself against DePaul, with games the following two days against Syracuse and Kansas State. Those are four schools used to playing in the NCAA tournament.
There will be a "Court Report" podcast that week. Perhaps TigerBlog should record it on site.
The tournament in Mexico will be a week after the end of the Ivy League football season.
All of this Supreme Court stuff makes TB wonder if the Harvard-Yale game is a big one to the Justices. Only one of them - Chief Justice John Roberts (Harvard) - went undergrad at either of the schools. Kavanaugh went to Yale undergrad and law school.
Do the athletic teams matter to people who have graduate degrees, or do you only care about your undergraduate alma mater?
Or are most people like TigerBlog, who hopes his alma mater loses its season-ending football game this season.
Today, it'll be the latter.
Forget politics though. As you know, TigerBlog avoids all subjects political here.
He wants to talk law schools.
The eight current Supreme Court justices all attended either, egads, Harvard or Yale for law school. Brett Kavanaugh, nominated Monday night, went to Yale Law School.
If you're keeping score, that's five from Harvard law and three Yale law grads for right now. Should Kavanaugh be confirmed, then that would be 5-4 Harvard.
You'll notice TigerBlog had to be very specific about the language there, since Ruth Bader Ginsburg never graduated from Harvard law. Instead, she transferred to Columbia when her husband got a job in New York City, leaving her as a rare person to make law review at both Harvard and Columbia.
Anthony Kennedy, who announced his retirement, went to Harvard Law School, as did Antonin Scalia, who passed away in 2016. You have to go back to before Scalia, to Justices William Rehnquist and Sandra Day O'Connor, to find attendees of law schools other than Harvard and Yale who were named to the Supreme Court.
Those two, by the way, went to the same law school - Stanford.
John Paul Stevens is the third-longest tenured Justice in the history of the Court. Stevens, who was a justice for more than 34 years, went to Northwestern law school - which produced one-day Supreme Court Justice John Mack as well - and he retired in 2010 after Rehnquist died and O'Connor retired. That means that since 2010, every member of the Supreme Court, whether they are to the left or the right, has attended of either Harvard or Yale law.
Warren Burger was the Chief Justice when he retired in 1986. That's the last time someone was on the court who didn't graduate from Harvard, Yale, Columbia or Stanford. That includes 16 justices, and it would be 17 if Kavanaugh is confirmed.
Princeton, of course, does not have a law school; otherwise, the entire court would be made up of its grads.
As you probably know, three current Supreme Court Justices went to Princeton as undergrads - Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Samuel Alito. That's two Yalies (Alito and Sotomayor) and one Cantab (Kagan).
Going back a bit further, Alito is a graduate of Steinert High School, which is about 15 minutes from the Princeton campus in Hamilton.
Back in 2011, when Princeton played Kentucky in the NCAA men's basketball tournament in Orlando, the local paper asked each school for one non-basketball or athletic fact about the school. This request came to TigerBlog, who said that Princeton had three alums who were Supreme Court Justices. Kentucky's fact was that it had just set the world record for the largest tug-o'-war.
When it was printed, TigerBlog remembers some stereotyping that resulted, but that wasn't his intention. He just thought it was a great fact.
Back when the women's basketball team was unbeaten in the 2014-15 regular season, Justices Sotomayor and Kagan attended the team's NCAA loss at Maryland, after Barack Obama, himself a Harvard law grad, saw the NCAA win over Green Bay two days earlier.
Princeton played in the Cancun Challenge in that unbeaten season, defeating Wake Forest, Montana and Charlotte.
The 2018-19 Princeton women's basketball schedule has not yet been fully announced, but it's shaping up as another very challenging one. It's also shaping up as a team that's up to that challenge.
What was announced was Princeton's schedule for the next Cancun Challenge, which will be Thanksgiving weekend at the Hard Rock Hotel Riviera Maya on the Yucatan Peninsula.
Princeton will play three games in Mexico, beginning on Thanksgiving Day itself against DePaul, with games the following two days against Syracuse and Kansas State. Those are four schools used to playing in the NCAA tournament.
There will be a "Court Report" podcast that week. Perhaps TigerBlog should record it on site.
The tournament in Mexico will be a week after the end of the Ivy League football season.
All of this Supreme Court stuff makes TB wonder if the Harvard-Yale game is a big one to the Justices. Only one of them - Chief Justice John Roberts (Harvard) - went undergrad at either of the schools. Kavanaugh went to Yale undergrad and law school.
Do the athletic teams matter to people who have graduate degrees, or do you only care about your undergraduate alma mater?
Or are most people like TigerBlog, who hopes his alma mater loses its season-ending football game this season.
Tuesday, July 10, 2018
Consolation Prize
TigerBlog read the story about Amir Bell's signing with an Italian professional team.
He especially liked two parts of the quote from the team's coach, Franco Ciani.
The first was this:
"Princeton has a very important program of both studies and athletics."
It's great that the athletic and educational reputation of Princeton extends around the world.
The other part of the quote was this:
"Princeton? Let's not forget that it was also Mason Rocca's college, not just any one."
Mason Rocca is on the short list of Princeton athletes who through no fault of their own never were able to fully realize their complete greatness here, though they certainly gave glimpses of it. On his best - healthiest - night, Rocca was the most physically dominant men's basketball player TigerBlog has seen here.
Unfortunately, as TigerBlog has said many times, Rocca didn't have enough of those healthy nights.
If Rocca is on that short list, by the way, so is Chris Young, the second most physically dominant men's basketball player TB has seen here. Young only got to play for two years because of the random fact that his 21st birthday came six days before June 1 after his sophomore year, which made him eligible for the Major League Baseball draft that year.
As a result, when he signed his baseball contract, he was then ineligible for basketball too in the Ivy League, cutting short a career that, had it lasted four full years, would have left him as clearly the second-best player in program history.
As for the best player in program history? That of course is Bill Bradley.
So remember yesterday when TigerBlog mentioned that Princeton fans were okay with a consolation game from 53 years ago? He was talking about the 1965 men's basketball third-place game, between Princeton and Wichita State.
After the teams lost their semifinal games to Michigan and UCLA, Princeton beat Wichita State 118-82 to finish third. Bradley scored 58 points, which remains the most ever scored in an NCAA Final Four game and the most ever scored by a Princeton player.
Bradley shot 22 for 29 from the field (there was no three-point line back then) and 14 for 15 from the line. He also had 17 rebounds and four assists.
Actually, the assist totals are sort of interesting. For one thing, assists weren't official kept until more than 10 years later. For another thing, in a game that featured exactly 200 points, there were 11 assists credited - only one by Wichita State.
Here's a good trivia question for you:
There have been 13 men's basketball games in Princeton history in which a player has had at least 15 made field goals in a game. The first time was back in 1932, when John Seibert did so against Ursinus.
Bradley himself did it eight times. That leaves four more. Geoff Petrie did it twice. Brian Taylor did it once.
That means only one player since 1972 has done so. Can you name him? Hint - TigerBlog was at Dartmouth the night he did it.
The 58 points, also obviously Bradley's career high, is a number that most Princeton fans know about. What's fascinated TigerBlog even more through the years is Bradley's career low.
In three years of varsity basketball at Princeton, as the focal point of every defense he faced, as the person around whom every opponent's practice centered for three years, Bradley never scored fewer than 16 points in a game.
That's just ridiculous.
Think about that. His worst night ever was 16 points.
Anyway, TigerBlog was thinking about the greatest individual performances in Princeton history, across any sport, and that 58-point game has to be up there. It's summer, so TB does have some time to think about something that can compare.
Kazmaier against Cornell in 1951?
And what about performances TB has actually seen since he's been at Princeton? The first name that popped into his mind wasn't one you might have guessed.
It was actually Donn Cabral, at Heps cross country or at the NCAA steeplechase finals.
Off the top of his head, he also comes up with Thomas Pauley's 10-strikeout performance in Game 3 of the 2003 Ivy League baseball championship series.
And, you know, about 10 different games from Zach Currier. Yeah, he'll spend a little more time on this one.
In the meantime, there's the trivia answer - Rick Hielscher, who was 16 for 20 against Dartmouth in 1995.
He especially liked two parts of the quote from the team's coach, Franco Ciani.
The first was this:
"Princeton has a very important program of both studies and athletics."
It's great that the athletic and educational reputation of Princeton extends around the world.
The other part of the quote was this:
"Princeton? Let's not forget that it was also Mason Rocca's college, not just any one."
Mason Rocca is on the short list of Princeton athletes who through no fault of their own never were able to fully realize their complete greatness here, though they certainly gave glimpses of it. On his best - healthiest - night, Rocca was the most physically dominant men's basketball player TigerBlog has seen here.
Unfortunately, as TigerBlog has said many times, Rocca didn't have enough of those healthy nights.
If Rocca is on that short list, by the way, so is Chris Young, the second most physically dominant men's basketball player TB has seen here. Young only got to play for two years because of the random fact that his 21st birthday came six days before June 1 after his sophomore year, which made him eligible for the Major League Baseball draft that year.
As a result, when he signed his baseball contract, he was then ineligible for basketball too in the Ivy League, cutting short a career that, had it lasted four full years, would have left him as clearly the second-best player in program history.
As for the best player in program history? That of course is Bill Bradley.
So remember yesterday when TigerBlog mentioned that Princeton fans were okay with a consolation game from 53 years ago? He was talking about the 1965 men's basketball third-place game, between Princeton and Wichita State.
After the teams lost their semifinal games to Michigan and UCLA, Princeton beat Wichita State 118-82 to finish third. Bradley scored 58 points, which remains the most ever scored in an NCAA Final Four game and the most ever scored by a Princeton player.
Bradley shot 22 for 29 from the field (there was no three-point line back then) and 14 for 15 from the line. He also had 17 rebounds and four assists.
Actually, the assist totals are sort of interesting. For one thing, assists weren't official kept until more than 10 years later. For another thing, in a game that featured exactly 200 points, there were 11 assists credited - only one by Wichita State.
Here's a good trivia question for you:
There have been 13 men's basketball games in Princeton history in which a player has had at least 15 made field goals in a game. The first time was back in 1932, when John Seibert did so against Ursinus.
Bradley himself did it eight times. That leaves four more. Geoff Petrie did it twice. Brian Taylor did it once.
That means only one player since 1972 has done so. Can you name him? Hint - TigerBlog was at Dartmouth the night he did it.
The 58 points, also obviously Bradley's career high, is a number that most Princeton fans know about. What's fascinated TigerBlog even more through the years is Bradley's career low.
In three years of varsity basketball at Princeton, as the focal point of every defense he faced, as the person around whom every opponent's practice centered for three years, Bradley never scored fewer than 16 points in a game.
That's just ridiculous.
Think about that. His worst night ever was 16 points.
Anyway, TigerBlog was thinking about the greatest individual performances in Princeton history, across any sport, and that 58-point game has to be up there. It's summer, so TB does have some time to think about something that can compare.
Kazmaier against Cornell in 1951?
And what about performances TB has actually seen since he's been at Princeton? The first name that popped into his mind wasn't one you might have guessed.
It was actually Donn Cabral, at Heps cross country or at the NCAA steeplechase finals.
Off the top of his head, he also comes up with Thomas Pauley's 10-strikeout performance in Game 3 of the 2003 Ivy League baseball championship series.
And, you know, about 10 different games from Zach Currier. Yeah, he'll spend a little more time on this one.
In the meantime, there's the trivia answer - Rick Hielscher, who was 16 for 20 against Dartmouth in 1995.
Monday, July 9, 2018
A Leap To Leipzig
TigerBlog cannot remember a world-class athlete who humiliated himself or herself more on the international stage than Neymar just did at the World Cup.
The Brazilian, one of the best players in the world, went to Russia hoping to lead his nation to a World Cup with a team that had as good a chance as any other. He left knowing that he could go on the internet or social media and see literally millions of videos that were mocking him after his team's failure.
If you haven't been watching, Neymar became the greatest flopper of all time. If you were anywhere near him contesting a ball, he went down in a heap, writhing in agony. Or supposed agony at least.
In the end, it definitely caught up to him, and not just for his reputation. Several times near the end of Brazil's 2-1 loss to Belgium in the quarterfinals, there were plays that might have been actual fouls - including one in the penalty area - that went uncalled, quite likely influenced by the fact that Neymar had spent so much of the tournament clearly faking contact.
It's easy to tell when a player is actually hurt and when there is simple flopping going on. The player's reaction tells the whole story.
How much American football have you watched? A lot. How many injuries have you seen? A lot.
How many times have you seen a player roll around three or four times, as if the momentum of the hit was just too much to be stopped? Never is the answer.
As you know, TigerBlog hates the flopping. He also hates PKs as a tiebreaker, which is how Croatia defeated Russia to get the final spot in the semifinals.
The semifinal matchups are Croatia against England and France against Belgium. That's four European countries.
For all of the geography represented in the tournament, one semifinal matches two bordering countries whose capitals are 194 miles - a little more than three hours - apart. The distance between the capitals of England and Croatia is roughly the same as the distance between New York and St. Louis.
One fascinating part to TigerBlog is that of those four teams, only one - France - was a semifinalist two years ago in the European tournament, which was won by Portugal.
TigerBlog, as you know, has watched a ton of the World Cup. He can't remember which game it was the other day, but during the broadcast he heard a rather familiar name come from one of the British announcers.
Jesse Marsch.
To fans of Princeton soccer, the name Jesse Marsch is a very familiar one. Jesse was an All-American under Bob Bradley at Princeton, and he spent 14 years as a player in Major League Soccer. During that time he played in 358 games and won four MLS championships.
Since then he has been a coach, including the 2013 and 2014 seasons at Princeton under Jim Barlow. Princeton went 8-0-1 in its final nine games in 2014, by the way.
Marsch has seen his career take him to the U.S. men's national team (as a player and a coach) and also as a coach in MLS, first with the Montreal Impact and most recently with the Red Bulls. That time ended when he stepped aside last week, and that's why his name became part of a World Cup telecast.
Why did Jesse leave the Red Bulls, who play in a stadium about 45 minutes from Princeton? Apparently, he's looking to make his mark in Europe.
Marsch had been rumored to be moving to RB Leipzig, a franchise in the German Bundesliga that comes from the same ownership group as the Red Bulls. This would be a much different challenge, of course.
Those rumors were confirmed early this morning, when Marsch became the assistant coach for RP Leipzig.
There haven't been many American coaches who have been able to coach at the highest levels of European professional soccer. Bradley, Marsch's coach at Princeton, did so with Swansea in the English Premiere League, though it didn't last.
THIS story from ESPN.com tells much more about the situation and is worth reading. Don't try to comment on it, though - ESPN.com got rid of its comments section.
By the way, when you talk to Jesse Marsch, it takes you about two seconds to be impressed. He's very much like Bradley and Barlow - cerebral and competitive at the same time.
It would be great to see him get the opportunity on that level.
As for the World Cup, it's down to the final four games, with the two semifinal games and then a consolation and championship game.
Ordinarily, TB is not a fan of consolation games, though there was that one time 53 years ago where it was fine with Princeton fans.
The Brazilian, one of the best players in the world, went to Russia hoping to lead his nation to a World Cup with a team that had as good a chance as any other. He left knowing that he could go on the internet or social media and see literally millions of videos that were mocking him after his team's failure.
If you haven't been watching, Neymar became the greatest flopper of all time. If you were anywhere near him contesting a ball, he went down in a heap, writhing in agony. Or supposed agony at least.
In the end, it definitely caught up to him, and not just for his reputation. Several times near the end of Brazil's 2-1 loss to Belgium in the quarterfinals, there were plays that might have been actual fouls - including one in the penalty area - that went uncalled, quite likely influenced by the fact that Neymar had spent so much of the tournament clearly faking contact.
It's easy to tell when a player is actually hurt and when there is simple flopping going on. The player's reaction tells the whole story.
How much American football have you watched? A lot. How many injuries have you seen? A lot.
How many times have you seen a player roll around three or four times, as if the momentum of the hit was just too much to be stopped? Never is the answer.
As you know, TigerBlog hates the flopping. He also hates PKs as a tiebreaker, which is how Croatia defeated Russia to get the final spot in the semifinals.
The semifinal matchups are Croatia against England and France against Belgium. That's four European countries.
For all of the geography represented in the tournament, one semifinal matches two bordering countries whose capitals are 194 miles - a little more than three hours - apart. The distance between the capitals of England and Croatia is roughly the same as the distance between New York and St. Louis.
One fascinating part to TigerBlog is that of those four teams, only one - France - was a semifinalist two years ago in the European tournament, which was won by Portugal.
TigerBlog, as you know, has watched a ton of the World Cup. He can't remember which game it was the other day, but during the broadcast he heard a rather familiar name come from one of the British announcers.
Jesse Marsch.
To fans of Princeton soccer, the name Jesse Marsch is a very familiar one. Jesse was an All-American under Bob Bradley at Princeton, and he spent 14 years as a player in Major League Soccer. During that time he played in 358 games and won four MLS championships.
Since then he has been a coach, including the 2013 and 2014 seasons at Princeton under Jim Barlow. Princeton went 8-0-1 in its final nine games in 2014, by the way.
Marsch has seen his career take him to the U.S. men's national team (as a player and a coach) and also as a coach in MLS, first with the Montreal Impact and most recently with the Red Bulls. That time ended when he stepped aside last week, and that's why his name became part of a World Cup telecast.
Why did Jesse leave the Red Bulls, who play in a stadium about 45 minutes from Princeton? Apparently, he's looking to make his mark in Europe.
Marsch had been rumored to be moving to RB Leipzig, a franchise in the German Bundesliga that comes from the same ownership group as the Red Bulls. This would be a much different challenge, of course.
Those rumors were confirmed early this morning, when Marsch became the assistant coach for RP Leipzig.
There haven't been many American coaches who have been able to coach at the highest levels of European professional soccer. Bradley, Marsch's coach at Princeton, did so with Swansea in the English Premiere League, though it didn't last.
THIS story from ESPN.com tells much more about the situation and is worth reading. Don't try to comment on it, though - ESPN.com got rid of its comments section.
By the way, when you talk to Jesse Marsch, it takes you about two seconds to be impressed. He's very much like Bradley and Barlow - cerebral and competitive at the same time.
It would be great to see him get the opportunity on that level.
As for the World Cup, it's down to the final four games, with the two semifinal games and then a consolation and championship game.
Ordinarily, TB is not a fan of consolation games, though there was that one time 53 years ago where it was fine with Princeton fans.
Friday, July 6, 2018
Guest TigerBlog - The Most American Thing
Competitive eating is not one of them. In fact, TigerBlog is hard-pressed to figure out why anyone would consider this a sport, as opposed to, say, simply disgusting. What must it feel like after you've eaten that many hot dogs in a short time?
Macall Martin, TigerBlog's colleague here at Princeton, was in Coney Island for the Nathan's hot dog eating contest Wednesday. TB found this out from a tweet she put out, one that she references at the end of her Guest TigerBlog on her experience in Brooklyn:
The 4th of July is easily one of my favorite holidays. Well… my favorite summer holiday I guess. And who might I be? My name is Macall Martin, and I am a colleague of TigerBlog's. On America’s birthday, I received a text from TB asking if I would write a guest blog sharing my unique 4th of July adventure… so here we go.
What exactly did I do on 4th of July that sparked TB’s interest? Well… I attended the 2018 Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest. If you haven’t heard of this American tradition, let me fill you in.
Each year thousands of people flock to Coney Island in Brooklyn for a day filled with sun, fun, rides and of course a hot dog eating contest. The tradition dates back 102 years and takes place on the corner of Surf and Stillwell street, outside of the original Nathan’s Famous Hot Dogs.
In recent history, the event, which brings crowds of 20,000+, has been aired live on ESPN for all of America to see. So, for the last six years or so, my sports enthusiast husband (we are talking BIG time sports fan… who also works in college athletics) has posted up in front of the TV to watch this one-of-a-kind event. It has sort of become an unofficial tradition in our household. So… as we found ourselves relocating to the East Coast last fall, attending this event in person made its way to the upper part of our bucket list.
Fast forward to now. This 4th of July morning we woke early, lathered ourselves in sunscreen, and made our way to Brooklyn. Surprisingly, the traffic was very light, and we cruised right into a nearby parking lot. We walked the few blocks to Surf and Stillwell streets, and our eyes widened as we saw the masses. The line to enter the “viewing area” was already 300 plus people long and it was still and hour until the first event. We opted to find some space on the outside fencing instead of going into the “pit” of people. As we settled, some of the pre-event entertainment started. We saw performances from local bands, jammed out to a DJ and enjoyed a few dance routines courtesy of the “Bun Bros” and the “Bun-ettes.”
Eventually, it was time for the women’s competition. The “Eaters,” as the contestants were called, hailed from all over. Many held titles in other MLE (Major League Eating) Contests. One held the “Kale Eating Champion of the World,” while another was the “Hard Boiled Egg Champion of the World.”
Once they finally got through their accolades, it was time to start! Just like on New Year’s Eve, the announcer had the crowd counting down from 10 to start the race. As we hit zero, the ladies began guzzling down hot dogs and buns. The goal is to take down as many hot dogs and buns as they can in 10 minutes. Those 10 minutes flew by and soon we were counting down from 10 again to signal the end of the contest. Who won? Had a record been broken?
The winner was five-time champion Miki Sudo. However, she ate nine fewer hot dogs and buns than she had in her best year and didn’t break the all-time record held by MLE champion Sonya Thomas. But she still smiled over the crowd excitedly has they handed her another pink championship belt.
Next up was the men’s competition.
Year round there is an enormous countdown clock on the upper part of the Nathan’s building that counts down to the event. As it dwindled down to noon, the fans started to get anxious. Finally, it was time.
The announcer started the show with the swearing in of the judges by the Brooklyn district attorney (yep… that’s how the Brooklyn DA spends his 4th of July), and then finally into the Eater introductions. Backwards from 10 the crowd yelled. Three, two, one, go! Again, the 10 minutes seemed to fly by as the announcer updated us along the way.
The fan favorite was Joey Chestnut, now an 11-time winner, who was far ahead of his competitors. But as the time ticked down it didn’t look like Joey was going to break his own world record. He was 10 dogs and buns behind! Finally, the time wound down and it was clear Joey didn’t break it. But… what was this? A dispute?
Joey and the next closest competitor were pulling hot dogs from two different plates at two different times!? The judges had missed this. The announcer quickly informed the crowd of the error and then they decided to bring the Brooklyn DA back up to settle things. After what seemed like an eternity, they had determined the judges had indeed missed plates of hot dogs and buns.
What was the actual total!? Seventy-four hot dogs and buns! Joey Chestnut had done it! He had broken his own record of 72 hot dogs and buns and… consumed roughly 22,000 calories!
The crowd roared and chanted Joey’s name as they handed him his 11th“Mustard Belt.” After a few words about his success, and one more loud roar from the crowd, the event concluded. Fans poured out of the street and went on to enjoy their 4th of July afternoon. My husband I were spent as well, after hours in the sun, but we had one more mission before we left. We had to get a photo with the mascot “Frankster.” And yes, you guessed right, he is a giant hot dog mascot.
Why did we have to get a photo with the mascot you ask? Because my huge sports fan husband has made a tradition of taking photos with mascots at all types of events where mascots frolic. Check him out at @mascotguy1 if you’re looking for a laugh.
But all in all, the event was quite an experience and I would definitely recommend it if you’re looking for something truly American to do on the 4th of July.
I think my post-event tweet summed it up well… “I have never been so proud/disgusted to be an American.”
Cheers to a fun and safe summer filled with hot dogs and buns… but maybe not as many as Joey Chestnut.
Thursday, July 5, 2018
Yankee Doodle Dandy
TigerBlog didn't even need to check out the guide on his TV to know what would be on Turner Classic Movies at 8 last night.
Of course it was "Yankee Doodle Dandy." What else could possibly be on come 8:00 on the Fourth of July?
TB could easily list 10 movies, even 20 movies, that he would say he likes more than "Yankee Doodle Dandy," except on the Fourth of July. Then it's the only movie he really wants to see.
James Cagney made 61 movies in his long career. He is up there with the greatest gangsters of the golden age, and he was tremendous as Rhinelander Waldo, the police commissioner in "Ragtime," his second-to-last movie, back in 1981, when he was 82.
For all of that, he won exactly one Academy Award - for "Yankee Doodle Dandy."
If you're looking for some low-stress, old-fashioned, fun entertainment, this is about as good a choice as you can make. Actually, TigerBlog wrote this back in 2010.
Last year he wrote this: It's hard to beat Cagney as he sings and dances his way through one breezy show tune after another, all while reaffirming his patriotism and love of country in a time of World War.
Hey, the movie is a pretty common Fourth of July theme for him.
TigerBlog also mentioned last year that the World Cup would be past the halfway point by the time the next Fourth of July rolled around. And of course, that's where the World Cup stands.
Imagine how much TB would be writing about the World Cup if Princeton was in it, no?
Actually, TB thinks it's been a better TV World Cup without the Americans, because the storyline would have been all about the U.S., instead of simply the event. The current World Cup coverage is somewhat like what the Olympics coverage could be.
Anyway, Grant Wahl, a Princeton alum and former Office of Athletic Communication student worker at one point, is one of the foremost soccer writers in the world. He's certainly the No. 1 American in that group.
Grant has been doing work with Fox, including on-air pieces that have lent some additional flavor to the event. At one point yesterday he tweeted asking people what their favorite moment of the World Cup has been.
TB has a few of them, but it's possible that this one is his favorite:
Did you see that game? Japan was up 2-0 on Belgium, one of the pre-tournament favorites, only to have Belgium come back and win the game 3-2 on a goal as time expired. It has to be up there with the most heartbreaking losses the World Cup has ever seen.
And that's how the Japanese left their locker room? It was cleaner when they left it than it was when they first came into it. Think about that next time you see a story about a team that trashes its locker room.
TigerBlog has been in a few locker rooms where visiting coaches have said they want the place to be spotless when they left it, but they just meant to pick up the cups and put them in the garbage. This was immaculate.
There was no World Cup yesterday, and there aren't any games until tomorrow. This isn't quite like the NCAA men's basketball tournament, which gets worse round-by-round. It's just that TB got used to having two or three games per day on.
Meanwhile, back at the Fourth of July, the Princeton lightweight men's rowing team won its opening race at the Henley Royal Regatta, being held in England.
The Tigers won their first race yesterday, defeating Glasgow in its opener of the 32-crew tournament. Next up is the University of London this morning at 10:30 Eastern time, which would be 3:30 if you're in England.
You can watch the race HERE.
By the way, do you know when the Royal Henley Regatta was first contested? If you had 1839, you would be correct.
Princeton crews have won 10 Henley titles. The format is great - two boats go head-to-head, and the winner advances.
It has to be a pretty cool way to spend the Fourth of July.
Hey, do you think "Yankee Doodle Dandy" was on in England yesterday?
Of course it was "Yankee Doodle Dandy." What else could possibly be on come 8:00 on the Fourth of July?
TB could easily list 10 movies, even 20 movies, that he would say he likes more than "Yankee Doodle Dandy," except on the Fourth of July. Then it's the only movie he really wants to see.
James Cagney made 61 movies in his long career. He is up there with the greatest gangsters of the golden age, and he was tremendous as Rhinelander Waldo, the police commissioner in "Ragtime," his second-to-last movie, back in 1981, when he was 82.
For all of that, he won exactly one Academy Award - for "Yankee Doodle Dandy."
If you're looking for some low-stress, old-fashioned, fun entertainment, this is about as good a choice as you can make. Actually, TigerBlog wrote this back in 2010.
Last year he wrote this: It's hard to beat Cagney as he sings and dances his way through one breezy show tune after another, all while reaffirming his patriotism and love of country in a time of World War.
Hey, the movie is a pretty common Fourth of July theme for him.
TigerBlog also mentioned last year that the World Cup would be past the halfway point by the time the next Fourth of July rolled around. And of course, that's where the World Cup stands.
Imagine how much TB would be writing about the World Cup if Princeton was in it, no?
Actually, TB thinks it's been a better TV World Cup without the Americans, because the storyline would have been all about the U.S., instead of simply the event. The current World Cup coverage is somewhat like what the Olympics coverage could be.
Anyway, Grant Wahl, a Princeton alum and former Office of Athletic Communication student worker at one point, is one of the foremost soccer writers in the world. He's certainly the No. 1 American in that group.
Grant has been doing work with Fox, including on-air pieces that have lent some additional flavor to the event. At one point yesterday he tweeted asking people what their favorite moment of the World Cup has been.
TB has a few of them, but it's possible that this one is his favorite:
Japan was eliminated from the World Cup today in a game where they were leading 2-0. Despite their heartbreak they took the time to clean their bench and locker room leaving it perfectly clean. Thank you for being an example of pure class and I hope more take your lead. pic.twitter.com/NoDKascNie— Walsh U. Soccer (@WalshU_Soccer) July 3, 2018
Did you see that game? Japan was up 2-0 on Belgium, one of the pre-tournament favorites, only to have Belgium come back and win the game 3-2 on a goal as time expired. It has to be up there with the most heartbreaking losses the World Cup has ever seen.
And that's how the Japanese left their locker room? It was cleaner when they left it than it was when they first came into it. Think about that next time you see a story about a team that trashes its locker room.
TigerBlog has been in a few locker rooms where visiting coaches have said they want the place to be spotless when they left it, but they just meant to pick up the cups and put them in the garbage. This was immaculate.
There was no World Cup yesterday, and there aren't any games until tomorrow. This isn't quite like the NCAA men's basketball tournament, which gets worse round-by-round. It's just that TB got used to having two or three games per day on.
Meanwhile, back at the Fourth of July, the Princeton lightweight men's rowing team won its opening race at the Henley Royal Regatta, being held in England.
The Tigers won their first race yesterday, defeating Glasgow in its opener of the 32-crew tournament. Next up is the University of London this morning at 10:30 Eastern time, which would be 3:30 if you're in England.
You can watch the race HERE.
By the way, do you know when the Royal Henley Regatta was first contested? If you had 1839, you would be correct.
Princeton crews have won 10 Henley titles. The format is great - two boats go head-to-head, and the winner advances.
It has to be a pretty cool way to spend the Fourth of July.
Hey, do you think "Yankee Doodle Dandy" was on in England yesterday?
Tuesday, July 3, 2018
RIP, Stan And Ock
Here's a rule change for the World Cup that will never, ever happen:
If a player goes to the ground due to what seems to be an injury and the official has to stop play to have him checked out, then that player has to leave the field. At this point, his team would hae the option of either subbing for him or playing man-down for five minutes.
This would end all of the flopping relatively quickly. Well, maybe not for Neymar. He might need longer to decondition himself from rolling around on the grass as if no human being has ever endured such excruciating agony several times per game. Seriously, it's embarrassing.
Also, the time needs to be kept on the scoreboard so everyone knows exactly when the half or the game ends, but you already knew that.
As dramatic as Belgium's win over Japan was, with a goal just before stoppage time ended, there's a really strong likelihood that it would have come after time would have expired had time been kept like it is everywhere else in every other sport in the world.
So those are two of TigerBlog's World Cup pet peeves. So is the short corner. TB has never seen one work.
For all of those, the thing he really hates about the World Cup is when a game is decided by penalty kicks. That's how both games Sunday ended, as Russia defeated Spain and Croatia defeated Denmark (TB figured that when it was 1-1 after three minutes that it was headed to PKs at the same score).
Yes, it's dramatic and exciting and all, but it's an awful way to decide a game. It's not that dissimilar from deciding a tied basketball game by a free throw shooting contest.
Actually it's worse than that. The biggest problem is that a team can play to get to PKs and then take its chances. You would have to play a much different game if you knew that no matter, you couldn't win without a goal.
And yes, every now and then you'd have a game that went on and on without a goal scored, but so what? That happens in the NHL playoffs too. If you wanted to avoid that problem, then take players off the field so it opens things up, like field hockey does.
Having a game go 120 minutes and then have it decided by PKs is hardly a fair way to determine which team advances in the World Cup and which one goes home.
It's like that in the NCAA soccer tournaments, which also decides the outcome by PKs if it's tied after the two overtime periods.
The Princeton women's team won its NCAA second-round game a year ago against N.C. State in penalty kicks. Had Princeton lost that game, it never would have had the opportunity to do what it did in the next round, which was defeat 21-time NCAA champion North Carolina (in OT, but not in PKs).
And even with that, TigerBlog still doesn't think it's the right way to decide a winner.
While the World Cup goes on in Russia, the Princeton men's lightweight team will be in England at the very prestigious Henley Royal Regatta. You can read more about it HERE.
It has to be great for American college athletes to compete in England on the Fourth of July.
Finally, TigerBlog needs to shift to a sadder note today and remember two people who passed away yesterday, both of whom had strong connections to Princeton men's basketball.
The first is Jim O'Connell, who was a national college basketball writer for the Associated Press and, TigerBlog is pretty sure, the uncle of former Tiger Sean Gregory. The other is Stan Adelson, a longtime Princeton fan and, TB believes, one-time head of the Friends of Princeton Basketball.
TigerBlog knew Stan a lot better than he knew the man whom he never heard anyone call by his name. Nope, Jim O'Connell was simply "Ock" to everyone.
TB spent a lot of time with Ock in the mid-to-late 1990s, during Princeton's run those years to Ivy titles, NCAA tournaments, national rankings and NITs. He'd seen him or heard from him every now and then, and each time it was like he was a long-lost relative checking in.
Ock died of a heart attack at the age of just 64. He was a big, friendly, funny man who had time for everyone. He was an ultimate people person, and he just loved to be in a media room at a basketball game.
If Ock was a welcoming man, then Stan Adelson could best be described as a gentle man, and a gentleman. His quiet, respectful persona sort of didn't match with his life as a Major in the Air Force, TigerBlog always thought.
Stan, who was a month away from his 95th birthday, was a grandfatherly man to everyone at Princeton basketball. He certainly was to TigerBlog, who knew Stan for 30 or so years.
TigerBlog is trying to think of anyone he's ever met who loved Princeton basketball more than Stan, and if there's anyone, it's a very short list.
Stan was a Jadwin Gym fixture for decades. He loved the players and the coaches and the game nights. He was a soft-spoken man, one who smiled all the time, hugged often, was polite to everyone and couldn't get enough of watching the Tigers.
They were very different people, Stan and Ock, with very different personalities. They were united by their love of basketball, and they have left lasting memories on a lot of people.
Included in that group is TigerBlog, who liked them both very much.
College basketball won't be quite the same without Ock.
Jadwin Gym won't be quite the same without Stan.
If a player goes to the ground due to what seems to be an injury and the official has to stop play to have him checked out, then that player has to leave the field. At this point, his team would hae the option of either subbing for him or playing man-down for five minutes.
This would end all of the flopping relatively quickly. Well, maybe not for Neymar. He might need longer to decondition himself from rolling around on the grass as if no human being has ever endured such excruciating agony several times per game. Seriously, it's embarrassing.
Also, the time needs to be kept on the scoreboard so everyone knows exactly when the half or the game ends, but you already knew that.
As dramatic as Belgium's win over Japan was, with a goal just before stoppage time ended, there's a really strong likelihood that it would have come after time would have expired had time been kept like it is everywhere else in every other sport in the world.
So those are two of TigerBlog's World Cup pet peeves. So is the short corner. TB has never seen one work.
For all of those, the thing he really hates about the World Cup is when a game is decided by penalty kicks. That's how both games Sunday ended, as Russia defeated Spain and Croatia defeated Denmark (TB figured that when it was 1-1 after three minutes that it was headed to PKs at the same score).
Yes, it's dramatic and exciting and all, but it's an awful way to decide a game. It's not that dissimilar from deciding a tied basketball game by a free throw shooting contest.
Actually it's worse than that. The biggest problem is that a team can play to get to PKs and then take its chances. You would have to play a much different game if you knew that no matter, you couldn't win without a goal.
And yes, every now and then you'd have a game that went on and on without a goal scored, but so what? That happens in the NHL playoffs too. If you wanted to avoid that problem, then take players off the field so it opens things up, like field hockey does.
Having a game go 120 minutes and then have it decided by PKs is hardly a fair way to determine which team advances in the World Cup and which one goes home.
It's like that in the NCAA soccer tournaments, which also decides the outcome by PKs if it's tied after the two overtime periods.
The Princeton women's team won its NCAA second-round game a year ago against N.C. State in penalty kicks. Had Princeton lost that game, it never would have had the opportunity to do what it did in the next round, which was defeat 21-time NCAA champion North Carolina (in OT, but not in PKs).
And even with that, TigerBlog still doesn't think it's the right way to decide a winner.
While the World Cup goes on in Russia, the Princeton men's lightweight team will be in England at the very prestigious Henley Royal Regatta. You can read more about it HERE.
It has to be great for American college athletes to compete in England on the Fourth of July.
Finally, TigerBlog needs to shift to a sadder note today and remember two people who passed away yesterday, both of whom had strong connections to Princeton men's basketball.
The first is Jim O'Connell, who was a national college basketball writer for the Associated Press and, TigerBlog is pretty sure, the uncle of former Tiger Sean Gregory. The other is Stan Adelson, a longtime Princeton fan and, TB believes, one-time head of the Friends of Princeton Basketball.
TigerBlog knew Stan a lot better than he knew the man whom he never heard anyone call by his name. Nope, Jim O'Connell was simply "Ock" to everyone.
TB spent a lot of time with Ock in the mid-to-late 1990s, during Princeton's run those years to Ivy titles, NCAA tournaments, national rankings and NITs. He'd seen him or heard from him every now and then, and each time it was like he was a long-lost relative checking in.
Ock died of a heart attack at the age of just 64. He was a big, friendly, funny man who had time for everyone. He was an ultimate people person, and he just loved to be in a media room at a basketball game.
If Ock was a welcoming man, then Stan Adelson could best be described as a gentle man, and a gentleman. His quiet, respectful persona sort of didn't match with his life as a Major in the Air Force, TigerBlog always thought.
Stan, who was a month away from his 95th birthday, was a grandfatherly man to everyone at Princeton basketball. He certainly was to TigerBlog, who knew Stan for 30 or so years.
TigerBlog is trying to think of anyone he's ever met who loved Princeton basketball more than Stan, and if there's anyone, it's a very short list.
Stan was a Jadwin Gym fixture for decades. He loved the players and the coaches and the game nights. He was a soft-spoken man, one who smiled all the time, hugged often, was polite to everyone and couldn't get enough of watching the Tigers.
They were very different people, Stan and Ock, with very different personalities. They were united by their love of basketball, and they have left lasting memories on a lot of people.
Included in that group is TigerBlog, who liked them both very much.
College basketball won't be quite the same without Ock.
Jadwin Gym won't be quite the same without Stan.
Monday, July 2, 2018
America's Top 40
If you're in TigerBlog's age range, then the words "America's Top 40" trigger not just the name Casey Kasem but also his unmistakable voice.
Each Saturday beginning in 1970, Casey Kasem would count down the top 40 songs of that particular week, and he would do so in his endlessly upbeat, happy style. If you go to the right station at the right time these days, you can hear an encore of a random week - and try to guess what songs might be in the top two or three as he gets close.
TigerBlog was always a big fan.
TB stumbled on a different version of "Americas Top 40" yesterday. It's a top 40 that goes like this:
* the SEC - 12 schools
* the Big Ten, Pac 12 and ACC - eight schools each
* the Big 12 - three schools
That's eight times three, plus 12 and three. That adds up to 39.
Princeton, then, was 40.
The final standings of the Learfield Directors' Cup were announced after the conclusion of the College World Series. Princeton came in 40th, making it the only non-Power Five conference school in this "America's Top 40."
TigerBlog will get back to that in a second. First, there's the College World Series.
TigerBlog has never been to a CWS, and he doubts he ever will go. He has of course been to a lot of lacrosse Final Fours, and he'll stick with those.
He did, however, watch more of this year's College World Series than he would have guessed he was going to when it started. If you watched it, then you saw the amazing end of Game 2 of the championship series between Oregon State and Arkansas.
TigerBlog likes the format, with two groups of four teams and then the two winners to decide the championship in a best-of-three playoff. One thing he loves about the lacrosse Final Four is that the weather isn't going to mess with it the way it can with the CWS, and that was the case this year, when rain pushed back Day 1 of the final.
Arkansas won Game 1 behind pitcher Blaine Knight, whose record is a fairly impressive 14-0. The Razorbacks, who have never won a national championship in baseball, then led 3-2 in the top of the ninth of Game 2, with two outs and a runner on third.
You probably saw what happened next. TigerBlog was watching. He'd watched most of the game, actually.
There was a pop-up near the stands on the first base side, and it looked all the world like Arkansas had won. Only the ball fell. And then there was a single to tie it. And then a home run to win it.
Arkansas wasn't just one strike away. It had the ball in the air with plenty of room to catch it and let it get away. It's one of the most excruciating near-misses that TB has ever seen.
The next night was all Oregon State. TigerBlog flipped between that game and the game between the Major League Lacrosse all-stars and the U.S. National team for the upcoming World Championships.
Sophomore Kevin Abel, who was incredible in the game and who retired the final 20 he faced, did a bunch of things that no Major League pitcher would ever be allowed to do these days in OSU's 5-0 win, including:
* throw a complete game
* throw 125 pitches
* pitch out of a bases-loaded jam in the third inning
Anyway, congratulations to Oregon State, and to TigerBlog's colleague in the marketing office, Macall Martin, who came to Princeton from Oregon State not that long ago.
Even with the baseball championship, Oregon State still finished 20 spots behind Princeton in the Directors' Cup. This was the 25th year of the competition, and Stanford won for the 24th straight time.
The Directors' Cup attempts to measure the best overall athletic program in the country by awarding points based on NCAA tournament participation and success. Princeton has been the highest finishing Ivy League school 22 times in 25 years.
Princeton has been in the top 50 22 times and has never finished below 63. The best finish the program had was 21st in the 2001-02 academic year, and the Tigers have had an average finish of 38.9.
It's a testament to Princeton's commitment to competitive excellence as an equal partner to it's other core mission, defined as Education Through Athletics.
It's wildly impressive to be able to compete with the schools that Princeton does in the Directors' Cup. Think about it. All of the schools in the top 40 with Princeton have gigantic athletic budgets and are at the forefront of the college athletics arms race.
For Princeton, it's a different path to the success, but one that gets there nonetheless.
This year, it has one again yielded a well-earned spot in America's Top 40.
Each Saturday beginning in 1970, Casey Kasem would count down the top 40 songs of that particular week, and he would do so in his endlessly upbeat, happy style. If you go to the right station at the right time these days, you can hear an encore of a random week - and try to guess what songs might be in the top two or three as he gets close.
TigerBlog was always a big fan.
TB stumbled on a different version of "Americas Top 40" yesterday. It's a top 40 that goes like this:
* the SEC - 12 schools
* the Big Ten, Pac 12 and ACC - eight schools each
* the Big 12 - three schools
That's eight times three, plus 12 and three. That adds up to 39.
Princeton, then, was 40.
The final standings of the Learfield Directors' Cup were announced after the conclusion of the College World Series. Princeton came in 40th, making it the only non-Power Five conference school in this "America's Top 40."
TigerBlog will get back to that in a second. First, there's the College World Series.
TigerBlog has never been to a CWS, and he doubts he ever will go. He has of course been to a lot of lacrosse Final Fours, and he'll stick with those.
He did, however, watch more of this year's College World Series than he would have guessed he was going to when it started. If you watched it, then you saw the amazing end of Game 2 of the championship series between Oregon State and Arkansas.
TigerBlog likes the format, with two groups of four teams and then the two winners to decide the championship in a best-of-three playoff. One thing he loves about the lacrosse Final Four is that the weather isn't going to mess with it the way it can with the CWS, and that was the case this year, when rain pushed back Day 1 of the final.
Arkansas won Game 1 behind pitcher Blaine Knight, whose record is a fairly impressive 14-0. The Razorbacks, who have never won a national championship in baseball, then led 3-2 in the top of the ninth of Game 2, with two outs and a runner on third.
You probably saw what happened next. TigerBlog was watching. He'd watched most of the game, actually.
There was a pop-up near the stands on the first base side, and it looked all the world like Arkansas had won. Only the ball fell. And then there was a single to tie it. And then a home run to win it.
Arkansas wasn't just one strike away. It had the ball in the air with plenty of room to catch it and let it get away. It's one of the most excruciating near-misses that TB has ever seen.
The next night was all Oregon State. TigerBlog flipped between that game and the game between the Major League Lacrosse all-stars and the U.S. National team for the upcoming World Championships.
Sophomore Kevin Abel, who was incredible in the game and who retired the final 20 he faced, did a bunch of things that no Major League pitcher would ever be allowed to do these days in OSU's 5-0 win, including:
* throw a complete game
* throw 125 pitches
* pitch out of a bases-loaded jam in the third inning
Anyway, congratulations to Oregon State, and to TigerBlog's colleague in the marketing office, Macall Martin, who came to Princeton from Oregon State not that long ago.
Even with the baseball championship, Oregon State still finished 20 spots behind Princeton in the Directors' Cup. This was the 25th year of the competition, and Stanford won for the 24th straight time.
The Directors' Cup attempts to measure the best overall athletic program in the country by awarding points based on NCAA tournament participation and success. Princeton has been the highest finishing Ivy League school 22 times in 25 years.
Princeton has been in the top 50 22 times and has never finished below 63. The best finish the program had was 21st in the 2001-02 academic year, and the Tigers have had an average finish of 38.9.
It's a testament to Princeton's commitment to competitive excellence as an equal partner to it's other core mission, defined as Education Through Athletics.
It's wildly impressive to be able to compete with the schools that Princeton does in the Directors' Cup. Think about it. All of the schools in the top 40 with Princeton have gigantic athletic budgets and are at the forefront of the college athletics arms race.
For Princeton, it's a different path to the success, but one that gets there nonetheless.
This year, it has one again yielded a well-earned spot in America's Top 40.
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