Spring Break

TigerBlog can't remember what he did on spring break when he was in college.

Not in the "what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas" way.  Not in the "wow that was so wild" way. You know, not like the guys in "The Hangover."

As an aside, TigerBlog thought "The Hangover" was hilarious. Every now and then a movie has a way of separating itself from the gaggle of others that get churned out, even if there was no real reason to expect that it would.

That was what happened with "The Hangover," which had a really smart script and a really strong ensemble cast, enough to overcome a premise that has been done a billions times. The result was a very, very funny movie.

The key person in the movie is Zach Galifianakis, who plays Alan, the soon-to-be-brother-in-law of the Doug, whose bachelor party is being held in Las Vegas. The bride sort of guilts Doug and his two best friends into bringing Alan along with them, despite the fact that he's a bit socially awkward, to put it mildly.

Had Galifianakis - or the script - overdone Alan's social shortcomings a little more, it would have vaulted over the line into ridiculousness. Instead, it went just far enough to make him the perfect foil for the other three.

Ken Jeong, who plays the rather bizarre main bad guy, accomplishes the same thing, making his character another great one.

Most movies that fail to be funny and become tedious do so because either the characters are too caricaturish or because the movie gets away from being funny at the end because it's trying to wrap up its story. "The Hangover" doesn't fall into those traps.

Neither, by the way, does "Superbad," which also has the right character who, if it had been pushed a little further, would have ruined the movie. TB is talking about McLovin of course.

TigerBlog can't say whether "The Hangover II" or "The Hangover III" were funny, because he didn't see them. His sense is that they're nothing like the original, though he could be wrong.

Meanwhile, back at spring break for TB, he cannot remember at all what he did. He thinks that he spent his last two working at the newspaper, and he has no idea what he did for the first two.

He does know that he went to Florida once during winter break, but that wasn't to party on the beach or anything. On that occasion, he went to visit his Aunt Franny and Uncle Maurice, the latter who would become the 5-foot, 1-inch mayor of South Palm Beach, which, unlike its more famous neighbor slightly the west, is a town of 3,000 retirees.

Midterms end today at Princeton University, which means that next week is spring break.

And that helps to explain why, of the next 63 events on the Princeton Athletics calendar, only two are at home.

Both of those home events are tomorrow, when there is a lacrosse doubleheader on Sherrerd Field at Class of 1952 Stadium, beginning at noon with the women's game against Virginia and continuing at 3 when the men take on Penn in the Ivy opener for both.

Other than that, it's all road games all the time for the next 10 days.

Some of the trips are short ones, like the next men's lacrosse game, which is Tuesday at Villanova, or the men's volleyball team's trip to Rutgers-Newark. Most of the teams are going fairly far away, including men's volleyball, which heads to North Carolina after playing in New Jersey.

The baseball team will hope that the weather cooperates during its trip to North Carolina. The softball team will hope for the same as it heads to California.

It appears the softball team has less to worry about.

The men's tennis team will also be in California. So will women's lacrosse, after the Virginia game. The women's tennis team will be in South Florida.

For spring teams, this is always a hugely important week, on many levels. The winter is ending - yesterday's 20 degree weather might actually have been the last time it'll be below freezing this winter, which would be a great thing - and Ivy League competition is about to begin.

The week for spring break offers a chance to get away as a team, to play good competition (hopefully in good weather), relax without classes and focus on being completely ready when the conference games begin.

For one team that's traveling this week, the league opener is actually six months away.

The women's soccer team leaves today for a trip to France. The NCAA permits teams to make one foreign trip every four years, and the women's soccer team is fortunate enough to be able to go now.

As with all foreign trips, there will be sightseeing, culture, a chance to meet the locals, some service opportunities and of course game competition.

For the women's soccer players - and all the athletes who will competing, there will be indelible memories of how they spent their spring breaks.

As opposed to TigerBlog.