Good Luck To Lamar And Ashley

TigerBlog made a new friend yesterday.

It started when he got a text message from a phone number he didn't know. Usually, text messages come up from someone already in the contacts folder, so it's clear who it is.

When one comes up from a phone number, instead of a name, it usually starts out with "hey, it's so-and-so," and then the rest of the conversation.

This time, it started out with that sort of greeting, though it was coming from someone TB didn't know. Someone named Lamar.

Apparently Lamar was looking for a young woman named Ashley, only he got TigerBlog instead. TB's first thought was that Ashley had given Lamar a made-up number that just happened to be TB's.

As it turned out, apparently at least, Lamar simply entered the number wrong. There was this actual exchange:
Lamar: "I put in the wrong number."
TB: "Good. I'd hate to think that Ashley would do that to you. Let me know how it goes."
Lamar: "Who is this by the way? You seem very friendly and respectful. Usually people act rude."

TB then told Lamar who he was and said that he was adding Lamar to his contacts.

And with that, TB was off to the rest of his day.

The text message is an amazing little thing, isn't it? TigerBlog wonders what the ability to send text messages would have done to make his middle school and high school days different, as he sees the incredible reliance on the medium by his two children - and everyone they know.

TB's philosophy is that it's way easier to text something stupid than it is to say something stupid, which is why so many people get in trouble with things they text.

TB has a friend who has always said that if texting had been invented before calling that people would never text and would always call. The ability to hear someone's voice instead of just seeing the words? Who wouldn't want that.

It's not that much different than having silent movies or ones where you can actually hear what the people say. Despite that, TB is relatively sure that

The next person to text TigerBlog after Lamar was Bill Bromberg, the public address announcer, confirming that he was in for the Ivy League women's lacrosse tournament.

That event is next weekend. This weekend has some big events as well, with the biggest on the road.

The women's water polo team will be competing in the CWPA championships at Bucknell, with the prize a trip to the NCAA championships.

Princeton is ranked ninth in the country and has been dominant all year, but getting back to the NCAA tournament would mean doing so as the No. 2 seed in the CWPA tournament. The top seed is Indiana, the champ of the CWPA's western division and the No. 12 team in the country.

As an aside, the last text messages TB exchanged with water polo coach Luis Nicolao involved a picture of Luis in a speedo from the video for Gary Walters' farewell event, something about sending it to him because his wife wouldn't believe it. Now that is texting at its finest.

Anyway, the water polo event begins tomorrow and runs through Sunday.

The Ivy League men's and women's golf tournaments will also be held tomorrow through Sunday, at Baltusrol Golf Club in Springfield, which is about an hour from Princeton.

Will Green's men's team is the defending champion, while Nicki Cutler's women lost by a single stroke a year ago. One lousy stroke.

Princeton has both defending champs, with seniors Greg Jarmas and Kelly Shon.

Baltusrol is a fairly famous golf course, having hosted the U.S. Open for both the men and women and the PGA Championship for the men, a tournament that will return to the course in 2016. TigerBlog figures he could challenge the course record - for highest score ever recorded.

Fortunately for Princeton, TB won't be one of the golfers going for the Ivy title. Princeton has three women and three men back from last year, and the Tigers figure to be in the chase until the end for both.

There are NCAA tournament spots on the line for women's water polo and men's and women's golf. TigerBlog is rooting for the Tigers - and for Lamar and Ashley.