Seahawks 24, Cheaters 14

TigerBlog doesn't need an investigation about deflated footballs.

There aren't too many possible conclusions based on these three facts: 1) the referee of the AFC championship game certified that 2.5 hours before kickoff that the balls that the Patriots were going to be using were properly inflated; 2) at the half 11 of the 12 balls weren't; and 3) all 12 of the balls the Colts used were still properly inflated.

Because the balls for the Colts were still at the regulation weight, then no environmental factors caused the deflation.

So what can be concluded?

Either the ref is lying and the balls weren't properly inflated the first time (which is unlikely) or someone who had access to the balls for the Patriots deflated them. One of those two. That's it.

And if it's the second? Well, sorry, but TigerBlog will never believe that head coach Bill Belichick and quarterback Tom Brady didn't know about it. Any other conclusion is ridiculous.

So where does that leave the Super Bowl for Sunday, between the Patriots and the Seahawks? Well, it leaves TigerBlog to root for Seattle.

On the one hand, that's fairly easy. BrotherBlog lives in Seattle. He's rooting for the Seahawks, even if he's not quite a huge Xs and Os guy.

On the other hand? Seattle has some guys who make it easy not to root for them.

Take Marshawn Lynch. TigerBlog isn't quite sure what to make out of this situation, of one of the key members of a Super Bowl team who so openly mocks the media and, to be honest, embarrasses himself in the process by constantly repeating "I'm just here so I don't get fined" and then giving a rambling two-minute diatribe.

TigerBlog thinks Lynch is being a jerk. He's coming across as a typical spoiled athlete who feels no obligation either to the fans or to the media, who have clearly played a role in getting him where he is today.

On the other hand, it's better than listening to one of those "blah blah blah" press conferences where every comment is measured and nothing is actually said.

As for the on-field game, TigerBlog thinks the Seahawks will do enough to slow down New England and Russell Wilson will do enough to put some points on the board. He figures it'll be 24-14 Seattle.

Unless New England does something else to cheat.

In the meantime, another New England team is a bigger focus for TigerBlog this weekend. That would be Harvard.

Princeton takes on Harvard in men's and women's basketball tonight (men at home, women on the road). The men tip at 6 on Carril Court; ESPNU will televise it.

The women will wait an extra hour to tip-off in Cambridge. Hey, they've waited 20 days; what's another hour?

Both teams finish their weekends by playing Dartmouth at 6. By tomorrow around 8, then, there will be a lot more known about the Ivy basketball races.

Start with the women.

Princeton is 17-0, 1-0 in the league after dismantling Penn in the Ivy opener three weekends ago. Since then, Princeton has not played.

The Tigers are ranked 19th in the country, the highest ranking ever in Ivy women's basketball. They are also one of only two teams in Division I who remain unbeaten, along with No. 1 South Carolina.

None of that matters at all tonight.

Harvard is 1-1 in the league, having split with Dartmouth. A year ago, Princeton fell behind Harvard early, tried to come back and ultimately couldn't.

Did being off for 20 days factor into it? Who knows.

Princeton was playing so well before the break. Can that momentum be sustained or reestablished? Check the score after 14 minutes. In the game a year ago after break, Harvard led Princeton by 18.

If Princeton sweeps this weekend, it'll be, among other things, two games clear of Harvard. It'll possibly be two games clear of Penn as well, with two wins and a Harvard win over Penn.

On the other hand, a loss in either game changes everything. Princeton would still be the league favorite, but it won't be the prohibitive favorite that it is now.

In fact, a loss by the Princeton women will have the same effect that Harvard's loss to Dartmouth in men's basketball had last weekend. Harvard is probably still the favorite in the league race, but it's not going to be a cakewalk.

Right now, Yale is undefeated at 2-0, with Princeton at 1-0. Everyone else has at least one loss.

Is the men's race wide open, or was the stumble by Harvard last weekend a slight hiccup?

It starts to get sorted out more this weekend.

As for Princeton, preseason predictions and who may or may not still be the favorite aren't the issue tonight. For Princeton, tonight is about being in the perfect position to make its own statement.

The Tigers are at home. They are fresh after exams and the Division III tuneup win over Rowan Sunday afternoon. It's a great opportunity.

Right now, Princeton has played just one league game. Nobody has played more than two.

Clearly, nobody is going to win the league championship this weekend, on the men's side or the women's side. This weekend isn't about that.

It's about starting to shape the dynamic of the race.

In that regard, this weekend is huge.