Inspiring

Remember when TigerBlog was talking about how there's always a movie that you assume everyone has seen, so when you find someone who hasn't seen that movie, you immediately say "wait, you haven't see that?"

Well, TB had that interaction with Miss TigerBlog the other night. The movie in question? "Rocky."

Who in the world hasn't seen "Rocky?"

Turns out, Miss TigerBlog had not. This was stunning to TigerBlog, who saw it while flipping through the channels, while MTB was doing her homework with her earbuds in. When he finally got her attention, she said she hadn't seen it and "weren't there a lot of of these movies anyway?"

Yes, TB said. This was the original though. As he told her, this is the only movie that can be in the conversation with "Casablanca" and "The Godfather" as the greatest movie ever. And she hadn't seen it.

TigerBlog interrupted her homework to show her three scenes. The first was when Rocky drinks the raw eggs and then can't make it up the stairs of the art museum. The second was the famous training scene, set to the iconic "Gonna Fly Now."

It's HERE, if you need a little pick-me-up for your day.

MTB had never seen it before. When it was over, she said one word: inspiring.

Lastly, of course, there was the fight scene. She liked that one too, though it left her a bit confused as to whether or not he'd won.

TigerBlog, by the way, saw "Rocky" in the movies when it first came out. That was in 1976.

It dawns on TigerBlog that Courtney Banghart hadn't even been born yet. The Princeton women's basketball coach, who is not yet 40, has packed a lot of winning into her 30s.

In fact, the Ivy League title that Princeton just won was the sixth under Banghart, and her teams have made eight straight postseason appearances, including six in the NCAA tournament. This season will be her ninth in nine years, though which postseason tournament remains to be seen.

The Ivy League tournament begins tomorrow. The Princeton women are the top seed and as such will play fourth-seeded Yale in the first semifinal, at 6. No. 2 Penn plays No. 3 Harvard in the second semifinal at 8:30, and then the final is Sunday at 4.

Princeton played 14 Ivy League regular season games, and all 14 of them were decided by double figures, including its losses to Yale and Harvard. In other words, to get to the NCAA tournament, Princeton needs to first defeat a team that it has already lost to once by double figures and then, if it wins, beat either another team that it has already lost to by double figures or the defending champ on its home court.

Of course, Princeton also has double figure wins over Yale and Harvard and two of them over Penn. TigerBlog's prediction for the tournament is that by the time it ends around 6 on Sunday evening, the winner will have had some moments where it needed to gut it out.

Princeton is led by its two first-team All-Ivy League selections, Bella Alarie (not unanimous? C'mon. She's a completely rare talent in the Ivy League, and is there really a coach who thinks she's not one of the top five players right now?) and Leslie Robinson. Alarie was also the Ivy Player of the Year, the eighth sophomore to win the award. She joins Addie Micir, Niveen Rasheed twice and Blake Dietrick as Princeton players to win the award under Courtney Banghart.

As for TigerBlog, he'll be at Sherrerd Field tomorrow at 1 for the 96th meeting between Princeton and Rutgers in men's lacrosse and then will hustle to the Palestra for the Princeton-Yale game. Princeton and Rutgers have met every year since 1921, except for the World War II years of 1944 and 1945.

It's a big game for Princeton, an opportunity to get one over a Big 10 team that is a Top 10-type team. It should be a really good game. And then a ride to Philadelphia.

Beyond that, it's a typical busy weekend in Princeton Athletics. You can see the whole schedule HERE.

The Ivy League is in Year 2 of having its NCAA bid go to the Ivy tournament winner. There should be a lot of drama in Philadelphia.

You know. Just like in "Rocky."