Watching The Former Tigers

So TigerBlog had it all messed up yesterday as far as watching Princeton alums in professional sports.

He thought it was going to be the WNBA game between Princetonians Bella Alarie and Blake Dietrick at 2, and then the Princeton-heavy Archers (Tom Schreiber, Ryan Ambler, Josh Sims) versus Princeton alum Zach Currier in a Premier Lacrosse League opener at 4.

As it turns out, it wasn't the Archers against Currier's new team, the expansion Waterdogs, but instead the Atlas. TB said this last year - if you're not going to have teams represent cities, then at least make their names much different. Between Atlas and Archers and Chrome and Chaos, it's a bit confusing.

Also as it turned out, the WNBA game started at 5, not 2. So at 2 there was the Major League Lacrosse championship game, where Boston defeated Denver 13-10.

Denver would have won if Currier was still an Outlaw, as opposed to being the No. 1 pick in the entry draft by the Waterdogs in the PLL. Also, TB was still rooting for Denver and Princeton assistant coach Chris Aslanian, who scored three goals in the game.

There was also the Yankees-Nationals baseball game, in which Princeton alum David Hale pitched an inning in the 3-2 New York win. It was Hale's second appearance of the year for the Yankees, and yet another Princeton alum, Mike Ford, got a hit in his only at-bat of the weekend.

TB put on the PLL game at 4, just in time to see Currier take the ground ball off the opening face-off and go right to the goal, where he appeared to score the first goal in Waterdogs history. Instead, his goal was waved off because his foot was on the crease line (it was, as the replay showed), and he got an inadvertent shot to the head for his troubles.

By 5 TB had the lacrosse game on the TV and the women's basketball game on his computer.

Neither Alarie nor Dietrick started in the game, but both got in the game by the end of the first quarter. In fact, when the quarter ended, both players were on the court together.

Between the two, there were six first-team All-Ivy League selections, four Ivy League Player of the Year Awards, three All-American honors and 2,936 career points. There were also six Ivy League title and six NCAA tournament trips.

It was a well-played back-and-forth quarter, one that ended with Dallas ahead 28-27. Dietrick had a three-pointer, along with two assists and a rebound. She was also Atlanta's top ballhandler.

Meanwhile, back at the lacrosse game, the Waterdogs had the lead into the fourth quarter. For an expansion team, the Waterdogs have a lot of talent, and they have Currier, who is the ultimate winning player who makes every big play you need and can do absolutely anything - fearlessly - on the field.

His resume includes championships in MLL, in the indoor National Lacrosse League and the indoor World Championships with Canada. He was also on the Canadian team that lost the 2018 field World Championship 9-8 to the United States in an good a lacrosse game as has ever been played.

The Atlas scored three straight, tying the game at 10-10, as the WNBA game had some technical issues with the clock and logistics. By the time the game restarted, the Waterdogs were behind, and they'd actually lose the game 11-10.

It'll be the Archers and Atlas tonight at 9:30 on NBC Sports Network. TB is sure of that one.

He would have rather it had been Currier against the Archers yesterday, but that game will be coming up tomorrow at 7, also on NBC Sports.

As for the rest of the basketball game, Alarie didn't get much playing time. Dietrick got a ton and made the most of it, finishing with five points, five assists and three rebounds. The Dream led most of the way and always seemed to be in total control, but the Wings hung around and hung around and got within two late. The drama disappeared with an endless break to check on how many fouls a player had, and the final was Atlanta 105, Dallas 95.

And as for having the opportunity to watch some pro sports again, that alone was really good. Adding the Princeton connections made it even better.