To The Groundhog

Today is Feb. 2, which makes it Groundhog Day. 

TigerBlog will start out today with his two annual thoughts about the day: 1) if the choices are an early spring or six more weeks of winter, then the implication is that once you get past six weeks from today you're into spring, even though six weeks from today is March 16 and 2) TB loved the movie "Groundhog Day."

That movie's lasting impact has been to get people to refer to things that repeat themselves as "Groundhog Day." Are there any other movies that have had that kind of impact on the lexicon? TB isn't talking about lines from movies, like "I'll Be Back," but actually creating a new meaning for its title.

"Groundhog Day" opened on Feb. 4, 1993. It was a low-budget comedy, but it ended up making $150 million. One thing TB didn't realize about it was that Bill Murray, the star, had a falling out with Harold Ramis, the movie's director, and the two didn't speak again until 2014, just before Ramis died. 

TB's theory that not all movies are trying to win Best Picture is perhaps best exemplified by "Groundhog Day," or by "Point Break." It's just a fun, funny, upbeat movie that you can watch again and again. It's sort of a Groundhog Day thing.

And with that ...

Andrei Iosivas is making a name for himself at the @seniorbowl so far. Here's what you need to know about the Princeton WR.#TheDraftStartsInMOBILE | #NFLDrafthttps://t.co/kAbN0Pdi8H

— The Draft Network (@TheDraftNetwork) February 1, 2023

* Andrei Iosivas is competing at the Senior Bowl this week. The game itself is set for Saturday afternoon, but even more important than how you do in the game is how you do in front of the scouts all week. 

By all accounts, Iosivas has been crushing it so far. It was hard to find any coverage of the practices without reading about the Princeton wide receiver, whose speed, size and hands make him a player with a serious NFL future. And this is before he goes to the combine, which is tailor-made for someone who is also an accomplished decathlete.

* And so this leads us to a very easy segue. The following tweet about Iosivas comes from Patrick McCarthy, who as the radio voice of the Princeton football team knows all about how good Iosivas is.

Whoever lands Andrei Iosivas is getting a special player! Cant wait to see how he shines at the Senior Bowl! https://t.co/SDH1XLtflk

— Pat McCarthy (@PatMcCarthy_) February 1, 2023

 Today TB offers congratulations to Patrick, who yesterday was named as the new pregame and postgame radio host for the New York Mets. He'll also be the fill-in as a play-by-play announcer. 

Patrick has spent the last few years doing games for the Triple-A Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs, in addition to his work with Princeton football and men's basketball. He's also filled in for a few Philadelphia Phillies' games.

* It'll be big weekend of Ivy League women's basketball in the state of New York. It begins tomorrow night, when Princeton is at Cornell (at 6) and Penn is at Columbia. The teams then switch opponents Saturday, with Penn at Cornell and Princeton at Columbia (tip is at 4).

Right now, Columbia is in first at 6-1, followed by Princeton, Penn and Harvard at 5-2. Yale is in fifth at 4-3, and the other three teams all have at least five losses. TigerBlog doesn't need to explain the significance.

Columbia defeated Princeton 58-55 in overtime back on Jan. 6. One night later, Penn defeated Columbia. Ten days after that, Princeton defeated Penn. 

The Tigers, in fact, have not lost since the Columbia game. More than that, no game since — five leagues games, one non-league game — has been closer than 15 points.

Columbia comes into the weekend as the No. 1 scoring team in the Ivy League at 81.8 points per game. The Lions also have three of the top nine scorers in the league.

Princeton is the No. 1 defensive team, which, as a Carla Berube-coached team, is not a surprise. Teams are averaging 54.8 points per game against the Tigers.

Princeton's Julia Cunningham enters the weekend needing 24 points to get to 1,000 for her career. 

This weekend starts the second trip through the league. The top four men's and women's teams will be at Jadwin for the Ivy tournament March 10-12.

* Lastly, there was this bit of news involving BrotherBlog yesterday:

On Friday, January 27, Governor Jay Inslee reappointed family law Associate Teaching Professor Terry J. Price to his Child Support Schedule Workgroup, to suggest legislative changes to Washington's child support policies. The appointment runs from 2023-27. Congratulations! pic.twitter.com/vAc0jduolu

— UW School of Law (@UWSchoolofLaw) February 1, 2023

Not a bad picture of the professor.

And so now you have two brothers on four-year committees. One is with the Child Support Schedule Workshop. The other is with the NCAA men's lacrosse rules committee. 

Are they sure they're related? 

Oh, and congrats, bro.