Welcome To October

For some reason, TigerBlog begins his first entry of each month with the obvious comment that the calendar has flipped. 

It's either "Welcome to X month" or "It's X month." The only exceptions seem to be when the first of the new month is on a Saturday or Sunday — and even then he starts out that Monday with some reference to the fact that it's a new month. 

With that in mind, he has decided that he will not mention that today is October 1. 

October, by the way, is named for the party god of the ancient Germanic tribes: Oktoberfest. Just kidding. Just kidding. It was named October because on the original Roman calendar, it was the eighth month of the year. Then someone came along and invented January and February, but October kept its name — sort of like the Big Ten or Big 12.

For some reason, TigerBlog did go down the rabbit hole of reading all about October. For instance, he found this: 

When deer are in a gray coat in October, expect a hard winter.
Much rain in October, much wind in December.
A warm October means a cold February.

Also, apparently today is International Day of Older Persons, something that was enacted by a UN resolution in 1990. And what constitutes an "older person?" According to the resolution, that would be anyone 60 or older. TB is NOT an "older person," and therefore he will not be celebrating. 

Today is also International Coffee Day. TB has never in his life had a cup of coffee, so he won't be celebrating that one either. It's also International Music Day; he'd be happy to sing for you.

October is also, informally at least, the start of Crossover Season. Between now and the end of the month, you'll have the season debuts of the Princeton women's and men's hockey seasons. In fact, Division I women's hockey actually began last weekend, and the men face-off starting this weekend. 

Some sports are sprints. Others are marathons. The Frozen Four for women will be March 21-23 in Duluth; the men's Frozen Four will be April 8-10 in Washington, D.C.

For now, though, the month begins as fall teams are heading to the heart of the Ivy League seasons. There will be three Princeton-Yale matchups, with two in Central Jersey, and Princeton's team in each will be looking to rebound from a tough league loss a week ago. 

The first of those three games is tomorrow at 5, when the field hockey team takes on the Bulldogs on Bedford Field. As you know, Princeton is 4-4, with four shootout losses, including three in a row, to No. 7 UConn, No. 8 Harvard and most recently two days ago to No. 2 Maryland. 

You also know how TigerBlog feels about shootouts. There's no need to dwell on it. Yale, like Princeton, is now 1-1 in the league, as are Columbia and Dartmouth. Harvard and Cornell are 2-0. Brown and Penn are 0-2. Not that this has anything to do with Princeton, but you have to go back to 2018 to see a year when Dartmouth and Columbia both had at least one Ivy win in the same season.

The other two Princeton-Yale matchups are Saturday in soccer, with a men's game at Myslik Field at 4 and the women's game in New Haven at 7. 

Right now, Princeton has the highest RPI in the league at No. 28. Still, the Tigers dropped their league opener last weekend at Dartmouth, who along with Cornell are both 1-0-0. 

Yale opened its Ivy League season with a tie against Penn. Hey, why can soccer have ties but field hockey cannot? You know how many tie games the 16 Ivy soccer teams have had so far? How about 21? 

The women lost their Ivy League opener at Harvard last weekend in a wild 4-3 game. Princeton trailed 2-0 midway through the first before tying it 2-2 at the break. Harvard went back up two before Princeton answered again, but the Tigers couldn't tie it. The teams combined for 32 shots on the day. 

In other Ivy League events, the women's volleyball team is home tomorrow and Saturday against Columbia and Cornell, with start times of 6 and 5. Each Ivy team has played one league match so far, and the four 1-0 teams are Princeton, Harvard, Yale and Cornell. 

The complete weekend schedule is HERE. 

 

Tigers In The Playoffs

TigerBlog doesn't want to talk about field hockey shootouts anymore, and he's pretty sure you don't want to read about them anymore. 

All he'll say about yesterdays' 4-3 Princeton loss to Maryland — a third straight shootout loss to a top eight team, as well as a fourth shootout loss in eight games this season so far — is that he stands by everything he's said about them, that they are not a part of how field hockey is played and that there is nothing wrong with a tie after 75 minutes. 

And that's all he'll say about it today, especially since he wants to talk about chocolate milk. 

TB was driving yesterday morning when a Cream-O-Land dairy truck came up next to him one lane over. And what was TB drinking at the time? Cream-O-Land chocolate milk. So what did he do? He held up the plastic bottle as a salute. 

And what did the driver do? Gave TB a thumbs up. 

So that was a good start to the day. 

As an aside, TB would recommend the Cream-O-Land chocolate milk. And the Fairlife one, which is higher in protein and tastes surprisingly good. 

Perhaps one day, TB's second career could be as a chocolate milk reviewer. Would Yoo-Hoo count? There's no milk in it, of course. 

That will be his first exclusive. Is Yoo-Hoo chocolate milk? 

Yes, but that will have to wait. For today, there's the matter of these two former Princeton men's basketball players. 

One of them scored 1,044 career points and once made 11 straight three-pointers, a record that still stands nearly 30 years later. His 280 career assists rank 12th in program history; his 162 career three-pointers made rank ninth. 

The other scored 1,010 points, with 253 assists that rank 16th. 

Also, neither of these two were defined by their offense. They are possibly the two best defensive players Princeton has had in the last the 30 years, or top three along with Myles Stephens. 

If you're a longtime fan, you'll know that Player A is Sydney Johnson and Player B is Will Venable. 

Both of them were first-team All-Ivy League selections, and Sydney was the 1997 Ivy Player of the Year. They were both big-time clutch players who won league championships and played in the NCAA tournament. 

In Johnson's case, he hit some of the biggest shots in program history, including a three-pointer from the corner as the shot clock expired with less than a minute to play in overtime to give Princeton the lead for good in the 1996 Ivy playoff game against Penn at Lehigh and then a Caitlin Clark-range three in the NCAA tournament win over UCLA five days later. That shot came with Princeton down 41-34 with four minutes down and started the game-winning 9-0 run. 

Venable? He was at his best in the biggest games and often was the best player on the court, including when Princeton played Duke at Cameron. 

So you have two former players with similar playing histories. Really, really good offensive players, and great defensive players. 

Is that the prescription for being a good coach? It seems like they're both on top of their games now. 

Johnson, who has spent most of his post-Princeton career in coaching, has led a great turnaround for the WNBA's Washington Mystics, taking them from 16-28 and out of the playoffs a year ago to 28-16 and the fifth-seed in the playoffs this year. That's a literal turnaround, and an improvement of 12 games. 

Johnson's team has made a big name for itself with its social media feeds, which show a team of young players who are having a great time and a coach who clearly loves leading them. The season might end tonight, though, after Washington lost Game 1 of its series to the Atlanta Dream 92-77. Game 2 of the best-of-three series is tonight at 7.

Meanwhile, what Venable has done is even more impressive. A longtime Major League veteran after playing baseball and basketball at Princeton, Venalbe is in Year 2 as the manager of the Chicago White Sox, a team that was 41-121 the season before he arrived. That's one of the worst records in Major League history. 

A year ago he led the team to a 19-game improvement but still lost 102 games (winning 60). This year's team wasn't much thought of in the preseason, and yet here Venable is, in the American League Wild Card playoffs after an 84-78 season (a 24-game improvement). The White Sox defeated Houston 6-3 yesterday in Game 1 of a best-of-three; Game 2 is today at 5.

That's a pretty good doubleheader. Venable's team at 5. Sydney's team at 7. 

Maybe there is something to this great defense, very, very good offense thing. What they've both done is extraordinary. 

Tuesday Afternoon Field Hockey

Do you want to know some of the important subjects that can be discussed in the Monday morning Office of Athletic Communications meetings? 

Well, yesterday's edition began with a passionate discussion about whether or not "Central Jersey" is real. The answer, of course, is an emphatic "yes, of course it does," despite what TigerBlog's colleague Warren Croxton has to say on the subject. 

Warren, in fact, insisted that Manalapan is not part of any fictional "Central Jersey." To quote Bugs Bunny, "thems fightin' words." Or was that Yosemite Sam? 

Manalapan, the official hometown of TigerBlog, sits a little less than 50 miles from New York City and a little more than 50 miles from Philadelphia, near the Jersey Shore. That's the center of the state, as in New Jersey's center, as in "Central Jersey." 

The minutes of the meeting, were there any, would show that it was unanimously agreed that Linden was North Jersey. Aberdeen, about 10 miles from Manalapan, was considered Central Jersey by all other than Warren. Princeton? Definitely Central Jersey by the way. 

And there you have a sense of what goes on. 

What's your favorite song with "Monday" in the title? Is it "Monday, Monday," by the Mamas and the Papas? Is it "Come Monday," by Jimmy Buffett? How about "Rainy Days and Mondays," by the Carpenters? "Manic Monday," by the Bangles? Something else?  

By the way, today's trivia question: Who wrote "Manic Monday?"

The best Tuesday song? TB will go with "Ruby Tuesday," the original version by the Rolling Stones or even more so the remake by the Corrs. 

Today will be Orange and Black vs. Red Tuesday, as the Maryland Terrapins will be at Bedford Field at 4 this afternoon to take on Princeton in field hockey. Here are some interesting things about this matchup:

* Princeton coaches Carla Tagliente and Dina Rizzo both played for — and won an NCAA championship — under Missy Meharg, who became the Terps head coach in 1988 and is still coaching today.

* The last 10 meetings between these two, or every game since Carla and Dina came to Princeton, have been decided by one goal. Each team has won five. That's pretty wild.

* Maryland is one of three unbeaten teams in Division I, along with Northwestern (who comes to Princeton a week from Sunday) and UMass. 

* Princeton has trailed only twice this season and tied both games — and yet is 4-3.

How is that last one possible? Shootouts. 

TigerBlog mentioned this last week, but he cannot stand the shootout in field hockey. And that was before Princeton lost to Harvard Saturday in another one. Princeton is 4-0 in games that have not gone to shootout and 0-3 in those that have. 

Here's another fact for you: In their first 10 years at Princeton, Tagliente and Rizzo saw their team go to overtime 30 times. Only twice did those games extend all the way to a shootout. This year, Princeton has had three OT games (out of seven total), and all three have gone to shootouts. 

The reason of course is the rule change, away from the two 10-minute 7v7 sudden death OTs to a 15-minute, 11v11 sudden death. TB mentioned last week that the shootout doesn't mirror any actual situation in field hockey, since you never get a breakaway, let alone eight seconds to try to score, even after a save is made.

At Harvard last weekend, you clearly had two even teams. There was nothing to separate them after 75 minutes. The intensity was there throughout. And yet the shootout lacked that intensity. It was more of an emotional letdown, for the crowd and for TB as he watched it. That's another part of the shootout that he doesn't like.  

Once again, if you're going to do the 11v11 OT, then it should be a tie if nobody scores there. If Princeton comes out today and wins in a shootout, TB will still feel the same way. 

And with the way Princeton and Maryland play one-goal games, don't be shocked if this happens again. They played five straight overtime games at one point, until the last three ended in regulation. 

Meanwhile, Princeton is hoping another kind of history repeats itself. A year ago at this time, Princeton was also 4-3, 1-1 in the league after a loss to Harvard. From there? Fourteen straight wins, an Ivy League tournament championship and a trip to the NCAA final.  

Oh, and the trivia answer: The Bangles song "Manic Monday" was written by none other than Prince.  

Happy At Home

Does the name Ben Dreith ring any bells? 

If you're old enough, then his most famous line certainly does:

"There's a personal foul on number 99 of the defense—after he tackled the quarterback, he's givin' him the business down there. That's a 15-yard penalty."

Oh yeah. Ben Dreith. That date backs to 1986, to a game between the New York Jets and the Buffalo Bills. The penalty was actually on No. 93, Marty Lyons, and not No. 99 — who was known to commit a penalty every now and then. 

TigerBlog remembers watching that game and hearing it live. It was hilarious then; it's still hilarious today.

Until this weekend, it was easily the funniest description of a penalty in football history. And while it still may be, there certainly is another one to consider. This one came from the Texas-Tennessee game, and it's like you've heard it already. 

If not, it went like this, after a sack by Texas' Colin Simmons that would have forced a fourth down and long. TB won't bother telling you what Simmons did. He'll leave it to the official:

"Unsportsmanlike conduct, No. 1 on the defense, simulating going to the restroom."

Yeah. Dreith, who passed away five years ago at the age of 96, would have put it the same way. 

Is this what it's come to in the sports world? If you think that's clever and just something fun, then okay. TigerBlog? No. It's not just the ridiculous act itself. It's what the official said next: 

"That's a 15-yard penalty and a first down."

Anyway, get off TigerBlog's lawn. 

In the meantime, the Princeton football team bounced back from an opening week loss to take down Albany 22-0 in its home opener.  

Before TB says anything else about the game, he does want to say that he thinks that Albany has some of the best football helmets he's ever seen. At first glance they looked a bit like the old Houston Oilers helmets, except those weren't oil derricks. They were the ears of the Great Dane. 

Maybe it's just because TB loves dogs. He just thinks having a dog with its ears sticking straight up on your football helmet looks cool.

As for the game itself, the orange and black winged helmets (also some of the best that TB has seen) had themselves a pretty nice afternoon. It was the first Tiger shutout in five years, and it came despite the fact that Princeton was outgained 288-265. 

Albany went 0 for 2 on trips to the red zone. Princeton went 4 for 4. Whether or not you buy into "all stats are equal" in the red zone, those numbers leap out at you. No matter what, those numbers scream Princeton took advantage of its chances and prevented Albany from doing the same. 

And when you talk about taking advantage of opportunities, there's Kai Honda, a junior running back from California. A year ago, Honda had 46 carries and one touchdown. This season he already has two on just 20 carries. Both of those touchdowns came Saturday. 

He had a strong all-around game against the Great Danes, with 12 carries for 69 yards and the two TDs, along with two catches for 49 yards. Honda actually tied for the team lead in receptions, with those two, on a day when eight players had either one or two. 

Wyatt Becker, in his second start, was 8 for 13 for 99 yards. He was complemented by Ty Ciangoli, who went 3 for 4 with a bullet of a touchdown pass to Joey Wassler, a senior who had his first TD reception.

On the other side of the ball, Albany had 10 drives in the game. They ended this way: punt, missed FG, punt, fumble, interception, punt, downs, downs, punt, interception. 

That's a great day at the defensive office. Chase Christopher had nine tackles, with eight from Kyler Ronquillo and seven from Connor Cronin. If you're paying attention, you'll see there's a good mix of familiar names and new ones. 

With two non-league games behind them, Princeton will play its first league game, Saturday at noon at Columbia. Hopefully all this rain will be gone by then.

Columbia came back to beat Georgetown Saturday to get to 2-0 on the year, with both wins in overtime. 

There are eight weeks to go, with seven league games to be played. 

Kicking It Off On Powers Field

Happy birthday to FatherBlog. 

Well, one day early anyway. Yes, the old man turns 91 tomorrow. According to ChatGPT, approximately 18 percent of people born in 1935 are still alive today.

As TigerBlog has shared before, his father's secrets to longevity include eating a lot of bad food and never exercising. Oh, and never skip dessert — even if your dessert that day is a pizza. 

Whatever his methods, he's made it this far. He lives alone, has all his hair, is still mentally sharp — and recently went on a two-week cruise of the Mediterranean. That's not bad for 91. 

He needs a walker and hearing aids, and his eyesight is pretty poor. Hey, for 91, he's doing just fine. 

So what do you get for a 91 year old for his birthday? You get him the jersey of his favorite quarterback. 

A man who spent most of those 91 years as a fan of the New York Jets and a huge Joe Namath guy has come around to adopt the Kansas City Chiefs and Pat Mahomes these days. He never misses a game. 

Again, happy birthday to FB.

And with that, TB shifts from FB to QB. 

Albany comes to Princeton with a record of 2-2, with wins over New Hampshire and LIU and losses to Buffalo and Monmouth. Princeton and Albany have never met before. 

So there probably isn't much commonality between them right? Well, does the name Kai Colon ring a bell? 

As you recall, Colon was Princeton's starting quarterback a year ago. This year, he's a graduate student at Albany, where he has also been the Great Danes starter. 

In other words, he'll be starting as a quarterback in two straight games on Powers Field, one for Princeton and one for the visitor. Is that unprecedented? At Princeton it is. Has it ever happened anywhere before? 

Even with the changing landscape in college athletics, that takes a lot. You have to go from one school to another and then immediately become the starter, all while having your new team play its first home game with your old team. 

To date Colon is 51 for 97 for 617 yards, with six TDs and four interceptions. A year ago, he completed nearly 60 percent of his passes for 1,711 yards, with nine TDs and six picks. 

Albany is Princeton's second opponent and second opponent who plays football in the CAA and everything else in the America East, along with Bryant, and Albany is already 2-0 in its league. There are 13 teams in the CAA football standings, so not every school plays each other; this year Bryant and Albany will not meet. 

As is always said, football teams make their biggest improvement of the season from Week 1 to Week 2. At least for this season, for Princeton it's more about being ready to go in Week 3, which is the Ivy League opener at Columbia. 

Checking out the stats at this point is a bit meaningless, even for Albany, because of the small sample size to date. So far for both teams it's more about an eye test and a look at improvement as the year goes along. 

That applies to coaches and players. Tomorrow it'll apply to the Princeton Stadium fans as well. 

So come to the game and see these Tigers. 

Sweatshirts And Shorts

Well, fall has certainly arrived in Central New Jersey. 

Sweatshirts and shorts. Best kind of weather there is.

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If you recall last year and pretty much every year back as far as TigerBlog can remember, overtime in field hockey consisted of two 7v7 10-minute sudden death periods and then, if still tied, a shootout. The logic, of course, was that by taking four players off the field, scoring opportunities would increase. Based on the numbers, it seems to be sound logic. 

This past off-season, the field hockey rules changed. Overtime is now one 15 minute sudden-death period, though it's now 11v11. 

This got TigerBlog wondering what the percentage of games reached a shootout under the old rules and what percentage have so far this year under the new rules. As such, he reached out to NCAA statistics wizard Nick Moeller, who came back with this information:

A year ago, there were 111 overtime games in Division I college field hockey. Of those games, there were 20 that went to shootouts, or 18 percent. Through games this past Tuesday, there have been 28 games that have gone to overtime, or which 12 have gone to shootouts. That's 43 percent. 

Now take this with a grain of salt, given that Princeton has played six games to date and is 4-2, or 4-0 in games that didn't go to shootouts and 0-2 in games that did, but TB doesn't like the new rule. Would he like it better if Princeton had won its shootouts? Duh. 

From 2021 through 2025, Princeton had 22 games go to overtime, of which only two went to shootouts. This year, Princeton has played two OT games, both of which went to shootouts. 

There are two huge issues TB has with the shootout. First, the way it works is that a player has eight seconds to dribble into the circle from 25 yards out and try to score one-on-one with the goalie. This is something that never happens in an actual field hockey game. There are never breakaways. There is an element of skill to the shootout, but that doesn't make it part of the way the game is played. 

The other issue is that if a game is tied after 60 minutes of regulation and then 15 minutes of overtime, what's wrong with calling it a tie? When did ties get such a bad name? 

Meanwhile, Princeton plays Saturday at Harvard at noon. The winner of this game has won the Ivy League championship for the last 10 years, with each team having won five. A year ago, the teams played three times — Harvard won in the regular season, Princeton won in the Ivy League tournament final and Princeton won again in the NCAA semifinal.

Also, Princeton and Harvard are a combined 109-1 against the rest of the league since 2016 and are both 1-0 to start this season in the league. Hopefully this one doesn't go to a shootout.

*

While the Ivy field hockey season is in Week 2, there will be three other sports that have their first league events this weekend. 

The women's volleyball team will host Penn tomorrow night at 6. TigerBlog is rooting for the Tigers, obviously. His second favorite women's volleyball team is now the UConn Huskies, who let him have one of their pre-match bagels last Sunday as the field hockey team used the volleyball venue for its lockerroom. 

Also getting started this weekend will be both soccer teams, with the women at home against Harvard Saturday at 4 and the men at Dartmouth Saturday at 6. 

All three of those Princeton teams won their Ivy title a year ago. Also, here's a fun fact: Princeton has won its last 11 games against Ivy opponents (seven regular season games last year and then two each in the last two Ivy tournaments) for its longest such streak since the formation of the Ivy League in 1956. 

Here are a few other notable Princeton men's soccer streaks during that time: 1) Princeton had an 11-0-1 Ivy run between 2009-10 that included nine straight Ivy regular season games (there was no tournament then), 2) Princeton won eight straight Ivy games and had a 10-0-2 run between 1992-93 (and reached the 1993 NCAA Final Four by the way) and 3) won eight straight between 1959-60.

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The remarkable turnaround for the women's rugby team continued last weekend with a second-straight 91-0 win, this time against West Chester. Princeton is now 3-0 and has outscored its opponents by a combined 236-17. 

Next up is a trip to Frostburg State in Maryland for a game Saturday at 10 am. After that, Princeton has four more fall games, beginning at home Oct. 10 against Dartmouth, a team Princeton has never beaten in its short varsity lifetime. 

This is a different version of the Tigers though. They're winning, and they're winning with joy. See for yourself.

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A post shared by Princeton Women's Rugby (@princetonwrugby)

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There will be a lot of tennis played on the Princeton campus as the annual Ted Farnsworth Invitational will be held on the Meadows campus. The schedule and results can be found on the men's tennis page on goprincetontigers.com.

There participating teams will be Princeton, Dartmouth, Florida, Buffalo, Purdue and Drexel. Extra credit if you know that Drexel's coach is Eric Johnson, the husband of Princeton women's head coach Elizabeth Johnson. 

The complete schedule for the weekend's Princeton events is HERE. 

*

Lastly, TigerBlog hasn't heard from his cricket all week. 

 

Happy Anniversary

The lead story in the Trenton Times sports section on the morning of Sept. 24, 1983, was Steve Carlton's 300th career win, which he achieved the night before by going eight innings and striking out 12 in a 6-2 win over the Cardinals in St. Louis. 

Carlton, as dominant a lefthanded pitcher as has ever lived, is one of four Major Leaguers ever with at least 4,000 career strikeouts. TigerBlog is pretty sure the list — Nolan Ryan (5,714), Randy Johnson (4,875), Roger Clemens (4,672) and Carlton (4,136) — will stay the same forever, as it's unlikely any current starters will throw enough innings or stay healthy long enough to get there. 

Justin Verlander (retiring after this season) and Max Scherzer are the closest among active pitchers, at 3,554 and 3,543. Even if Scherzer continues pitching in 2027, he has no chance of getting to 4,000 — he is 457 away and has had a total of 229 in his last four seasons combined. Both of these pitchers, by the way, are Hall of Fame locks. 

Behind them, only two active pitchers have at least 2,769, led by Chris Sale's 2,241. Sale is 37 and has struggled to stay healthy. Gerrit Cole has 2,734; he is 35 and also can't stay healthy. 

TigerBlog isn't here today to talk about strikeouts in baseball, though. He's more interested in what was further back in the sports pages of that Trenton Times from long ago. Back there, on Page 25, you'll see a story that starts this way:

"Between 1931 and 1933, the Pennington School football team compiled an 18-game winning streak, which has stood as the school record for 50 years."

And those 25 words are the first that TigerBlog ever wrote in a sportswriting career that turns 43 years old today. How about that?

Man, does this take TB back. And does it get his mind churning. 

First of all, he can still remember the amazingly encouraging words of copy editor Harry Chaykun who, upon reading it, had this conversation with TB:

TB: "How was it?"
Harry: "I'm still awake."

With that kind of inspiration, who wouldn't have wanted to keep going? Also, did you see the story next to TB's? It was written by Mark Eckel. Presumably TB met Mark that day in the newsroom; they're still friends to this day and in fact Mark is TigerBlog Jr.'s godfather (TBJ was nearly 14 years away from being born at the time).

Additionally, TB was struck by the fact that he began his career with a paragraph that talks about history. Was it because he was a history major? Did he have the remotest idea that his title would eventually have the word "historian" in it? Was he already fascinated by sports history or did this sort of thing bring it out in him? 

TB has shared the words of Jack McCaffery, the older brother of Penn head men's basketball coach Fran McCaffery and the one who got TB started in the business, many times before. When Jack, who was then a writer at the Trenton Times as well, asked TB if he wanted to cover a game, he cautioned: "Once you get the ink in your blood, you never get it out."

He was so right about that. Ever since that day, TB has only ever had two jobs — sportswriter and then college athletic communications. He has written a lot of words since those 25, many millions of them, the overwhelming majority of them about Princeton Athletics. 

He's seen the sportswriting world change dramatically, to the point where the Trenton Times no longer exists. The old building on Perry Street is now a Charter School. 

The world of sports information has done a 180, and then something of another 180 into a different universe. Back then, it was primarily a media relations business. Then it became its own media outlet, with the advent of the webpage. Today it's some sort of content creation machine, with an emphasis on social media and all that goes along with that. Story telling, mostly without the written words. 

TB understands that. He makes more graphics each week than he writes stories. He's learned PhotoShop. He's posted hundreds of photos on Instagram per month. He's grudgingly understood that for the most part you can get overwhelmingly more impact through these mediums than any other.

For the most part.  

You see, for TB, it's still a place where he can do what he does best, which is to create those written words and tell the stories of the amazing people who compete here or coach here or who used to do those things that way. 

There will always be a place for that, he believes. Hopes, at least. 

And while he might have had no way to even contemplate what he was stepping into 43 years ago today, he couldn't be happier that he did — and that he's still here.  

Guest TigerBlog - Clif Perry And National Equipment Managers Appreciation Week

As TigerBlog has often said, you can't run a successful athletic department without buy-in from the people who work behind the scenes. 

Case in point — the equipment staff. Princeton's on-field performance doesn't happen without the people in the equipment rooms, whose jobs are so much more than you would ever imagine. The Athletic Equipment Managers Association posted this video for their celebration of National Equipment Managers Appreciation Week:

It starts with us.

The preparation. The details. The early mornings. The late nights. The moments nobody sees.

This week, we celebrate the #TeamBehindTheTeam.

Happy Equipment Managers Appreciation Week 2026! #EQWeek2026 pic.twitter.com/jsEx57fOk4

— AEMA (@AEMA_74) September 20, 2026

If you look quickly at the 14-second minute mark, you'll see some Orange and Black. 

Clif Perry, Princeton's longtime head equipment manager, asked TigerBlog if he could put together some words to recognize his staff, and of course TB said yes: 

I have long dreamt about having the opportunity to write an article like this…In fact I used to do it a lot.  When I was in college I wrote over 30 articles that were published by the Sports Information Office at Roanoke College. Yes, that’s the same college that produced All-American Lacrosse Goalie and future National Champion Lacrosse Coach Matt Madalon. But alas, my interview with John Heisler at Notre Dame didn’t land a job after graduation and I went into coaching and teaching in south Florida. Probably for the best since I met my wife and started a family. My oldest daughter grew up writing a lot. You may have seen her work in The Daily Princetonian, the Princeton Alumni Weekly, or the Evanston RoundTable.

All that to give you a bit of background. The real reason I approached Tiger Blog to write this piece was to educate you about my staff.  Why them? Why now? Well, since you asked… This week is Athletic Equipment Managers Appreciation Week. According to the website for the National Association for Athletic Equipment Managers the “many contributions of athletic equipment managers and the vital role they play in ensuring the safety and performance of athletes at the high school, collegiate, and professional levels” are recognized during the week. 

As equipment managers, this week “shines a spotlight on the dedicated professionals who work behind the scenes to maintain, fit, and manage athletic equipment — a cornerstone of athlete safety and team success.”

Think of it this way. Everything that you wear, bounce, swing, hit, catch, or kick was ordered by an equipment manager. Ever seen the movie “Shawshank Redemption”? I am convinced that the character played by Morgan Freeman could have been an equipment manager. “I’ve been known to acquire things from time to time.” This is what we do. As you read this, we are in the process of meeting (with our boss, Jon Kurian) with every coaching staff to order the gear that over 1,000 student athletes will wear NEXT school year. Over 275 coaches and countless other people work behind the scenes to make sure that the student athlete experience at Princeton University Athletics experience is second to none. The gear will be delivered all summer long in tractor trailers on pallets that my staff will count in, inventory, and send out to be logoed.

 

That’s a lot of responsibility. I know that you are asking yourself, who is this cast of characters that manage all the gear? Let me introduce you to my crew!

 

Representing Dillon Gym (Volleyball) and Baker Rink (Hockey) are Mike Thibault and Brendan O’Meara. Mike has been here for 10 years and Brendan is entering his 4^th year at Princeton. These guys spend countless hours going back and forth between the venues in the center of campus.

 

At Meadows Campus (Rugby, Softball, Tennis, Squash) is Nicole DiNero. Nicole has worked here for 5 years. She spent the first 3 years in Caldwell and has been at Meadows since it opened.

 

Based in Caldwell Fieldhouse, top assistant Derek Griesdorn has been here for 10 years and is joined by Brian Ackerman. Brian did an internship working with Derek and Nicole in Caldwell and then was hired after graduation full time and is starting his 3^rd year here.

This is my 23^rd year working in the Equipment Room at Princeton. My first 17 years were spent in Caldwell and six years ago I transitioned out to the Football Stadium and I work primarily with the football team.

 

The staff that we have assembled over the last 10 years has been nothing short of amazing. These 5 individuals do so much behind the scenes to outfit you and keep you safe. They design uniforms, practice gear, and hats on a regular basis. They truly embrace their role being a member of the “Team Around the Team.” They are the glue that keeps the locker room positive. So go out of your way this week and thank one of these people for doing what they do to support your team. A kind word goes a long way!

 

 

      Brendan O’Meara

 

          Mike Thibault

 

                 Nicole DiNero

 

                 Derek Griesdorn

 

                  Brian Ackerman

 

            Clifton Perry

 

                   Jon Kurian

 

Endings And Beginnings

PRINCETON FOOTBALL TICKET INFORMATION 

TigerBlog texted his friend Corey, a Rutgers grad and longtime season ticket holder for Scarlet Knights football, to wish him luck against Southern Cal. 

Like any Rutgers fan, Corey was skeptical that his team could hang in against USC after losses to UMass and Boston College. For some reason, TigerBlog thought the team would, as Pete Carril always said, "give a good account of itself." At the very least, Rutgers would keep Corey and company there until the end of the game. 

And that's what happened. In the end, it was USC 42, Rutgers 35 in a game that was, if nothing else, very entertaining. Hopefully Rutgers can right its ship and build on that performance.  

Elsewhere, on any other Saturday, the end of the Toledo-Temple football game would have been the undisputed "what a comeback" champion for the day. 

This past Saturday? It was second. A very, very, very distant second. 

First, Temple led 42-28 late in the fourth quarter — and stopped Toledo on downs with 4:40 left. In the bag right? Nope. Somehow the Rockets took off, tying it 42-42 and then winning 49-48 in overtime. Kudos to Temple for going for two in the OT to win the game. 

Crazy stuff, right? Ah, but did you happen to notice the end of the North Carolina State-Vanderbilt game? If you didn't, here it is: 

THIS PLAY ⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️ pic.twitter.com/WQOzTIBwq9

— Vanderbilt Football (@VandyFootball) September 19, 2026

What the? Are you serious with that? No wonder ABC's halftime highlight show at halftime of the LSU-Ole Miss game led with this: "Stay turned for the craziest ending to a football game ever."

Two thoughts: 1) the Stanford-Cal band ending in 1982 was right there with a different kind of lunacy (TigerBlog watched that on TV as it happened) and 2) whatever the opposite of "America's' Team" is, then that's what Lane Kiffin has made LSU. 

Meanwhile, back at Vandy, the logic there is flawless. The execution wasn't great. What TB really takes away from it is that the message that should have gotten through to the NC State quarterback — "at the first hint of trouble throw the ball out the back of the end zone" — didn't. Why is that? What was the communication from the coaches? That's what TB would want to know. 

While those endings were insane, Saturday was also a beginning, this one for the eight Ivy League football teams. As a reminder, the league will open a week earlier next season, and all eight of the teams will play a league game. 

For Princeton, that means next year opener will be against Harvard. This year, it was at Bryant, where the Tigers dropped a 21-14 decision. 

TigerBlog didn't see any of the game other than a few highlights, and he did follow the Live Stats. Like every other Princeton fan, his primary focus was the quarterback position; namely, who would start and how he'd do. 

As it turns out, the starter was freshman Wyatt Becker. When you start a freshman QB on opening day against a team playing in Week 4, you're testing him right off the bat. 

How did Becker do? His numbers were good: 15 for 29 for 202 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. He also had four carries for 26 yards. 

From that alone it doesn't look like he was in over his head at all. Hey, he's 6-2, 200 pounds. He is certainly someone who is worth watching. Seeing his progress in the next few weeks will be fun. 

Becker found seven different receivers. His TD pass went to Josh Smith, a sophomore who was playing in his first varsity game. In all Smith caught three passes for 86 yards; Aidan Besselman caught six passes. 

The Tigers also ran for 116 yards, led by 69 yards and a touchdown for Ethan Clark. Christopher Chase led the defense with 11 tackles. 

It's Week 1. You can never draw conclusions from what you see there, good or bad. There's such a long way to go.

Next up will be the home opener Saturday against Albany, with kickoff at 3. Albany will bring a 2-2 record to Princeton, with a win over New Hampshire followed by a loss to Buffalo, a win over LIU and most recently a loss to Monmouth. 

Weekend Kickoff

Is "Gameday" one word or two? 

Game Day? Gameday? How about "Lockerroom?" One or two?

Or "Fieldhouse?" Same question. 

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The opening kickoff for Princeton Football is a day away. 

The Tigers will be in Smithfield, R.I., for their second meeting ever against Bryant. Kickoff is at 1, with the game to be streamed on FloSports, as Bryant competes in the CAA in football. 

This is a fascinating season for Princeton, one with really no idea what to expect even as opening day is only hours away. Whoever the quarterback is, he will be making his first start. 

This is from TigerBlog's longtime friend and longtime Princeton Football devotee Craig Sachson's preview of the offense and special teams. Craig sums it up pretty well here:

Good luck to you if you are making predictions on the 2026 Princeton offense based on what you know about the quarterback. If you aren't related to one of them, or you haven't been in the locker room over the last month, you probably don't know much at all. But if you expand your view a bit, there is plenty to feel optimistic about on that side of the ball. The offensive line draws NFL scouts to practice on a near daily basis. The top running back earned All-Ivy honors last season. The top wide receiver rewrote the Princeton freshman record book en route to winning Ivy League Rookie of the Year. There are plenty of returning starters or key rotation pieces building off last season. 

If you want to read more about Princeton's upcoming season, you can read Craig's previews HERE and HERE.

Trust TigerBlog. Craig's previews are much more informative than anything TB could offer at this point. He's looking forward to seeing how it all unfolds, just like every other Princeton fan.  

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One thing TB does know is that the football team has an NCAA champion on its roster. That would be wide receiver Jackson Green, an All-American shortstick defensive midfielder for the men's lacrosse team. 

Green's NCAA title got TB to wondering how many times Princeton has had an NCAA champion in one sport compete in another as well, with the caveat that the athlete had to be on another team after winning an NCAA championship. Tora Harris, for instance, was an NCAA high jump champion after he left the football team to concentrate on track and field. 

TB also thought of Gardner LaMotte, who was on three NCAA championship men's lacrosse teams (1996-98) and also a letterwinner in squash. Are there others? TB will look into it. 

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If you're going to the football game, then you should stick around for the men's soccer match between Princeton and Bryant as well. Kickoff for that one is at 6. 

In fact, both games will be played on the same field — Beirne Stadium. How much more convenient does it get? 

The game matches two nationally ranked teams, with 5-0-2 Bryant at No. 24 and Princeton at No. 11 (prior to its loss to Rutgers Tuesday night). Because Bryant is in the America East for everything other than football, the soccer game will be seen on ESPN+.

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The fall season is still in its early-ish stages, but the Ivy League season begins this afternoon, when the field hockey team is at Penn in the first league game for any Princeton team this season. The game starts at 3, also on ESPN+.

Princeton is currently ranked No. 3 in the country, behind Northwestern and Iowa. The Tigers will be at No. 10 UConn Sunday at noon. 

After that, it's back to New England next weekend for the showdown against Harvard. If you've lost track, Princeton and Harvard are a combined 107-1 against the rest of the league since 2016. The other only in that time was Princeton's 2023 loss to Penn — so there obviously be no looking ahead.  

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The women's rugby team looks to get to 3-0 when it hosts West Chester tomorrow at noon. Princeton defeated LIU last weekend 91-0; a year ago, LIU defeated Princeton 54-7. 

Has there ever been a bigger turnaround from year to the next against an opponent in any college sport anywhere? That's a 138 point swing in one year. Bravo. 

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HERE is the complete weekend schedule.  

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Cricket update: He's still in the bathroom. TigerBlog has gone from annoyed and trying to drown him in beer to considering him something of a pet. In fact, when he doesn't hear him chirp, TB gets a bit concerned for him.