A little more than a year ago, TigerBlog asked the question of which Princeton athletes have had the best post-Princeton careers.
He came up with basketball player Bill Bradley on the men's side and rower Caroline Lind on the women's side.
He's pretty sure, by the way, that he could simply have copied and pasted what he said a year ago and left it that. And maybe he should, because he's in a bit of a hurry this morning.
He'll get back to that shortly.
First, there's the original thesis. Who is the most successful post-Princeton athlete?
Princeton has had professional athletes, Olympic medalists and world champions across many sports. To make a determination on who was the most successful after leaving Princeton requires treating the pinnacle of each sport as equal; each athlete is judged solely on the post-Princeton success in his or her sport, rather than weighting it for, say, the NBA or Major League Baseball or the Olympics.
That got TigerBlog to wondering if perhaps Ryan Boyle and not Bill Bradley might be the most successful male.
Boyle is the all-time leader in assists (by a lot - he has 271; Casey Powell is second with 222) and second-leading scorer in Major League Lacrosse history. Boyle has won three MLL championships and won two World Championships with team USA.
There's a case that can be made for him.
Then there's Caroline Lind. A year ago, Lind was already TB's choice - and that's before she added another world championship last weekend in Amsterdam. Lind is the only Princeton rower ever to win two Olympic gold medals, and the world championship she won this weekend was her sixth.
She is also currently ranked among the top 10 rowers in the world.
TigerBlog would get more into this, and get into the story about Kate Bertko, a 2006 Princeton grad like Lind, who went from emergency abdominal surgery in July to winning a bronze medal eight weeks later.
Check out the story about her on row2K, paying particular attention to the scar in the photo, to get a better sense of what she went through.
As TB said, though, he's in a bit of hurry this morning.
Why?
Well, tomorrow might be opening day for Princeton Athletics 2014-15, but today is sort of the kickoff.
Today is Princeton's first department-wide meeting of the academic year. It's something that TB has attended for a long time, and yet today will be radically different.
Today, for the first time, Mollie Marcoux will be the one leading the meeting. It's her first department-wide meeting since becoming Ford Family Director of Athletics.
It's a big occasion. Marcoux is starting down the path of putting her stamp on the athletic department, setting its agendas, establishing her priorities. It's not something that happens overnight, but the first staff meeting is a big milestone in terms of getting her message out.
The Department of Athletics isn't huge in numbers, but it is spread out across the campus, with offices in Jadwin, Dillon, Baker, the boat house, the tennis center - and others who aren't technically part of the athletic department who work closely with athletics. It's not often that they all get together, so the meetings always have a social component to them.
Today's goes a little beyond the usual "hey, how are you." After the meeting there will be the annual staff photo.
It's amazing to look back at the photos year-by-year to see the turnover, which is always a little more than TB thinks.
It's a cohesive group, though. The staff picture will feature all of the members of the department, in orange and black Nike gear. It's a group that works hard and covers for each other as necessary. It's one that roots hard for each other and takes pride in each other's successes. It's a group that has largely checked its ego at the door.
And today, it's a group that will gather to hear from its new leader. And then get its picture taken. And then have lunch together.
So you'll forgive TB for cutting it short today, but he's in a little hurry.
Gotta run. He'll be back tomorrow.
For opening day.
Showing posts with label women's lightweight rowing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label women's lightweight rowing. Show all posts
Thursday, September 4, 2014
Monday, June 2, 2014
Reunions And Rowing
TigerBlog pulled up to the light at the intersection of Route 1 and Washington Road yesterday afternoon, or at least tried to pull up to the light.
Actually, it's not Washington Road on that side of Route 1, TB thinks. It's just Route 571.
Whatever it's called, TB was heading towards Route 1 from West Windsor on a Sunday afternoon, except the traffic was backed up like it was a Monday morning or something. That light can be menacing anyway, because it seems like it stays green for the traffic on Route 1 for far longer than it does for the traffic on Washington Road/571.
Years ago, there was a light at Alexander Road also, as well as by where the MarketFair mall is. When those lights were eliminated, it made the ride up Route 1 from 95 to Princeton much better. Of course, it all grinds to a halt as you head north of Princeton, and TB read for years story after story about how a bypass was going to be built from Trenton and New Brunswick to ease the traffic.
Anyway, there he was, yesterday afternoon, trying to get onto Route 1, only to find that there was a long line of others who had the same thought he had.
If you're driving from West Windsor to Princeton, you can make that right turn about a half-mile before reaching Route 1 and then make the left on Fisher Place, which will take you to a light at Route 1. Usually, that way helps you avoid the wait at the very intersection to which TB was headed.
On a Sunday, though, TB figured there was no need to do that. Only it was taking all day to get near the light.
He thought of making a U-turn, which some people did, but that's not a situation he wanted to be in, investing time in waiting in traffic and then making the bold U-turn way too late, so that it doesn't save any time anyway. He's had that happen before, and he doesn't like it.
So he toughed it out. And toughed it out and toughed it out. In all, it took about 15-20 minutes to go less than a mile.
Okay, so it wasn't the worst traffic of all time, though it did seem sort of random to him. Why on a Sunday afternoon would so many people be trying to get to Route 1?
Maybe it was some of the residual traffic from Reunions, he thought, though wouldn't it be leaving Princeton, rather than heading to Princeton?
Each year it seems, Reunions is plagued by hot and humid weather that leads to a massive thunderstorm, often in conjunction with the fireworks. This year? There was nothing close to that.
The first day of Reunions always corresponds to the night of the Princeton Varsity Club senior awards banquet. In most years, it is oppressively hot at the banquet, and that sets the tone for Reunions.
For all of the PVC banquets, TB thinks last year's was the hottest and most humid. He couldn't even think about putting on his suit jacket, and it was just a sweatbox under the tent.
This year it was on the fringes of being chilly during the banquet. There was no humidity, and it was crystal clear. And that carried over to a near-perfect weekend of weather at Reunions.
TB tries to explain Reunions to people who have no connection to Princeton, especially the people he went to Penn with, and they just cannot grasp the concept. To Princeton people, TB would give the message that what you have here is pretty unique.
Penn has loyal alums. TigerBlog had a great experience there as a student, as did basically everyone else he knows who went there. What Penn doesn't do is breed the kind of loyalty to the alma mater that Princeton does. TB suspects perhaps no other college does.
The show that is Reunions is unmatched on Penn's campus, and probably any other. It's just different at Princeton. Take it from TigerBlog, who has been on Princeton's campus more than he's been on Penn's in his lifetime but who can never be a Princetonian.
No, that's reserved for those who actually went to Princeton and graduated from Princeton. It's a distinction that they earned and early on learned to celebrate, annually in many cases, with goofy orange and black outfits, regimented traditions - and a camaraderie that TB wishes his own alma mater had.
Anyway, Reunions ended Saturday night and this was yesterday late afternoon, so he doubted the traffic was tied to any of that.
It dawned on him later that it was possible that some of the traffic was coming from Mercer Lake, where the IRA rowing national championships were held.
As TB is writing, he can't help but notice that the top four stories on goprincetontigers.com are all about rowing. This weekend was clearly a huge one for the sport, with the national championships for men (and women's lightweights) at Mercer Lake and the NCAA women's open championships in Indianapolis.
Princeton did well across the board.
Perhaps the highlight was the men's heavyweights, who finished fourth for the best finish by the program since 2006. The women's lightweights and men's lightweights both finished fifth, and the women's open finished sixth in the overall points standings at the NCAA event.
TigerBlog has been to one IRA national championship regatta, in 1998, when he was the rowing contact. It was an impressive show.
TB knows enough about rowing to know that it's a very complex sport, one that is demanding physically and mentally. The national championships can be very grueling, with multiple 2,000-meter races in a short weekend.
To have all four finish in the top six is pretty impressive. You know what other schools finished in the top six in all four? How about nobody.
With the end of rowing season, the 2013-14 Princeton athletic year comes down to the five track and field athletes who advanced to the NCAA championships in Oregon next week.
For now, though, Reunions have ended, and today is Class Day, followed by graduation tomorrow.
The weather looks perfect for both of those events as well. Traffic in Princeton should be bad, but it's for a good cause.
Actually, it's not Washington Road on that side of Route 1, TB thinks. It's just Route 571.
Whatever it's called, TB was heading towards Route 1 from West Windsor on a Sunday afternoon, except the traffic was backed up like it was a Monday morning or something. That light can be menacing anyway, because it seems like it stays green for the traffic on Route 1 for far longer than it does for the traffic on Washington Road/571.
Years ago, there was a light at Alexander Road also, as well as by where the MarketFair mall is. When those lights were eliminated, it made the ride up Route 1 from 95 to Princeton much better. Of course, it all grinds to a halt as you head north of Princeton, and TB read for years story after story about how a bypass was going to be built from Trenton and New Brunswick to ease the traffic.
Anyway, there he was, yesterday afternoon, trying to get onto Route 1, only to find that there was a long line of others who had the same thought he had.
If you're driving from West Windsor to Princeton, you can make that right turn about a half-mile before reaching Route 1 and then make the left on Fisher Place, which will take you to a light at Route 1. Usually, that way helps you avoid the wait at the very intersection to which TB was headed.
On a Sunday, though, TB figured there was no need to do that. Only it was taking all day to get near the light.
He thought of making a U-turn, which some people did, but that's not a situation he wanted to be in, investing time in waiting in traffic and then making the bold U-turn way too late, so that it doesn't save any time anyway. He's had that happen before, and he doesn't like it.
So he toughed it out. And toughed it out and toughed it out. In all, it took about 15-20 minutes to go less than a mile.
Okay, so it wasn't the worst traffic of all time, though it did seem sort of random to him. Why on a Sunday afternoon would so many people be trying to get to Route 1?
Maybe it was some of the residual traffic from Reunions, he thought, though wouldn't it be leaving Princeton, rather than heading to Princeton?
Each year it seems, Reunions is plagued by hot and humid weather that leads to a massive thunderstorm, often in conjunction with the fireworks. This year? There was nothing close to that.
The first day of Reunions always corresponds to the night of the Princeton Varsity Club senior awards banquet. In most years, it is oppressively hot at the banquet, and that sets the tone for Reunions.
For all of the PVC banquets, TB thinks last year's was the hottest and most humid. He couldn't even think about putting on his suit jacket, and it was just a sweatbox under the tent.
This year it was on the fringes of being chilly during the banquet. There was no humidity, and it was crystal clear. And that carried over to a near-perfect weekend of weather at Reunions.
TB tries to explain Reunions to people who have no connection to Princeton, especially the people he went to Penn with, and they just cannot grasp the concept. To Princeton people, TB would give the message that what you have here is pretty unique.
Penn has loyal alums. TigerBlog had a great experience there as a student, as did basically everyone else he knows who went there. What Penn doesn't do is breed the kind of loyalty to the alma mater that Princeton does. TB suspects perhaps no other college does.
The show that is Reunions is unmatched on Penn's campus, and probably any other. It's just different at Princeton. Take it from TigerBlog, who has been on Princeton's campus more than he's been on Penn's in his lifetime but who can never be a Princetonian.
No, that's reserved for those who actually went to Princeton and graduated from Princeton. It's a distinction that they earned and early on learned to celebrate, annually in many cases, with goofy orange and black outfits, regimented traditions - and a camaraderie that TB wishes his own alma mater had.
Anyway, Reunions ended Saturday night and this was yesterday late afternoon, so he doubted the traffic was tied to any of that.
It dawned on him later that it was possible that some of the traffic was coming from Mercer Lake, where the IRA rowing national championships were held.
As TB is writing, he can't help but notice that the top four stories on goprincetontigers.com are all about rowing. This weekend was clearly a huge one for the sport, with the national championships for men (and women's lightweights) at Mercer Lake and the NCAA women's open championships in Indianapolis.
Princeton did well across the board.
Perhaps the highlight was the men's heavyweights, who finished fourth for the best finish by the program since 2006. The women's lightweights and men's lightweights both finished fifth, and the women's open finished sixth in the overall points standings at the NCAA event.
TigerBlog has been to one IRA national championship regatta, in 1998, when he was the rowing contact. It was an impressive show.
TB knows enough about rowing to know that it's a very complex sport, one that is demanding physically and mentally. The national championships can be very grueling, with multiple 2,000-meter races in a short weekend.
To have all four finish in the top six is pretty impressive. You know what other schools finished in the top six in all four? How about nobody.
With the end of rowing season, the 2013-14 Princeton athletic year comes down to the five track and field athletes who advanced to the NCAA championships in Oregon next week.
For now, though, Reunions have ended, and today is Class Day, followed by graduation tomorrow.
The weather looks perfect for both of those events as well. Traffic in Princeton should be bad, but it's for a good cause.
Thursday, May 15, 2014
Have A Slice
When TigerBlog was in high school, he could ride his bike (or eventually drive) about a mile to the nearest pizza place. He's pretty sure a plain slice was 80 cents.
During his time in the newspaper business, he'd often get two slices and a medium cherry coke for lunch at a pizza place in West Windsor. He's pretty sure the total bill was $2.40.
TigerBlog has always liked the thicker crust pizza, as opposed to the thin crust, though he always has liked the pizza at Conte's, which is definitely thin crust. He can't figure that out in the same way he's never been able to figure out why he doesn't like peanut butter but likes Reese's peanut butter cups.
When TigerBlog used to take the bus with the Princeton men's basketball team during his newspaper days, the team would often get pizza for the long rides after games. TigerBlog used to get his with mushrooms, and he'd split a pie with the only other person on the bus who wanted mushrooms on his pizza, Sean Jackson, the 1992 Ivy League Player of the Year.
Back then, pizza was cheese, bread, sauce and maybe a topping if you wanted. If you've ever had a pizza, you're familiar with the normal toppings - sausage, pepperoni, onions, peppers. Those are the normal ones.
If you're looking for maybe the greatest movie moment involving pizza, it's hard to beat the opening credits of "Saturday Night Fever," when John Travolta stops off for a slice on his way back to the hardware store in Brooklyn.
TB isn't sure exactly when he first noticed that pizza toppings had gone from simple to ultra-complex.
TB stopped off for a slice yesterday around lunchtime at a pizza place he'd ever been to before, and he was amazed at all the different combinations. He can't even begin to remember them all.
There was buffalo chicken. Caesar salad. One that looked like a salad with artichokes on it. Chicken parmigiana. Cheesesteak. Meat and more meat.
In all, there had to be nearly 20 different kinds of pizza sitting there.
Off in the corner, there was also a plain pie. It made TigerBlog wonder if anyone can ever look at all of those different choices and ask for plain.
Of any place that TB has ever gone that has pizza but isn't a pizza place, the one with the best pizza is Frist Campus Center, by the way.
TB was out of the office yesterday, though he has plenty he needs to get done.
He has to send a bunch of stuff to the Tewaaraton Trophy people for Tom Schreiber, one of the five finalists. He has a ton of stuff to do for the Princeton Varsity Club senior athlete banquet, which is two weeks from today.
That little fact, by the way, guarantees that two weeks from today will be 90 degrees with a chance of thunderstorms.
Because the banquet is so close, it means that the academic year is winding down. The banquet always corresponds with the first day of Reunions, which is followed by graduation, and another year will have come and gone.
There are still athletic events to be contested, of course.
Princeton has a maximum of 19 more competitions, depending on how many teams and individuals qualify for national championships.
This a huge weekend for rowing, with the Ivy League championships for women in Cherry Hill and the Eastern Sprints - which determine the Ivy champ for men's heavyweight and lightweight - in Worcester, Mass.
TigerBlog has never been to Eastern Sprints or to the Ivy women's championships, but he has been to the national championships, which are quite a show. This year's IRA national championships will be May 30-June 1 in West Windsor.
In addition to rowing, there is IC4A and ECAC track and field at Weaver Stadium this weekend.
In fact, other than one NCAA women's tennis singles participant (freshman Alanna Wolf), all of the rest of Princeton's athletic schedule for this year is rowing and track and field.
It ends June 11-14 with the NCAA track and field championships in Eugene, Ore., where Julia Ratcliffe will probably be among the contenders in the women's hammer throw.
And then it'll be summer.
Speaking of which, you know where they have great pizza?
On the boardwalk.
During his time in the newspaper business, he'd often get two slices and a medium cherry coke for lunch at a pizza place in West Windsor. He's pretty sure the total bill was $2.40.
TigerBlog has always liked the thicker crust pizza, as opposed to the thin crust, though he always has liked the pizza at Conte's, which is definitely thin crust. He can't figure that out in the same way he's never been able to figure out why he doesn't like peanut butter but likes Reese's peanut butter cups.
When TigerBlog used to take the bus with the Princeton men's basketball team during his newspaper days, the team would often get pizza for the long rides after games. TigerBlog used to get his with mushrooms, and he'd split a pie with the only other person on the bus who wanted mushrooms on his pizza, Sean Jackson, the 1992 Ivy League Player of the Year.
Back then, pizza was cheese, bread, sauce and maybe a topping if you wanted. If you've ever had a pizza, you're familiar with the normal toppings - sausage, pepperoni, onions, peppers. Those are the normal ones.
If you're looking for maybe the greatest movie moment involving pizza, it's hard to beat the opening credits of "Saturday Night Fever," when John Travolta stops off for a slice on his way back to the hardware store in Brooklyn.
TB isn't sure exactly when he first noticed that pizza toppings had gone from simple to ultra-complex.
TB stopped off for a slice yesterday around lunchtime at a pizza place he'd ever been to before, and he was amazed at all the different combinations. He can't even begin to remember them all.
There was buffalo chicken. Caesar salad. One that looked like a salad with artichokes on it. Chicken parmigiana. Cheesesteak. Meat and more meat.
In all, there had to be nearly 20 different kinds of pizza sitting there.
Off in the corner, there was also a plain pie. It made TigerBlog wonder if anyone can ever look at all of those different choices and ask for plain.
Of any place that TB has ever gone that has pizza but isn't a pizza place, the one with the best pizza is Frist Campus Center, by the way.
TB was out of the office yesterday, though he has plenty he needs to get done.
He has to send a bunch of stuff to the Tewaaraton Trophy people for Tom Schreiber, one of the five finalists. He has a ton of stuff to do for the Princeton Varsity Club senior athlete banquet, which is two weeks from today.
That little fact, by the way, guarantees that two weeks from today will be 90 degrees with a chance of thunderstorms.
Because the banquet is so close, it means that the academic year is winding down. The banquet always corresponds with the first day of Reunions, which is followed by graduation, and another year will have come and gone.
There are still athletic events to be contested, of course.
Princeton has a maximum of 19 more competitions, depending on how many teams and individuals qualify for national championships.
This a huge weekend for rowing, with the Ivy League championships for women in Cherry Hill and the Eastern Sprints - which determine the Ivy champ for men's heavyweight and lightweight - in Worcester, Mass.
TigerBlog has never been to Eastern Sprints or to the Ivy women's championships, but he has been to the national championships, which are quite a show. This year's IRA national championships will be May 30-June 1 in West Windsor.
In addition to rowing, there is IC4A and ECAC track and field at Weaver Stadium this weekend.
In fact, other than one NCAA women's tennis singles participant (freshman Alanna Wolf), all of the rest of Princeton's athletic schedule for this year is rowing and track and field.
It ends June 11-14 with the NCAA track and field championships in Eugene, Ore., where Julia Ratcliffe will probably be among the contenders in the women's hammer throw.
And then it'll be summer.
Speaking of which, you know where they have great pizza?
On the boardwalk.
Friday, May 10, 2013
Open Wide
TigerBlog went to the dentist yesterday.
His dentist, Dr. Brody, is a nice guy. A Penn grad, which doesn't make him a bad person.
The stereotype, of course, has the dentist carrying on a conversation while the patient tries to answer, despite having all kinds of instruments, suction devices, cotton balls and fingers jammed in his/her mouth.
Bill Cosby did a great spoof of this in his one-man show from the 1980s.
"So, you do much fishing?"
"mbdlaefjaosda."
"Oh, I've fished there many times myself."
TigerBlog isn't sure why people become dentists. If you're going to go through all that trouble to go to school that long and work that hard, why not become a doctor?
Why spend all day every day with your hands in people's mouths? TB doesn't even like putting his fingers in his own mouth.
On the other hand, somebody has to be a dentist, and Dr. Brody has the perfect temperament for it.
He's very calm, very pleasant. He doesn't overdo it on the hysteria about gums and stuff. He cleans your teeth, tells you to floss more, does an x-ray or two every few years and sends you on your way for another six months.
Oh, and he gives you a new toothbrush and floss when you leave. How great is that?
Dr. Brody has a flat screen in his office so patients can watch TV while sharp metal instruments are used to probe their teeth.
Yesterday, while TB was in the chair, the TV was on a news channel, and for the entire time he was watching, the only story covered was the Jodi Arias murder trial. TB gets it: attractive woman, tawdry details. What he doesn't get is why strangers outside a courthouse would cheer so happily and chant "USA, USA" when a verdict is read.
Or, for that matter, why a woman would thrust her middle finger into the face of Joakim Noam of the Chicago Bulls in Miami the other night, but hey, that's another story for another day.
Dr. Brody, in mid-clean, lamented what this said about contemporary America, how it's getting harder and harder to separate reality TV from reality.
TB agreed completely and said so. It came out this way: "mbdlaefjaosda."
When TB got back from the dentist, he saw the women's lacrosse team finishing its last practice before heading to Annapolis for the NCAA tournament. The Tigers take on Duke tonight at 7:15, and the winner gets the winner of Navy-Monmouth Sunday to advance to the quarterfinals in the 26-team field.
The athletic year at Princeton is quickly winding down, with very little left on the schedule.
The men's golf team is at Washington State next weekend for the NCAA regionals. The Ivy League rowing championships are next weekend as well, with the national championships to follow.
Track and field is still going strong, with the IC4A/ECAC championships here this weekend and then the NCAA events after that. Matija Pecotic of the men's tennis team competes next week in the NCAA tournament as well.
Kelly Shon of the women's golf team is trying to become one of two individuals to move out of her regional to the NCAA finals, other than the players on the eight teams that will qualify. Her 1-under yesterday in the first round has her in contention, with rounds today and tomorrow.
And then there's women's water polo, which plays this weekend in the NCAA championships as well. Princeton, the sixth-seed, plays No. 3 UCLA this afternoon at 3:30 in the quarterfinals and then is guaranteed two more games after that.
Though it seemed like it just began, the 2012-13 academic year will be completely finished soon.
The PVC senior awards banquet is coming up. So is Reunions. And graduation. And summer.
Time continues to fly. It must mean TB is in the right profession.
Beats shoving his fingers into strangers' mouths all day.
His dentist, Dr. Brody, is a nice guy. A Penn grad, which doesn't make him a bad person.
The stereotype, of course, has the dentist carrying on a conversation while the patient tries to answer, despite having all kinds of instruments, suction devices, cotton balls and fingers jammed in his/her mouth.
Bill Cosby did a great spoof of this in his one-man show from the 1980s.
"So, you do much fishing?"
"mbdlaefjaosda."
"Oh, I've fished there many times myself."
TigerBlog isn't sure why people become dentists. If you're going to go through all that trouble to go to school that long and work that hard, why not become a doctor?
Why spend all day every day with your hands in people's mouths? TB doesn't even like putting his fingers in his own mouth.
On the other hand, somebody has to be a dentist, and Dr. Brody has the perfect temperament for it.
He's very calm, very pleasant. He doesn't overdo it on the hysteria about gums and stuff. He cleans your teeth, tells you to floss more, does an x-ray or two every few years and sends you on your way for another six months.
Oh, and he gives you a new toothbrush and floss when you leave. How great is that?
Dr. Brody has a flat screen in his office so patients can watch TV while sharp metal instruments are used to probe their teeth.
Yesterday, while TB was in the chair, the TV was on a news channel, and for the entire time he was watching, the only story covered was the Jodi Arias murder trial. TB gets it: attractive woman, tawdry details. What he doesn't get is why strangers outside a courthouse would cheer so happily and chant "USA, USA" when a verdict is read.
Or, for that matter, why a woman would thrust her middle finger into the face of Joakim Noam of the Chicago Bulls in Miami the other night, but hey, that's another story for another day.
Dr. Brody, in mid-clean, lamented what this said about contemporary America, how it's getting harder and harder to separate reality TV from reality.
TB agreed completely and said so. It came out this way: "mbdlaefjaosda."
When TB got back from the dentist, he saw the women's lacrosse team finishing its last practice before heading to Annapolis for the NCAA tournament. The Tigers take on Duke tonight at 7:15, and the winner gets the winner of Navy-Monmouth Sunday to advance to the quarterfinals in the 26-team field.
The athletic year at Princeton is quickly winding down, with very little left on the schedule.
The men's golf team is at Washington State next weekend for the NCAA regionals. The Ivy League rowing championships are next weekend as well, with the national championships to follow.
Track and field is still going strong, with the IC4A/ECAC championships here this weekend and then the NCAA events after that. Matija Pecotic of the men's tennis team competes next week in the NCAA tournament as well.
Kelly Shon of the women's golf team is trying to become one of two individuals to move out of her regional to the NCAA finals, other than the players on the eight teams that will qualify. Her 1-under yesterday in the first round has her in contention, with rounds today and tomorrow.
And then there's women's water polo, which plays this weekend in the NCAA championships as well. Princeton, the sixth-seed, plays No. 3 UCLA this afternoon at 3:30 in the quarterfinals and then is guaranteed two more games after that.
Though it seemed like it just began, the 2012-13 academic year will be completely finished soon.
The PVC senior awards banquet is coming up. So is Reunions. And graduation. And summer.
Time continues to fly. It must mean TB is in the right profession.
Beats shoving his fingers into strangers' mouths all day.
Friday, March 29, 2013
Taking A Hammer To A Chocolate Bunny
You know those big chocolate Easter bunnies, the ones that are solid throughout the body but hollow in the ears?
The really big ones?
TigerBlog loves the littler ones. The big bunnies are far too problematic.
For starters, when he bites into the ears, they collapse all over the place. And when he bites into body, well, it goes nowhere. If he tries to break off a piece of the body, all he gets are really little pieces until ultimately he has to almost take a hammer to the bunny to get any sort of worthwhile reward.
When TB was a kid, his grandmother used to buy him and BrotherBlog the little bunnies, which came like 10 to a package. Now that was quality chocolate - even for a Jewish kid.
TB's connection to Easter isn't quite like that of some other members of his religion, like, say, Judah Ben-Hur, who witnessed the crucifixion of Jesus - after Judah had been through a lot, including a stint with the Roman Army's rowing team and some horseback riding.
This Sunday is Easter Sunday, which means the supermarket was flooded with holiday candy. TigerBlog went into this in depth a year ago.
A few years ago, TB also wrote about the dilemma that the Ivy League has in scheduling athletic events around religious holidays, especially Easter, which always falls on a spring Sunday, which would mean Ivy baseball and softball.
As TB said four years ago, there's nothing the league can do. It can't start deciding which religious holidays are worthy of having no events and which ones are okay.
As a result, the weekend that begins with Good Friday and lasts through Easter is stocked with huge athletic events.
Maybe the biggest is tonight, when Princeton hosts Penn State in men's volleyball.
TB doesn't know much about volleyball, including how to keep stats at a match.
What he doesn't know is that Penn State is always good and Princeton has spent most years looking up in the standings at the Nittany Lions.
One exception was 1998, when Princeton defeated Penn State and advanced to the NCAA tournament, which in men's volleyball consists of four teams. In 1998, it sent Princeton to Hawaii.
This year, Princeton is on a roll, having won five straight EIVA matches, including last night's win over St. Francis. The Tigers are now 8-2 in the league, while Penn State comes to Dillon at 9-1.
Princeton hasn't beaten Penn State since 1998, and the closest the Tigers have come was last year at Dillon, when the Nittany Lions fought off eight match balls to win the fifth game 37-35.
This year? A win and the teams are tied. A loss and Penn State is in control for the regular season title, but Princeton is already headed to the EIVA playoffs.
Tomorrow is a big rowing day at Princeton, with all four crews at home, something that will result in racing all morning.
There is a big men's lacrosse game on campus, as Princeton hosts Brown. The Tigers are 1-1 in the league, and both games have been one-goal games, while Brown is 1-0 with a win over Harvard. Brown is playing its third game in six days; Princeton hasn't played in eight days, since the 10-9 win over Yale last Friday.
A good side note - only twice in the last 30 years (1991, 2002) - have both Princeton and Brown reached double figures in a game against each other. This year, both average more than 12 goals per game.
The women's lacrosse team is at Cornell tomorrow in another big Ivy early-season game.
And the men's tennis Ivy opener against Penn.
And then there's baseball and softball, who have their home openers tomorrow and Sunday, with Yale and Brown here.
In other words, it's a fairly busy weekend.
All of those events, and all except for men's lacrosse completely free.
Happy Easter to all.
The really big ones?
TigerBlog loves the littler ones. The big bunnies are far too problematic.
For starters, when he bites into the ears, they collapse all over the place. And when he bites into body, well, it goes nowhere. If he tries to break off a piece of the body, all he gets are really little pieces until ultimately he has to almost take a hammer to the bunny to get any sort of worthwhile reward.
When TB was a kid, his grandmother used to buy him and BrotherBlog the little bunnies, which came like 10 to a package. Now that was quality chocolate - even for a Jewish kid.
TB's connection to Easter isn't quite like that of some other members of his religion, like, say, Judah Ben-Hur, who witnessed the crucifixion of Jesus - after Judah had been through a lot, including a stint with the Roman Army's rowing team and some horseback riding.
This Sunday is Easter Sunday, which means the supermarket was flooded with holiday candy. TigerBlog went into this in depth a year ago.
A few years ago, TB also wrote about the dilemma that the Ivy League has in scheduling athletic events around religious holidays, especially Easter, which always falls on a spring Sunday, which would mean Ivy baseball and softball.
As TB said four years ago, there's nothing the league can do. It can't start deciding which religious holidays are worthy of having no events and which ones are okay.
As a result, the weekend that begins with Good Friday and lasts through Easter is stocked with huge athletic events.
Maybe the biggest is tonight, when Princeton hosts Penn State in men's volleyball.
TB doesn't know much about volleyball, including how to keep stats at a match.
What he doesn't know is that Penn State is always good and Princeton has spent most years looking up in the standings at the Nittany Lions.
One exception was 1998, when Princeton defeated Penn State and advanced to the NCAA tournament, which in men's volleyball consists of four teams. In 1998, it sent Princeton to Hawaii.
This year, Princeton is on a roll, having won five straight EIVA matches, including last night's win over St. Francis. The Tigers are now 8-2 in the league, while Penn State comes to Dillon at 9-1.
Princeton hasn't beaten Penn State since 1998, and the closest the Tigers have come was last year at Dillon, when the Nittany Lions fought off eight match balls to win the fifth game 37-35.
This year? A win and the teams are tied. A loss and Penn State is in control for the regular season title, but Princeton is already headed to the EIVA playoffs.
Tomorrow is a big rowing day at Princeton, with all four crews at home, something that will result in racing all morning.
There is a big men's lacrosse game on campus, as Princeton hosts Brown. The Tigers are 1-1 in the league, and both games have been one-goal games, while Brown is 1-0 with a win over Harvard. Brown is playing its third game in six days; Princeton hasn't played in eight days, since the 10-9 win over Yale last Friday.
A good side note - only twice in the last 30 years (1991, 2002) - have both Princeton and Brown reached double figures in a game against each other. This year, both average more than 12 goals per game.
The women's lacrosse team is at Cornell tomorrow in another big Ivy early-season game.
And the men's tennis Ivy opener against Penn.
And then there's baseball and softball, who have their home openers tomorrow and Sunday, with Yale and Brown here.
In other words, it's a fairly busy weekend.
All of those events, and all except for men's lacrosse completely free.
Happy Easter to all.
Thursday, March 28, 2013
Snow Job
TigerBlog spent a week in Costa Rica and saw all kinds of great displays of nature, basically everywhere he looked.
There were mountains and rivers and flowers and wild looking bugs and birds and even some lizard-type fellow who strolled across the pool deck where Nick Bates and TigerBlog Jr. were swimming.
You know what TB didn't see in Costa Rica? Snow.
Okay, it was June. Still, TB has a feeling that even if he went back in December, he wouldn't exactly see the ground covered by a blizzard.
TB could just picture Diego and Victor and the rest of the people who showed their home country to the Princeton men's lacrosse team last June, all being amazed that a World Cup Qualifier - a game of unreal importance - was being played in a snowstorm in Denver last week.
Oh, and Diego's father, Don Carlos? He probably took it the hardest.
TB isn't quite sure what to think about it, even after FIFA announced that the 1-0 victory by the U.S. would stand, despite protests by the Costa Ricans.
During the men's lacrosse trip, TB and about 15 other members of the group went to the WCQ between Los Ticos and El Salvador, in the first round. It was a ridiculous experience, a fervor that TB has never seen in an American sporting event.
And here was an even more important game, being played in driving snow, between a nation where snow is routine and another where it never falls. Oh, sure, most of the Costa Rican players play in cold weather in Europe.
But still, such an important game? Played in those conditions?
On the one hand, each WCQ game is so significant that TB figures they should be played in as optimal conditions as possible. On the other hand, how is playing in snow in Denver any different than having the U.S. go and play in 100 degree weather.
Anyway, he's still rooting for Costa Rica to make the World Cup, and he likes their chances.
As for snow, there wasn't that much of it around here this winter. There were flurries, and sometimes there was enough snow to cover the grass, though it rarely stuck to the roads. TB can't remember a time he was all that inconvenienced by a storm this winter, and certainly there was no major event with a foot or more.
What there was around here this winter was cold weather. Lots and lots of it. It never got bitterly ridiculously cold, like around zero and all, but even as late March rolls around, it's been weeks and weeks of temperatures in the 30s.
Princeton has played seven men's lacrosse games, six of which have been played in extremely cold weather and one of which was played in 65 degree sunshine in Chapel Hill. And that doesn't even mention the practices for spring teams, all of which have caused everyone to put on layers and break out hand warmers.
Until this week. Actually, this week began with a threat of 5-8 inches of snow, which turned out to be nothing but a few wet flakes and a lot of rain.
And now? It appears that the week, and March itself, will be going out like a lamb.
And it's just in time for that.
This weekend marks the home openers for baseball and softball, with Ivy League doubleheaders Saturday and Sunday against Yale and Brown.
The forecast is for temps to be in the mid-50s both days.
Because of mid-terms and spring break, Princeton has had almost no home events the last three weeks. That changes dramatically this weekend, with 16 home events on the schedule between tonight and Sunday.
The softball team is the only Ivy League team over .500 to this point, with a record of 14-8. Princeton is batting .321 as a team and has hit 18 home runs to just six for its opponents.
The games this weekend will be the first at home for first-year head coach Lisa Sweeney and assistant coach Jen Lapicki.
In Ivy League baseball, three teams are better than .600 overall while the other five are below .400. Dartmouth is 12-1. Still, in baseball and softball, all it takes is a few timely hits one way or another to radically change the races.
In addition to baseball and softball, there's also men's lacrosse, rowing, men's volleyball and men's tennis on campus this weekend.
In fact, all four crews are home this weekend, which is a real rarity.
And no snow.
It appears that spring is finally showing up around here.
It's about time.
There were mountains and rivers and flowers and wild looking bugs and birds and even some lizard-type fellow who strolled across the pool deck where Nick Bates and TigerBlog Jr. were swimming.
You know what TB didn't see in Costa Rica? Snow.
Okay, it was June. Still, TB has a feeling that even if he went back in December, he wouldn't exactly see the ground covered by a blizzard.
TB could just picture Diego and Victor and the rest of the people who showed their home country to the Princeton men's lacrosse team last June, all being amazed that a World Cup Qualifier - a game of unreal importance - was being played in a snowstorm in Denver last week.
Oh, and Diego's father, Don Carlos? He probably took it the hardest.
TB isn't quite sure what to think about it, even after FIFA announced that the 1-0 victory by the U.S. would stand, despite protests by the Costa Ricans.
During the men's lacrosse trip, TB and about 15 other members of the group went to the WCQ between Los Ticos and El Salvador, in the first round. It was a ridiculous experience, a fervor that TB has never seen in an American sporting event.
And here was an even more important game, being played in driving snow, between a nation where snow is routine and another where it never falls. Oh, sure, most of the Costa Rican players play in cold weather in Europe.
But still, such an important game? Played in those conditions?
On the one hand, each WCQ game is so significant that TB figures they should be played in as optimal conditions as possible. On the other hand, how is playing in snow in Denver any different than having the U.S. go and play in 100 degree weather.
Anyway, he's still rooting for Costa Rica to make the World Cup, and he likes their chances.
As for snow, there wasn't that much of it around here this winter. There were flurries, and sometimes there was enough snow to cover the grass, though it rarely stuck to the roads. TB can't remember a time he was all that inconvenienced by a storm this winter, and certainly there was no major event with a foot or more.
What there was around here this winter was cold weather. Lots and lots of it. It never got bitterly ridiculously cold, like around zero and all, but even as late March rolls around, it's been weeks and weeks of temperatures in the 30s.
Princeton has played seven men's lacrosse games, six of which have been played in extremely cold weather and one of which was played in 65 degree sunshine in Chapel Hill. And that doesn't even mention the practices for spring teams, all of which have caused everyone to put on layers and break out hand warmers.
Until this week. Actually, this week began with a threat of 5-8 inches of snow, which turned out to be nothing but a few wet flakes and a lot of rain.
And now? It appears that the week, and March itself, will be going out like a lamb.
And it's just in time for that.
This weekend marks the home openers for baseball and softball, with Ivy League doubleheaders Saturday and Sunday against Yale and Brown.
The forecast is for temps to be in the mid-50s both days.
Because of mid-terms and spring break, Princeton has had almost no home events the last three weeks. That changes dramatically this weekend, with 16 home events on the schedule between tonight and Sunday.
The softball team is the only Ivy League team over .500 to this point, with a record of 14-8. Princeton is batting .321 as a team and has hit 18 home runs to just six for its opponents.
The games this weekend will be the first at home for first-year head coach Lisa Sweeney and assistant coach Jen Lapicki.
In Ivy League baseball, three teams are better than .600 overall while the other five are below .400. Dartmouth is 12-1. Still, in baseball and softball, all it takes is a few timely hits one way or another to radically change the races.
In addition to baseball and softball, there's also men's lacrosse, rowing, men's volleyball and men's tennis on campus this weekend.
In fact, all four crews are home this weekend, which is a real rarity.
And no snow.
It appears that spring is finally showing up around here.
It's about time.
Friday, July 6, 2012
Cars And Boats
Anytime TigerBlog takes his car in to be serviced, he lives in fear for a few hours that the phone is going to ring and he's going to hear that there's a crack in the engine block or something and that he needs to get a new car.
TB is always nervous when he has a new car, and he much prefers his current situation of 108,000 miles on a car that still runs well. That way, he doesn't have to worry about a scratch here or getting some mud there.
Still, taking an older car in for an oil change isn't the same as taking in a newer one.
TB takes his car to a guy named Ron, who has sort of become the unofficial go-to car guy for the OAC.
Through the years, a total of six OAC people have taken their cars to his shop, even if it is a bit out of the way, which has led to years of conversations that begin "who can pick me up at Ron's tomorrow?"
The best part of taking TB's car to Ron is that he knows that Ron is not going to tell him he needs new spark plugs or new tires or something else if he doesn't really need them.
TB has to trust Ron, because he knows nothing about cars, other than to put gas in them and then press down on the pedal on the right to go and the one on the left to stop.
There has to be great satisfaction involved in figuring out what's wrong with a car and then fixing it, especially since TB assumes most car owners are automotive illiterates like he is and therefore have no way of knowing what's wrong when they bring it in.
TB took his car in this morning, which leaves him with the odd feeling of being stuck without a vehicle should he need one, or at least having to borrow someone else's if he needs one. Of course, he doesn't really have anywhere to go and his car will be done early this afternoon, so it's not all that tough a situation, though it will limit his lunch choices.
When TB got to his office, he was able to see Roger Federer close out Novak Djokovic in the Wimbledon semifinals. As Andy Murray prepared for his semifinal, TB learned that no English player has won the Wimbledon title since Fred Perry.
Considering that Perry lived to be 85 and died 17 years ago, yes, it's been awhile.
TigerBlog also saw an NBC commercial for the upcoming Olympic Games, which actually begin in less than three weeks. TB cannot remember if it is normal for the Olympic Trials to have been held so close to the start of the Games themselves.
The Olympic commercial featured a wide range of athletes who made very brief appearances and very brief comments about the Games, comments that TB couldn't hear because he had the sound turned way down.
He did see the people in the commercial, as their names were included under their pictures.
Among those who were included was Caroline Lind, a 2006 Princeton graduate who will be competing for the United States in rowing, specifically the women's 8.
Lind already has one gold medal, which she won four years ago in Beijing. She was also in the U.S. boat that recently set the world record, a sign that the Americans mean business in London.
Of Princeton's 16 Olympians, there are more in rowing than in any other sport. A total of seven Princeton alums will row in London.
It's so easy to take rowing at Princeton for granted. The boathouse is its own separate world, and it's a sport that most people never really try.
And yet there are more rowers than any other athletes at Princeton. They are among the most loyal to their program after they graduate, and most have enjoyed tremendous success on the water here.
The rowing program's excellence is directly attributable to the coaching staff, led by head coaches Lori Dauphiny, Greg Hughes, Marty Crotty and Paul Rassam. They are a remarkably close-knit group, and that only enhances the effectiveness of the program.
Much like fixing cars, TB knows little about rowing boats.
Also like the cars, he has great respect for those who can make the boats go fast, even without an engine.
TB is always nervous when he has a new car, and he much prefers his current situation of 108,000 miles on a car that still runs well. That way, he doesn't have to worry about a scratch here or getting some mud there.
Still, taking an older car in for an oil change isn't the same as taking in a newer one.
TB takes his car to a guy named Ron, who has sort of become the unofficial go-to car guy for the OAC.
Through the years, a total of six OAC people have taken their cars to his shop, even if it is a bit out of the way, which has led to years of conversations that begin "who can pick me up at Ron's tomorrow?"
The best part of taking TB's car to Ron is that he knows that Ron is not going to tell him he needs new spark plugs or new tires or something else if he doesn't really need them.
TB has to trust Ron, because he knows nothing about cars, other than to put gas in them and then press down on the pedal on the right to go and the one on the left to stop.
There has to be great satisfaction involved in figuring out what's wrong with a car and then fixing it, especially since TB assumes most car owners are automotive illiterates like he is and therefore have no way of knowing what's wrong when they bring it in.
TB took his car in this morning, which leaves him with the odd feeling of being stuck without a vehicle should he need one, or at least having to borrow someone else's if he needs one. Of course, he doesn't really have anywhere to go and his car will be done early this afternoon, so it's not all that tough a situation, though it will limit his lunch choices.
When TB got to his office, he was able to see Roger Federer close out Novak Djokovic in the Wimbledon semifinals. As Andy Murray prepared for his semifinal, TB learned that no English player has won the Wimbledon title since Fred Perry.
Considering that Perry lived to be 85 and died 17 years ago, yes, it's been awhile.
TigerBlog also saw an NBC commercial for the upcoming Olympic Games, which actually begin in less than three weeks. TB cannot remember if it is normal for the Olympic Trials to have been held so close to the start of the Games themselves.
The Olympic commercial featured a wide range of athletes who made very brief appearances and very brief comments about the Games, comments that TB couldn't hear because he had the sound turned way down.
He did see the people in the commercial, as their names were included under their pictures.
Among those who were included was Caroline Lind, a 2006 Princeton graduate who will be competing for the United States in rowing, specifically the women's 8.
Lind already has one gold medal, which she won four years ago in Beijing. She was also in the U.S. boat that recently set the world record, a sign that the Americans mean business in London.
Of Princeton's 16 Olympians, there are more in rowing than in any other sport. A total of seven Princeton alums will row in London.
It's so easy to take rowing at Princeton for granted. The boathouse is its own separate world, and it's a sport that most people never really try.
And yet there are more rowers than any other athletes at Princeton. They are among the most loyal to their program after they graduate, and most have enjoyed tremendous success on the water here.
The rowing program's excellence is directly attributable to the coaching staff, led by head coaches Lori Dauphiny, Greg Hughes, Marty Crotty and Paul Rassam. They are a remarkably close-knit group, and that only enhances the effectiveness of the program.
Much like fixing cars, TB knows little about rowing boats.
Also like the cars, he has great respect for those who can make the boats go fast, even without an engine.
Thursday, May 10, 2012
Today, Through Sunday
TigerBlog isn't quite into the whole celebrity thing.
One time, back when the men's basketball team was playing in Madison Square Garden, Michael Kay (who does the Yankees' games on TV and has an ESPN radio show) was broadcasting the games.
When he came up to TB to talk about the Tigers and get pronunciations and do all the things that announcers do, TB asked him what his name was. When he said "Michael Kay" with a look that said "you know who I am," TB said "Matt?"
Of course TB knew who he was. It's just a little way to keep everyone grounded, at least a little.
As a result of this basic anti-celebrity mindset, TB wasn't doing somersaults when he found out that "The Today Show" was going to be stopping by the boathouse.
TB has watched more of the "Jeopardy" teen tournament in the last two weeks than he has of "The Today Show" + "Good Morning America" + any other morning show in his entire life added together.
The four hosts of "The Today Show" - Matt Lauer, Ann Curry, Al Roker and Natalie Morales - were on campus last week to learn to row. TB assumes this is somehow related to the coming Olympic Games, which are televised by NBC.
The segment aired today between 8 and 9. TB didn't see it. He assumes at some point he will.
The crux, as he understands it, was that the four on-air personalities had a lesson in how to row and then had a race against some of the Princeton rowers.
TB further surmises that the rowing will be of greater intensity this weekend, when the final three Ivy League championships of the year are crowned, in the sports of men's lightweight rowing, men's heavyweight rowing and women's open rowing.
Women's lightweight rowing is not one of the 33 official Ivy League sports.
It used to be that the three Ivy League rowing champions would be the first varsity eight boats that finished the highest at Eastern Sprints, and that still holds for the men.
The women, however, are rowing in uncharted waters, as it were.
The men, racing on Lake Quinsigamond in Worcester, Mass., have the traditional Eastern Sprints format.
Neither the Princeton lightweights nor heavyweights are the favorites going in, but both have done well many times in the past under such circumstances.
The women aren't a prohibitive favorite but have as good a chance as anyone else of coming in first.
This time around, the women are racing at the Ivy League championships, minus the other schools that compete in Eastern Sprints, with the event to be held on the Cooper River in Cherry Hill. Why? Because beginning next year, the winner of the Ivy League championship earns an automatic berth in the NCAA championships.
Oh, and TB just paused for six minutes to see a replay of the segment from "The Today Show," and it's about as fluffy as you would expect. Or, as TB would say if he was more cynical, i's just another over-the-top attempt to make the hosts seem like they are even more special and important - all in the name of cross-promoting another network property.
Good thing TB isn't cynical.
One time, back when the men's basketball team was playing in Madison Square Garden, Michael Kay (who does the Yankees' games on TV and has an ESPN radio show) was broadcasting the games.
When he came up to TB to talk about the Tigers and get pronunciations and do all the things that announcers do, TB asked him what his name was. When he said "Michael Kay" with a look that said "you know who I am," TB said "Matt?"
Of course TB knew who he was. It's just a little way to keep everyone grounded, at least a little.
As a result of this basic anti-celebrity mindset, TB wasn't doing somersaults when he found out that "The Today Show" was going to be stopping by the boathouse.
TB has watched more of the "Jeopardy" teen tournament in the last two weeks than he has of "The Today Show" + "Good Morning America" + any other morning show in his entire life added together.
The four hosts of "The Today Show" - Matt Lauer, Ann Curry, Al Roker and Natalie Morales - were on campus last week to learn to row. TB assumes this is somehow related to the coming Olympic Games, which are televised by NBC.
The segment aired today between 8 and 9. TB didn't see it. He assumes at some point he will.
The crux, as he understands it, was that the four on-air personalities had a lesson in how to row and then had a race against some of the Princeton rowers.
TB further surmises that the rowing will be of greater intensity this weekend, when the final three Ivy League championships of the year are crowned, in the sports of men's lightweight rowing, men's heavyweight rowing and women's open rowing.
Women's lightweight rowing is not one of the 33 official Ivy League sports.
It used to be that the three Ivy League rowing champions would be the first varsity eight boats that finished the highest at Eastern Sprints, and that still holds for the men.
The women, however, are rowing in uncharted waters, as it were.
The men, racing on Lake Quinsigamond in Worcester, Mass., have the traditional Eastern Sprints format.
Neither the Princeton lightweights nor heavyweights are the favorites going in, but both have done well many times in the past under such circumstances.
The women aren't a prohibitive favorite but have as good a chance as anyone else of coming in first.
This time around, the women are racing at the Ivy League championships, minus the other schools that compete in Eastern Sprints, with the event to be held on the Cooper River in Cherry Hill. Why? Because beginning next year, the winner of the Ivy League championship earns an automatic berth in the NCAA championships.
Oh, and TB just paused for six minutes to see a replay of the segment from "The Today Show," and it's about as fluffy as you would expect. Or, as TB would say if he was more cynical, i's just another over-the-top attempt to make the hosts seem like they are even more special and important - all in the name of cross-promoting another network property.
Good thing TB isn't cynical.
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Boardwalk And Cleanup
For the first time since TigerBlog can remember, he played a game of "Monopoly" the other day.
Board games were a big part of TB's life, at least to a certain point.
The early years saw children's games like "Chutes and Ladders" and "Candyland," which later evolved into "The Boss" or "Risk," which was a popular game in college.
If you never played "Risk," you're missing a good game. The basic premise is that the world is divided into different regions, and each player represents an army. The one who conquers the world wins.
One version of playing involves making non-aggression pacts, though they are not spelled out in the rules. One player will agree not to attack another for, say, five turns along a certain border, so each will only need to keep one army on that particular territory.
Back in college, TB was playing one time with a bunch of other people, including his friend Glazuh and another guy, one who was growing a goatee (TB is pretty sure it was Gary Hatke).
Anyway, those two agreed to a non-aggression pact, which fell apart when Hatke loaded up his armies on the border and attacked Glazuh, breaking the pact. When Glazuh protested, Hatke said that he could, because it wasn't in the rules, and he even sighted a precedent - the Nazis broke their non-aggression pact with the Soviet Union in World War II.
Glazuh, incensed (and soon-to-be eliminated from the game), finally realized he had no recourse, and so he said the only thing he could in the circumstances, turning to Hatke and saying "I don't like your beard."
"Monopoly," though, is the granddaddy of all board games.
TB and Little Miss TigerBlog played Sunday afternoon, and, as TB said before, he can't remember the last time he played.
This time, the game turned on a trade TigerBlog made, one that would have worked out great had it not allowed LMTB to get Boardwalk to go with Park Place and put up three houses on each, only to see TB land twice on Boardwalk and once on Park Place.
In exchange, TB got back three properties that completed monopolies, as well as a railroad. Had LMTB landed on New York Ave. on the turn before TB landed on Boardwalk for the first time, it might have all been different.
The game was one of the highlights of a low-key Labor Day weekend, one that TB can't believe has already come and gone. The month of August sailed by.
In another few weeks it'll be Halloween and then Thanksgiving and then Christmas, and it'll seem like no time has passed. In early December, it'll be time for the annual Princeton Athletics holiday party, probably in the boathouse, where it always is.
And on that night, TB will think back to Hurricane Irene, which completely flooded the Shea Rowing Center a week ago.
In fact, TB was amazed when he saw the video on youtube of the flood, considering how many times he's been in the boathouse and how pristine it is in there.
In fact, TB was there what seems like a few days ago, for the 2010-11 end-of-year department picnic. Oh wait, that was more than three months ago.
Anyway, there are two amazing things about the video.
And, as an aside, the music at the end is Maureen McGovern's song "A Morning After," from the movie "The Poseidon Adventure."
First is the sheer amount of water that made its way into the building, especially since for all of the nasty rainstorms that we've had here through the years, it's never happened like that before that TB remembers.
Second is the attitude of the people in the video, who happen to be the members of the Princeton crew coaching staff. They simply went out and cleaned up the mess.
Why?
Pride. In themselves. In each other. In their program. In the building.
It speaks volumes about who those people are.
Board games were a big part of TB's life, at least to a certain point.
The early years saw children's games like "Chutes and Ladders" and "Candyland," which later evolved into "The Boss" or "Risk," which was a popular game in college.
If you never played "Risk," you're missing a good game. The basic premise is that the world is divided into different regions, and each player represents an army. The one who conquers the world wins.
One version of playing involves making non-aggression pacts, though they are not spelled out in the rules. One player will agree not to attack another for, say, five turns along a certain border, so each will only need to keep one army on that particular territory.
Back in college, TB was playing one time with a bunch of other people, including his friend Glazuh and another guy, one who was growing a goatee (TB is pretty sure it was Gary Hatke).
Anyway, those two agreed to a non-aggression pact, which fell apart when Hatke loaded up his armies on the border and attacked Glazuh, breaking the pact. When Glazuh protested, Hatke said that he could, because it wasn't in the rules, and he even sighted a precedent - the Nazis broke their non-aggression pact with the Soviet Union in World War II.
Glazuh, incensed (and soon-to-be eliminated from the game), finally realized he had no recourse, and so he said the only thing he could in the circumstances, turning to Hatke and saying "I don't like your beard."
"Monopoly," though, is the granddaddy of all board games.
TB and Little Miss TigerBlog played Sunday afternoon, and, as TB said before, he can't remember the last time he played.
This time, the game turned on a trade TigerBlog made, one that would have worked out great had it not allowed LMTB to get Boardwalk to go with Park Place and put up three houses on each, only to see TB land twice on Boardwalk and once on Park Place.
In exchange, TB got back three properties that completed monopolies, as well as a railroad. Had LMTB landed on New York Ave. on the turn before TB landed on Boardwalk for the first time, it might have all been different.
The game was one of the highlights of a low-key Labor Day weekend, one that TB can't believe has already come and gone. The month of August sailed by.
In another few weeks it'll be Halloween and then Thanksgiving and then Christmas, and it'll seem like no time has passed. In early December, it'll be time for the annual Princeton Athletics holiday party, probably in the boathouse, where it always is.
And on that night, TB will think back to Hurricane Irene, which completely flooded the Shea Rowing Center a week ago.
In fact, TB was amazed when he saw the video on youtube of the flood, considering how many times he's been in the boathouse and how pristine it is in there.
In fact, TB was there what seems like a few days ago, for the 2010-11 end-of-year department picnic. Oh wait, that was more than three months ago.
Anyway, there are two amazing things about the video.
And, as an aside, the music at the end is Maureen McGovern's song "A Morning After," from the movie "The Poseidon Adventure."
First is the sheer amount of water that made its way into the building, especially since for all of the nasty rainstorms that we've had here through the years, it's never happened like that before that TB remembers.
Second is the attitude of the people in the video, who happen to be the members of the Princeton crew coaching staff. They simply went out and cleaned up the mess.
Why?
Pride. In themselves. In each other. In their program. In the building.
It speaks volumes about who those people are.
Friday, June 3, 2011
Tuggapees
Today is Field Day at Little Miss TigerBlog's school.
Perhaps you remember Field Day? A few relay races, some fun games - like the one where you carry the egg on the spoon - a few blue ribbons, maybe some tie-died shirts and a snack when it's over. Just a fun day to celebrate the coming end of the school year.
Does it get more wholesome than that?
Of course, then TigerBlog had to overhear this statement: "the first event is the tuggapees."
"Tuggapees?" TB asked.
"Tuggapees. The game where the two teams pull the rope and try to pull the other team across the line."
At that moment, TigerBlog was astonished. "Tuggapees" was actually "tug o' peace." You know, as opposed to "tug o' war."
TigerBlog could only imagine the meetings that took place over that little distinction.
"Can't have a game with the word 'war' in it. It sends the wrong message to the children."
Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.
Where will it stop? Some educator actually came up with "tug o' peace" as a way of what? Pretending that there is no conflict in the world? Pretending that competition is a bad thing? Shielding kids from the horror of - egads - having someone win and someone lose?
It's enough already.
There should be a law that requires that score be kept in every game played and that one team be called the "winner" and the other team called the "loser." Yeah, TB said it.
Loser. Loser. Loser.
Hey, if you don't want to be the loser, then work harder, get better and be the winner. Then maybe we'll get somewhere.
It's the message that TigerBlog has tried to get across to youth players that he's coached, not all of whom have gotten that message during the season. Still, when TB asks the kids on the team to raise their hand if they want to play in high school, every hand goes up. And when he asks to see the hands of those who want to play in college, again, all hands go up.
TB hopes that the light bulb will go on for some of these kids in the near future and that they'll realize their full potential.
TigerBlog is around college athletes all the time, and for them, the light bulb clearly went on at some point, probably early on, that hard work and dedication were going to get them where they wanted to be.
Princeton already has two national champions in this academic year, Todd Harrity in individual men's squash and the women's open rowing first varsity 8.
The Princeton men's lightweight rowers are going for their third straight Intercollegiate Rowing Association national championship. Unlike the NCAA women's event, the national champion here is crowned not by team points but the first varsity 8 winner.
The Princeton women's lightweights and men's lightweights row for the national championship tomorrow, while the heavyweights row today to try to get into the final.
Greg Hughes turned the lightweight program around and won the 2009 title before taking over the heavyweights, with whom he has continued his Midas touch, turning a team that finished 13th at the Eastern Sprints two years ago into one that has a legitimate shot at reaching the grand final at IRA's this year.
Marty Crotty, who took over for Hughes with the lightweights, won the national title last year and has a legitimate shot at winning again this year.
As for the women's lightweights, they already have had a stunning season. It began in California with a win over Wisconsin, the defending Eastern champion, and Stanford, the defending national champion, by huge margins, and it has continued all year as the undefeated record includes an Eastern Sprints win over Wisconsin.
The women's lightweight final figures to be between Princeton, Wisconsin and Stanford.
Starting in the middle of next week, Princeton will have 10 track and field athletes competing in the NCAA championships at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa. The best hope for a national championship there is probably Donn Cabral in the steeplechase, but Princeton should come away with a few All-Americas at least.
Ah, competition. Someone is going to win; someone is going to lose.
Isn't it great?
Perhaps you remember Field Day? A few relay races, some fun games - like the one where you carry the egg on the spoon - a few blue ribbons, maybe some tie-died shirts and a snack when it's over. Just a fun day to celebrate the coming end of the school year.
Does it get more wholesome than that?
Of course, then TigerBlog had to overhear this statement: "the first event is the tuggapees."
"Tuggapees?" TB asked.
"Tuggapees. The game where the two teams pull the rope and try to pull the other team across the line."
At that moment, TigerBlog was astonished. "Tuggapees" was actually "tug o' peace." You know, as opposed to "tug o' war."
TigerBlog could only imagine the meetings that took place over that little distinction.
"Can't have a game with the word 'war' in it. It sends the wrong message to the children."
Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.
Where will it stop? Some educator actually came up with "tug o' peace" as a way of what? Pretending that there is no conflict in the world? Pretending that competition is a bad thing? Shielding kids from the horror of - egads - having someone win and someone lose?
It's enough already.
There should be a law that requires that score be kept in every game played and that one team be called the "winner" and the other team called the "loser." Yeah, TB said it.
Loser. Loser. Loser.
Hey, if you don't want to be the loser, then work harder, get better and be the winner. Then maybe we'll get somewhere.
It's the message that TigerBlog has tried to get across to youth players that he's coached, not all of whom have gotten that message during the season. Still, when TB asks the kids on the team to raise their hand if they want to play in high school, every hand goes up. And when he asks to see the hands of those who want to play in college, again, all hands go up.
TB hopes that the light bulb will go on for some of these kids in the near future and that they'll realize their full potential.
TigerBlog is around college athletes all the time, and for them, the light bulb clearly went on at some point, probably early on, that hard work and dedication were going to get them where they wanted to be.
Princeton already has two national champions in this academic year, Todd Harrity in individual men's squash and the women's open rowing first varsity 8.
The Princeton men's lightweight rowers are going for their third straight Intercollegiate Rowing Association national championship. Unlike the NCAA women's event, the national champion here is crowned not by team points but the first varsity 8 winner.
The Princeton women's lightweights and men's lightweights row for the national championship tomorrow, while the heavyweights row today to try to get into the final.
Greg Hughes turned the lightweight program around and won the 2009 title before taking over the heavyweights, with whom he has continued his Midas touch, turning a team that finished 13th at the Eastern Sprints two years ago into one that has a legitimate shot at reaching the grand final at IRA's this year.
Marty Crotty, who took over for Hughes with the lightweights, won the national title last year and has a legitimate shot at winning again this year.
As for the women's lightweights, they already have had a stunning season. It began in California with a win over Wisconsin, the defending Eastern champion, and Stanford, the defending national champion, by huge margins, and it has continued all year as the undefeated record includes an Eastern Sprints win over Wisconsin.
The women's lightweight final figures to be between Princeton, Wisconsin and Stanford.
Starting in the middle of next week, Princeton will have 10 track and field athletes competing in the NCAA championships at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa. The best hope for a national championship there is probably Donn Cabral in the steeplechase, but Princeton should come away with a few All-Americas at least.
Ah, competition. Someone is going to win; someone is going to lose.
Isn't it great?
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Relegation
TigerBlog didn't know the results of any of the English Premier League games from this past weekend when he sat down to watch the EPL review show.
And that turned out to be a good thing, since the show's producers did something extraordinarily clever to show how the final weekend played out, something that TB had never seen before.
There were three games that would have huge impacts on the final standings - and the futures of five league franchises.
And the EPL review show chronicled those games at the same time, going from highlights of one to another to the third. And each time any of the three games changed score, a graphic flashed up showing what the final league standings would be if the score of all three stayed as it was.
It was fascinating, because the teams on the outside looking in changed with every goal. And the drama continued to build, all the way until the end, when it came crashing down for Blackpool (TigerBlog was rooting for the Tangerines) and Birmingham City and when there was elation for Wigan, Wolves and Blackburn.
Ian Darke, TigerBlog's favorite broadcaster, wrote a column for ESPN.com on the recently completed season, and it included this:
I don't know about you, but I'm still breathless from a frantic final day in the English Premier League that might have been scripted in Hollywood. As I passed relegated Blackpool manager Ian Holloway on the stairs out of Old Trafford after Sunday's game, it was hard to find the right words of consolation. For once, the effervescent "Ollie" seemed stunned into silence as I offered sincere but worthless sympathies.
I was reminded of the old gag from legendary manager Tommy Docherty: "When one door closes, another slams you in the face."
But the Premier League will be a poorer place without Blackpool's devil-may-care brand of attacking football. The Seasiders scored more goals (55) than any other relegated team in the history of the Premier League and seemed to produce more thrillers than Alfred Hitchcock and John le Carré combined.
We will miss them.
What made the last weekend of the EPL so unique was that all of the drama was on the bottom of the table, not near the top, where Manchester United had already clinched the title.
No, the scramble to avoid relegation was unreal to watch as it unfolded on the review show.
The bottom three EPL teams move down a division, while the top three in the Championship League move up. The difference between the top and second levels is probably like the difference between the Major Leagues and Triple-A, and there are all kinds of pounds at stake for these teams.
To see the reactions of the fans - and managers, especially Wigan's Roberto Martinez, who like Darke was great on TV during the last World Cup - as their teams either lost or survived was amazing. Honestly, TB isn't sure there are American fans who are as passionate about any professional sport the way EPL fans are.
Maybe college sports, but not pro sports.
Why would that be, TB wonders (assuming TB is correct)? Is it a cultural thing? Is it that because the country is so much smaller, everyone must have some connection to someone on the team? Is it a feeling that the players are actually representing the local area and not just mercenaries in it for the money?
If Jim Barlow, Princeton's soccer coach, had his way, the NCAA championship game would be held this weekend, along with the Champions League final between Manchester United and Barcelona.
Barlow long ago told TB that he thinks soccer in college should follow a European-type schedule, with one game a week in the fall and spring with a break in the winter and the NCAA championships around this time.
Of course, that isn't how it's done, and it's unlikely to change anytime soon, despite the brilliance of Barlow's idea.
Nope, this is the spring, and as Memorial Day weekend approaches, there are still seven Princeton teams left competing - all four crews, both track and field teams and baseball.
The national rowing championships are this weekend, with the women's open team in Sacramento, while the women's lightweights, men's lightweights and men's heavyweights are on the Cooper River in either Pennsauken, Cherry Hill or Camden, depending on where you see it listed.
The track and field regionals are in Indianapolis, and Princeton's athletes there will be looking to qualify for the NCAA championships in Des Moines in early June.
As an aside, the baseball team will some day play in the NCAA tournament as well.
Todd Harrity already continued Princeton's streak of having at least one team or individual national champion when he won the national men's squash title last winter. That streak, by the way, is now at 40 years.
Is there another national champion on the horizon for Princeton?
With the way that the boats have been going and with how close two runners - Donn Cabral and Ashley Higginson, both the steeplechase - came a year ago, it's certainly possible.
As the end of the 2010-11 year winds down, it would certainly be a perfect finish to what has already been a record-setting year for Princeton.
And that turned out to be a good thing, since the show's producers did something extraordinarily clever to show how the final weekend played out, something that TB had never seen before.
There were three games that would have huge impacts on the final standings - and the futures of five league franchises.
And the EPL review show chronicled those games at the same time, going from highlights of one to another to the third. And each time any of the three games changed score, a graphic flashed up showing what the final league standings would be if the score of all three stayed as it was.
It was fascinating, because the teams on the outside looking in changed with every goal. And the drama continued to build, all the way until the end, when it came crashing down for Blackpool (TigerBlog was rooting for the Tangerines) and Birmingham City and when there was elation for Wigan, Wolves and Blackburn.
Ian Darke, TigerBlog's favorite broadcaster, wrote a column for ESPN.com on the recently completed season, and it included this:
I don't know about you, but I'm still breathless from a frantic final day in the English Premier League that might have been scripted in Hollywood. As I passed relegated Blackpool manager Ian Holloway on the stairs out of Old Trafford after Sunday's game, it was hard to find the right words of consolation. For once, the effervescent "Ollie" seemed stunned into silence as I offered sincere but worthless sympathies.
I was reminded of the old gag from legendary manager Tommy Docherty: "When one door closes, another slams you in the face."
But the Premier League will be a poorer place without Blackpool's devil-may-care brand of attacking football. The Seasiders scored more goals (55) than any other relegated team in the history of the Premier League and seemed to produce more thrillers than Alfred Hitchcock and John le Carré combined.
We will miss them.
What made the last weekend of the EPL so unique was that all of the drama was on the bottom of the table, not near the top, where Manchester United had already clinched the title.
No, the scramble to avoid relegation was unreal to watch as it unfolded on the review show.
The bottom three EPL teams move down a division, while the top three in the Championship League move up. The difference between the top and second levels is probably like the difference between the Major Leagues and Triple-A, and there are all kinds of pounds at stake for these teams.
To see the reactions of the fans - and managers, especially Wigan's Roberto Martinez, who like Darke was great on TV during the last World Cup - as their teams either lost or survived was amazing. Honestly, TB isn't sure there are American fans who are as passionate about any professional sport the way EPL fans are.
Maybe college sports, but not pro sports.
Why would that be, TB wonders (assuming TB is correct)? Is it a cultural thing? Is it that because the country is so much smaller, everyone must have some connection to someone on the team? Is it a feeling that the players are actually representing the local area and not just mercenaries in it for the money?
If Jim Barlow, Princeton's soccer coach, had his way, the NCAA championship game would be held this weekend, along with the Champions League final between Manchester United and Barcelona.
Barlow long ago told TB that he thinks soccer in college should follow a European-type schedule, with one game a week in the fall and spring with a break in the winter and the NCAA championships around this time.
Of course, that isn't how it's done, and it's unlikely to change anytime soon, despite the brilliance of Barlow's idea.
Nope, this is the spring, and as Memorial Day weekend approaches, there are still seven Princeton teams left competing - all four crews, both track and field teams and baseball.
The national rowing championships are this weekend, with the women's open team in Sacramento, while the women's lightweights, men's lightweights and men's heavyweights are on the Cooper River in either Pennsauken, Cherry Hill or Camden, depending on where you see it listed.
The track and field regionals are in Indianapolis, and Princeton's athletes there will be looking to qualify for the NCAA championships in Des Moines in early June.
As an aside, the baseball team will some day play in the NCAA tournament as well.
Todd Harrity already continued Princeton's streak of having at least one team or individual national champion when he won the national men's squash title last winter. That streak, by the way, is now at 40 years.
Is there another national champion on the horizon for Princeton?
With the way that the boats have been going and with how close two runners - Donn Cabral and Ashley Higginson, both the steeplechase - came a year ago, it's certainly possible.
As the end of the 2010-11 year winds down, it would certainly be a perfect finish to what has already been a record-setting year for Princeton.
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