Welcome to this year's princetonbasketball.com fundraising message. Practice starts in less than a month and we're gearing up for covering another season of Princeton Tigers basketball!

Over the past thirteen years princetonbasketball.com has continued to evolve. As the princetonbasketball.com network has grown exponentially, we've brought our donors more content each season to keep them informed about the extended Princeton basketball family and the Ivy League. 2009-10 was our biggest, best, most thorough and most expansive season yet.

First, some crowing: princetonbasketball.com editor Jon Solomon has covered the Tigers' last ONE HUNDRED AND FORTY-ONE CONSECUTIVE IVY LEAGUE GAMES in person. That's every Ivy game since 2000. What other reporter or web site can say that? None. We've also been on-hand for every Princeton postseason game since 1983.

With princetonbasketball.com you're reading a source you can count on for consistent, knowledgeable coverage that puts current events in a historical context.

princetonbasketball.com continues to be your best location for keeping track of the Tigers that many of you know as your sons, brothers and grandsons, your friends and your classmates. If you're not subscribing to our site, you're not getting the full Princeton basketball experience.

If you can't make a game, I'll make you feel like you were there. It is that simple.

If you have given to the site in the past, I hope you will renew for another season! Old memberships will expire on October 1st, 2010. If you haven't been a member before, now is the time to join.

I understand first-hand that times remain tight financially and you may be reluctant to sign up for our subscription content. As the editor of this site, all I can do is promise you, as a fan of Princeton, the Ivy League and/or one or more of the many schools we report on, that I will work tirelessly to bring you the most comprehensive news and insight available.

I want to assure you I'll cover more Princeton games in person than any other beat reporter.

I guarantee you that I'll report on games to which no other area reporters will travel. Sometimes you'll swear I'm in two places at once.

I promise you I'll stay up late crunching numbers and doing research to answer your statistical questions and bring you numerical analysis that isn't available elsewhere.

I will go see recruits in person to provide first-hand observations on their skill sets.

I'll go out of my way to talk to the high school coach of every Princeton recruit (and most of their AAU coaches) for exclusive interviews as soon as verbal commitments are made. There's no other site that has talked to each Tiger recruit's coaches like we have.

I'll spend hours upon hours cutting audio and editing photographs to bring you exclusive multimedia content all year long.

I'll even make restaurant recommendations, provide travel tips and offer hotel suggestions off-site (if asked).

All for less than $1/game, plus you're going to get thorough coverage of the entire Carril Cradle of coaches.

Beyond all of this, what does your donation specifically go towards? Well, in 2009-2010 princetonbasketball.com brought you:

Daily News: Each morning a post appeared on the site with links to that day's articles from local and national papers. If it has been published on-line, we've found the article and passed it along to you - and we're not just posting every article that mentions "Princeton" and "Basketball" in it to pad our post count! Since last year and now we penned 674 posts - an average of 1.8 a day and 192 more than in 08-09! February 2010 was our most prolific month ever with a site-record 93 original posts.

Premium Postgame Content: This past season princetonbasketball.com provided you exclusive on-site postgame audio from Coach Johnson and select players after all thirty-one of last season's games from California to Hanover to Saint Louis, including all fourteen Ivy contests. For the two non-conference games we could not attend in person, Coach Sydney Johnson called us for exclusive audio on the UNC-Greensboro and Maine games. This is all information that was not available anywhere else.

You could also read detailed same-night recaps of all of the season's games, along with full box scores, exclusive, new for 2009-10 HD box scores with greater statistical detail and cumulative team and player statistics. We're planning to cover a minimum of 29 of this season's games in person, with statistical previews for each opponent on game day.

Weekly Interviews with Coach Johnson: princetonbasketball.com produced a weekly interview program that featured a new in-depth discussion with Coach Johnson sixteen times over the course of the season, looking back at the previous week's games, previewing upcoming contests and talking about the state of Princeton basketball. For example, our bonus summer interview with Coach Johnson was 26:00+ and we talked about the 2010 recruiting class and many varied topics uncovered elsewhere from the team's Elite Camp to the World Cup. This show also offered you a forum to ask Coach Johnson your questions. We look forward to taping similar interviews again this season.

Exclusive Audio: In addition to postgame interviews and our weekly interviews with Coach Johnson, princetonbasketball.com also had bonus streams of Coach Johnson's portion of the Ivy League's preseason and midseason media teleconferences plus sideline-to-sideline coverage of Princeton's annual Media Day available only for our donors. We recorded the first two-on-one interview with former Tigers Chris Young and Will Venable in Philadelphia before the Padres played the Phillies. We produced a 30 minute exclusive radio-quality discussion with Craig Robinson after his book was released. Expect similar bonus audio to be available in 2010-11.

Recruiting News: Here at princetonbasketball.com we tracked the incoming Tigers on a daily basis, including all five 2010 recruits. We provided pictures and video of players you had only heard about, provided quotes from their high school coaches and were able to confirm rumors of commitments long before this news reached print media. We went to see Tom Noonan play in person to form our own opinion. The names may not have reached you yet, but we've already filed detailed profiles on Princeton's two 2011 recruits - Denton Koon and Clay Wilson.

Articles and Analysis: In addition to the daily news, there were numerous exclusive interviews and features written for the site that only donors had access to. We reviewed Princeton's Performers of the Decade. We interviewed author Kathy Orton about her book "Outside The Limelight." We talked to former Tiger Ed Persia about his new coaching gig. When we heard he might have an NBA-DL tryout, we went straight to the source and interviewed Marcus Schroeder about his experiences. We told the story of our first Ivy road trip. We reflected on a decade of season openers. We broke down Kareem Maddox's success guarding Ivy League guards. We reviewed Princeton's historical record when playing five games in nine days. We analyzed the importance of Pawel Buczak and Marcus Schroeder to last season's Princeton team. After Princeton was unable to make it to Maine, we researched the last time the Tigers were snowed out. We also let you know dates and opponents for 11 of Princeton's non-conference games this season before the official press release came out.

All in the Family: Not only has princetonbasketball.com covered Princeton and the Ivy League this past season, but we were able to provide extensive information on Coach Thompson's Georgetown Hoyas, Coach Mooney's Richmond Spiders, Coach Scott's Denver Pioneers, Coach Robinson's Oregon State Beavers, Coach Carmody's Northwestern Wildcats and Coach Levy's Mercer County Community College Vikings. In 2009-10 we covered 45 different games in person, including but not limited to NCAA Tournament games for Georgetown and Richmond, Mercer's Region XIX title run and the Big East Tournament. princetonbasketball.com will feature games from these teams in our daily news and offer bonus postgame coverage when scheduling allows.

Alumni Updates: You'll always be kept up-to-date on the professional basketball (and baseball) careers of former Tigers through princetonbasketball.com, even those players playing in foreign ports of call. This summer princetonbasketball.com tracked Judson Wallace and Mason Rocca in Italy, Spencer Gloger in Spain and Konrad Wysocki in Germany as well as Sean Gregory's work for Time Magazine - plus Chris Young and Will Venable's careers with the San Diego Padres and David Blatt's coaching successes on the international level.

Gameday Photographs: Thanks to your donations, we were able to bring photographer Stephen Goldsmith into the fold four years ago, providing readers with exclusive photographs of the Tigers in action that helped further enhance the Princeton basketball experience for those who were unable to see the games in person. Because of donor support, we were able to increase Stephen's workload in 2009-10. He shot 27 events for this site, including exclusive essays from Media Day, Senior Night and the Brian Taylor celebration.

Schedule Sync: We're the only web site to offer an iCal schedule you can sync with your computer's calendar that has details on every Princeton, Georgetown, Northwestern, Richmond, Oregon State, MCCC and Denver game. Select which teams you want to follow or subscribe to them all!

Social Networking and New Media: While many web sites and publications have resisted progress or had terrible execution of their social media plans, we've fully embraced new forms of communication. This season we used Facebook and Twitter as ways to enhance site content and alert you to updates on the site before, during and after games. It was through Twitter we were first to report Princeton's participation in the CBI before anyone else had the scoop, show you photographic proof of Douglas Davis' broken nose and alert you to when different Princeton players were unable to suit up due to injury. We listened to your requests, adding the ability to get email updates when people respond to your comments on the site and utilizing an email alert system that informs you when a new post goes live on the site.

From the Vaults: As princetonbasketball.com covers the present and looks to the future, we made sure that the past was not forgotten. We scanned old schedule cards, trading cards, programs and media guides. We used stories on Kit Mueller and Bob Scrabis as jumping off points for longer posts.

Videos: By donor request, we tracked down footage of Kareem Maddox's insane dunk at Columbia and Nick Lake's surprising slam to close out the final game at Jadwin plus found the complete YouTube debuts of Princeton's 1989 NCAA loss to Georgetown and a tribute to Bill Bradley and the 1965 Final Four team called Year of the Tiger. Hundreds of other videos are always available to donors by clicking on the site's Video category.

Seniors On A Stick: We continued this Jadwin Gym tradition for the final home game of the season, honoring last year's seniors. Did you wave a poster saluting Zach Finley, Pawel Buczak, Marcus Schroeder or Nick Lake? Another princetonbasketball.com production. We also scanned as many old Seniors On A Stick as we could find in our collection from the past two decades.

Things everyone else overlooked: The story behind Dan Mavraides' tattoo. Why Zach Finley changed his jersey number and who he honored by doing so. The identity of "Crunch," the small kid who sometimes sat on the Princeton bench. Nobody else was covering these tiny details, so we got the scoop.

Going the Extra Mile: Subscribers in the Boston area were offered discounted admission to the reception Bob Ruxin puts on after the Harvard game. We answered your questions at games and responded in great detail to subscriber observations and comments off-site.

New in 2009-10: As if all of this wasn't enough, we started a new series called Know! Your! Foe! where we talked with reporters and bloggers who covered Princeton opponents. We added +/- statistical analysis of Princeton at several junctures during the season.

Thirteen years in, princetonbasketball.com's basic level of access continues to remain free, but it costs money for us to operate and manage this web site on a daily basis. Covering the Tigers has gone from a hobby to close to a full-time job between October and April. To make all of this possible, princetonbasketball.com relies on your donations to cover our expenses of web hosting and reporting on the games we all care about so deeply. How much you choose to give is up to you. Every dollar helps and is greatly appreciated.

This season princetonbasketball.com continues to expand donor-only content on our web site. All postgame audio, all archived video and all weekly interviews are available only to princetonbasketball.com donors. You also need to be a donor to comment on articles, read full recaps, read full posts, contribute to Q&As and access daily news links.

Anyone making a contribution of $30.00 or more this season is entitled to a season-long password for individual access to donor-only content. Those of you who have donated since August 1st, 2010 have already had your accounts extended through next September 30, 2011.

Current students can gain individual access to princetonbasketball.com's donor-only content at the reduced rate of $15.00 for the season. Contact us directly for this student discount. Renewing now will assure a smooth transition for last year's donors. You don't want to miss out on any of the coming season's premium offerings.

This year, we're adding a special "thank you" for many of our donors. All donors who contribute $100 or more are entitled to a copy of our SECRET PROJECT. We can't talk about it now, as details have not been finalized, but trust me when I say that SECRET PROJECT will not only be worth your donation, but also will the first of its kind and will be made available to donors well before the general public. I really wish I could even hint at more.

To sign up on-line and become a new donor using our secure payment portal, click here.

If you are already logged in and want to renew a subscription using your old login/password combination, click here.

Please email us if you have any difficulties whatsoever signing up or are more comfortable paying by check.

Another easy way you can support princetonbasketball.com is by ordering things through Amazon using our referral ID. Start your Amazon search by clicking on one of the links on the right side of our site and a percentage of everything you order will go to the site. You don't even have to choose one of the items we're advertising!

I welcome your comments, suggestions and ideas about what you would like to see on princetonbasketball.com in the future.

Being part of this community and the extended Princeton basketball family remains my genuine pleasure and I can't wait to bring you coverage of all this season's games.

Warmly,

Jon Solomon
princetonbasketball.com