NEW YORK--During all the analysis of PresidentClinton and his relationship with Monica Lewinsky, one interview stood out.

The expert, a psychologist, said that men in general don't accept blame but prefer to make excuses, while women are more accountable for their actions.

Well, I'm going to get in touch with my feminine side. I was wrong.

I was sure that Harvard (0-1, 0-1 Ivy) would absolutely obliterate Columbia (1-0, 1-0 Ivy) Saturday. I was sure because the Crimson's offense appeared to be loaded at the skill positions, Columbia's secondary was weak and Columbia's quarterback was a question mark.

The problem was that Columbia rolled to a 24-0 win.

In retrospect, I see that a Harvard win simply wasn't to be. I just didn't read the signs correctly.

We can start during the preseason, when senior running back Troy Jones broke his arm on the first play in the first scrimmage. Then junior linemen Brian Howard, Brian Daigle and Mike Sands went down, as did junior quarterback Rich Linden, junior linebacker Isaiah Kacyvenski and junior fullback Damon Jones.

That spate of injuries was just the first sign, however. During warmups before Saturday's game, Harvard junior kicker Mike Giampaolo pulled a muscle. According to Harvard Coach Tim Murphy, the Crimson kicks one practice field goal before heading to the locker room. On that one kick, Giampaolo hit the turf with his toe, injuring himself. As a result, junior Jonathan Patton had to handle the punting duties, and his struggles meant Columbia consistently got good field position.

After the coin-toss--the only thing Harvard wonSaturday--captain Brendan Bibro came toward thesideline. The trademark of last year's team wasthat everyone would sprint onto the field,screaming and pounding Bibro, even when he was oncrutches. This year, it was a casual saunter, aroutine huddle, and an uninspired cheer.

Maybe it was just being business-like, butmaybe this team lacks last year's spark.

Once the game started, the cosmic indicatorsdid not improve. The worst moment came in thefourth quarter, when junior Clint Kollar got ahand on Ryan Kiernan's punt. The ball wobbled,spun end-over-end, hit the ground and rolled. Androlled. By the time it was downed, the punt hadtraveled 40 yards. Harvard's longest punt of theday was 39 yards.

Columbia didn't win by mistake and certainlynot because of luck. All I'm saying is thatHarvard's karma wasn't good on Saturday.

This is in contrast with last year, whenHarvard had great karma. The most extreme examplecame in the Crimson's 14-12 win over Princeton. Acrucial 21-yard field goal by Giampaolo was tippedand still went in.

The task for Murphy in the coming week goesbeyond fixing the offensive and defensive lines.He has to identify where the negative vibes arecoming from. I have come up with a possiblesource: male cheerleaders.

I don't want to blame them totally for the loss(and I think it takes guts to do what they do),but Harvard trotted out three male cheerleadersSaturday. According to sports information directorJohn Veneziano, it's been at least three yearssince Harvard has had male cheerleaders. It suredidn't have them during last year's 9-1 season,and anything that's different is a potentialreason for the loss of groovyness.

Unfortunately, it's useless to confront themwith this. Unlike their female counterparts,they'll just make excuses