The White Falcon - 20.02.1943, Síða 7

7
Winners, Too,
Bring Scorn
By Gene Graff
We have been berating and ridiculed for
stringing along with losers, especially when
odd-on favorites like the N.Y. Yankees and
Chicago Bears, tumbled to ignonimy before
lightly regarded foes. But it wasn’t until earli-
er this week that we were lampooned for as-
serting our faith in a team which won as pre-
dicted. Apparently the local second-gucssers
want their inning even when the other team
is at bat.
A scornful basketball partisan—his cohorts
share second place in one of the many cur-
rent Command cage marathons—cornered us
Monday and demanded an explanation. “Why,”
he vehemently queried, “hadn’t my team been
conceded a chance against the so-and-so’s in
your pre-game story? We have a strong quintet,
and it’s unfair to ignore us like that.” Chrono-
logically, this is the story: the paper was circ-
ulated Saturday, his team lost Sunday, and he
registered his complaint Monday!
It’s generally acknowledged that two people
seated side by side at an athletic eevnt see
the same things differently. We admitted the
score had been close until the final three min-
utes when the other quintet eluded their guards
for four rapid baskets to clinch the decision.
But in his anxiety to bring home victory for
his team, our bitter reader obviously disre-
garded statistics. The winning quintet, although
hard-pressed throughout, was woefully “off”
its usual stride. Shots the boys usually netted
with their eyes closed flirted with the rim,
the bounded harmlessly outside, and their tim-
ing was pathetic.
However, the cold, calculating facts failed
to dim his “unhappy-about-the-whole-thing” at-
titude. He readily condoned his team’s defeat,
but refused to pardon us for having guessed
right. His prolific verbal assault almost made
us wish we had maintained our imposing chain
of setbacks, instead of finally emerging from
the prognosticating doghouse.
This isn’t cited as a tirade against an indi-
vidual, but merely to laud the American sports
freedom. Without second-guessing and frenzied
debate among partisans, there’d be no steady
clicking of the turnstiles and no haven for
the millions of sports fans seeking relaxation.
Even the most sedate people discard conven-
tions when entering a sports arena. They howl
in the stands because “That $X&3§& manager
didn’t yank the pitcher before he lobbed in
that homerun ball.” And a week later the same
“Monday morning strategists” complain because
“That $X&3§& manager yanked the pitcher!”
Writers, too, will second-guess at the least
provocation, and condemn the jockey for a
“bum ride” or assail a quarterback for not
calling a pass play on third down and two
yards to go. It’s an infallible system because
it’s devoid of the headaches that remain with
the manager after the game is ended and the
customers have headed for their favorite pubs,
But second-guessing a winner is like adding
.2 and 2, and 3 and 1, and getting the s&tpe
result-. Who cares? We don’t.
*
Rams Confront Bears
In Cage Meet Test
The Bears and Gophers, twin-killers of teams with championship designs in the Command basketball
tourney, confront another pair of title aspirants today and tomorrow as second place occupants in each
bracket endeavor to puncture the leaders’ four-game winning streaks.
To relieve the monotony [ :
for quintets which already
have been relegated among
also-rans, a change of scenery
becomes effective this afternoon.
The Pro circuit, composed of
the formidable Bears and seven
other teams, transfers its war-
fare to Saturday, while the Col-
legians, consisting of the Goph-
ers & Co., switch to the Sun-
day spot.
Three “preliminary” games
with little, if any, bearing on the
race will precede the Bear-Ram
affair tonight. The Ram’s lone
setback was absorbed at the
hands of the Packers, 30-29, two
weeks ago, and a victory this
evening will hurdle the Rams
into a first-place deadlock with
the Bears, Steelers and Packers.
A scoring duel between Jack
Reuland and Lew Fowler of the
Bams and Johnny AHobelli and
Podolsky of the Bears is anti-
cipated, hut the Bears will enter
the game as an odds-on-favorile
to cash their fifth straight. Other
contests on tonight’s slate, which
starts at 1700 hours, includes
Eagles vs. Packers, Steelers vs.
Redskins and Lions vs. Giants.
The Bears encountered unex-
pected opposition from the Steel-
ers last week before dropping
them from the unbeaten ranks,
26-18. Tenacious guarding by the
Steelers held the Bear sharp-
shooters in check until the last
couple of minutes when Anto-
belli and Podolsky clinched the
verdict. The Bears sported a 15-10
margin at the intermission.
In . other Pro games Sunday,
the Packers shaded .the lowly
Giants, 24-23; the Rams staved
off the Lions, 29-20, and the Red-
skins spanked the Eagles, 24-18.
The Gophers meet what may
prove to be their strongest op-
position of the whirl when they
match baskets with the hot-and-
cold Tigers tomorrow in the fin-
ale at 1830 hours. The Tigers,
That gent in Ihe
foreground must
be shadow box-
ing. He can’t- be
going for the ball
because A1 Gren-
ert, N.Y.U., has
\t. The ball was
there, but it
jounced away
from Dan Chris-
tie, Manhattan,
.vho is the gent
grabbing, a hand-
ful of nothing,
fhe game was
played in New
fork City.
still smarting from their 14-12
overtime defeat by the Wolves
two weeks ago, flashed signs of
improvement last, week when
they outlasted the Panthers,
29-28.
The Gophers snapped the
Cougar’s undefeated string with
a convincing 39-17 wip Saturday
as Marty Van* Oorschot, Gopher
ace, ran his four-game total to
75 points. Bui Van Oorschot
may falter tomorrow because in
Joe Long the Tigers have a tow-
ering center to cope with the
Gopher leader.
The Wildcats and' Wolves
square off in the Collegian op-
ener tomorrow, followed by the
Cougars against the winless
Badgers, and the Panthers
against the .000 Bulldogs. The
Wolves trounced the Bulldogs,
26-19, and the Wildcats turned
back the Badgers, 30-23, in other
games Saturday.
Three Teams Bow Out
Of Unbeaten Ranks
Three teams—the Yanks, Pirates and Sardines—were
rudely jolted from the unbeaten ranks of the local Ace of
Diamonds cage marathon during the week, while the
Wrens, Bluegills and Dodgers notched their fourth conse-
cutive triumphs.
The Yanks enjoyed a tempor-’
ary lead in their start against
the Dodgers, holding a 12-11
margin at the quarter. But the
Dodgers spurted ahead, 27-22,
at half-time and added to their
advantage with ease, outscoring
the Yanks 18-5 in the final peri-
od. Ellis Adams sparked the
Dodger* with 26 ppipts, while
Mitchsl Ward tocced the losers
with 21 counters.
The Wrens had less trouble
notching their fourth straight,
routing the Snipes, 65-21, as Bill
Bishop registered 21 points. The
Bluegills, however, just barely
nipped the Minnows, 28-21, aft-
(Continued on Page 8)
SHORT SHOTS
National League President Ford Frick is rid
of his recent Cold today—hut he’s slill stuck
with the Philadelphia Phils .... The N.L. pur-
chased the defunct Phils last week for resale
to some naive bidder Then Frick went
home to chase his cold .... Now he’s ready
again to.peddle the perennial cellar occupant
.... Rumor has it that Bill Terry will operate
the Phils for the National League, despite his
statements to the contrary .... Three addi-
tional player contracts for 1943 have been re-
ceived by the Cleveland Indians .... Signers
were Pilcher Joe Keying, Catcher George Susce
and rookie First Baseman Vern Freiburger.
*
St. Bonaventures and the U. of Buffalo may
follow the lead of Canisius in abandoning foot-
ball foi' the duration • . . . . Sports Promoter
Edward F. Hurley, widely known in New Eng-
land, is seriously ill .... H. A. Tillotson, 57,
Michigan U. ticket manager since 1920, died
of a heart attack this week .... Danel M. Cas-
ey, 80, claimed to be the original “Casey” of
the famous poem, “Casey At The Bat,” also
died this week .... Casey, pitcher for (he
Phillies in 1887, was cast in the hero role by
Sports Writer Ernest Thayer against the Giants
because he had broken up a game with Boston
with a homer the previous week .... But Casey
fanned.
Czar Kennesaw M. Landis promised N.Y.
baseball writers at their annual party, “We’ll
have baseball so long as we can put teams
of nine men dm two''sides of the diamond.”
.... He said the Majors will endeavor to con-
tinue even if baseball is added to the list of
nondeferrahle activities .... Meanwhile, the
N.Y. Giants purchased Third Baseman Lee
Handley, former Pittsburgh chattel, from Tor-
onto of the International League .... Joe Louis’
baby girl has been named Jacqueline, after
Jack Blackburn, Joe’s late manager;