Omaha daily bee., 1908-06-14
WITH The COLLEGE ATHLETES
DOings in the Field Of Sport in East
and West.
DUAL RACE AT NEW LONDON
Harvard's Crew Chances Against Yale
Appear TO he Excellent
The Flights ~ They
Compare.

The Harvard-Yale boat race on June Is
at New London promises TO be a better con-
test even than last seasons, viewed from
the Harvard standpoint. The Crimson has
had a most encouraging preliminary sea-
son. defeating the Naval academy eight
and CornelTs first boat. the latter by a
matter Of ter lengths. Harvard started
early on the water. being favored by an
open season a week or so before ordinarily
the weather permits rowing on the Charles.
The Crimson oarsmen we're the first lp any
college to get to work on the water this
year.
These things count materially. The
amount OF rowing a crew can do iB a sea
son means greater strength and more en-
durance when the day OF the race comes
along. 1t has been Wisconsin's great handi-
cap to have a late opening of the rowing
season and more than occasional very rough
water on the lakes. A crew that has COW
eyed 100 miles is hound to be better off than
one which has been together for only $50
miles Of rowing. Harvard not only started
earlier than Yale. but has held a makeup
practically unchanged since the early days
tQf April. These are all Items Of the great
est Importance.
- al OAAStA " AillS 1die HdS not uteH 80
fortunate. The New Haven men were not
able to get so much rowing, especially
distance rowing, in their earlier work be-
fore they left New London. They could
not go out on the hsrbor for the four mile
rows often enough to make them count.
So that in relation to Harvard. they are
like Wisconsin compared to Cornell in the
amount OF preliminary rowing they have
been able to do.
In the matter of weight and experienced
material, as we'll as in the detail Of early
season rowing, Harvard appears to have
an advantage. Furthermore, the Harvard
crew has had two good races. Yale has
had none. In the Yale second crew which
went to Philadelphia for the American
Hendey only two men, Hunt and Dunkle,
are varsity men. Last year the Yale
second crew which rowed at Philadelphia
was practically the same boat which subse-
uuently was pitted against Harvard at
New london.
There is nothing like a hard race to bring
defects clearly to view and Harvard has
had two chances Of this kind to get a line
on what is wrong. Possibly John Kennedy
Is just as well aware of the feeling of the
Yale eight as IL he had had several races.
Perhaps there are no defects. But the
little things that crop out in the course of
a race very likely never would show in the
practice, not even in stiff brushes.
Harvard Looks Best.
So then on all these counts Harvard APP
pears to be on the upper hand. These
things being so. is there any good reason
why Harvard shouldn't win the big race
from Yale? Maybe the only obstacle is
that Harvard's best showing thus far has
been in two two-mile races, which are not
the final words on the ability of a crew to
go a distance twice as long. OF course
Harvard ought to have the endurance to
go four miles on the basis of what long dis
tance work the men have had. The boat
looks powerful enough and the style ought
to adapt itself to the longer Journey
However. directly following the Cornell
race the point was made that Harvard
was not rowing a stroke fitted or that
could be fitted to the longer distances.
An observer OF the Yale crew says the
men have not the bronzed look that a
crew out in the weather a great deal
should have. This is because of the con-
tinued cold and backward weather up New
Haven way and the absence of a warm
sun. However, the men look strong. They
are about six feet tall on the average for
about 10 pounds the man.
On another line the critic says: "In
point OF workmanship the crews work
beautifully together. as all Kennedy crea-
lions do. The oarblades are feathered
} along just high enough to guarantee a
safe flight forward and then skillfuly turn
and cut the water with machinellke pre-.
} cision. One is impressed with the earnest
effort to get as long a stroke as possible
in which there Is absolutely no stop, nc
apparent hesltancy, either while pulling
through or recovering, their aim being tc
keep II going all the time and thereby
relieve the boat from the Jerking. checking
sensation so prevalent among college
crews.
"They get a long pendulumlike swing OF
the body that is never hurried, yet a tight
grip Of the water Is secured and the leg
and back pressure is applied so evenly that
there is something doing all the time the
oars are in the water. They have already
mastered the Use of the slide in q man
ner that insures the smooth running of
the boat between strokes, and their spac-
ing denotes speed. results that are very
satisfactory to those interested in their
development"
Not Making Excuses.
Griswold, the Yale stroke oar. is a lean
man of the e II. Faote type, probably, not
as strong as that man and certainly not
capable Of doing as much work as Foote
without getting overturned. Griswold is
calm, not at all OF the nervous type, and
completely able to set the Kennedy stroke,
which the crew rows in a style unchanged
absolutely from that of the last two sea-
sons. Coach Kennedy has a crew as we'll
developed as that of last season, and Il is
said the boat should be equally as fast.
The crew is not yet in its top form, nor
will Il be until the week of the race. on
June Is, II Kennedy's plans materialize as
he hopes, the Yale crew will be at its best,
not before.
Kennedy is quoted as saying: I'VE are
not making any excuses and expect TO turn
out an average Yale crew. We have
suffered much from bad weather and rough
water all spring. and for that reason have
had few opportunities of going over the
full course. Therefore we are wofully
lacking in condition. With coed weather
and comfortable established at New Lon
don, we expect to see the crew come long
fast. and despite the alarming stories OF
Harvard's smoothness and sneed we look
forward TO a hard, close race"
The Yale crew as II may be constituted
for the New London race is: A~uchincloss
-. ND-.k-a o. nj. o. L.. a. U--A-N-