The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1908-03-29
BY MANHATTAN.

NEW YORK March 2S.-The efforts
of Jim Piikington and Julian Curtis TO
secure an all-American eight for the
Olympic games has proven unavailing.
This does not mean that America Will
not be represented in the regatta. Not
at all. 1t does mean, however, that 1t
is impossible to secure crew COM
posed of the very best American oars
men.
Messrs. Plkington and Curtis have
found that the men who would be cho-
sen for the all-American crew have not
the time to devote to the practice neccs-
sary to enable them to work as a. per-
feet machine Hence it has been do
cided to ask the rowing bodies of the
different cities of the East, Philadel-
phia. New York, Boston, Washington
and Baltimore, to select the strongest
Fights in their respective cities and
have all compete in a preliminary re-
gatta either In Philadelphia. or in New
York. the winner to be named as the
Olympic eight.
1t is probable the winning Fights ut
the Poughkeepsie and New London re,
gattas will be asked to send their
crews TO the preliminary regatta.
American amateur oarsmen. as a rule,
are busy men. and few of them can
spare the time to devote to the prelim-
mary practice and to the trip to Eng
land The decision to which the conf
mittee has come Is therefore the only
practical one. While 1t will not give
us the very best crew possible under
ideal conditions. it will give us tho
best possible under conditions as they
actually exist.
Melvin Sheppard, the Irish American
champion runner. has set his heart Of,
winning the worlds championship at
the Olympic games this summer. He
therefore regards his suspension be-
cause of his recent tilt with Guy Haw-
kns. at Philadelphia. as not an i'm
mixed evil. He had begun to go a lit
tie stale. and his enforced icleness has
given him a chance to get in shape
again. ! understand that he has de-
fnitely decided to go into no more con-
tests until the Olympic tryouts. and
muscles timber and himself in prime
condition.
The intercollegiate baseball season,
which opened in the East this week,
while 1t promises many interesting cou-
tests. falls to produce anything in the
way of schedule which will definite
ly decide the college championship of
the season. This is unfortunately a
close analysis of the playing dates of
seventeen of the leading colleges and
universities, showing many breaks in
the chain which prevent anything like
a decisive elimination on the basis of
round robin play. The situation is full
~ as weak In this respect as it was in
1907, when both Princeton and Cornell
claimed tho college championship al the
end of the season. Since these two
teams did not meet, the only resource
was to compare the scores made against
mutual opponents. which at best was a
Very unsatisfactory method. since base
ball Is more uncertain than other lines
of sport ihdulged in by the college.
| The coming season finds the schedule
more tangled than ever before. While
Princeton and Cornell compete this
spring in two games, Harvard and
! Pennsylvania will not meet. and Colunl-
bia has but three games in the Big Six
circuit, one with Yale and two with
| Pennsylvania.
Princeton has no game with Brown
a strong contender for honors last sea-
son. and the same state or affairs ex-
lists In the schedules Of several other
varsity combinations which are expect
ed to develop strong mines for the pre-
mler position in the sport. This state
+, or affairs is more surprising when IL
Is realized that fully ninety games arc
/ TO be played among the seventeen col
Ilege teams which are expected to play
Ihigh-class baseball during the next
few months
IT. the preliminary games for the
Dwight PAWS cup, representing the
| "a ri abs ,vNt,, ~