Omaha daily bee., 1909-04-04
WITH THE COLLEGE ATHLETES
Doing in the Field Of Sports in East
and West.
CHICAGO HAS STRONG TEAM
National Championship Game In Bss-
ket BsIl-wisconsin students
Prepare Trip to Pouehkeep-
sIe Races This Spring.

AaNNN hahs
The college basket ball season has come
to an end. and there IL no decision as to
the national championship because OF the
refusal OF Chicago to consider a challenge
sent by the Pennsylvania five. The Penn
sylvanisns were so elsted because of the
victory with which they ended their sea
son. which also was the only one to mar
Columbia's schedule, that they decided they
were entitled to be considered champions
OF the east. This all the more 80 because
a challenge to Columbia for a third game
had to be declined because the New York
ers had completed their season and had
disbanded their team.
II would not have been possible anyway
for Columbia to have continued further
into the year with basket ball because
both Cerussi and Ryan had to give up the
game in order to take up their crew work.
or rather in order to get a rest before
| the hard work OF the rowing season began
for fear they might get overturned. At
any event, the Pennsylvania basket bali
players considered themselves entitled to
challenge Chicago for the championship.
The westerners won the conference cham
pionship with the clean record OF twelve
victories and no defeats. Pennsylvania
was eager to get even for the result Of last
year, when Chicago, after winning the con.
ference championship. won the national in
tercollegiate as well by defeating the Penn
sylvanians.
DR.. Joseph f Raycroft, who is in charge
OF basket ball matters at the University
of Chicago, decided upon a very good and
safe plan for determining whether or not
Pennsylvania had a right to challenge for
the national title. Letters were directed
to the captains Of the basket ball teams In
the big eastern colleges. Harvard, Yale,
Princeton, Cornell, Brown. and
others, asking what in the opinion of these
men was the right of the Pennsylvania
| team so to challenge. In practically every
| case DR.. Raycroft was informed that the
| Columbia team was entitled to be consid-
! cred the champions of the east, and thai
| therefore Pennsylvania really was not en-
titled to challenge Chicago for anything.
Chicago's Team Strong.
II was as much for this reason as for
any other that 1t was decided that Chicago
would not take on the Pennsylvanians.
| because II was felt on the Midway that 1t
would be senseless to enter into a compe-
| tition in which IL there were a victory for
Chicago nothing whatever would be gained.
on the other hand. to lose to Pennsylvania
after the Quakers had failed to win the
championship OF the east would have been
rather a blow to Chicago pride. Specuia-
ton in a matter like this is OF small value,
| but it is safe to say that unless the Penn
sylvania and Columbia teams were in top
notch form on the occasion of the meeting
| with Chicago that the result would prob
| ably be a victory for the west once more
| Chicago had a veteran squad of very
| strong men and as most of them had been
| playing together for some years 1t Is not
TO be doubted that their team work Is
fully as good as that of any players IN
tho east. Furthermore. judging from some
Of the reports Of games that Chicago has
played the Maroons have learned all the
| little tricks that used to distinguish the
eastern teams and would be fully able to
| cope with anything in the line OF hard
playing or r~oughness that any eastern
squad could put up against them. A great
change has come over the western game
in the last three or four years since the
introduction Of q national intercollegiate
rules board.
Where once the distinguishing feature
of the western game was the no contact
play now the guarding Is just as close as 1t
is in the eastern colleges. The result has
been to make basket ball in the conference
division Just as bad a game as 1t is today
in the east. and it is very likely that II II
keeps on in this way its term OF life will
be threatened as seriously in the conference
as II has been in this section, especially in
the New England institutions.
An-Western Teams.
Haskell Moves, the former Yale basket
ball player, who coached Wisconsin. has
selected two all-western teams, in the first
OF which appear only two Chicago men.
II gives two places to Wisconsin and one
to Illinois. Two more Chicago men appear
on his second team, with one from Wis
cousin. one from Illinois and one from
Purdue. Georgen Of Chicago, who has gen.
orally been considered by most men as a
very effective player, is put on the second
team as a forward. 1t is presumed that
his place has been given to Swenholt OF
Wisconsin by Coach Noyes.
The two teams are made up as follows:
First team-Forwards. Popperfuss, Illinois,
and Swenholt, Wisconsin; center, Schom-
mer, Chicago; guards, Hoffman, Chicago,
and Noe. Wisconsin. Second team-For-
wards, Georgen, Chicago. and Lewis, Pur-
due; center, Poster, Illinois; guards, Witt,
Wisconsin, and Page, Chicago.
An interesting thing has been started by
the students at Wisconsin. They have
formed a regatta club, the members Of
which are to subscribe small amounts
weekly, until around the time Of the
Poughkeepsie regatta they will have enough
money to buy observation train tickets and
to hire a special car in which to go to the
race at Po~ughkeepsie. This will be sup
porting the crew more strongly than ever
before was done by Wisconsin, and should
have a eorrespOndingly good effect on the
oarsme Wisconsin adherents have for
the most part been persons who live in the
east and who admire the pluck and the
nerve Of the Wisconsin oarsmen in coming
here year after year to put up a fight for
the rowing honors.
Sturdy oaks from little aeorns grow
! advertising in Tn Bee will do wonders for