Evening star., 1921-03-14
PRAISE IS COMING
FROM ALL SOURCES
Forward Pass Finally May Be
Curbed if 0ffense Over
B balances Defense.
BY LAWRENCE PERRY.

ROM all quarters comes gem
eral satisfaction over the con-
servative attitude which the
foot ball rules committee exercised
in regard to the playing code. Only
one change of any Importance was
made-and that, as the 1rishman
might say, wasn't very important.
Hereafter when safety is made
the ball will go to the thiry-yard
line in possession of the team max
ing it instead of the twenty-yard
mark. AS the ball goes out to the
twenty-yard line after touchback
the spectators will be able to tell
when a safety is made.
The committee gave a respectful
in the end decided to let the game
stand. This was wise. The public
In the past few years has learned to
know the game as never before and
any radical emendations would simp-
ly erect the necessity of learning it
all over again.
May Finally Curb Pass.
HIS IS HOl W tHdt tHe IOTWdTu
pass will not eventually be curtailed.
This will happen if, as seems likely.
the forward heave is SO perfected
that 1t causes the offense heavily to
overbalance the defense. This would
be harmful to the game. Every year
comes greater precision in the over
head game and the foot ball system
Yale's. for example-which holds
that there is no forward passing
game against which a perfect de-
L. t.,
come in for some hard bumps. as. in
deed, has been the case in the past.
theoretically there is an ironclad de-
fense against the forward pass. But
practically. no.
The attitude of the rules committee
toward professional foot ball may be
regarded as we'll advised. No one
who holds a brief for foot ball as a
pure college sport will withhold sup
port from any effort to save the game
from mercenary interests.
Great Basket Ball Race.
There was nothing lacking in the
Western Conference basket ball sea-
of the ten teams finished with a diff
ference Of less than four games won
and lost among them. The sensa-
tfon OF the race was the extraordinary
showing of the Michigan five. which.
having lost the first four games Of
out Of the running. won eight
straight games. thus ending the sea-
son tied with Purdue and Wisconsin
for hYst place. That is sport at its
best. Eameness, grit and determine
tion personihed.
There were too many rowdy scenes
attached to the conference race. Pre-
sumably these will continue to be ,
SO long as the western officials are
so lax in the matter of body check
ing and the like. This Is not so
much the fault of the officials as of
the western authorities, who interpret |
the rules more broadly than they do |
in the south and east There have !
been several objectionable outbreaks. |
PERHAPS in-the vest the rule which
makes the throwing OF goals from |
the foul line 50 important a figure !
in the scoring is absolutely neces- |
sary, but in the east and south
where most Of the FOULS are technical |
and where personal fouls are likely |
to be unintentional-there are many
who believe that the best interests
of the game are not upheld when
SO many games are won through
the sheer ability Of an accomplished
foul shooter. The idea is that the
rules should be so changed as to
have the man who was fouled make
the shot, and not have all throws
by a specialist.
Copyright 1871