The Birmingham age-herald., 1922-01-15
Eastern Fiues Are Making Good
 Start
Rr WALTER CAME
Special Correspondent of The Age-Hera
 Copyright, 1929. by The Age-Herald)

Special Correspondent Of The Age-Herald Copyright, 1929. by The Age-Hcrald)
 New York. January 14--At the outset of the intercollegiate basket ball season. the University of Penn sylvania Is found occupying a com manding position with bright pros poets for ading another champion ship laurel to its crown, having won the Intercollegiate title for three sue cessive times. Penn loses one of it's stars this season in McNichol, but In Grave 1t has a foul shooter of ex cellent quality.
 No one has been quite able to ex- plain why Penn stands out so prom inently in basketball each year. Last year, besides winning the intercol- legiate. 1t defeated the New York uni- versity team. which was considered one of the strongest lives in>the east. Penn suffered only one defeat, in flicted by Penn State In an extra period.
 Dartmouth Threatens
 Dartmouth gives promise of offer ing serious opposition this season. The team showed well on It's Christ mas trip and Coach Zahn hopes it wifi better its last years record when it finished second In the intercollegi- ate. Cornell Is another team that has shown play of high quality, greatly improved over last year when 1t played brilliantly at times and very indecisively at others. Last season 1t led everything in field goals. Princeton Is showing better spirit and better form after a bad. season In 1921, due to internal troubles and various upsets, it's coach resigning.
 Basketballs once proud figure, Co lumbia. is starting out with only average prospects, and It is a ques- ton whether 1t can pull together respectable team. Yale has shown the least promise of all, having been defeated all along the line on the Christmas trip. For all this, there IS no special reason in the makeup Of the team for its poor showing, and 1t may take decided brace and show something In the intercollegiates.
 Game Advances /
 As popular wire sport. basketball has been making rapid strides for ward. It Is really the best organized and most widely distributed of all the sports that engage the colleges and industrial .world during the In. tervening days between the ending 0. the football season and the opening Of the track and baseball season.
 There is wide difference of opin- ion as to it's value as conditioner Of men. The criticism has been made that basketball. instead of improving a mans general condition. rather lowers his tone and vitality. owing to close and confined air of gym nasiums on which most games are played. This contention is not borne out by the records. The game has been found to keep the men in good condition muscularly and to mako them quick. It has been found to bt a distinct aid to football men in mak- ing them more proficient in passing and handling the ball.
 This inspte of the fact that tn, | basketball and the football are oi different shape.
 Cagcsters Star on Grid Several fine basketball throwers have become stars on the footbal. field in throwing the forward pass Injuries in the game are infreauen l and such as occur are rarely ever ot a serious character. | There has been some agitation for l change in the rules so as to give | less value to goals thrown from fouls 1, Advocates of the change make out a strong case for 1t as it has been dem onstrated time and again that one team may play the game better. tha, l is, it may make more successful field 1 thxows and yet be beaten through the special expertness of a player on the | other team in throwing goals after fouls. It appears that something could be done along this line to inn prove the equity of the game.