The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1933-09-06


ten. They have to be.
Take any recent major sports
event. Take the Giants-Braves series.
You'll not be making a mistake. The
Giants took it and look where they
are. Remember the write-ups, the
pompous, cocksuse analyses Of the
Braves pennart bid Not an "expert"
cut conce ded them a chance. wish
I had the stuff at hand so could
quote.
The Braves were duplicate of the
wonder team Of IA. Berger was n
second Ruth; Meanwhile, tower OF
strength; Brandt, Cantwell, Frank
house, pitching marvels. Remember
the six-column, half-page car
toons in the Hearst papers, showing
the rampant Warriors, the cringing
Terriers. What differential equations
on bat.icg and earned run averages,
what innuendoes of the Giant Big
-Four impending collapse.
All bit ridiculous to the outsider
but spiritual mama to the 1876 900
Boston fans who attended and moro
substantial mamma to Owner Fuchs.
THE Giants, in due course of events,
virtually swept the series. Remem-
Der again the experts. How, exclaimed
they, could team be possibly con-
sidered to be Of pennant calibre with
a batting average around $50? How
can the Giants lose with the Four
Cylinders clicking? Pittsburgh is the
team TO watch now.
What laugh. These are the STU
dentG CT the game, the scientists on
whose word hang millions of readers,
These are the boys who predicted
and would have given you to odds
that the Giants would finish in the
second division, the boys who inferred
Ruth three years ago and quoted
Moody at 10 to against Jacobs.
Wal, as viii Rogers would write
people make mistakes. He wouldn't
be doing columns if they didn't and
my father has confided on occasions
neither would I. Undoubtedly fans
are expected to admire the dispensers
Of their source material for discus
sions because of their skill in getting
away with it. Undoubtedly, too, they
are charming and gracious enough
in their apologies. Sports Editor Pau
Calico of the New York Daily News
has formed the SO Per Cent Wrong
Club of which he is president. But
at the same time he and his men wax
scientific about Travis Jackson's knee
Cameras secret punch Moody's
spinal column and baseline. I wish
could triumph over my VIGOROUSLY hu
morous flair and sense of the whim.
steal long enough to sit down anc
tabulate the silly. predictions .and
100 per cent wrong comments of JUS
enc set of these specialists.
The more intelligent of them ne
longer venture predictions. Wher
they do, they qualify them left ano
right until they get to sounding lik'
a Nation" editorial, Pho. thesi
on the Shakespeare Bacon contro
versy or National City Bank bull
letin on the crisis.
Old-timers have perfected a pattel
which enables them to sound author
itative and appear to be uttering thu
last word on the subject withou
committing themselves. On rain,
days when copy is scarce they ram
BILE on, reminiscing, weaving aura
and halos of romance about bits o
very ordinary action, begging TO
controversies by offering opinions de
liberately to provoke the fan mail OF
whose extent their jobs largely depend
MORE intelligent commentators o
III the Westbrook Pegler type scorl
this form of log-rolling and brancl
off into other fields. Pull and the OBJ
vious excellence of their material ar
the most important factors whicl
secure them their niche on pages o
blah and pfuy. At that they lay of
the touchy stuff and kick sacred COW
all around the pasture only whel
they're pretty well prepared for tn
slaughter house.
OF course, by disparaging sport
pages of contemporaries I may b