The Wilmington morning star., 1947-10-27
In Sports Pan 1865
What Cookiin'
By Roy Cook
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Warning note: Beng extremely busy last night on other
matters and seeing John Skies, Warace's tub-thumper, sitting in
q daze at a typewriter 1 sked him, a former sports writer, to fill
this space today. You proceed at your own rlsk-Roy Cook.
The last time 1 punditized ponhficatngly in the realm of
sports Knute Rockne was the big name in football and Babe Ruth
was still pointing his forefinger at distant fences to indicate that
he was going to bop the next one over it.
AS time flies, that has been a long spell. But 1 note the boys
of today who're writing for the faithful haven't changed much
since my day.
Without wishing to get into an argument, I refer to the weekly
business of picking football winners, or losers, as the case may be.
Between swipes at trying to dry behind my ears, 1 used to do
that sort of thing, myself. Each Friday, I'd sit down sagaciously be-
fore my typewriter and come up, before you could say Gustavus
Adolphus, with a wisdomful representation on the outcome of
he impending struggle between Slippery Rock Teachers and Up.
sala. In my more humorful moments 1 wondered who cared how
Slippery Rock and Upsala came out. But, then, 1 was goaded on by
the notion that no Friday would be complete lest 1 favor M faith
full readers with my inside knowledge of the game.
This is n particular confession as of now because 1 warned
my public even IN those dear, dead days of long ago that I had no
more reason to know whether Otterbein was going to tromr the
hip pads off MI. Union next Saturday than the flashy looking gent
trying to put the two ball in the corner pocket down at the pool
hall.
just mad an argument with my brother, Claud, today about
this seIf-same thing. He was porting over the football scores of
Yesterday and mumbling that such-and-s Such Tech upset" so-and-
So Poly.
BIandly, 1 said how-come-w it a-upset?
They were supposed to win" he said.
Who supposed them to win? 1 wanted to know.
Why, all the writers, he said, looking nv way a bit cautiously
at my ignorance.
L got blue in the face and pink around the ears.
The business Of sports writers divining a national or sectional
champion-most of the time before the season even opens-gives
me a frank pain in the neck.
Back yonder I knew a lot of sports writers and editors. I
know a lot of them today. AS long as these boys keep their sense
OF hun0r they're good, well-balanced gents. But they are not
omniscent and omnipresent. Some of them don't even get a chance
TO see a big football team in action before the season ends, much
less before it opens. All they know about whether Howard should
trounce Rensselaer, is what they've read what one of the brethren
somewhere else said and usually those brethren haven't seen H.
and R. themselves but just pick what some other brethren who
haven't seen III. and r, either, say.
That's how come Carolina got to be a sure shot Sugar Bowler
this year before the season started. And look what happened.
The boys just sold themselves on Carolina and then got fascinated
by their own words telling about how good Carolina was.
The writing boys of today, the same as the writing boys of my
day, just don't have any way of judging who's going to beat whom.
But they don't mind being fearless. Anybody who is fearless and
who has access to a typewriter and a spot to fill in a newspaper
of a Friday could probably do as we'll as I've ever done in picking
winners.
But. it's a business that long since went to all our heads.
Therefore, permit me this early before they play-if indeed
they ever play-to come out boldly and lay you odds of two to one
that Chnqpapin will take Lockwoods Folly this year by two
touchdoWns and an extra point.
AS | say, / lon't know whether C. and I. F. play this year.
But what's the difference: 1 once knew a nationally-known foot
ball writer to pick a man ON his AlI-Ameica one year-and the
man wasn't even in school and didn't play football.
III now run back over to Wallace where my friends, Roy Cook
and Gil Smith, forecasters from away back, will not be able to
lay ready and willing hands on me.