TUESDAY, MARCH 19, 1946 '1I1 11 1 BJ kN D III Coach Fisher Cuts Diamond Squad to 40 Tallet Likely Choice For First Base Spot After giving the 70-odd tryouts for the, 1946 baseball team two weeks in which to prove their ability, Coach1 Ray Fisher has cut the squad to less than 40 men, almost the size that will open the season for the Michi- gan team on April 19. Remaining on the squad are ap- proximately two full teams plus eight catchers and more than a dozen hoping for positions as pitchers. In line with his policy Fisher has not cut any pitchers from the roster. Emphasis on Batting As has been the case for the pastc few weeks the emphasis will be plac-1 ed this week on batting in the two, cages that have been set up in the Field House. In addition to allowing the players to regain their batting eyes, this form of practice has been the best available for the mound staff that is quickly rounding into form. Almost everybody remaining on the staff is being given an opportun- ity to show what he can do from the mound. In this manner Fisher hopes to find the fourth starting hurler. His tentative three starters at this date are Bo Bowman, Cliff Wise and Irv "Pro" Boim. Former Irish Star Here Last year's first baseman, Tom Rosema, has looked well at this posi- tion and may change positions to make way for Jack Tallet, who cov- ered first base for Notre Dame for two years in 1942 and 43. Talet is a long ball hitter, and may be remem- bered as the only player to hit a home run off Boim. His hit gave the Iirish a 4-3fdecision in the 1942 season. Fisher's main worry these days is waiting for the weather to clear up so he can see what his charges can do on the diamond. The coach would like to be able to move his practice sessions out of doors before April 1, which would give him almost three weeks to decide on the lineup for the Wayne opener. Evers Injury Blow to Tigers LAKELAND, Fla., March 18-P)-_ Loss of rookie centerfielder Walter (Hoot) Evers for a three-month per- iod because of a broken ankle comes as a body blow to Detroit's hopes of repeating in the American League but Manager Steve O'Neill is taking it all in stride. Nobody knew better than O'Neill how valuable Evers can be to the Detroit Ball Club. The youngster from Collinsville, Il1., had been lead- ing the Tigers in spring training with a brilliant .400 plus average. The club was in the process of los- ing its sixth straight spring game St. Patrick's Day when Evers spikes caught in second base and he went down for the count. Long after Managers O'Neill of Detroit and Lou Boudreau of Cleve- land helped carry him to the club- house the official report came from the hospital-one broken left ankle and one broken right thumb. Evers will be out for from 10 to 12 weeks and perhaps longer, a tough pill for an ex-GI who finally had a chance to make the big time. As matters stand O'Neill probably will open with Wakefield in left, Mc- Cosky in center and Mullin -in right. Hank Greenberg, a little slow in hit- ting his batting stride, will be at first, Eddie Lake at shortstop and either Pinky Higgins or Jimmy Outlaw at, third. Birdie Tebbers, Paul Richards and Bob Swift probably will divide the catching. Wakefield Triple Leads Rally as Tigers Win, 8-5 BRADENTON, Fla., March 18---()I -After seven straight, defeats, the Detroit Tigers won a Grapefruit League contest today by blasting the New York Yankee "B" squad, 8 to 5, with a 12-hit attack. Dick Wakefield tripled with the bases loaded for Detroit's first three runs in the fifth, breaking a scoreless tie. Wakefield tallied on Roy Cullen- bine's fly with the fourth and last run of Detroit's biggest, inning this year. The Bengals boosted their lead to 7-0 in the sixth, Doc Cramer's three- bagger being the big blow. Cardinals, Senators Win, Boston (A) 100 101 000 - 3 7 21 St. Louis (N) 052 194 IOX-131311 O'Neill, Dreisewerd (2), Powell (6) and McGah, Doyle (2). Barrett, Brecheen (7), and Rice, Wilber (6). Wash'gt'n (A) 004 100 014-10 14 1 Phila. (N) 000 000 100- 1 2 1 Wolff, Appleton (4), Haffner (7), and Evans; Rowe, Hodkey (4). Ripple (5), Eyrich (7) and Spindel, Phillips (6). - ~-'-~--_____________ d I DES SEz o ,Hockey Playoff Sysfem Unfair B DaWATens A re ea i to eat By DIES HOWAIRTI, Assqciatte Sports Editor GymInaa Show S'roi s "I'A llCO vvill 111i If vI L Tii ds Re NI Opei house Ats Purdue R caull 19443 MArk elays Approach i ONE of the mysteries in sports which we have never quite been able to understand is that concerning the play-off system in the Nationalt Hockey League. At present six teams battle through fifty games a season to determine a league winner and eliminate only two of the clubs.< The Stanley Cup, emblematic of hockey supremacy, is decided by thel first four teams in the standings. Very often the team that finishes on{ top in the regular season is eliminated early fron the play-offs and the Cup is won by one that fared not-too-well in the season's competition. To our mind this doesn't seem quite fair to the league winners. One striking example of this occurred in tlie dlay-offs of 1938. Toronto won the league title and then after defeating Boston in the semi-finals of; Cup competition lost to the Chicago Black Hawks in the finals. Chicago was definitely not the best team in hockey that year. In fact they were very for- tunate to reach the play-offs. However, the Hawks got "hot" in the play- offs and for two series were unbeatable. Last year a like situation happened. Toronto, finishing third in the league, met the Montreal Canadians. in the opening series. Montreal had just won its second straight title and was gunning for a second Stanley Cup. However, the Maple Leafs put the Canadians out of the running and then went on to defeat the Detroit Red Wings in the finals for the Cup. Yet for fifty games Coach Dick Irwin's club had demonstrated their super- iority over the rest of the league, and on an overall basis definitely was the best team of the year. rTHIS year the Canadians took their third straight title, but not without some stiff competition from the Boston Bruins and the Blackhawks. In the play-offs it is quite possible that either team will eliminate the titlists from the picture. And for that matter, the Red Wings are not to be ruled out of contention. Last night Boston clinched second place with a 3-0 victory over the Hawks, who were also beaten on Saturday by the boys from Quebec. De- troit, however, blew a chance for third money by dropping a pair of games to the Maple Leafs over the week-end. So Montreal and the Hawks will clash tonight as will the Wings and Bruins, in the first round of the play- offs. Montreal, with Bill Durnan at goal and Emil "Butch" Bouchard on de- fense, probably presents the hardest combination in the league to score on. In addition the Canadians have the trio of Richard, Blake and Lach, which is one of the best forward combinations in the business. Chicago on the other hand, has the best offense. The Bentley brothers, Max and Doug, and Bill Mosienko, lead all other lines in scoring. In addi- tion the Hawks have Clint Smith, who is also one of the NIIL's leading scorers. Injuries to all four men in mid-season slowed down the Hawks considerably, however. Art Ross' Boston Bruins have a wealth of reserves and the "Kraut" line of Milt Schmidt, Woody Dumart, and Bobby Bauer are always a threat, Goalie Frank Brimsek, just back from the service, rates on a par with Durnan. At the start of the season Manager Jack Adams said his Red Wings would be lucky to reach the play-offs despite a fast start. The Detroiters have no standouts with the exception of defenseman Jack Stewart. Lacking a capable center all year, they bore out Adam's early prediction. So that's the Stanley Cup line-up for this year. Personally, we look for the Canadians and Bruins to meet in the finals. And the eventual winner: les Canadiens. HOLD THOSE WAR BONDS! 1 T rongesl 11f(i in the four- Cil1p , Ids FTOipt . ear live, tory o he colorful Purdue Relays will endanger several of the IliiIllImeeN re'rds when th final action Spectacular aiinong .1w events of gets underVay Saturday night, 1 M ' :Din thicBoilermaker field- the Annual Intramural Open house to r1 2 in t oemake mel be staged Wedm'w:xi:y itIfnI hieatIaaete One of the more Sports Buildi wiill bean exhibit by f marks to break, however, a troupe of expert gymnasts from, will be ie two-mile relay record of Waterman Gymnasium headed by 7:40:1.4.,eablishecd in 1943 by a fleet Newton Lokan. 1942's national inter- Wolverine quartet. collegiate gymnastic champion. The story surrounding that record For the past two w'ks the color- and the mI(len who wrote it into the fil array of performiers have been books is indeed an interesting one, polishing off theiir specialty acts in aan one that inspires the present the apparatus room( of Waterman Ycluatl. iFor in 1943, Michigan pos- Gym, in prepsiation for the gala 'sed One of thl strangest distance sports pageant. Lokan, with five outflits in 11( history of the school. members of his group consisting of There were six excellent half-milers Bob Schoendube, Dave T.,{Clair, Loy- capable of breaking 1:57 consistently, al Jodar, Joe Rivers, and Bob Wil- and choosing four men from this loughby will dominate the spotlight group waS amnthilng but an easy de- of the entire sio wii they demon- i ion for C CoacT Ol'ty. strate their talents on the Irampo- Record stablished line. The "tramp", as it is labeled by Finally the choice was narrowed to rings, the mats, and the parallel lJohn Roxborougl, Ross Hume, Dave bars will be the rest of the Water- Matthews. and Bob Ufer. It was in man troupe consisting of& Carl lem- this running order that these men mer, Pancho Saravia, Bob Lamb, swept through an eastern competi- Chico Kennedy, John Foote, and lion without defeat, and climaxed George Dales, wrestling instructor at the indoor track season by chalking Waterman Gym. up the fastest two-mile relay time Masters at making the liaird ones ever run on a dirt track in this coun- look easy, Lokan and his prot eg-s will try. thrill the audience with a variety of The Michigan foursome competed trampoline stunts in the annual Knights of Columbus In the apparatus room presenting meet in Cleveland on the Friday im- a wide variety of stunts on the flying mediately preceding the Relays at the boys, is a large sheet of canvas Purdue, and rushed off to catch a suspended on a steel frame table by train for Lafayette after their vic- heavy springs, producing the bound- tory, In spite of the grueling sched- ing mat. ule, the quartet then surpassed all previous feats by racing to a new rec- ord. Distance Teams Outstanding Wolverine distance teams have compiled an enviable record aside from the performance at Purdue in 1943. Competing in the Millrose Games for the past eight years, with the exception of this season, Michi- gan entries have won seven titles. This traditional strength has also been evident in the Big Ten over a period of years. Most of the team points have been gathered in the two- mile, mile, and half mile, events, al- though many conference titlists in the same events have come from other schools. Coach Doherty gave no indication as to the men he would enter in the respective events, but did say that the distance teams would be chosen from any combination of Charles Low, Herb Barten, Bob Thomason, Archie Parsons, and Ross and Bob Hume. Michigan's chief competition is ex- pected to come from Notre Dame paced by Leonard and Tully, and Illi- nois, led by Rehberg, Bedell, and pos- sibly McKenley. Give to the Red Cross Michigan's swimming team will face Wayne University's natators to- morrow night at Detroit Northwest- ern High School pool without the services of freestyler Dave Tittle, it was announced yesterday by Coach Matt Mann. Tittle dropped out of school this semester because of the draft. A pro- mising freshman prospect last fall, the Wolverine sprinter rapidly de- veloped into one of Mann's main- stays. Tittle was a member of the iiauze and Blue 400-yard free-style relay quartet which twice this year set new intercollegiate marks for freshmen. Tittle's best performance came at Ohio State last month where Nhe pushed the Buckeye's Halo Hirose to a fast :52 in the 100-yard freestyle race. Tittle finished second to the speedy Hawaiian in the event. At the Conference meet last weekfT'ittle took a fifth in the 50-yard freestyle dash. i .I t. 1 *k l lucboi ' -acs" ,,, f . " . f +i liI u -_ --- -- --- - 11- III 1Ii FILM IS BA(,K.' 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