TUESDAY, JANUARY 5, 1954 =',7,r.-t'em' ___ r..TV t'.4.c• -,•;1.: . ;.;' , 4 i-fs 4 , f!' , '-,. ..,-, z. ,, >..., t' . ; e:4 . . r .; . t. , ~.-y..../ . .1 k .,..* $:;.f...i...t i S . 9 am s • . . 4,,,, f;:s ;. ,,, 'A P. . `,- ~ ,, , ' l ong : ,:,-)Fi:...-, , ,, 1,:1 , :5; v ' 4. '; ' , C <S74 1 e;` ' q ; '. .... ~ ,: M. ) BY BAH PROCOPIO t' .., • .. ~ ; ..,-, , . , Collegian Sports Editor a" .., -.:,.:-.1... ~ : 7:: . • .• "Always" There's no justice in polls—basketball, football, or what ever sport it may be. Some days the nationally ranked teams can't buy a notch Some days they're loaded. Take fqr example Kansas basketball team. Most quin tets in the early poll had at least two games under their belts, This is not unusual. Ranking fifth in the nation with five first place votes was Kansas. Well, this isn't unusual for a team either. But, did you know that at the time Kan sas had a 0-0 record? Every year the bowl outcomes make the news services' ratings look sickening. This year the case of ulcers remained. West Virginia, defeated decisively by South Carolina (ranked nowhere), was still invited to a bowl game despite its flimsy schedule. Listed tenth in the nation by the Associated Press, the Mountaineers were victims of the worse—the highest score rolled up against any Sugar Bowl opponent. Maryland, the nation's number one team, was defeated by the Sooners of Oklahoma, not only in the score, but in the statistics. Here at Penn State we find an excellent example of poor selections made by the news services. Two yars ago, one of our predecessors--Ernie Moore—wrote the following column which can be applied to many cases where publicity is lacking and where teams are handed mythical championships on silver platters. "Some days you can't make a nickel," Moore wrote. "Take the case of Perin State's basketball team. Last Wednesday night, the Lions defeated West Virginia on the Rec Hall court, 84-65. The loss was only the third suffered by the Mountaineers all season, but it was the second defeat hung on them by the Lions. "On Saturday, the Lions hardly worked up a sweat in turning back Pittsburgh, 24-9 (game that Doc Carlson put on his famed freeze) for their second win of the week. "The Associated Press came out , with their final weekly basketball poll yesterday and what happens? Penn State drops two places to 23rd. West Virginia moves up a notch to ninth. "A West Virginia fan would say. 'Well, State was lucky be cause Workman didn't play much. West Virginia has a better team than Penn State!' "So what. Like the guy from Missouri, you have to show us. You've heard the phrase, 'A man is innocent until proven guilty.' Well, in our way of thinking Penn State has a better basketball team than West Virginia until West Virginia proves otherwise. Remember, Penn State defeated the Mountaineers twice—once in Morgantown. "Yet, in the poll, West Virginia is ninth; Penn State is 23rd, "But there is a method behind this poll madness. The AP ratings are determined by votes of member newspapers. Morgan town is a fairly big city, and there are many large towns in the vicinity. Therefore, there are . a lot of newspapers. "Besides, West Virginia iias one big basketball school—West Virginia University. The local votes aren't disturbed among a lot of schools, The result? West Virginia U. has a large vote backing. "Who votes for Penn State? The Centre Daily Times and pos sibly a few newspapers around the central part of the state. What about Pittsburgh and Philadelphia papers?. Pittsburgh worries about Pitt and Duquesne, Philadelphia worries about St. Joseph, Villarpova, Temple, and Penn. "What's the result? West Virginia ninth; Penn State 23rd," Moore concluded. What's the overall result? There's no justice in p0115..---barring none. Basketball Coach Elmer Gross, Penn State basket ball chief and World War II Pur ple Heart veteran, is in his fifth year as head coach. Virginia Boxing Tilt Changed Penn State athletic officials have agreed to switch the scheduled boxing meet with the University of Virginia from State College to Charlottesville Feb. 27. The Virginia boxing match was originally one of thr e e home contests for the Nittany boxing squad. The Lions will be hosts to Michigan State, in the season opener Jan. 30, and to SyracUse two weeks later, Feb. 16. Harold R. Gilbert, assistant director •of athletics,' s aid a se ri e s of cancelations left Virginia with only one home meet and Cavalier officials asked for the change to build interest in the Eastern title tournament slated for Char lottesville in March. Gilbert pointed out that the change will detract from the home schedule in 1954 but im prove the centennial slate in 1955. The Cavaliers readily agreed to the latter switch. ---30---- IM Schedule Is Resumed With the arrival of a new year and the continuation of the pres ent semester,• Penn State's intra mural program continues in full swing. Prior to the holiday vacation, a very successful boxing cam paign was concluded with the fi nals—held on the night of Dec. 17 at Rec Hall. Eight fraternity champions were crowned and three inde pendent pugilists also gained the coveted positions. The basketball program is cur rently nearing its completion, with the finals probably to be held in the early part of March. At the present, all eyes are fo cused on last year's champs—the Sinkers and Phi Sigma Delta. The Sinkers have ruled the independ ent 'court scene for two seasons and are out to lay claims to a third. IM wrestling is slated to get underway at the start of the spring semester. Last years fra ternity champions, Sigma Nu, al :though pressed closely by Pi Kap pa Phi and Chi Phi, will be out to repeat last years performance. THE DAILY COLLEGIAN, STATE COLLEGE, PENNSYLVANIA Cornell New Lion As the curtain goes up on the 1954 collegiate wrestling drama, all eyes will be fo cused on the release of new, talent in Penn State's heavier weights. The setting is Rec Hall where two of the finest teams in the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association's history Penn •State and Cornell will perform. The dual meet Saturday night will mark the Nittany Lions '54 debut, while for the matmen of Cornell it will be their fourth of the campaign. As one scrutinizes Penn State's'wrestling roster, he finds that it is in the heavier divi sions that Coach Speidel was weakened via graduation. His losses include NCAA cham pion, Hud Samson, and Co-captains Joe Lemyre and Don Frey. All three had much to say for the Lions' outstanding achieve ments Cagers To Battle Syracuse (Continued from page six) taled 23 points, nine of them com ing from the foul line, and Ron nie Shavlick who added 22 more to the Wolfpack attack. Syracuse Improved In tomorrow night's colitest, the Lions will face one of the most improved teams in the East. After winning only seven of 20 contests last season, including two losses at the hands of the Nittanies. Coach Marc Guley's quintet al ready boasts a 6-3 record. Last season the Lions mauled the New York club, 71-62, and then edged it in the second contest, 78-74. Six lettermen form the nucleus of Guly's, including for Ward Mel Besdin and center Dave Kline, both of whom scored over 250 points last season. Kline, a 6-5 Junior, is a top-rate rebounder. Besdin stands at 6-3. Rounding out the first five will be Ron Kil patrick, 6-3, and Jack Lamed, 5-11, at the guards, and Manny Breland, 6-2, at the other forward. Arnelle Top Scorer The Lions will once again be looking to Arnelle for the biggest share of the scoring punch, al though Weidenhammer, Sherry, and Haag, have all shown that they can step in and take up the slack. Arnelle leads the individ ual :.-,coring after four games with 72 points and an 18 point per game average. Haag, second, averag ing 12.2, Weidenhammer is third with 11 markers per contest, and Sherry rounds out the top four with a 9.7 average. The Grossmen have scored a to tal of 277 points for a 69 point average and have held their oppo nents to 62.2 points per game. Summaries American U. fg f t Greenf'd,g 1. 1-1 3 Parker,g 0 4-7 4 Dely,g• 2 4-6 8 Williams,c 4 0-0 8 Selby,c 2 4-6 8 Hevener,f 7 6-8 20 NicPherson,f 0 0-0 0 Baer,g 0 1-2 1 Ryland,f 0 0-0 0 Penn State fg f tl Weid'h'r,g 3 2-2 8 Edwards,g 2 1-1 5 Hang,g 3 0-1 6 Brewer,g 1 4-6 6 Arnelle,c 5 3-6 13 Rohland,c 0 3-4 3 Sherry,f 6 0-2 12 Christ'sn',f 1 1-3 3 Blocker,f 4 0-0 Binrisa,f 0 1-4 1 I Totals 16 2040 52 __ 15 ' 21 12 17-65 __ 12 14 9 17-52 North Carolina Totals 25 15-30 65 Penn State American U. Penn State fg f t Weid'h'r,g 8 0-0 16 Edwards,g 1 0-0 2 Hang.g 7 3-5 17 Brewer,g 3 3-3 91 Arnelle,e 7 1-3 15 Rohland,c 0 0-0 0 Sherry,f 4 2-3 10, Blocker,f 1 2-4 4 Marisa.,f 0 1-1 1 fg f t Thompson;g 7 9-11 23 Tyler,g ' 5 2-6 12 Shaylick,g 9 4-7 22 Gotkin,f 6 5-9 17 Molodet,f 4 3-8 11 Bell,f 2 0-0 4 Applebaun,f 0 0-0 0 Totals 31 11-19 74 Totals 33 23-41 89 Penn State 17 18 26 13-74 North Carolina 24 21 23-39 Twins Are Co-Captains Only twins ever to serve as co-captains of a Penn State ath letic team, Al and Frank Wick, will share leadership of the 1954 gymnastics team. - - It', “i-- , . , ‘t-- ..,:c -, ~, 2 ..,, .•-'. ,4 el- N ELW - t- ,c:- o 2 ~, 1.. , l eg ' e D ine r ` 1 sid6llk , Ci47ttexSe;rvie ?-- 2 ;:'1,:7;, . , f:Dr ' ' . - FREEZER FRESH I. , 'CE • CREA M , • - , , . , (' Between- The Mores 1 -- - , ',- • - , '..: Will Test Talent EIWA Champs If Speidel were making out his yearly profit and loss statements, the lighter weight wrestlers would undoubtedly fit nicely on the as set side. For it would include matmen like EIWA and Co-cap tains Dick Lemyre and Jerry Maurey, Bob Homan, Larry For nicola, and Doug Frey. Against Cornell Saturday, Spei del will have to depend upon the aforementioned standbys. Because of the Christmas holidays, the Lions couldn't have any intra squad competition, In the 123-pound division Ho man finds his competition in Hal Byers and Bill Cramp. Cramp wrestled last year in the Nation al's 115-pound class. Fornicola Unbeaten Fornicola is capable of substi tuting for Lemyre and Maurey in the 130 and 137-pound divisions, respectively. Bellefonte's Forni cola wrestled against Navy. Penn, and Syracuse last year and was triumphant in each endeavor. The 147-pounders find Pete Huey, Ted Klein, Bill Krebs and regular starter Doug Frey. George Dvorozniak is the only regular in the 167 class, and is only eligible for three dual meets. He will graduate this semester. Heavier Classes Undecided From the 157 to the heavy weight class the Nittany Lion mentor will have to juggle his aspirants. Frank Maclntire, Bob Grubb, Bob Winters, and Ted Ruckett will be seeking 157-pound berths. Dick McFeely, Bob Sny der, and Doug Melvin are in search of the 177-pound position. In the heavyweight class, where Penn State has been outstanding throughout its wrestling history, will find three sophomores—Bill Oberly, Frank Olney, and Jim Harding. PAGE SEVEN One-Platoon Not Likely To Change CINCINNATI, Jan. 4 (/1') —ln spite of the pained expressions worn by some die-hard coaches here, there is little likelihood that a change in the football substi tution rule will be recommended this year by the American Foot ball Coaches Association. Tomorrow's all-day session of the AFCA rules committee, which is empowered only to make rec ommendations to th e. national committee, is the first big event of the week of meetings which has drawn more than 1200 college athletic leaders here. Meanwhile, Lou Little of Col umbia, chairman of the coaches rules committee, came in with the news that a questionnaire circu lated among the coaches ha d brought an "overwhelming" re sponse in favor of the 1953 limit ed substitution. Final tabulation of the replies was to be made tonight, but Little said that more than 80 answers had been received from about 1000 eligible coaches and that a large majority favored retaining the rule as it now stands, A good many favored some modification such as allowing two or three substitutions at a time but no platoons—and others favored eliminating the four-min ute period at the end of each half. Whether the ethics committee, headed by Bill Murray of , Duke, will decide that the much-dis cussed "fake" injuries come under its jurisdiction is doubtful.
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers