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Show Pi V J CfiAVJUSD I sVI 4CE Jk j$k "pHIS has been an odd and un- guessable season in college football, foot-ball, outside of Army and Notre Dame, but its greatest mystery . .i.-ji-.-. moves in the direc-1 direc-1 tion of the Rose NJ Bowl, the Pacific Coast conference j aW W a"d the B'g N'ne- ss3( wsv i j Here we have some- j C 'sjs A thing that passes all I .:- understanding.lt; i was perhaps a trifle . vvY 1 ,00lish in the first rVV' place to think that r.VWJ the Big Nine would k. pass up the $100,000 1 Crantland Rice or more u cou,d co1- led from the coming com-ing Rose Bowl game and give Army j its proper chance to meet the wishes j of both U.C.L.A., Southern Califor- ! nia, the entire west coast and practically prac-tically 100 per cent of this country's football lovers. The Big Nine's only interest was in $100,000. This can be understood in a great game that is getting to be more and more commercial, with sportsmanship now a mere sideline. The Big Nine is not alone In this commercial angle, although it Is one of the leaders. But what we can't understand Is how the Pacific Coast conference suddenly turned and passed over the Rose Bowl to Big Nine control. For many years the Rose Bowl delegation has been trying try-ing to get the Big Nine in line. A Sudden Change Year after year the Big Nine or the Big Ten has handed the Pacific Coast conference the dead eye and the frozen hand. It has completely ignored the Far West. Apparently Apparent-ly the Big Nine, awaking suddenly to $100,000 revenue which had been going to southern teams, most of them also commercialized, had a startling change of heart. The Big Nine has decided to shut off this revenue from southern teams in the honest belief that such teams were using this important cash to "take care" of players, many of them from the Midwest. But the mystery is this why should the Pacific Coast conference suddenly decide to turn over the running run-ning of the Rose Bowl to the Big Nine, after so many years of backhanded back-handed action? Why should the strong Pacific Coast turn yellow? Every one who follows football knows that Army should have been the only possible selection a great team, playing Its final game, keen to go the team both U.C.L.A. and Southern California wanted. With this chance to regain its bowl leadership, why should the Pacific Coast conference suddenly decide to make this Just another intersec-tional intersec-tional game, secondary once more to the Sugar Bowl as far as class and general interest go? The Major Mystery But this isn't the most baffling point of the five-year arrangement. In the future the Pacific Coast con-ference con-ference will enter its Far West champion. The Big Nine will play its champion the first year but, if this champion repeats, another team will be named. This may be the second sec-ond or third Big Nine entry. It won't be a champion who repeats. And later on the Big Nine will select the opponent to face the Pacific Coast conference champion from the Midwest Mid-west or from the East or from anywhere any-where else. This gives the Big Nine control of the Rose Bowl game, a game the Pacific Coast conference started and developed and placed on top. The Big Nine, hostile to the South's system of paying or recruiting recruit-ing football players, hostile to the South's financial benefit from bow games, now becomes the South's greatest benefactor. From now on the Sugar Bowl, the Cotton Bowl and the Orange Bowl will benefit considerably from the recent Rose Bowl action. The Biggest Thrills This has been a sporting season, now moving swifUy Into ancient history, his-tory, that has known more than its share of ups and down-,, of dull spots and of thrills, of brilliancy and tee. ond rate effort. But, it still has given us sport thrills that will hang on In memory. A few of these In the order of their appearance were: Assault's great stretch run In the Kentucky Derby, the opening shot for the Triple Crown. Two others came In the solitary, but solid, punch that Taml Mauricllo threw at Joe Louis, In the first few seconds of their meeting, and the melodramatic melee between defending de-fending champion, Tony Zale, and challenger, Rocky Grazlano, In their middleweight brawl, a super production produc-tion In Its fashion. Then there was the final game ol the last world series where, In the closing two Innings of the seventh contest, the Cardinals and the Red Sox with sttm Harry Brechren called on for the third stand, put on a show that came near tearing the human pulse out by the roots. The two final thrills belonged to the last two football games I saw: The Pennsylvania-Cornell contest and the Army-Navy game. In each case the underdog, given from 23 to 0 points the worst of It battered and beaten, came from far back to steal the show. |