Show T P Why Not Give Frenchmen Chance L GRANTLAND RICE RICE- By Y A SMART YOUNG MAN O ONLY with the expanding energy of Jim Norris International Boxing Club president would even tackle the fight light game tangle as it is to to- day It happens to be twisted into a greater number of knots than a y f medley of pretzels 1 is Here a game t without a heavyweight heavyweight heavyweight heavy heavy- weight w who h o can r et fight a s snarl n a r 1 in inthe 1 the stronger middleweight middleweight middleweight mid mid- division and two good fighters fighters fight fight- ers in Pep and Saddler who want two mints for what Grantland Rice is now getting toto toto to toto to be doubtful entertainment Here is just one example In the I middleweight set the worst two I fighters are the ones elected to I meet for the title title title-LaMotta LaMotta and Graziano I doubt very much that either could handle Ray Robinson welterweight champion Robert Villemain or Laurent Dauthuille Robinson and Villemain are both much above the LaMotta- LaMotta Graziano average LaMotta w who h o is t the h e middleweight champ has slipped a long long longway longway way downhill s sin since I n e c e he was fighting Robinson years ears ago and Rocky Graziano has dipped I just as far This was the division division divi divi- sion that was supposed to feature lea fea ture all boxing programs for 1950 Or at least feature most of them since the middleweights middleweights middleweights middle- middle weights had more stuff to of of- fer Philadelphia has grabbed off oU the best show of ot the lot in Robinson and Villemain so far as actual ring skill is concerned but there is no title involved It is an odd angle that a fighter of the LaMotta type should be beable beable beable able to tie tic up the one good division left to a game that seems to be reeling in the dark The two Frenchmen have been tossed around and yet either is a better fighter than LaMotta is today The Philadelphia show is about as good goodas as the game can offer right now but what it means in the way of dissolving Jake LaMotta is another guess Both LaMotta and Graziano were much higher in the scale some years ago Neither could ever be accused of being another another another an an- other Benny enny Leonard or another er cc Greb But ut in their own rough and rowdy way they knew how to be effective e Both have lost the reflexes and resiliency of ot younger years and appear to be waiting for the axe The Television Angle AngleBack Back around the hazy year known as 1893 in Baltimore there was a move on the part of the ball club to keep baseball writers out of the park The idea was that people had to come to the park to find out who won This suggestion was quickly thrown out Who would go to toa toa toa a ball game when he could sit at home and hear every play for no cost Larry MacPhail was one of the first to prove this theory was incorrect Radio Rado Ra Ra- Ra- Ra dio dlo do was a big baseball boost Now television comes under heavy fire When you are able both to see and hear the game it is something different I have never heard as many different different dif dlf dif dif- ferent opinions expressed on one subject The grouping is about as follows follows- No 1 Television will wreck baseball starting with the minor leagues No Television 2 Television 2 will hurt the weaker clubs It wont won't affect the stronger clubs No Television 3 Television 3 will make little difference one way or another after aftergood aftergood aftergood good weather and better baseball arrive No Television 4 Television 4 will help baseball baseball baseball base base- ball in the long run It brings the games to tto thousands of ot new homes It will be even more help than radio was As Larry MacPhail was the first firs to give radio a real trial I asked the former Yankee owner or one of them how he felt about ItI itI it i iI I dont don't think it will make much difference he said Baseball doesn't televise well Id I'd rather hear a game called over radio 0 S The J 1950 Miracle ManFrom Man ManFrom From the extensive domain of ot othis his broad estate in Maryland it seems that Larry MacPhail still keeps an eye on the general scene He is now raising Angus cattle and thoroughbreds and also watching the standing of the clubs in the two leagues especially the Ameri Amen can What do you think he asked of ofa a fellow by the name of ot Bucky Harris If It he isn't the miracle man so far of 1950 who is The raw facts in the case are that for the first five or six weeks of the new season Bucky Harris has come through with the finest job in En baseball He had a team that was expected by practically everyone to dive for forthe forthe forthe the cellar on opening day and stay there until Octobers October's leaves ar ar- ar- ar rived But here after close to 30 games a pretty sound test Bucky and his bunch have spent most of the time hobnobbing with the Yankees Tigers Red Sox and Indians In the aristocrats of ot their league |