Show I Pro Football Awaits Big Bi Season I By GRANTLAND RICE RICE- A TN IN A FEW DAYS NOW close to a thousand mammoths mastodons and gazelles will be turned loose on the public domain These represent represent sent the pro foot- foot football football football ball crop for 1950 with peace finally established There The T h e r e will be 13 teams in inaction inaction action where each squad s qua d will be belarge belarge belarge large at least in inthe inthe inthe the earlier days of x practice before b e for f o r e ethe ethe the pruning knife Grantland RIce falls Just what the aggregate weight of these 13 squads will willbe willbe willbe be is beyond our guess but the weights run from to pounds and there are arc more players over than under The 13 head coaches and their aids have a tough job to face Cace in reducing the oil and fat content where steaming blubber blubber blubber ber must be taken off oU in tons The new season will open with a Philadelphia explosion where w her h e r e Eagles and Browns are figured to draw some clients So many players good and average have been shifted around back and forth that th t it is only a raw guess now to start picking any winners but you can be pretty sure the Eagles Browns and Bears will willbe willbe willbe be up there Bo McMillin's Detroit squad will be another effective out out- outfit outfit outfit fit especially with Leon Harts Hart's pounds in the cast Hart lIart may not weigh quite that much but it wont won't be far away according to Frank Leahy's judgment last fall The boy is still stin growing Frank said when Hart reached He is only 20 years old v Among those who will be fea fea- featured featured featured this season are Van Buren of the Eagles Lujack of the Bears Bears' of the Rams Graham of the Browns Conerly of the Gi Gi- Giants Giants Gi- Gi Giants ants and other oth r good passers with the Yankees Colts etc Both leagues are well fixed for passers but the Eagles still look to have lave the better passing and ruining rUI combination for an around all-around at at- tack The others however getting first call in the draft have all been well strengthened where Greasy Neale had to stand pat pat pat-or or nearly so The Williams Goal Ted Williams has apparently fixed both eyes on the Babe Ruth run home-run mark of 60 Ted sensed the fact that 1950 was about as good goad a season as any other with the ball at least giving a good imitation of jack jackrabbit jackrabbit jackrabbit rabbit in action Ted also remembered that he isn't getting any younger He will willbe willbe willbe be 32 years old in October which isn't venerable but which also isn't too youthful In other years Ted has mixed his run home-run hitting with more atten atten- attention attention attention tion to mere base hits This season he is really giving it the full treat treat- treatment treatment treatment ment at a time where as Ford Frick says Even the pitchers are trying for home runs Williams will have plenty In Inthe Inthe Inthe the way of competition the rest of the way from Rosen Kiner Dropo Stephens Campanella Snider and a few v others in in- including including Including DiMaggio and Easter But from the way long Ted is taking his cut at the ball he is the one more likely to reach the goal if anyone docs does Ralph Kiner is leading the Na Na- National National National league and he is sure to pick up his pace later As a rule he falls Into the groove after July Fourth A year ago he hit 20 home runs the last 30 days of the sea sea- son The same output in 1950 might just push Kiner over the top He is the one drawing factor the Pirates have left for the season It might interest Joe McCarthy to know that no manager ever left the scene with a better press than the departing Red Sox leader drew around the circuit Maybe a manager wins who who wins nine pennants and seven world series doesn't need too many boosts boasts What's With Baseball It has become pretty evident that something has been shaken loose from the baseball we all knew as it is now played in the two big leagues and the leading minors Either an extra charge of TNT has been inserted in the ball or an extra zip has been removed from pitching arms something is wrong to to break the news mildly We have the Red Sox scoring 20 runs against the Browns in one game and a day later the Red Sox piling up 29 runs against the same team Then the Cleveland Indians pile up 14 runs in the first inning against Mr Macks Mack's disintegrating who have hit the soapy chute at record speed Is this baseball or cricket Scores ranging from Crom 12 to 16 runs are common Few pitch pitch- pitchers ers ever complete seven inn- inn innings ings The pitching cant can't be that bad The war has been over five years So the war cant can't be used as asan asan asan an alibi aI bi for so much inferior play play- playing playing ing all over both leagues |