TIGERFAN'S SPORTING DAILY : FRIDAY OCTOBER 31, 1947
BOXING
PEP TO DEFEND FEATHERWEIGHT TITLE TONIGHT
Between them Willie Pep and Henry Armstrong have a combined record of 53-2 and have beaten virtually every fighter of note in the Featherweight Division. Tonight they will meet for the first time in New Orleans as the undefeated Pep puts his title on the line. Armstrong is 31-2 with both losses coming under controversial circumstances. He was disqualified in a postwar tournament bout against Georgie Hansford and due to a nasty cut above his eye lost by technical knockout to Sandy Saddler last May.
Pep, a 26 year old from Hartford, has made 6 successful title defenses since claiming the belt by winning the postwar tournament. In truth Pep has not been seriously challenged in a fight since fellow New Englander Sandy Saddler gave him a run for his money in the postwar tourney championship bout over a year ago. Pep just seems head and shoulders above everyone else he has fought. Perhaps those easy fights make him ripe for an upset as Armstrong enters the fight having had several tough wins over the past year.
NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
NATIONALS WIN IN CLEVELAND
The Syracuse Nationals won their third straight game, beating the Cavaliers 97-71 in Cleveland. Justin Hild had 27 points to lead the Syracuse attack while center Damond Bothman had 11 points and 17 rebounds. The Cavs, who started the season 7-1, have lost two straight and now lead the Nationals by just a half game in the Northeast Division.
The defending league champion Dallas Chaparrals won 86-73 in Indianapolis to get back to the .500 mark. Forward Joseph Cunningham had 23 points and 14 rebounds to pace the Chaps, who are 6-6 on the season. Center George *Mikan had his 7th double-double in 13 games this season for Indianapolis.
In the only other game the New York Knickerbockers beat the Pistons 106-92 in Fort Wayne. The Knicks blew the game open in the fourth quarter, outscoring Fort Wayne 36-16 in the final 12 minutes.
LAYTON LASHES OUT AT WARRIORS
It appears the honeymoon is over in Philadelphia for John Layton. The pressure has been on the entire team after a dreadful 3-9 start but no one has felt it more than Layton who is struggling after signing a big contract in the off-season. Cleary frustrated, Layton hinted after practice today that everyone might be better off if the Warriors traded him.
"It's tough," said the obviously dissappointed center. "I wanted to do so much to prove to this organization and the fans that picking me up was the right decision. Unfortunately, it just hasn't worked out so far. I hope it will...but with the booing and what has been going on maybe it is best they made a move."
When pressed for an explaination on his thoughts of making a move, Layton decided he did not want to answer any more questions. The Warriors have dropped 6 straight and Layton was booed in each of the last two home games.
A three-time Southwest Conference player of the year and an All-American his senior season, Layton has never really been forced to go through a rough spot in his basketball career. He was eased into the lineup in Dallas last year and once he had some confidence he carried the Chaps to the NBA title. A free agent because he was not drafted and signed just a 1 year deal in Dallas, Layton was the subject of a furious bidding war during the offseason with the Warriors winning out.
So far, the chemistry between Layton and his teammates, particularily guard Anthony Maggs, has not been there and despite averaging 14.1 ppg and 7,3 rpg the second year star has been wildly inconsistant.
YESTERDAY'S RESULTS
Syracuse 97 Cleveland 71
New York 106 Fort Wayne 92
Dallas 86 Indianapolis 73
TODAY'S GAMES
Syracuse at Fort Wayne
Buffalo at Pittsburgh
Kentucky at New Orleans
Milwaukee at Kansas City
Code:
STANDINGS
ATLANTIC GP W L PCT GB
Providence 9 8 1 .889 x
Baltimore 6 4 2 .667 2.5
New York 11 6 5 .545 3.0
Boston 7 3 4 .429 4.0
Philadelphia 12 3 9 .250 6.5
NORTHEAST GP W L PCT GB
Cleveland 10 7 3 .700 x
Syracuse 11 7 4 .636 0.5
Buffalo 8 5 3 .625 1.0
Fort Wayne 8 3 5 .375 3.0
Pittsburgh 6 1 5 .167 4.0
MIDWEST GP W L PCT GB
St Louis 8 5 3 .625 x
Milwaukee 8 4 4 .500 1.0
Indianapolis 13 6 7 .462 1.5
Chicago 6 2 4 .333 2.0
Minneapolis 7 2 5 .286 2.5
SOUTH GP W L PCT GB
Kentucky 12 7 5 .583 x
Cincinnati 8 4 4 .500 1.0
Dallas 12 6 6 .500 1.0
Kansas City 6 2 4 .333 2.0
New Orleans 4 1 3 .250 2.0
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
SOUTHERN CONFERENCE PREVIEW
A balanced conference but one that seldom makes noise come tournament time. This conference represents the second half of the real Southern Conference that had 16 teams playing football in the 1940's. The other half would in the early 1950's break off and become the Atlantic Coast Conference so I seperated the two early to have the proper number of conferences for the Tournament Dreams sim.
Code:
YEAR SOUTHERN CHAMP
1932-33 DAVIDSON
1933-34 VIRGINIA
1934-35 DAVIDSON
1935-36 WILLIAM & MARY
1936-37 VIRGINIA TECH
1937-38 VIRGINIA
1938-39 GEORGE WASHINGTON
1939-40 THE CITADEL
1940-41 VIRGINIA TECH
1941-42 DAVIDSON
1942-43 GEORGE WASHINGTON
1943-44 VIRGINIA
1944-45 DAVIDSON
1945-46 THE CITADEL
1946-47 GEORGE WASHINGTON
SOUTHERN CONFERENCE TEAMS TOURNAMENT RECORDS
NCAA NIT
Davidson 3-7 1-4
George Washington 4-5 10-6
Virginia 3-5 0-4
VMI 2-2 0-4
The Citadel 2-2 4-2
Virginia Tech 0-2 0-0
William & Mary 0-1 0-0
Furman 0-0 0-0
SOUTHERN CONFERENCE TEAMS IN NIT TITLE GAME
1938-39 THE CITADEL lost title game to Tulsa
1943-44 GEORGE WASHINGTON lost title game in overtime to Vanderbilt
SOUTHERN CONFERENCE ALL-AMERICANS
1944-45 Jon Thomas George Washington
SOUTHERN CONFERENCE PREDICTED ORDER OF FINISH
1- VMI: After just 1 NIT trip in the first 10 seasons, VMI has made 5 straight postseason appearances. Were 11-3 in conference last season before losing in the tournament title game. The Keydets should battle for the title again this year thanks to a strong club led by seniors Cody McCullum and Raj Lockwood.
2- DAVIDSON: The Wildcats have made 6 straight postseason appearances including a trip to the NIT last year after a 19-13 season. Plenty of talent up front led by senior forwards Don Villegas and Jonah Peterson but the backcourt may be a concern.
3- VIRGINIA: Just one tournament appearance in the past 6 seasons, the Cavaliers have struggled of late and were 12-18 last season. Sigfrid Lewis is a magician with the ball when he is healthy. Lewis missed all but one game last season with a broken leg after averaging 9.1 ppg as a freshman.
4- GEORGE WASHINGTON: Won 20 or more games four of the past five seasons. After a 9-5 conference record last season they won the Southern Conference tournament for the third time in school history. Freshman forwards Jon Fry and Logan McLarry will add depth and the Colonials should have another 20 win season ahead.
5- WILLIAM & MARY: Only postseason appearance for the Tribe came in 1936 when they got hot and won their only conference title. 11-19 last season but that was an improvement on the previous two years. Aside from senior center Cleveland Costa there just is not enough talent to compete for the conference title.
6- FURMAN: The Paladins have never played a postseason game and were 15-16 last year. This could be a long season as they have only two returning starters and little depth.
7- THE CITADEL: Claim to fame came at the turn of the decade when in successive years they went to the NIT title game and then the Sweet 16 the following season. The Bulldogs have won 15 games each of the past two seasons but may be hard pressed to do it again.
8- VIRGINIA TECH: Are 9-22 and 7-21 over the past two seasons with a 4-10 conference record each year. Aside from preseason all-conference selection Andre Bush, there is little talent here and it will be another long season for the Hokies.
PRESEASON ALL-SOUTHERN CONFERENCE TEAM
G Chad Robinson Furman
G Andre Bush Virginia Tech
F Jonah Peterson Davidson
F Cody McCullum VMI
C Raj Lockwood VMI
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
BULLDOG FANS HOPE FOR TREAT AGAINST CLEMSON
This has been a rough year for fans of the University of Georgia football team but the Bulldog faithful are hoping for a Halloween treat when their squad hosts Clemson in one of 4 Halloween night games. Only a Sugar Bowl loss to #2 ranked Notre Dame spoiled a perfect season a year ago for Georgia but with star quarterback Charles *Trippi now plying his trade on Sunday's this season has not been kind to the Bulldogs. Georgia is just 3-3 including losses to SEC rivals Alabama and Kentucky. Clemson enters the game with a 4-1 record.
Clemson at Georgia
Portland at Washington State
South Carolina at Miami (Florida)
Virginia Tech at George Washington
SATURDAY
Alabama at Kentucky
Auburn at Vanderbilt
Brigham Young at Denver
California at UCLA
Colgate at Penn State
Columbia at Cornell
Dartmouth at Yale
Duke at Georgia Tech
Furman at Florida
Georgetown at Boston College
Hardin-Simmons at Houston
Holy Cross at Brown
Idaho at Oregon
Indiana at Ohio State
Iowa at Purdue
Iowa State at Oklahoma
Kansas State at Kansas
Marquette at Michigan State
Michigan at Illinois
Mississippi at Louisiana State
Mississippi State at Tulane
Navy vs Notre Dame at Cleveland
Nebraska at Missouri
New Mexico at Texas-El Paso
New Mexico State at Arizona State
Northern Iowa at Drake
Oklahoma State at Temple
Oregon State at Stanford
Pennsylvania at Princeton
Pittsburgh at Minnesota
Richmond at Virginia
Rutgers at Harvard
San Francisco at Santa Clara
Southern California at Washington
St. Mary's at Detroit Mercy
Syracuse at Lafayette
Tennessee at North Carolina
Tennessee-Chattanooga at North Carolina State
Texas at Southern Methodist
Texas A&M at Arkansas
Texas Christian at Baylor
Texas Tech at Rice
Utah at Colorado
Utah State at Montana State
Virginia Military Institute at Davidson
Wake Forest at William & Mary
Washington & Lee at Army
West Texas A&M at Northern Arizona
West Virginia at Maryland
Wichita State at Tulsa
Wisconsin at Northwestern
Wyoming at Northern Colorado
Nevada at St. Louis
NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE
TSN WEEKEND PICKS
Last week I was 7-5-1 to bring my total for the year to 23-17-2. Not outstanding but certainly acceptable. Let's see how this week plays out.
Code:
WEEK 11 PICKS SPREAD TSN PICK
San Diego Chargers (3-5) at Kansas City Chiefs (6-2) -3 Chiefs -3
Tennessee Titans (6-2) at Indianapolis Colts (2-5-1) 2 Titans -2
Jacksonville Jaguars (5-3) at Houston Texans (4-3-1) 1 Jags -1
Cleveland Browns (4-4) at Baltimore Ravens (7-1) -6 Browns +6 to cover
New Orleans Saints (6-3) at Carolina Panthers (1-8) 6 Saints -6
Arizona Cardinals (2-6) at Seattle Seahawks (4-4) -7 Cards and the points +7
San Francisco 49ers (5-3) at St. Louis Rams (5-3) -6 Niners rebound +6
Philadelphia Eagles (7-1) at Dallas Cowboys (2-6) 2 Eagles too strong -2
Detroit Lions (3-5) at Minnesota Vikings (2-6) -5 Lions +5
Chicago Bears (6-2) at Green Bay Packers (7-1) -8 huge spread Bears to cover
Pittsburgh Steelers (3-5) at Cincinnati Bengals (5-3) -1 Bengals -1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-5) at Atlanta Falcons (6-3) -6 Bucs to cover +6
Washington Redskins (3-5) at New York Giants (3-5) 3 Skins and points
Oakland Raiders (4-4) at Denver Broncos (3-5) 3 Broncos +3 at home
CANADIAN FOOTBALL
IMPERIALS FINALLY GET FIRST VICTORY
A late touchdown pass lifted the Sarnia Imperials past the Ottawa Trojans in Ontario Rubgy Football League action. The victory, Sarnia's first of the season, ends the Trojans chances of finishing second and getting homefield advantage for the first playoff game. In the only other game yesterday Toronto Balmy Beach beat Windsor 6-3 in a defensive struggle.
YESTERDAY'S RESULTS
Sarnia 24 Ottawa Trojans 20
Toronto Balmy Beach 6 Windsor 3
TONIGHT'S GAME
Winnipeg at Calgary
SATURDAY'S GAMES
Toronto Argos at Ottawa Rough Riders
Hamilton Tigers at Montreal
SUNDAY'S GAMES
Edmonton at Calgary
Sarnia at Toronto Indians
Ottawa Trojans at Toronto Balmy Beach
Hamilton Wildcats at Windsor Royals
Code:
ORFU W L T PTS
Ham Wildcats 7 2 0 14
Tor Balmy Beach 7 2 0 14
Windsor 6 3 0 12
Ott Trojans 5 4 0 10
Tor Indians 1 8 0 2
Sarnia 1 8 0 2
IPRFU W L T PTS
Montreal 10 0 0 20
Argos 5 5 0 10
Ham Tigers 3 7 0 6
Ottawa RR 2 8 0 4
Western W L T PTS
Edmonton 9 3 0 18
Winnipeg 9 3 0 18
Regina 4 9 0 8
Calgary 2 9 0 4