TIGER FAN'S SPORTING NEWS: A multi-sport dynasty

[Tiger Fan]

I think for the next few weeks of this replay I am going to try something different. Rather than post a once a week article with a little on everything I am going to take the approach of a Daily Newspaper. I am finding only writing once a week there is so much back story I am missing out on. The articles will be much shorter of course, but with a seperate issue covering each day my universe progresses they will hopefully provide a little more detail into the daily events of my leagues.

Feel free to provide feedback after a few issues as to whether you like the new style better or prefer the once a week approach. Also a reminder that reports will be sporadic for the next couple of weeks as I am busy helping out on another project right now.

Another note. I am also planning to expand my universe in the near future by adding the new version of GreyDog Software's Total Pro Basketball into the universe once it is released.

If you have not visited GreyDog's site you should. The new TPB will be their first of hopefully many different sports sim releases. It is located here: http://www.greydogsoftware.com

[Tiger Fan]

TIGERFAN'S SPORTING DAILY : TUESDAY MARCH 20, 1947
SUGAR RAY TO DEFEND WELTERWEIGHT TITLE APRIL 20
Sugar Ray Robinson's camp has announced the World Welterweight Champion will make his first postwar title defense on Friday, April 20th at Philadelphia's Convention Hall. His opponent will be Youngstown, Ohio native Tommy Bell.

Sugar Ray is 11-1 in the postwar boxing association, including an 11th round KO of Mary Servo last September to claim the postwar title. The 26 year old Robinson's only loss during the year-long elimination tournament came by split decision against Charley Fusari, who has since moved up to the middleweight division.

Bell has been very active since boxing resumed in 1945 following WWII. The 24 year old is 27-2 with both losses being split decisions. His most recent defeat was against Johnny Bratton, who is considered the third best welterweight in the world at this time. Bell is ranked 6th in the world.

It is expected Robinson, who has 10 knockouts in his 11 wins, to be a heavy favourite.

GOMEZ TO TRY AND GET BACK ON TRACK IN TAMPA
Heavyweight Tampa Tommy Gomez will try to get back on the winning track this Thursday when he faces Embrell Davidson in his hometown. Gomez was hoping he would be preparing for heavyweight champ Joe Louis instead of a marginal fighter like Davidson. In a fight to determine a future opponent for the Brown Bomber, Gomez was k.o'd in the 9th round of his bout with Ezzard Charles in January.

Gomez is 24-6 but the 27 year old has lost his last 2 fights. Davidson has also lost two straight inclduing a dissappointing defeat at the hands of an aging Archie Moore. The 23 year old Davidson is 25-7 for his career.


NFL DRAFT PREVIEW COMING TOMORROW
The NFL mock draft will be released tomorrow. The Dallas Cowboys own the first pick in the draft and many experts are figuring the Cowboys will take Northwestern 2 sport star Otto Graham first overall. The QB is also an outstanding point guard on the Wildcats basketball squad.

3 PRO BASKETBALL GAMES TONIGHT
A quiet day on the field as there was no action yesterday but the BAA gets back on the court tonight with games at three different venues.

St Louis needs a win to keep their chances of claiming top spot in the West Division alive. The Bombers trail Chicago by a game and a half for the division lead. St Louis travels to Detroit tonight to play the Falcons. The other two games have Cleveland visiting Boston and in a battle of last place clubs the Pittsburgh Ironmen are at Toronto.


There is college basketball action tomorrow night in New York as the NIT semifinals take place. Charlotte meets Temple in the early game while Florida State plays Missouri in the second semi-final


The NHL is off until Wednesday when the clubs will begin the final week of the regular season with all 6 teams in action. Toronto needs just a point at home against Montreal to clinch the fourth and final playoff spot. A Boston loss or tie at the Gardens against visiting Chicago would also eliminate the B's and give Toronto a playoff berth. The other game has Detroit entertaining second place New York.

[Tiger Fan]

TIGERFAN'S SPORTING DAILY : WEDNESDAY MARCH 21, 1947
NFL MOCK DRAFT RELEASED
In preparation for the April 7th NFL draft, TigerFan's Sporting News has released it's projection for the first round. The list is based on who NFL draft guru Syd Nyquist expects to be taken.

The biggest surprise is that Nyquist sees the Dallas Cowboys passing on Northwestern quarterback Otto *Graham and instead taking Michigan defensive end Len *Ford with the first pick.

"Both players have outstanding potential," explained Nyquist. "Personally, I feel Graham has a higher upside but Ford appears ready to contribute much more right away. If it was me picking first I would likely take the QB, particularily with what Dallas has under center right now. However, I believe the Cowboys have to address a defense that was dead last in the league a year ago."

In addition to Graham, Nyquist tabs 3 other quarterbacks to go in the first round. Stanford's Frank *Albert, who has been outstanding in spring drills is projected to go third overall to the Giants. Paul *Governali, who led Columbia to a 5-4 record, and Maxwell Award winner Charles *Trippi of Georgia are also first round material according to the mock draft.

Heisman Trophy winner Glen *Davis of Army should be the first running back off the board with Herman *Wedemeyer of St Mary's and Oklahoma A&M's Bob *Fenimore close behind. Receivers, on the other hand, have really plummetted in the draft if Nyquist's projections are to be believed. A few months ago all the talk was around how 5 of the top 10 picks could be wideouts. However, a combination of injuries, poor showings before the scouts and players rising at other positions makes it doubtful any receiver will go in the top ten. There are a pair of tight ends projected in the top 10 - Army's Hank *Foldberg and Pete *Philos of Indiana.

Here is how Nyquist sees the first round unfolding.

Pick	Team		Player	      Position	College
1(1)	Dallas		Len *Ford	 DE	Michigan 
2(2)	Tampa Bay	Otto *Graham	 QB	Northwestern 
3(3)	New York	Frank *Albert	 QB	Stanford 
4(4)	Green Bay	Ken Murphy	 CB	Southern California 
5(5)	Carolina	Hank *Foldberg	 TE	Army
6(6)	Atlanta		Tom *Hughes	 OT	Purdue 
7(7)	Detroit		Pete *Pihos	 TE	Indiana 
8(8)	Miami		Tex *Coulter	 OT	Army
9(9)	St. Louis	Tommy *Harmon	 CB	Michigan 
10(10)	Buffalo		Glen *Davis	 RB	Army
11(11)	Minnesota	Herm *Wedemeyer	 RB	St Mary's
12(12)	Cincinnati	George *Savitsky DE	Pennsylvania 
13(13)	Seattle		Elmer *Mader	 DE	Michigan 
14(14)	Jacksonville	Paul *Governali	 QB	Columbia 
15(15)	New York	Red *Cochran	 SS	Wake Forest 
16(16)	San Diego	Bob *Fenimore	 RB	Oklahoma A&M
17(17)	Baltimore	Warren *Amling	 OT	Ohio State 
18(18)	Indianapolis	Russell Johnson	 LB	Georgia Tech 
19(19)	Pittsburgh	Ben *Chase	 DE	Navy 
20(20)	Oakland		Don Schlereth	 WR	Oklahoma 
21(21)	Washington	Tom Morris	 CB	Brigham Young 
22(22)	Arizona		Hubert *Bechtol	 WR	Texas 
23(23)	Houston		Charles *Trippi	 QB	Georgia 
24(24)	New Orleans	Camp *Wilson	 WR	Tulsa 
25(25)	Philadelphia	Albert *Nemetz	 OT	Army
26(26)	San Francisco	John *Podesto	 CB	Pacific
27(27)	Tennessee	Elbie *Nichol	 WR	Cincinnati 
28(28)	Kansas City	Vance Steele	 FS	Boston College 
29(29)	New England	Bob *Ravensberg	 LB	Indiana 
30(30)	Denver		Neil *Armstrong	 CB	Oklahoma A&M
31(31)	Cleveland	Jim Hawthorne	 WR	Clemson 
32(32)	Chicago		Armegis Baker	 CB	Virginia Tech

NIT SEMI-FINALS TONIGHT IN NEW YORK
The National Invitational Tournament semi-finals take place tonight at Madison Square Garden. In the opening game Charlotte will meet Temple while the nightcap pits Florida State against Missouri.

Charlotte is trying to make up for a horrible performance in the Sun Belt Conference tournament, losing in the first round cost them an NCAA bid. This is Charlotte's second NIT appearance, having lost in the first round a year ago. Temple has been in the postseason 8 times, including the NCAA's 2 years ago and the NIT last year. The Owls best showing was 1939-40 when the reached the NIT quarterfinals.

This is the 7th straight season Florida State has qualified for postseason action. They made the NIT quarterfinals in 1941-42. Missouri won the NIT 2 years ago and made the field last season.





ST LOUIS CLOSES GAP ON CHICAGO IN BAA WEST DIVISION RACE
Belus Smawley had 15 points and Bob Doll added 12 to lead the St Louis Bombers to a 71-65 victory over the Detroit Falcons in professional basketball action last night. The victory moves the Bombers to within a game of first place Chicago in the West Division. The Bombers have 5 games to play including a contest in Pittsburgh tonight while the Stags have 7 games remaining including entertaining New York this evening.

In other action yesterday Pittsburgh dumped Toronto 71-51 as Colby Gunther had 17 points to lead the Ironmen. The victory, Pittsburgh's 4th in a row, moved the Ironmen out of last place and ahead of Detroit in the West. One other game saw Cleveland dump Boston 71-50. Ed Sadowski led the Rebels with 18 points.


BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA

EAST	GP	W	L	PCT	GB
WSH	56	43	13	.768	x
PHI	56	36	20	.643	7.0
NY	53	26	27	.491	15.5
PROV	55	21	34	.382	21.5
BOS	55	19	36	.345	23.5
Tor	55	14	41	.255	27.5
					
WEST	GP	W	L	PCT	GB
CHI	53	36	17	.679	x
STL	55	36	19	.655	1.0
CLE	54	30	24	.556	7.0
PIT	56	21	35	.375	16.5
DET	55	20	35	.364	17.0

LAST NIGHT'S RESULTS
Pittsburgh 71 Toronto 51
Cleveland 71 Boston 50
St Louis 71 Detroit 65

TONGHT'S GAMES
St Louis at Pittsburgh
New York at Chicago
Providence at Washington

BRUINS FINAL GASP FOR PLAYOFF SPOT TONIGHT
You do not need to tell the Boston Bruins how much of an uphill battle they face in their bid to make the NHL playoffs. "Our margin of error is zero," said goaltender Frank Brimsek. "We know that and we know we need a lot of help. However, we are treating it as we are still alive in this race until someone tells us we are dead."

The Bruins may put on a brave face but the virtually everyone who follows the game says it is over for the Beantowners. Trailing Toronto by 3 points with just two games to play seems to spell the end of the season for Boston. All the Leafs need is 1 point in their final 3 games while the Bruins will have to win both of their remaining games and hope Toronto drops all of their contests. Tonight Boston hosts last place Chicago, a team that dealt the Bruins a cruel blow last week with a 2-1 win in the Windy City. The Leafs host arch-rival Montreal while Detroit entertains New York in the third contest. The Canadiens and Rangers have plenty to play for. New York leads Montreal by 2 points in the fight for second place and the opportunity to play Toronto rather than the Red Wings in the opening round of the playoffs.

[goroyals]

I like the daily format, you can focus on the side sports a little more. Plus, it'll make the MLB very interesting. Keep up the good work.

[Vris]

I like the idea for the daily spots, but it could get a little shortwinded for your tastes. I know you like to elaborate. Whichever you're most comfortable with is what we will read!

[Bobbuttons]

I simply consider it a real pleasure just to read these updates and look forward to every issue. Whichever way suits you better (as I know you have a lot on your plate) is fine with me.

[Tiger Fan]

Wow. thanks for the compliment and feedback. I really am enjoying this but I do want to be sure others are interested in the dynasty.

[Tiger Fan]

TIGERFAN'S SPORTING DAILY : THURSDAY MARCH 22, 1947

LEAFS CLINCH FINAL PLAYOFF BERTH DESPITE LOSS
For the second time in two weeks the lowly Chicago Black Hawks shocked the Boston Bruins. Last night's 4-3 Chicago victory at The Stadium ended the Bruins playoff hopes and allowed Toronto to clinch the final postseason berth.

Chicago scored three times in the second period including Max Bentley's 36th goal of the season that gave the Hawks a 3-2 lead at the time. Boston tied it up in the third period but with the Bruins in desperate need of a victory they pressed the Chicago cage too hard and were caught on a 2-on-1 with just over a minute to play. Doug Bentley made no mistake on the rush and beat Boston netminder Frank Brimsek to give Chicago the win.

Toronto clinches a playoff berth despite losing 3-1 to the Montreal Canadiens in Toronto. Maurice Richard had 3 assists to lead the Habs. Montreal is trying to catch the New York Rangers for second place but the Rangers kept their 2 point lead intact with a 3-1 win in Detroit. Sid Abel's slapshot with 3 minutes to play was the only one of 42 Detroit shots to find it's way past Ranger goalie Chuck Rayner.

Next action is Saturday with a pair of games including Chicago at Montreal and New York visiting Toronto before the season concludes with 3 games on Sunday.

NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE

Standings	GP	 W	 L	T	PTS	 GF	 GA
Detroit		59	35	17	7	77	179	148
New York	58	29	22	7	65	151	143
Montreal	58	28	23	7	63	174	133
Toronto		58	25	28	5	55	159	151
Boston		59	22	29	8	52	144	153
Chicago		58	16	36	6	38	130	208

Last Night's Results
Montreal 3 Toronto 1
New York 3 Detroit 1
Chicago 4 Boston 3

UPCOMING GAMES
Saturday March 24, 1947
Chicago at Montreal
New York at Toronto

Sunday March 25, 1947
Toronto at Detroit
Chicago at New York
Montreal at Boston
End of Regular Season

MISSOURI AND CHARLOTTE ADVANCE TO THE NIT FINAL
It will be Missouri and Charlotte in the NIT title game. Charlotte advanced to the finals with an 81-69 win over Temple. The Owls had cut the gap to 3 points at 69-66 with 4 minutes to play but some costly turnovers and poor shot selection did Temple in. Junior foward Johnny *Bach led Charlotte with 22 points but the key to the victory was the calm play of guard Tom Thompson. The Junior had 17 points and 10 assists while turning the ball over just once in the game.


In the other semi-final, Florida State took an early lead but Missouri went on a 13-5 run midway through the first half and never looked back. Missouri led 39-34 at the break and the second half was all Tigers as Missouri coasted to an 82-47 victory. The biggest difference in the game was Missouri's superiority down low, particularily the play of center Brandon Sharpe who had 14 rebounds and 5 blocked shots. The Missouri offense came from it's senior backcourt duo of Addison Fisher, who had 22 points, and Carl *Meinhold, with 21 points. The other big difference was the work from the charity stripe, where Missouri made 83% of it's 54 free throw attempts in the game. If Florida State went into the contest with the idea of fouling, and they committed 24 more fouls than the Tigers, than it proved to be a terrible gameplan.

Looking ahead to tomorrow's final it is clear that Charlotte will have it's work cut out for them. The biggest question is can Charlotte's sophomore center Clinton Starkin contain Missouri's Sharpe? That may well be the key to the game.

NIT SEMI FINALS
Charlotte 81 Temple 69
Missouri 82 Florida State 47

NIT FINAL Friday March 23, 1947
Charlotte vs Missouri



BAA WEST RACE GETS EVEN TIGHTER
Just percentage points seperate the top two clubs in the BAA West Division after St Louis won while Chicago lost. The Bombers beat Pittsburgh 56-51 despite the absence of St Louis' leading scorer Johnny Logan who missed the game with a minor injury. Bob Doll, with 10 points, was the only St Louis player in double figures but thanks to some outstanding team defense it was more then enough scoring.

Chicago, meanwhile, lost at home to the New York Knickerbockers by a 59-57 score. John Palmer and Stan Stutz each had 11 points to lead the Knicks, who improve to the .500 mark with the win. Max Zaslofsky tallied 15 points for the Stags, who with 2 games in hand, have a slight lead on St Louis in the West Division.

In the only other game, Bob Feerick scored 20 points and reserve Irv Torgoff had a season best 18 to lead Washington to a 94-76 laugher over Providence in the nation's capitol.

EAST	GP	W	L	PCT	 GB
WSH	57	44	13	.772	 x
PHI	56	36	20	.643	 7.5
NY	54	27	27	.500	15.5
PROV	56	21	35	.375	22.5
BOS	55	19	36	.345	24.0
Tor	55	14	41	.255	29.0
					
WEST	GP	W	L	PCT	 GB
CHI	54	36	18	.667	  x
STL	56	37	19	.661	  x
CLE	54	30	24	.556	 6.0
PIT	57	21	36	.368	16.5
DET	55	20	35	.364	16.5

WEDNESDAY'S RESULTS
St Louis 56 Pittsburgh 51
New York 59 Chicago 57
Washington 94 Providence 76

TONGHT'S GAMES
Detroit at Philadelphia
New York at St Louis
Cleveland at Providence


BUFFALO BILLS SIGN QUARTERBACK MATHEWS
One minor signing in the NFL as Buffalo inked a 5 year deal with former Detroit Lion QB Bert Mathews. We say former Lion but in truth Mathews made just one pass attempt in 5 seasons with Detroit, instead spending most of his time as Detroit's number 3 quarterback.

A second round pick out of Florida in 1942, Mathews may get a chance to earn the number one spot in Buffalo. Leon Allen, who started 11 games last season for the Bills, left as a free agent leaving Rod Bird and Bob Parrish to battle with Mathews for the starting assignment.

Bird has started 9 games in 3 seasons with the Bills while Parrish, a third round pick a year ago, started 1 game as a rookie. The Bills may address the QB position in the draft as new coach Hank Williams prefers a vertical passing game but clearly lacks the QB to implement such a plan in Buffalo.



OTHER NOTES
Boxing action tonight from Tampa as Tampa native Tommy Gomez (24-6) faces Detroiter Embrell Davidson (25-7) in a heavyweight tilt.

[Tiger Fan]

TIGERFAN'S SPORTING DAILY : FRIDAY MARCH 23, 1947
MISSOURI AND CHARLOTTE SET TO BATTLE IN N.I.T. TITLE GAME
The Missouri Tigers and Charlotte 49ers are set to take the court at Madison Square Garden in New York tonight. At stake is the National Invitational Tournament Championship. For the underdog 49ers it will be their first national championship game while heavily favoured Missouri has plenty of players with title game experience. The Tigers won the NIT 2 seasons ago with a 83-68 declawing of the Clemson Tigers in the title game.

Missouri has a slight edge in the backcourt with senior's Carl *Meinhold and Addison Fisher but where the Tigers really stand out is up front. Junior center Brandon Sharpe has been a defensive force the past month and looked especially impressive in the last two tournament games where he totalled 22 rebounds and 8 blocked shots.

Charlotte has a balanced offense with all 5 starters averaging between 10 and 14 ppg. Guards Tom Thompson and Ethan Yamamoto have had solid seasons while sophomore center Clinton Starkin has been hot and cold of late. Charlotte has not had a hard time scoring against Sun Belt opponents but they have not seen a defense as tough as Missouri's that often.

Prediction: Missouri 78 Charlotte 69


Other College Notes: The NCAA semi-finals will tip off in Atlanta at 5:45 pm Saturday. Kentucky will meet Holy Cross in the first game while USC takes on Georgetown in the nightcap. The National Championship game will be played Monday evening.



BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA
FULKS' 34 POINTS NOT ENOUGH AS DETROIT TOPS PHILADELPHIA
Despite a 34 point effort from Joe Fulks the Philadelphia Warriors came out on the short end of a 74-71 score at home against the Detroit Falcons. Ariel Maughan had 23 points to lead Detroit with Stan Miasek adding 16. The victory moved Detroit out of last place in the West Division.

New York moved above the .500 mark with a 71-66 win over St Louis. The Knickerbockers went 3-for-3 on their western trip against that divisions top 3 clubs. New York had previously won in Cleveland and Chicago. The loss puts a serious crimp in the Bombers chances of catching the Chicago Stags for top spot in the division.

In the only other game Ed Sadowski and Frankie Baumholtz each had 18 points as Cleveland dumped the slumping Providence Steamrollers 79-58. Providence has just 1 win in their last 8 games.

EAST	GP	W	L	PCT	 GB
WSH	57	44	13	.772	  x
PHI	57	36	21	.632	 8.0
NY	55	28	27	.509	15.0
PROV	57	21	36	.368	23.0
BOS	55	19	36	.345	24.0
Tor	55	14	41	.255	29.0
					
WEST	GP	W	L	PCT	 GB
CHI	54	36	18	.667	  x
STL	57	37	20	.649	 0.5
CLE	55	31	24	.564	 5.5
DET	56	21	35	.375	16.0
PIT	57	21	36	.368	16.5

LAST NIGHT'S RESULTS
Detoit 74 Philadelphia 71
New York 71 St Louis 66
Cleveland 79 Providence 58

TONIGHT'S GAME
Chicago at Toronto


BOXING BEAT
GOMEZ MAKES SHORT WORK OF DAVIDSON
Tampa Tommy Gomez got back on the winning path with a quick second round knock out of Embrell Davidson in Gomez's hometown last night. Gomez, who is considered the 9th best heavyweight in the world, improves to 25-6 with the victory. The win also ends a 2-fight losing streak for Tampa Tommy who was knocked out by number one contender Ezzard Charles in January after losing by TKO to Elmer Ray 3 months earlier. Dvidson's record falls to 25-8.

After feeling each other out in a quiet first round, Gomez came out swinging to start the second, stunning Davidson with a couple of quick hooks. Gomez landed a couple of more solid right hands that wobbled his opponent. With 40 seconds remaining in the round Davidson missed badly and stepped directly into the path of a Gomez cross. It was lights out for Davidson at that point.


FLYWEIGHT CONTENDERS MEET IN TOKYO
Tomorrow night two highly touted flyweights will get together in Tokyo. The 23,000 seat Korakuen Baseball Stadium is sold out as Speedy Akira will take on Irishman Rinty Monaghan. Akira, from Yokohama is 15-3-2 and considered the second best flyweight in the world. He fought Yoshio Shirai to a draw last September in a Japanesse Title bout that was considered one of the best fights of the year. Monaghan is ranked 7th in the weight class, but has dropped his last two decisions: to Jackie Paterson in a bid for the British Title and to Ed Doran by TKO in January. Monaghan is 16-4-1 and hoping a victory over Akira will get him closer to a title shot against World Flyweight Champion Teddy Gardner.



NFL - BLANCHARD SIGNS WITH STEELERS
The Pittsburgh Steelers have signed OT LJ Blanchard to a 4 year deal. A 4th year pro from Army, Blanchard started all 16 games for Tennessee last year. Blanchard is expected to start at right tackle for the Steelers in the place formerly occupied by Stephen Jett. Jett is currently testing free agency after failing to reach an agreement with the Steelers. Blanchard will help but the Steelers offensive line still needs upgrading after finishing 29th out of the 32 teams in sacks allowed and 21st in rushing offense.

[Tiger Fan]

TIGERFAN'S SPORTING DAILY : SATURDAY MARCH 24, 1947

For the second time in 3 years the Missouri Tigers are crowned NIT champions. The Tigers proved to be just too strong inside for a gutsy Charlotte 49ers squad. Brandon Sharpe had 9 rebounds and 1 blocked shot despite missing much of the game with foul trouble. In his place, backup center Hunter Moncrieffe was outstanding, grabbing 6 boards and getting three blocked shots to go with his 5 points in 16 minutes work. Senoir forward Mike Pankeman also picked up the slack in Sharpe's absence, getting 8 rebounds and a block. However, it was little used forward Korey Daniels who was named the game's MVP. Daniels was 8 of 11 from the field, added 5 rebounds and 2 blocked shots to his 17 point outburst. During the season Daniels barely topped the 5 ppg mark.

Things looked good early for Charlotte. After Sharpe is sat down with 2 quick fouls a 7-0 run gave Charlotte 18-8 lead at 10 minute mark. Missouri recovered somewhat and by the half it is 31-27 Charlotte. Tom Thompson and Johnny *Bach have been outstanding for the 49ers in the first half as each has 7 points. Thompson also has added 5 rebounds. As for Missouri, Korey Daniels leads the way with 9 points but the absence of Sharpe for much of the first half has hurt the Tigers.

Some strong 49ers defense by Ethan Yamamoto and Thompson creates a couple of Missouri turnovers and before the half is 5 minutes old the Charlotte lead is stretched to 11 points. Next it is Missouri's turn to get hot and in particular guard Carl *Meinhold. Meinhold reels off 6 straight points and before you know it the Charlotte lead is down to two points at 50-48. With just over 5 minutes to play Charlotte worked it's way back to a 5 point lead thanks mainly to some sweet shooting from Johnny *Bach, who leads all scorers with 18 points so far. However, Bach would not score again in the game.

By the time we are down to 2 minutes to play Missouri's superior defense has allowed them to tie the game up. Sharpe dominated the boards during this 3 minute run and Meinhold hit a couple of 3 pointers. With 29 seconds to play Missouri goes up 68-65 on a baby hook from Moncrieffe that came after a Daniels offensive board. With 10 seconds remaining Thompson misses a 3-pointer to try and tie the game for Charlotte. Sharpe grabs the rebound and is immediately fouled. Sharpe hits both ends of the 1 and 1 to make it 70-65 Missouri. Yamamoto hit a 3-pointer for Charlotte at the buzzer and the game ends 70-68 Tigers.


Tonight, the attention shifts to Atlanta for the NCAA semi-finals. The nations top ranked team Kentucky meets number 2 Holy Cross in the opener while 4th ranked USC plays number 14 Georgetown in the nightcap.

Here are the alltime NIT title game results:

          NIT FINAL GAME	
1933	Notre Dame 97 Georgetown 81	
1934	Syracuse 73 Kansas State 58	
1935	USC 91 Maryland 41	
1936	Cincinatti 83  Brown 81	
1937	Oklahoma A&M 84 Mississippi St 73	
1938	Utah 77 East Carolina 65	
1939	Tulsa 87 The Citadel 69
1940 	Cincinnati 84 Rhode Island 71
1941	LaSalle 80  Cincinnati 68	
1942	Idaho 78 South Carolina 76	
1943	Michigan State 82 Rutgers 73	
1944	Vanderbilt 84  George Washington 82	
1945	Missouri 83 Clemson 68	
1946	Middle Tennessee State 83 St John's 59	
1947	Missouri 70 Charlotte 68

BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA
The Chicago Stags hammered the hometown Toronto Huskies 74-47 in the only game on the BAA schedule last night. The victory moves the Stags a game closer towards clinching the West Division title. Chicago is tied with St Louis in victories with 37 but the Stags have 5 games remaining compared to just 3 for the Bombers. St Louis and Chicago wind up the season with a head to head meeting in the Windy City on April 2nd.

Max Zaslofksy again led the way for Chicago last night, scoring 16 points. Don Carlson with 13 and Chuck Halbert at 12 also hit double digits. Toronto got 11 from Mike McCarron and 10 from Leo Mogus but they received little help from the rest of the roster. There are 4 games on the docket tomorrow including Chicago entertaining Cleveland.

EAST	GP	W	L	 PCT	 GB
WSH	57	44	13	.772	  x
PHI	57	36	21	.632	 8.0
NY	55	28	27	.509	15.0
PROV	57	21	36	.368	23.0
BOS	55	19	36	.345	24.0
Tor	56	14	42	.250	29.5
					
WEST	GP	W	L	 PCT	 GB
CHI	55	37	18	.673	  x
STL	57	37	20	.649	 1.0
CLE	55	31	24	.564	 6.0
DET	56	21	35	.375	16.5
PIT	57	21	36	.368	17.0

FRIDAY'S RESULT
Chicago 74 Toronto 47

SATURDAY'S GAMES
Philadelphia at Providence
Cleveland at Chicago
Pittsburgh at Detroit
New York at Washington


NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
SECOND PLACE AT STAKE AS NHL SEASON ENTERS FINAL WEEKEND
Despite the fact we know all 4 playoff participants there is still a little suspense as the NHL season winds down. The Montreal Canadiens and New York Rangers are duking it out to see who claims second place and home ice advantage for the opening round of the playoffs. The Rangers presently lead the Canadiens by 2 points with each club having two games remaining.

Montreal entertains Chicago in one of two games on the slate tonight before the Canadiens take the train to Boston for a season-ending contest against the Bruins. The Rangers are in Toronto tonight to take on the Leafs before heading home to play first place Detroit in Sunday's finale.

Detroit is guaranteed 1st place while Toronto will definately finish fourth. The second place club gets the Leafs in the first round while the third place team must start with Detroit in the semi-finals.

Standings	GP	 W	 L	T	PTS	 GF	 GA
Detroit		59	35	17	7	77	179	148
New York	58	29	22	7	65	151	143
Montreal	58	28	23	7	63	174	133
Toronto		58	25	28	5	55	159	151
Boston		59	22	29	8	52	144	153
Chicago		58	16	36	6	38	130	208

TONIGHT'S GAMES
Chicago at Montreal
New York at Toronto

Sunday March 25, 1947
Toronto at Detroit
Chicago at New York
Montreal at Boston
End of Regular Season



NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE
The Cleveland Browns announced that they signed two players yesterday. 6'8" offensive guard Dave Conway, a 7th round pick out of Fresno State in 1941, agreed to a 2 year deal. Really just a depth move, Conway will likely not contend for a starting role. He has spent his entire NFL career with Baltimore and made 4 starts a year ago.

Former Minnesota Viking linebacker Chester Jordan signed a 4 year deal with the Browns. Jordan has played exclusively on special teams since being drafted from Texas Tech in the third round of the 1943 draft.

Neither player is expected to have much of an impact. Guard and outside linebacker remain the Browns two biggest needs even after the signings.

[Tiger Fan]

TIGERFAN'S SPORTING DAILY : SUNDAY MARCH 25, 1947
IT'S KENTUCKY VS USC FOR THE NCAA TITLE!
In what many observers felt was the true National Championship game the number one ranked Kentucky Wildcats knocked off number two Holy Cross 78-74 in the NCAA semi-finals at Atlanta. Senior guard Cliff *Baker led the Wildcats with 24 points while Paul *Noel had 17 points and 14 rebounds. A third Kentucky senior, center Jack *Rocker had 16 boards.

Freshman guard Frank *Oftring led Holy Cross with 21 points while team scoring leader Reggie Filer was held to just 10.

It was a game of streaks in first half. Holy Cross on a 12-2 run to lead 29-15 but after a timeout Kentucky responded with 9 quick points to make it 29-24. At the break Holy Cross led 36-32 with freshman guard Bob *Cousy's 9 points and 3 assists leading the offense. Baker had 11 points for the Wildcats at the break.

Cousy would dissapear in the second half, scoring just 2 more points and adding just one more assist. With 15 minutes to go in the second half we were deadlocked at 41. Baker continued to be on fire for Kentucky. His 3-pointer with 1:41 to play made it 71-67 Wildcats and gave Baker 24 points on the night. Sophomore guard Devonte Davis should incredible poise for the Wildcats, sinking 4 key free throws in the final minute.

In the second semi-final USC topped Georgetown 86-73. The game was tight throughout the first 35 minutes until USC erupted for 19 points in the final five minutes to pull out what ended up as an easy victory. The absence of leading scorer junior center William *Towery had little effect on the Trojans who got 10 points and 9 boards from his replacement freshman Joe *McNamee. Junior guard Mike Issacs and Senior forward Daniel Schaller led the Trojans with 21 points each. Josh Camacho led Georgetown, also with 21 points.

Georgetown had led 45-38 at the half. It was the biggest spread to that point as for most of the half the teams were seperated by only a point or two. Camacho led Georgetown with 17 at the break.

In the second half the Hoyas made a couple of runs in an effort to pull away but each time USC responded and the Trojans rallied to take the lead 65-64 with just over 6 minutes to play. It was 67-66 Hoyas with 5 minutes to play before USC went on a 19-7 run to end the game.

USC will be a heavy underdog Monday night against Kentucky.





BOXING NEWS
AKIRA BREAKS HAND GIVING MONAGHAN A TKO VICTORY
It was not the way Rinty Monaghan wanted to get back into the win column but the Irish flyweight will take a victory any way he can. Monaghan was declared the winner of his bout with top flyweight contender Speedy Akira in Tokyo last night after the Japanesse fighter broke a bone in his right hand while connecting with a punch in the 12th round.

Up to that point the fight had been extremely close with Monaghan winning the early rounds only to see Akira pick up the pace starting in round 7. A check of the judges cards showed the fight dead even with each boxer ahead by 1 point on one judges card while the third judge scored the fight a tie through 11 rounds.

It is a dissappointing loss for Akira, who had hoped to for a rematch with Yoshio Shirai to decide the Japanesse title in the summer before the winner of that bout would get a shot at World Flyweight Champion Teddy Gardner. Instead, Akira is unlikely to fight again this year. His record is 15-4-2.

While the victory may not have been decisive for Monaghan, he did show a lot in travelling to Japan and putting up a solid effort against Akira in a hostile enviroment. It helps redeem him for a dissappointing loss to Ed Doran in January. Monaghan is 17-4-1 and now ranked 4th in the division worldwide.


THE WEEK AHEAD - No major fights next week but there will be plenty of bouts between fighters just outside of the top 10 in each weightclass. The next fight involving high ranked fighters is not until Tuesday April 3 when bantamweights Luis Castillo and Luis Galvani meet in Mexico City. Galvani, from Cuba, is 30-4-1 and coming off a split decision victory over Manny Ortiz and is considered the number 1 challenger to Canadian Fernando Gagnon's title. Castillo, a Mexico City native, is 27-11-3 and ranked 6th in the bantamweight division.


BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA
The Chicago Stags missed a big opportunity to get closer to clinching the West Division title as they fell 82-75 on their home court against Cleveland. The loss leaves the Stags just 1/2 game ahead of St Louis in the fight for division supremacy. Cleveland exploited a weak Chicago defense all game as four Rebels scored in double figures including Ed Sadowski and Frankie Baumholtz who led Cleveland with 16 points each. Chuck Halbert also had 16 to lead the Stags.

In other action, Washington got 18 points from Bob Feerick enroute to a 60-45 victory over visiting New York. League scoring leader Joe Fulks had 22 points in Philadelphia's 74-64 victory in Providence and Pittsburgh topped Detroit 52-45 to escape the West Division cellar.

EAST	GP	W	L	 PCT	 GB
x-WSH	58	45	13	.776	 x
y-PHI	58	37	21	.638	 8.0
y-NY	56	28	28	.500	16.0
PROV	58	21	37	.362	24.0
BOS	55	19	36	.345	24.5
Tor	56	14	42	.250	30.0
					
WEST	GP	W	L	 PCT	 GB
y-CHI	56	37	19	.661	 x
y-STL	57	37	20	.649	 0.5
y-CLE	56	32	24	.571	 5.0
PIT	58	22	36	.379	16.0
DET	57	21	36	.368	16.5
x- clinched division title
y- clinched playoff berth

SATURDAY'S RESULTS
Philadelphia 74 Providence 64
Cleveland 82 Chicago 75
Pittsburgh 52 Detroit 45
Washington 60 New York 45

TONIGHT'S GAMES
Detroit at Cleveland
Toronto at St Louis



NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
BLACK HAWKS PLAY SPOILERS AGAIN
The Boston Bruins now have company. The Montreal Canadiens were shocked on Forum ice 5-3 by the lowly Chicago Black Hawks, costing the Habs a chance to move into a second place tie with New York. The Hawks have won just 17 of their 59 games but have come up with three key victories in the past 3 weeks. Each of the previous two weeks Chicago knocked off Boston which ended up costing the Bruins a playoff spot. Now it was Montreal's turn to get upset.

Bill Mosienko had a pair of goals and league scoring leader Max Bentley added a goal and an assist to pace Chicago. Max Bentley's brother Doug chipped in 3 helpers. Maurice Richard led Montreal with 5 shots but failed in his efforts to get goal number 63 on the season. The Rocket did notch one assist.

Richard has rewrote the record book with an amazing 62 goal season, far and away the most goals ever recorded and smashing his own previous mark of 50 set two years ago. He and his two linemates, Toe Blake and Elmer Lach, have combined for an amazing 186 points this season.

The Rangers failed in a chance to lock up second place by losing 5-3 to the Maple Leafs in Toronto. New York had a 3-1 lead after two periods before the Leafs exploded for 4 goals in the third including rookie Howie Meeker's 23rd of the season. Syl Apps had a 4-point night to lead the Leafs.

Everyone is in action as the season concludes tonight. Montreal has a chance to catch New York for second place. If the Canadiens beat Boston and the Rangers lose to Chicago the Habs will claim second based on a better goal differential. Depending on who finishes second the playoffs will begin either Tuesday or Wednesday.

Standings	GP	 W	 L	T	PTS	GF	GA
Detroit		59	35	17	7	 77	179	148
New York	59	29	23	7	 65	154	148
Montreal	59	28	24	7	 63	177	138
Toronto		59	26	28	5	 57	164	154
Boston		59	22	29	8	 52	144	153
Chicago		59	17	36	6	 40	135	211

LAST NIGHT'S RESULTS
Chicago 5 Montreal 3
Toronto 5 New York 3

TONIGHT'S GAMES
Toronto at Detroit
Chicago at New York
Montreal at Boston
End of Regular Season

[TC Dale]

Enjoying this like always TF. Darn Wildcats. They are so going to blow out USC.

Too bad on that injury for Akira.

Can't wait to see more!

[Tiger Fan]

TIGERFAN'S SPORTING DAILY : MONDAY MARCH 26, 1947


RANGERS HANG ON TO SECOND PLACE AS NHL REGULAR SEASON CONCLUDES
Winger Grant Warwick scored two goals to lead the New York Rangers past Chicago 4-3 as the NHL regular season came to an end. The victory allowed the Rangers to hang on to second place in the standings which means they will open the playoffs at home to Toronto on Thursday. Max Bentley had one assist in the game for the Black Hawks, raising his league-leading point total to 89. He wins the Art Ross Trophy, which goes to the league scoring champ, by 4 points over Montreal's Maurice Richard.

The Canadiens beat Boston 2-1 as Richard assisted on both Montreal goals. Elmer Lach and Toe Blake were the Montreal marksmen. Woody Dumart replied for the Bruins but the real hero of the game was Boston goaltender Frank Brimsek who made 47 saves to keep the game close. The Canadiens will open the playoffs at first place Detroit on Tuesday.

In the other season-ending contest, Toronto clipped the Red Wings 3-2 in a game that saw Detroit netminder Harry Lumley turn aside 52 Maple Leaf shots. The Wings, who clinched first place over a week ago, enter the playoffs on a two game losing skid.

Standings	GP	 W	 L	T	PTS	 GF	 GA
Detroit		60	35	18	7	77	181	151
New York	60	30	23	7	67	158	151
Montreal	60	29	24	7	65	179	139
Toronto		60	27	28	5	59	167	156
Boston		60	22	30	8	52	145	155
Chicago		60	17	37	6	40	138	215

NHL LEADERS	TEAM	GP	 G	 A	PTS		
Max Bentley	CHI	60	37	52	89		
Maurice Richard	MON	60	62	23	85		
Ted Kennedy	TOR	60	31	40	71		
Toe Blake	MON	60	18	38	56		
Doug Bentley	CHI	60	20	34	54		
Elmer Lach	MON	60	11	43	54		
Billy Taylor	DET	60	16	37	53		
Bill Cowley	BOS	60	21	25	46
Ted Lindsay	DET	60	34	11	45
Sid Abel	DET	60	30	15	45
Grant Warwick	NY	60	27	17	44
Joe Carveth	BOS	60	25	19	44
Milt Schmidt	BOS	60	12	32	44
George Gee	CHI	60	24	17	41
Bill Mosienko	CHI	60	24	17	41
Woody Dumart	BOS	60	21	20	41
Bill Ezinicki	TOR	60	24	16	40
Bobby Bauer	BOS	60	24	16	40
Roy Conacher	DET	60	31	 8	39
					
Penalty Leaders	TEAM	GP	PIM		
Gus Mortson	TOR	60	126		
M. Chamberlain	MON	60	99		
John Maruicci	CHI	60	96			
Kenny Reardon	MON	60	92			
Pat Egan	BOS	60	92			
Bill Ezinicki	TOR	60	90			
						
GOALIES		TEAM	GP	W-L-T	  ShO	GAA	
Bill Durnan	MON	60	29-24-7	   7	2.19	
Chuck Rayner	NY	59	29-23-7	   7	2.46	
Harry Lumley	DET	55	32-18-5	   1	2.46	
Frank Brimsek	BOS	60	22-30-8	   2	2.56	
Turk Broda	TOR	60	27-28-5	   2	2.62	
Paul Bibeault	CHI	54	14-26-6	   1	3.29

LAST NIGHT'S RESULTS
Toronto 3 at 2 Detroit
Chicago 3 at 4 New York
Montreal 2 at 1 Boston
End of Regular Season

PLAYOFF SCHEDULE

SERIES 'A' Detroit vs Montreal
Tuesday March 27 at Detroit
Thursday March 29 at Detroit
Saturday March 31 at Montreal
Sunday April 1 at Montreal
Wednesday April 4 at Detroit (if necc)
Saturday April 7 at Montreal (if necc)
Sunday April 8 at Detroit (if necc)

SERIES 'B' New York vs Toronto
Thursday March 29 at New York
Saturday March 31 at New York
Tuesday April 3 at Toronto
Wednesday April 4 at Toronto
Friday April 6 at New York (if necc)
Saturday April 7 at Toronto (if necc)
Tuesday April 10 at New York (if necc)



BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA
BOMBERS KEEP UP THE PRESSURE ON STAGS
The St Louis Bombers remain in a virtual tie with the Chicago Stags for top spot in the BAA West Division after St Louis hammered Toronto 70-47. Belus Smawley had 16 points as five Bombers hit double figures in the blowout. The win gives St Louis 38 victories in 58 games. Chicago has 37 wins but the Stags have played two games less than the Bombers.

St Louis visits Detroit on Wednesday before finishing the season at home to Boston on Saturday. The Stags are in Boston tonight and also visit Washington, Philadelphia and Providence to end the season. The first place team will play a best-of-7 series against Washington, which has already clinched the East, for one berth in the league championship series. The second place club will need to win a pair of best-of-3 series in order to reach the league finals.

One other game last night had Detroit upend Cleveland 66-61. Stan Miasek and John Janisch each had 13 points to pace the Falcons. The Rebels were playing without their top scorer, Ed Sadowski, who missed the game with a minor leg injury.

EAST	GP	 W	 L	 PCT	 GB
x-WSH	58	45	13	.776	  x
y-PHI	58	37	21	.638	 8.0
y-NY	56	28	28	.500	16.0
PROV	58	21	37	.362	24.0
BOS	55	19	36	.345	24.5
Tor	57	14	43	.246	30.5
					
WEST	GP	 W	 L	 PCT	 GB
y-CHI	56	37	19	.661	  x
y-STL	58	38	20	.655	  x
y-CLE	57	32	25	.561	 5.5
PIT	58	22	36	.379	16.0
DET	58	22	36	.379	16.0
x- clinched division title
y- clinched playoff berth

SCORING		TEAM	GP	PPG		
Joe Fulks	PHI	56	24.0		
Ed*Sadowski	CLE	53	18.3		
Bob Feerick	WSH	54	17.2		
Ernie*Calverley	PRO	51	14.2		
Stan*Miasek	DET	52	13.9		
Freddie Scolari	WSH	53	13.7		
Frank*Baumholtz	CLE	55	13.7		
Max*Zaslofsky	CHI	54	13.6		
Chuck Halbert	CHI	52	13.3		
Johnny*Logan	STL	50	13.3		
Coulby*Gunther	PIT	58	13.3		
Belus*Smawley	STL	55	12.4		
John*Janisch	DET	53	12.2		
Horace McKinney	WSH	50	12.2		
Leo Mogus	TOR	57	12.0		
Donald Martin	PRO	50	11.8		
Hank Beenders	PRO	54	11.7		
Mel Riebe	CLE	47	11.5		
Don Carlson 	CHI	48	11.4

LAST NIGHT'S RESULTS
Detroit 66 Cleveland 61
St Louis 70 Toronto 47

TONIGHT'S GAMES
New York at Pittsburgh
Chicago at Boston


NCAA COLLEGE BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT
ILLINOIS FORWARD KUKA NAMED NATIONAL PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Senior forward Ray *Kuka has been named the College Basketball Player of the year by the Helms Foundation. Kuka helped the Fighting Illini to a 23-10 record and an NCAA tournament berth. He led the Big 10 in points per game with 17.9 and also averaged 14.8 rebounds per game during the season. Although Illinois lost in the Big 10 semi-finals this season, Kuka had helped the school to the Big 10 title each of the two previous seasons and a final four appearance during his sophomore season.

TSN will announce it's college player of the year and all-star team at the end of the week. The official All-America team will be made public Wednesday.

KENTUCKY AND USC SET TO DETERMINE NATIONAL CHAMPION
Kentucky and USC are preparing to tip off the NCAA tournament championship game this evening. The Wildcats, with 4 seniors who played in the national title game a year ago in their starting lineup, are overwhelming favourites. Kentucky is 37-2 on the season with their losses coming in December at Georgetown and in February against SEC opponent Auburn.

One positive USC can take into the game for motivation is that the Trojans knocked off one of the teams that beat Kentucky in the semi-finals. The victory over Georgetown improved USC's record to 31-6.


MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
NEW FACES ADJUSTING TO SPRING TRAINING
The 1947 baseball season is less than 3 weeks away and all 16 clubs have been busy with spring training for the past couple of weeks. To help you prepare for the upcoming season TSN has compiled a list of five rookies most likely to have an impact in the major leagues.

1- Jackie Robinson 2B Brooklyn Dodgers - No player will have a bigger impact off the field and based on Robinson's on-field performance this spring he will be a runaway winner of the NL rookie of the year award. However, breaking major league baseball's color barrier could have a big impact on the 28 year old. If he can handle the pressure off the field Robinson will be a star.

2- Ferris Fain 1B Chicago White Sox - The 25 year old who was selected second overall in this past winter's draft is already penciled in as the White Sox number 3 hitter.

3- Earl Torgeson 1B Boston Braves - The Braves like this 23 year old slugger so much they are willing to have Rudy York return to catching duties to make room for the first overall pick in the winter draft.

4- Yogi Berra C New York Giants - The 21 year old will begin the season playing against just righty's but if he proves he can handle major league pitching he will have the everyday job by June.

5- Rex Barney P Brooklyn Dodgers - Barney pitched 8 innings with the Dodgers a year ago and Brooklyn management is counting on the 22 year old winning 10-15 games this season as a regular in the rotation.

[Tiger Fan]

TIGERFAN'S SPORTING DAILY : TUESDAY MARCH 27, 1947
A WILDCAT WIN! KENTUCKY CLAIMS NCAA TITLE
The Kentucky Wildcats capped off a nearly flawless season with a 74-70 victory over a gutsy USC squad in the NCAA college basketball title game. USC, motivated by the return to action of leading scorer William *Towery despite still suffering from a broken jaw sustained in the regionals, was in the game right down to the wire but in the end the Wildcats pulled it out.

Towery, who no one thought would play, managed to tough it out all game but he was a shadow of his normal self scoring just 4 points but he did get 7 rebounds and blocked 3 shots. His biggest play was saved for the end when he gave USC a chance to tie the game. Towery came out of nowhere to block a Paul *Noel shot with 24 seconds to play and the Trojans trailing 73-70. Towery also corralled the ball and got it to guard Stan *Christie. However, Noel pressured Christie into making a freshman mistake. Noel stole the ball from Christie with 11 seconds to play and was immediately fouled. He hit the front end of his 1-and-1 to make it a 4 point Kentucky lead and put the game out of reach.

As is their custom the Wildcats used a balanced offense and a high-pressure defense to pull out the victory. Kenny Chilchote easily outmuscled a hurting Towery on the boards, hauling in 17 rebounds. Kentucky also had 11 steals compared to just 3 from the Trojans. Guards Cliff *Baker and freshman Bob *Donham led the scoring parade for Kentucky with 16 and 15 points respectively. Noel and sub Zach Britt each added 10. Baker was named the finals MVP narrowly beating out Chilchote for the honours.

In addition to the morale boost USC received from Towery's decision to play, the Trojans received plenty of motivation from the play of Mike Issacs. The junior guard scored a game high 25 points and consistantly hit the clutch bucket to keep his club in the game. Senior forward Joe Smith made his final college game a memorable one as he did much of the dirty work on the glass, and had 18 rebounds and an amazing 10 blocked shots. The 10 blocks breaks the old NCAA final record for one player of 7 which was accomplished twice including by Joe *Rocker of Kentucky a year ago.



BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA
Chuck Halbert had 22 points and Don Carlson 17 to lead the Chicago Stags to a 78-57 victory over the Celtics at the Boston Garden last night. The victory moves Chicago a half game ahead of St Louis in the battle for the West Division title. The Stags have 3 games remaining while the Bombers have 2 left to play.

In the only other game last night New York dumped Pittsburgh 68-60. The Knickerbockers have already clinched the third and final playoff berth in the East and will face whoever finishes second in the West Division in a best-of-3 series to open the playoffs next week.

Just one game tonight as Boston continues a hectic week with a game in Cleveland. The Celtics play 5 times this week.

STANDINGS
EAST	GP	 W	 L	 PCT	 GB
x-WSH	58	45	13	.776	  x
y-PHI	58	37	21	.638	 8.0
y-NY	57	29	28	.509	15.5
PROV	58	21	37	.362	24.0
BOS	56	19	37	.339	25.0
Tor	57	14	43	.246	30.5
					
WEST	GP	 W	 L	 PCT	 GB
y-CHI	57	38	19	.667	  x
y-STL	58	38	20	.655	 0.5
y-CLE	57	32	25	.561	 6.0
DET	58	22	36	.379	16.5
PIT	59	22	37	.373	17.0
x- clinched division title
y- clinched playoff berth

LAST NIGHT'S RESULTS
New York 68 Pittsburgh 60
Chicago 78 Boston 57

TONIGHT'S GAME
Boston at Cleveland


NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
The puck drops on the NHL playoffs tonight as Montreal visits Detroit in the opener of their best of 7 semi-final. The other series starts Thursday in New York as the Rangers host Toronto.

Here are the 1946-47 final regular season stats

BOSTON BRUINS		 G	A	PTS	PIM
C	Bill Cowley	21	25	46	 6
RW	Joe Carveth	25	19	44	20
C	Milt Schmidt	12	32	44	28
LW	Woody Dumart	21	20	41	16
RW	Bobby Bauer	24	16	40	 0
LW	Bep Guidolin	10	14	24	69
C	Don Gallinger	 7	14	21	 6
D	Pat Egan	 6	15	21	92
LW	Ken Smith	17	 1	18	 2
D	Fern Flaman	 2	12	14	84
D	Murr Henderson	 3	10	13	64
D	Jack Crawford	 0	10	10	10
D	Babe Pratt	 2	 7	 9	30
C	Jack McGill	 1	 5	 6	18
RW	Mark Marquess	 1	 5	 6	 2
					

CHICAGO BLACK HAWKS	G	A	PTS	PIM
C	Max Bentley	37	52	89	10
LW	Doug Bentley	20	34	54	10
RW	Bill Mosienko	24	17	41	 2
C	George Gee	20	17	37	18
LW	Adam Brown	 9	22	31	70
LW	Alex Kaleta	15	13	28	30
C	Clint Smith	 4	13	17	 0
D	Bill Gadsby	 4	 8	12	12
D	Ralph Nattrass	 1	 5	 6	32
D	John Mariucci	 0	 6	 6	96
D	Leo Reise Jr.	 0	 2	 2	20
C	Tom Fowler	 0	 2	 2	24
D	Eddie Wares	 0	 1	 1	18
D	Jack Jackson	 0	 0	 0	36
D	Harry Dick	 0	 0	 0	 4
C	Frank Ashworth	 0	 0	 0	 0

DETROIT RED WINGS	 G	A	PTS	PIM
C	Billy Taylor	16	37	53	26
LW	Ted Lindsay	34	11	45	45
C	Sid Abel	30	15	45	22
LW	Roy Conacher	31	 8	39	 0
LW	Pete Horeck	12	24	36	88
C	Jim Conacher	10	20	30	 4
RW	Gordie Howe	13	15	28	55
RW	Eddie Bruneteau	12	12	24	16
RW	Gerry Couture	 5	19	24	14
D	B. Quackenbush	 3	19	22	 6
D	Leo Reise Jr.	 2	15	17	14
D	Jack Stewart	 6	 7	13	76
D	Al Dewsbury	 5	 4	 9	14
D	Doug McCaig	 1	 6	 7	41
D	Harold Jackson	 0	 6	 6	34
LW	Adam Brown	 0	 1	 1	 8
RW	Tony Licari	 0	 0	 0	 0
C	Pat Lundy	 0	 0	 0	 0
D	Doug Baldwin	 0	 0	 0	 2
					
MONTREAL CANADIENS	G	A	PTS	PIM
RW	Maurice Richard	62	23	85	60
LW	Toe Blake	18	38	56	 2
C	Elmer Lach	11	43	54	22
C	Billy Reay	14	15	29	12
RW	Leo Gravelle	24	 3	27	 2
D	Glen Harmon	 5	20	25	64
LW	M.  Chamberlain	15	 9	24	99
LW	George Allen	 5	16	21	10
C	Buddy O'Connor	 9	11	20	 2
D	Roger Leger	 3	17	20	 6
D	Butch Bouchard	 5	14	19	84
D	Ken Reardon	 0	16	16	92
RW	Jimmy Peters	 6	 3	 9	 6
C	Ken Mosdell	 2	 6	 8	31
LW	Bob Fillion	 0	 0	 0	 4

NEW YORK RANGERS	G	A	PTS	PIM
RW	Grant Warwick	27	17	44	16
LW	Tony Leswick	23	14	37	20
C	Cal Gardner	20	15	35	28
RW	Rene Trudell	17	14	31	24
RW	Bryan Hextall	23	 7	30	 8
C	Edgar Laprade	12	17	29	10
LW	Alf Pike	 6	15	21	 2
LW	Church Russell	14	 6	20	 8
C	Ab DeMarco	11	 8	19	 0
D	Bill Moe	 1	17	18	60
D	Joe Cooper	 2	11	13	58
D	Bill Juzda	 2	 8	10	66
D	Hal Laycoe	 0	10	10	10
LW	JP Lamirande	 2	 3	 5	27
C	Neil Colville	 0	 2	 2	 2
RW	Mac Colville	 0	 1	 1	 0
				 	
TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS	G	A	PTS	PIM
C	Ted Kennedy	31	40	71	 10
RW	Bill Ezinicki	24	17	41	 90
LW	Vic Lynn	 7	29	36	 67
RW	Howie Meeker	23	12	35	 44			
LW	Harry Watson	17	11	28	 14			
LW	Gaye Stewart	17	 9	26	 14			
C	Syl Apps	17	 8	25	  0			
RW	Bud Poile	17	 6	23	 12			
D	Wally Stanowski	 2	17	19	  8			
D	Bill Barilko	 3	15	18	 86			
C	Gus Bodnar	 4	11	15	  4			
D	Gus Mortson	 2	11	13	126			
D	Jimmy Thomson	 1	 7	 8	 48			
D	Garth Boesch	 0	 8	 8	 80			
D	Bob Goldham	 1	 1	 2	 22			
LW	Nick Metz	 1	 0	 1	  0			

								
TEAM	NAME		Min	 W-L-T	  GA 	AVG	SHO	Shots	SvPct
MON	Bill Durnan	3636	29-24-7	  133	2.19	 7	2104	.937
DET	Johnny Mowers	 326	 3-0-2	   12	2.21	 0	 221	.946
NY	Chuck Rayner	3538	29-23-7	  145	2.46	 7	2181	.934
DET	Harry Lumley	3318	32-18-5	  136	2.46	 1	2075	.934
NY	Jim Henry	  98	 1-0-0	    4	2.46	 0	  69	.942
Bos	Frank Brimsek	3637	22-30-8	  155	2.56	 2	3637	.957
TOR	Turk Broda	3623	27-28-5	  158	2.62	 2	2341	.933
CHI	Paul Bibeault	2813	14-26-6	  154	3.29	 1	1954	.921
CHI	Emile Francis	 824	 3-11-0	   58	4.23	 1	 595	.903

BOXING NEWS
German Heavyweight champion Walter Neusel beat Bruce Woodcock of England for the European Heavyweight belt. Neusel won by TKO in the 15th round of their bout in London. The victory improves the German champ's record to 22-6 while Woodcock falls to 11-6-1. Woodcock successfully defended his European title twice before losing to Neusel. While Neusel is undecided who his next opponent will be Woodcock will likely defend his British title against Tommy Farr who he defeated for the British title last September. On the same card last night, Farr won an unanimous decision over Jack Gardner to improve his record to 17-5-3.

Nova Scotia native Terry Warrington won the Canadian Lightheavyweight championship with a 15 round unanimous decision over Eddie Wenstob. Warrington evens his record at 16-16 with the victory. He is not considered even having a remote shot at a World title. Wenstob, a 33 year old from Edmonton, had come out of retirement for this fight. After losing he once again announced his retirement.


NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE OFFSEASON NOTES
It is relatively quiet on the NFL front as teams prepare for the April 7th college draft but four free agents were signed yesterday. The Cincinnati Bengals re-upped a pair of their own restricted free agents. Backup DT David Branch agreed to a 4 year deal. A 1944 3rd round pick out of the University of Pittsburgh, Branch has started 7 games in his two seasons in Cincinnati. Punter Eric Harris also resigned with the Bengals. He will be entering his fourth season in Cincinnati.

Denver resigned center LeRoy Johnson, who started 8 games a year ago. Johnson was a third round pick of the Broncos in 1944 out of Oregon State. One other signing saw New England adding some depth to it's linebacking corps by signing ex-Chicago Bear Fran Mulitalo. A 7th round pick in 1941, Mulitalo started 6 games for the Bears as a rookie but has made just one start in the last 5 seasons.

[Tiger Fan]

TIGERFAN'S SPORTING DAILY : WEDNESDAY MARCH 28, 1947


RED WINGS WIN IN GAME ONE OF SEMI'S IS TAYLOR MADE
Billy Taylor was the Detroit Red Wings most productive playmaker during the regular season and he continued that trend last night in the Motor City as the NHL playoffs got underway. Taylor assisted on the first three Detroit goals as the Red Wings doubled Montreal 4-2 in the opener of their best of seven semi-final series.

The game was scoreless after the opening 20 minutes but not due to a lack of effort from the visitors who peppered Detroit goaltender Harry Lumley with 18 shots in the opening stanza. Detroit managed 8 shots on Montreal goaltender Bill Durnan. The second period also looked like it was going to be a scoreless affair as well, until Taylor set up his winger Roy Conacher for the game's first goal at the 18:22 mark. The third member of the line, Gerry Couture, also drew an assist. Midway through the third period the Wings increased their lead to 2-0 when Conacher again scored thanks to a nifty setup from Taylor. Couture again was credited with the second assist.

9 seconds after the Detroit goal the Habs finally solved Lumley. Leo Gravelle won the face off at center cleanly back to defenseman Butch Bouchard who quickly spotted Billy Reay splitting the Detroit defense. Reay walked in alone on Lumley and made no mistake, cutting the deficeit to 2-1. However, Taylor again had some magic for the Red Wings as he set up Pete Horeck 5 minutes later to make it 3-1 Detroit. Maurice Richard would keep the Habs hopes alive with a goal at 17:34 to again make it a 1-goal game but with Durnan on the bench for an extra attacker Jim Conacher iced the game with an empty net goal.


Lumley, with 42 saves, was named the games first star with Taylor and Roy Conacher getting second and third star respectively. Game two will be tomorrow night in Detroit. The other series between the Rangers and Leafs will also start Thursday, with Madison Square Garden the site of the first two games.

Game Summary

P E R I O D 1
No Scoring
Penalties: Lach Mon (holding) 0:34, Chamberlain Mon (interference)4:01, Lindsay Det (doubleminor charging) 16:02

P E R I O D 2
DET R Conacher 1(Taylor, Couture) 18:22
Penalties: Chamberlain Mon (holding) 15:36, Couture Det (highstick) 18:48

P E R I O D 3
DET R Conacher 2(Taylor, Couture) 10:47
MON Reay 1(Gravelle, Bouchard) 10:56
DET Horeck 1(Taylor) 15:31
MON Richard 1(Blake, Lach)17:34
DET J Conacher 1 (unassisted) empty net 19:33
Penalties : Taylor Det (holding) 6:05

Shots on Goal
Lumley Det 18 9 17=44
Durnan Mon 8 11 16=35


BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA
Just one game in the BAA last night and it had no bearing on the playoff race. The hometown Cleveland Rebels topped the Boston Celtics 60-53 behind 20 points from Rebels star Ed Sadowski. The Rebels have clinched third place in the West and will meet Philadelphia in the opening round of the playoffs.

There are four games slated for tonight including Chicago at Washington and St Louis visiting Detroit. The Stags and Bombers continue to fight it out for top spot in the West Division.

EAST	GP	 W	 L	 PCT	 GB
WSH	58	45	13	.776	  x
PHI	58	37	21	.638	 8.0
NY	57	29	28	.509	15.5
PROV	58	21	37	.362	24.0
BOS	57	19	38	.333	25.5
Tor	57	14	43	.246	30.5
					
WEST	GP	 W	 L	 PCT	 GB
CHI	57	38	19	.667	  x
STL	58	38	20	.655	 0.5
CLE	58	33	25	.569	 5.5
DET	58	22	36	.379	16.5
PIT	59	22	37	.373	17.0

YESTERDAY'S RESULTS
Cleveland 60 Boston 53

TONGIHT'S GAMES
Chicago at Washington
St Louis at Detroit
Boston at Pittsburgh
Providence at New York

GOLF NOTES - RYDER CUP CAPTAINS TO PLAY EXHIBITION IN MIAMI
Golf season is just around the corner and in an effort to promote the first post-war Ryder Cup event it's captains have agreed to an exhibition match-play event the week before the PGA Tour season gets underway.

American captain Ben Hogan and British captain Henry Cotton will compete in a 36 hole match-play event this weekend at the Bayshore Golf Club in Miami. The regular events get underway April 5th with the Greater Greensboro Open to be followed by The Masters the following weekend.


NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE OFFSEASON NOTES
DOLPHINS RESIGN RFA CORNERBACK JAKE BRAXTON
Jake Braxton and the Miami Dolphins have agreed on a contract that should keep the fourth year quarterback in aqua and white for another 7 years. A restricted free agent, Braxton fielded offers from several clubs before deciding to re-up with the team that drafted him from Northern Arizona in the 6th round of the 1944 draft. Braxton started all 16 games a year ago and had 3 interceptions.

Other signings include backup strong safety Pat Simmons resigning with Dallas for 5 years and running back Steve Lloyd signing with the Giants. Bothered by injuries last season Lloyd carried the ball just 29 times for 157 yards. Both players were restricted free agents and had few offers from other teams.

[Vris]

Congrats to Kentucky! A much deserved championship.

I also see that the Patriots are being very quiet in the free agent front. Interesting idea, but the rest of the division seems to be shoring up for the long haul.

I am also disappointed in the Celtics. Hopefully they will be better in future seasons.

[Tiger Fan]

Originally Posted by Vris

Congrats to Kentucky! A much deserved championship.

I also see that the Patriots are being very quiet in the free agent front. Interesting idea, but the rest of the division seems to be shoring up for the long haul.

I am also disappointed in the Celtics. Hopefully they will be better in future seasons.

Vris
thanks for your interest. Things may not look good for the Celtics this year but that could change. I plan to revamp the basketball portion of this replay by adding the new version of Total Pro Basketball from Grey Dog Software (formerly with 400 software). Presently I have been using a quick play dice game but it of course lacks career development of players, trades and has little statistical detail. That will change with the new version as I will be importing rookies directly from my college basketball into the pro game. Right now I am working on the format for the basketball league and trying to decide if I should have just 10 teams or go with a 20 team league. Back to your Celtics. In real life they were quite awful in the original season of the NBA (or BAA as it was then known). They had some strong defense but lacked offensive punch. The dominant team in the East was Washington which was coached by Red Aurebach.

As for the Pats, their offense looks pretty good if QB Bob Irvin and former league MVP RB Mario Glenn (841 yards in 11 games) can both stay healthy. The defense is another story. Retirements and free agent defections cost the Pats two starters and 3 key reserves. Defensive end and cornerback look to be positions of serious need while they could also use another strong outside linebacker.

I am not sure where your college allegiences lie, but Holy Cross, Boston College and Providence all had a strong tournament and Boston University knocked off number two seed NYU.

In baseball this could finally be the year your Red Sox win another pennant. It is the same old story in Boston. The bats are fine led by Ted Williams but can the pitching hold up enough to end the 25 year postseason drought? The Braves are actually envious of the Red Sox postseason success. Last time the Boston Nationals made the postseason was 1906 and they have only finished higher than 5th once since 1933. There are a couple of bright spot, most notably pitcher Warren Spahn, who was a rookie of the year finalist last season, and top draft pick Earl Torgeson.

Sticking with the New England theme I do not need to talk about the collapse your Bruins just had over the final couple of weeks of the NHL season.

In boxing, you have a few New Englanders doing quite well. Hartford native Willie Pep presently is the World Featherweight Champ and Boston native Sammy Sadler is the number one contender in the division. Eddie Compo, from New Haven, is also a highly touted featherweight. Stepping up in weight class, Nathan Mann from Hamden, Ct is still the number 3 ranked heavyweight despite a recent 4th rd ko loss to champ Joe Louis. Lee Q Murray is the 8th ranked heavyweight. He hails from South Norwalk.

Finally in golf you have New Haven's Doug Ford who finished 4th in the British Open at St Andrews last year.

[Tiger Fan]

TIGERFAN'S SPORTING DAILY : THURSDAY MARCH 29, 1947

STAGS AND BOMBERS BOTH LOSE. BAA WEST DIVISION RACE GOING DOWN TO THE WIRE
The Chicago Stags and St Louis Bombers both missed out on an opportunity to turn the heat up on each other. With just 4 days remaining in the regular season the two clubs remain seperated by a half game atop the West Division standings.

Chicago fell 64-55 in Washington against their possible first round playoff opponents. Freddie Scolari had 16 points to lead the Capitols attack. In Detroit, St Louis let one get away against the Cougars, dropping a 50-47 game in overtime. Stan Miasek of the Cougars led all scorers with 16 points.

The Stags have two games remaining: at Philadelphia tonight and in Providence on Saturday while the Bombers will play their final game of the season at home to Boston on Saturday. If the two clubs are tied at the end of the regular season they will play a 1-game playoff in Chicago on Monday. The Stags won a coin toss yesterday to determine who would host the potential 1 game playoff. The division winner plays a best of 7 series against the East Division leader with the winner of that series advancing directly to the league final. The second place team from the east will play a best-of-3 series with the 3rd place team from the west and vice versa. The winners of those two series will meet in a best-of-3 to determine the second participant in the best of seven league final.

In other action last night Coulby Gunther had 16 points to pace Pittsburgh past Boston 53-41 and New York dropped Providence 72-59.

EAST	GP	 W	 L	 PCT	 GB
WSH	59	46	13	.780	  x
PHI	58	37	21	.638	 8.5
NY	58	30	28	.517	15.5
PROV	59	21	38	.356	25.0
BOS	58	19	39	.328	26.5
Tor	57	14	43	.246	31.0
					
WEST	GP	 W	 L	 PCT	 GB
CHI	58	38	20	.655	  x
STL	59	38	21	.644	 0.5
CLE	58	33	25	.569	 5.0
DET	59	23	36	.390	15.5
PIT	60	23	37	.383	16.0

YESTERDAY'S RESULTS
Washington 64 Chicago 55
Detroit 50 St Louis 47 (ot)
Pittsburgh 53 Boston 41
New York 72 Providence 59

TONIGHT'S GAME
Chicago at Philadelphia


PLAYOFF MATCHUPS
SEMI FINAL (best of 7)
Washington vs West first place

QUARTER FINALS (best of 3)
Philadelphia vs Cleveland
West second place vs New York



COLLEGE BASKETBALL ALL-AMERICANS NAMED
A pair of big men from the Big 10 conference head the college basketball All-America team. Illinois power forward Ray *Kuka, the national player of the year, and Iowa center Ray *Ellefson are the Big 10 representatives on the year end all-star team. Kuka, a 6'9" senior averaged 17.9 ppg and 14.8 rebounds. Ellefson, also 6'9", led the Big 10 in rebounds with 15.9 per game and scored at a 15.4 clip. He is the only junior on the 5-man team.

Other All-Americans include Jeremiah Brooks, a forward from Harvard who, including post-season, averaged 19.5 ppg, tops in the nation. The guards are Keena Marsh from Providence who had 11.1 ppg and 8.1 assists, and Mel *Thurston of Wyoming. The shooting guard had 16.0 ppg for the Cowboys.


Here are the All-Americans
Keena Marsh Providence
Mel *Thurston Wyoming
Jeremiah Brooks Harvard
Ray *Kuka Illinois
Ray *Ellefson Iowa

The National Freshman team is as follows:
PG Bob *Cousy Holy Cross 10.7 ppg, 8.2 apg
SG Novack Dyde Utah 9.2 ppg, 6.3 apg
SF Michael Quarry Syracuse 11.4 ppg, 6.2 rpg
PF Jack *Shelton Oklahoma A&M 10.1 ppg, 2.1 bpg, 10.4 rpg
C Ryan Gardner Notre Dame 14.3 ppg, 8.9 rpg

Gardner was named the Freshman player of the year.


NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE OFFSEASON NOTES
PATTON TO STAY WITH 49ERS
One of the best young offensive linemen in the National Football League has agreed to a 6 year deal that will keep him with the team that originally drafted him. 4th year pro Eric Patton resigned with the San Francisco 49ers, the club announced today. The 330 lb guard from Missouri has started every game for the Niners in each of his three seasons. A third round pick, he has developed into an outstanding run blocker. However, like the rest of the San Francisco offensive line, his pass protection skills need work. The Niners also signed long-time Miami backup center Chris Francis to add depth.

Rams fans can breathe a sigh of relief after Trey Montgomery agreed to resign with the club. Montgomery, a third round pick out of Stanford in 1944, had 80 tackles for St Louis a year ago. The OLB is entering his 4th NFL season.

Dallas resigned starting defensive tackle Wade Harris to a 4 year contract. The former Mississippi stand-out started all 16 games for the Cowboys a year ago. Denver signed former Jacksonville offensive tackle Josh Keithley to a 2 year deal. Keithley started 8 games for the Jags a year ago and will get a chance to win a starting assignment in Denver. However, the Broncos will still be looking to upgrade at the position.


BOXING NEWS
Argentine heavyweight champ Alberto Santiago Lovell made his first appearance in North America, stopping Tami Mauriello of New York with a 4th round knockout. The win improves Lovell's record to 20-7-1 and he is hoping to fight a top 10 heavyweight during the summer. For Mauriello, who nearly stole the heavyweight title from Joe Louis last September, it appears his career is near it's end. Mauriello is 16-7-1 but has been knocked out early in each of his last 3 bouts. On the same card, 18 year old Dave Davey won his professional debut with a majority decision over Johnny Shkor and Jesse Hall carded a unanimous decision against Orlando Ott. Middleweight Rocky Graziano won his bout with littleknown Ben Brown on a 8th round knockout. Graziano is 32-15-1 in his career and was coming off of losses to Tony Zale (prior to Zale winning the title from Jake LaMotta) and Charley Fusari.


NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE PLAYOFFS
The NHL semi-finals resume tonight with 2 games. In Detroit, the Red Wings are looking to take a 2-0 series lead over the Montreal Canadiens. Detroit won Tuesday series opener 4-2 on the strength of a 3 assist night from Billy Taylor and some strong goaltending from Harry Lumley.

The other series, pitting the second place Rangers against fourth place Toronto, opens tonight at Madison Square Garden.

[seth70liz76]

This reaches back to the College Football Season, but I have a question about your rankings: Did you use the final polls as a guideline; your own opinions; or another method entirely? I ask because I'm considering using the Quickplay game to do some, as my wife says, "sportsnerd" things with the history of CFB. I've been playing around with an Excel file to calculate ratings and such, but am curious on what method you used. (and if I missed where you previously posted this info, then my apologies.)

[Tiger Fan]

I took the real rankings from the end of the 1946 season and used them as my preseason rankings for the same year. From there I made changes on my own based on game results. I tried to find a simple excel program or something similiar to do the rankings for me but was unsuccessful. If you get your Excel calculation file working to your satisfaction I would appreciate a copy of it.