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Newspaper Page Text
BASEBALL SPORTS OF ALL SORTS BOXING Next to the abolition of "free lunch," the most unpopular principle we can imagine is "popular" deci sions in ten-round prize fights. They serve no purpose but to stir up ill feeling, and seldom settle the ques tion of superiority. Willie Ritchie won a "popular" de cision over Lightweight Champion Freddie Welsh in ten rounds at New York last night He clearly whipped the Briton, yet is not entitled to the championship because of an unwrit ten rule that titles cannot change hands in ten-round affairs. That is manifestly unfair.. Ritchie lost his title on points in twenty rounds in London, and it seems only reasonable that he should be allowea to take it back on points, even though the go was only for ten rounds. To all intents and purposes Ritchie is the best man this mornlngv yet he must remain merely a chal lenger, while Welsh, the defeated man, retains the title. Welsh makes a significant post-battle statement. "It seems to be a habit to give popular decisions against Welsh," he says, "but you notice who goes right along fighting all comers and meeting more than all the title claimants put together." There stands Welsh. Ten-round decisions make no difference to him. He keeps his title and can Tealize on it at the box office. Neither man was marked through the ten rounds. Ritchie staggered the champion once, but the effect came more from the fact that Welsh was backing away than from the blow alone. It was a fast fight, full of action of a kind, but not bruising. This pair should fight twenty rounds and settle all doubts. Wheth er they will or not is something else again." Following several shifts in the two White Sox teams, Russell Blackburne may come into his own as a, regular infielder and stick until the start of the season, at least. Manager Row land, after watching the work of his charges in several games against va rious teams of the Pacific Coast league, is dissatified with the per formances. Baker, a regular third baseman, filling in for Weaver at short, has failed miserably. Eddie Collins is much too fast for him and this has tended to throw out of gear the ef forts of the crack keystoner. Over at third base Bromwich has not lived up to his minor league press notices. He has committed a bone play or two that are not to be tolerated in the big show. Chapped, gardening in left, is still overweight, and this affects his work. Russell is another fellow who is too beefy for his own good or that of thq team. Consequently Reb, Chappell and possibly Bromwich and Baker are due for a jaunt with the second team. Blackburne is to report immediate ly to the regulars and go to work at short, where he will remain until Buck Weaver is able to get back into the game. Then it is probable Rus sell will be shunted over to third. His experience there is limited, but the station is on the side of the diamond familiar to him, and he has baseball brains to stack up with Collins and Weaver. If Brief hits, Rowland could afford to use a light-hitting, fast fielding and quick thinking man on the third corner. Jack Fourner, whose batting is ab solutely necessary, will be picked up by the first team in a day or two and assigned to one of the outfielding po sitions. Fournier is certain of a reg ular position, as his bat is powerful. A .300 hitter cannot be kept on the bench. With these shifts made- Rowland