It must be quite painful for a fine old gentleman like Dr. James Naismith to sire a game like basketball and then be forced to sit back and watch the younger generation of coaches spoil his offspring un- til he has difficulty in recog- nizing it. PARENTAL PANGS I see that the good doctor, showing up in New York the other day to watch the game he fathered being played before a crowd of 18,000 people, demon- strated that his 77 years have not dimmed his interest in bas- ketball. He took direct issue with the rules committee on three points: 1.—The new rules and their interpretation handicap the of- fensive team. 2.—The officials don’t enforce or interpret the rules properly, and 3.—Elimination of the center jump cut out one of the most interesting features of the game. I’m afraid that T’ll have to string with the doctor on No. 3 and confess that I don’t know , enough about the other two points to debate them. TOO MUCH TOOTING My own experience with bas- ketball has been this—as long as it was just a game it was a lot of fun to play and to watch. When the coaches began to ap- ply too much thought to it and began “improving” it with a flock of new rules and new in- terpretations the trouble start- ed and it soon developed into a whistling solo by the referee. Study the statistics on any close game and you'll see that the game is decided by the ref- eree rather than by. the play- ers. The free throws more often than not are the deciding factor in the contest. I like to see the game decided by the players. Officials are too evi- dent in all games nowadays. OLYMPIC BASKETBALL When the good doctor put up | his peach baskets in the Spring- field Y.M.C.A. gymnasium back in 1892 he had only 13 rules altogether, Now they have rules and interpretations and foot- notes and explanations by the dozen. Not only that but the boys are all for more “improve- ments” in the game. Til not ‘soon forget the look on the good . >