JackGordon.Org: The Sky-Writer, Pasco NAS, Swabbin' the Deck Column, December 22, 1943

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THE SKY-WRITER, PASCO, WASHINGTON, WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 22, 1943

By Jack Gordon

MARV HARSHMAN

CHRISTMAS DAY 1943 won't find much doing in NAS athletic circles except the "Business as usual" activity at the Bob Elgin's Bowling alley. . . the 'SRO' sign at the Jim Billiter's billiard room; the daily splash routine at Lt. Bob Buckley's swimming pool and the "we never close" attitude of Lieut . W. W. McKalip's drill hall . . . news of the week from those quarters is as follows: A. J. Cline copped the $5.00 first prize money in last week's billiards tourney . . . Mr. Buckley reports that since September 4 over 55,000 individual swims have been recorded in the NAS pool . . . and to date nobody has accepted the invitation of the Pasco Flyer hoopsters to play them here . . . it must be that those big scores the Flyers have been running up are scaring some of the usually bold collegiate cagers away.

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NAMES IN THE NEWS—Chief Specialist Dick Bonham is devoting a lot of his time these days to promoting intra-squadron basketball action . . . but the No. 1 defukelty about publishing the resuits of the games is that fact that the squadrons' numbers are a military secret ... so until someone thinks up some names for the flyers . . . they'll have to go without credit for their casaba deeds which reminds us to remind the paying customer that the little ditty, "A slip of the lip may sink a ship" isn't printed JUST to fill space! N'est pas? . . . Classic saying of the week: "You've cut you own throat!" ... We still think if they'd toss enough water on the blacktop grinder there'd be enough ice come the following a.m. to skate! . . .

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BACK EAST at the Great Lakes Naval Training Station, the Navy has the makings of a great Negro basketball team with Art Grant former Harlem Globe Trotter, Jimmy Brown of Southern University as forwards; Sam Williams, ex-Detroit semi-pro luminary at center and guards Carl Brown of Indiana Central and Charlie Harmon of Toledo University . . . which reminds us to ask Nat Riddick whatever happened to the NAS quint? . . . Just because the station bandmen dropped their first two frays isn't reason to call the season a day . . . After turning out such a bang-up soft ball team, the fans have a right to expect to see some smart casaba action in the musicmen too . . .

Bonham Blizzard

WONDER what kind of New Year predictions the nation's sports scribes will start pounding out on their respective tripe-writers? . . . With the arm-chair strategists predicting that the war will last until 1946 and the Marines and Soldiers in New Guinea singing the song: "The Golden Gate by '48" ... the national sports picture may fade in 1944 more so than this year. . . don't say we didn't tell you . . .

MAYBE THIS'LL stir up some of the NAS musclemen like Harold Lewis, Marv Harshman, and Pat Ryan to do a little constructive record-setting for their alma mammy . . . It seems that Metro Sturko, Great Lakes NTS situp champ has lost the championship to (shame) an Army Sergeant! . . . Gene Jantzen by name of a Denver, Colorado post, who turned in a new high of 5,200 consecutive situps . . . Blue-Jacket Sturko claims one distinction, however, he did his feat in one hour and 56 minutes while Sgt. Jantzen needed four hours and 50 minutes for his total of 5,200 . . . a vest-pocket edition of the great Hank Luisette looms in Jack Blizzard, Flyer guard, who zipped around that Pendleton Army court last Saturday with all the ease of Hankus, himself . . .