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By Jack Gordon

JUST WHEN we had been enjoying ourselves with the unmusical blasts of a ten-cent horn, that was destined to give young Mr. 1944 a rousing welcome in about 48 hours, a member of the Crystal Gazing Society drops in to remind us that it's high time the usual New Year's Day Bowl game predictions were given out . . . Bowl game predictions like All-American football teams are picked by everybody from the Rev. Grantland Rice on down to Professor Leopold McQuink whose favorite pastimes prior to becoming an Ail-American "expert" varied from falling off the stool at Dinty Moore's to hanging by his knees from Mrs. McGillicuddy's chandalier ... Anyway, here's our predictions for the benefit of posterity and the linotype man who is getting-d......n tired of waiting for this copy . . . !

MR. NINETEEN FORTY-FOUR
Our "Man of the Year"

ROSE BOWL — the Pasadena scene will be enhanced with a favorite (and maybe over-confident) University of Washington eleven who will face an under-rated but determined University of So. California team...

No one (but us) gives the Trojans much of a chance to win the game ... "After all, USC lost to March Field 35-0 and you know what the Huskies did to the soldiers," (0-27) remark the "sure-thing" betters ... but we play hunches ... this will be the 4th time the Huskies have gone to the Rose Bowl and came home without the bacon ... in 1924 they tried their luck against Navy and came home with a 14-14 tie ... but following invitations were not as kind ... Coach Enoch Bagshaw took the Huskies back two years later, after rolling over the Northern Conference to meet an underdog Alabama team ... George Wilson was the star of the Husky team ... but after helping Washington to two touchdowns he tired and hit the bench to watch the Alabamans run the U. W. ragged and win 20-19 ... Jimmy Phelan took the Huskies back in 1937, again as the favorite to play Pittsburgh ... even Junior knows what happened that day ... Jock Sutherland and company made it a sad day for the Irishmen at the Phelan house­hold as they scribbled a 21-0 victory in the Pasadena annals ... 1944 finds the Huskies in the same boat back for another session in the "Jinx" stadium ... the boys and gals at the U. W. Daily Shack in Seattle will clack their store teeth in mortification and old time alumnus like Lieut. Dick Johnson and Lt. (jg) Bob Buckley will quickly send out for a double Mickey ... but nevertheless here's the prediction -- USC, 13; U. W., 7!

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WAY DOWN yonder in New Orleans, you'll find the hearts of some of our Southern subscribers, when Tulsa, tied only by Southwestern (6-6) and with 7 smacking good victories, faces a three-time loser in the "Rambling Wrecks from Georgia Tech" ... Georgia lost to Navy, Duke and Notre Dame ... there should be no raised eyebrows on this guess: Tulsa over Georgia Tech, 34-14.

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AS LONG as we're down South let's meander over to Miami and take a flyer at the Orange Bowl fracas ... the Texas Aggies (who won eight straight games only to finish their season poorly with 7-0 and 27-13 defeats at the hands of Southwestern and Texas) plays Louisiana State ... at first glance it's a tough game to predict—-both teams played and beat Rice, T.C.U. by almost identical scores ... but the records reveal Louisiana has the weakest defense (combined opposi­tion for the season averaged only 18 points per game. Guess: the Aggies to win, 20-14.

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COTTON BOWL at Dallas, Tex: Texas over Randolph Field by 13 points.

LAST but not least of the Bowl games is the Sun Bowl fray at El Paso Texas where New Mexico meets Southwestern of Texas ... we've picked the Aggies over Louisiana and Texas over the Soldiers so we'll make it a Texas Field Day and call this one Southwestern over New Mexico, 45 to 7.

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"We've got a place for you," said the nice man in the white coat as he led us away."

HAPPY NEW YEAR

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