by Keith Osborn

Inasmuch as the regular Eagle sports department was orating in Casper last night and therefore not on hand to help prepare this morning's edition, and because he did not leave us a copy of his speech to report in these columns, we will attempt to pinch-hit today and discuss assorted and sundry sports topics with you who may care to listen.

Your interest, without doubt, is what's going on down in Denver municipal auditorium and who's doing it. So is ours. But first, if you haven't already heard, we'd like to relay the report from Laramie that Capt. Jimmy Winterholler, U.S. Marine Corps, is alive but a prisoner of the Japs. His fate had previously been unknown since the fall of Corregidor in 1942.

In our opinion - which we'll wager is shared by many - Winterholler was one of the finest, if not the best, all-around athlete to wear a Wyoming university "W" sweater. As a former sports writer in Laramie we were privileged to record the accomplishments of the Lovell ace on the gridiron, the basketball court and the baseball diamond. He was an all-conference performer in each of those sports. His specialty was football and those of you who rode the "Treagle Special" back in those autumn days when T-bones were an every-other-day affair remember him as the best quarterback in modern Cowboy history. He was a clouting centerfielder, hitting .400 to lead the Big Seven circuit and was offered a contract with a major league team. Winterholler served as an assistant football coach under Joel Hunt in 1939.

In those days Winterholler was the idol of the schoolboy athletes throughout the state. He still is up around the Big Horn basin, but in some other parts of the state - notably Laramie - that distinction is now held by another captain - Kenny Sailors of the Cowboy cage team.

Which brings us around to the AAU.

When the shooting is over in tonight's championship contest, five players are going to be awarded all-American recognition. You can bet your next pound of coffee that one of those placques is already ear-marked for the wizard of dribble, Ken Sailors. Another will go to the winner of last night's duel between Milo Komenich and "Ace" Gruenig, although the Acer, greatest center of all time, is likely to get one regardless. As for the other three, we'll leave that to the "experts". We hope they aren't too hasty in overlooking Jim Weir as a candidate.