My gaffe, and a classy coach

[Colton]

Last week, I received a team photo of our local Special Olympic softball team from the head coach. These young people are always thrilled to read their names or see their photo in the paper, so whenever they achieve something, it's nice to recognize them.

Anyway, in rewriting the cutline, he head "Head Coach" and our style is to lower case the words. Well, somehow, it came out a bit differently... as in "dead coach." Ugh. Obviously, I was mortified. It was 3:30 a.m. as I'm filing stories in our sports morgue when I discovered the error. I immediately sent an email apologizing for my mistake, making it clear 'twas me, not someone on staff, who screwed it up and spent the rest of the night an all night Sunday night feeling pretty much like pond scum.

Well, Monday morning rolls around and the coach received the email and replied. Basically, he absolved me and told me not to worry about it and thanked me for running the photo and that his kids were thrilled. No wonder the gentleman volunteers his time to work with special-needs kids... he's got a heart bigger than a catcher's mitt.

His response restored my faith a bit in people. If he ever needs a favor, as I replied to him, he need not hesitate to ask.

Finally, while the blame belongs nowhere but with me, and there's really no excuses, period, it is also a product of CNHI's corporate bastards and their payroll reduction/furloughs. While I did spellcheck the cutline, the guy who would have given the page a second set of eyeballs in addition to my own was on an F day.

 

[Armchair_QB]

Joe Smith, Jimmy Jackson, Tommy Jones, Some ****er, Pete Myers, Steve Anderson...

 

[crusoes]

Some ****er's mom was thrilled, I suspect.

 

[Baron Scicluna]

Some ****er's mom was thrilled, I suspect.

That's because Mr. and Mrs. ****er won't have to pay for a college scholarship.

 

[mustangj17]

You only cover us when our coach is dead!

 

[crusoes]

Oh, and Colton, it's your fault. Blaming the company because someone else was on furlough is weak. You are the one who made the mistake.

 

[Fredrick]

Finally, while the blame belongs nowhere but with me, and there's really no excuses, period, it is also a product of CNHI's corporate bastards and their payroll reduction/furloughs. While I did spellcheck the cutline, the guy who would have given the page a second set of eyeballs in addition to my own was on an F day.

He made it clear it was his fault. Lay off him. Because he's right.
The second pair of eyes was sliced from the budget. The company deserves the mistake it received.
But hey, in the future, no big deal. the readers can point out the error online in their beloved comments section. No copy editors are needed. That's the new battle cry.
Hang in there it was an honest mistake and that coach is a great person.

 

[rube]

Some ****er has to be the most famous kid in journ school history.

 

[deskslave]

Of course we don't need copy editors. Just let the reporters run spell check.

What's that? Oh.

 

[Starman]

Some ****er has to be the most famous kid in journ school history.

Well, there's that other guy, Heywood ...

 

[HanSenSE]

Don't forget the JV dead coaches. They worked hard too.

 

[Boom_70]

Larry: I need a letter of apology from your friend.
Jeff: Retraction, retraction!
Larry: Retraction? What are they going to say? "We're sorry we called her a ****, we meant 'aunt.'" Jeff: (reading obituary) "Devoted sister, beloved ****." Oh, my God! This is unbelievable!

 

[93Devil]

Does anyone print what you have just typed on paper and then reread it that way?

When I am sending out important emails, I find this helps me catch what staring at the screen does not. Someone taught me that once, and damn if it does not work for me.

 

[Colton]

Does anyone print what you have just typed on paper and then reread it that way?

When I am sending out important emails, I find this helps me catch what staring at the screen does not. Someone taught me that once, and damn if it does not work for me.

I do that religiously. Problem was, because of the CNHI F day, I was a one-man show that night. I was reading my own work... never a preferred method.

 

[93Devil]

Does anyone print what you have just typed on paper and then reread it that way?

When I am sending out important emails, I find this helps me catch what staring at the screen does not. Someone taught me that once, and damn if it does not work for me.

I do that religiously. Problem was, because of the CNHI F day, I was a one-man show that night. I was reading my own work... never a preferred method.

Oh, I know. Sometimes you just do not have a chance to do that, but it amazes me what I cannot see on the screen that I see on paper.

 

[Colton]

Does anyone print what you have just typed on paper and then reread it that way?

When I am sending out important emails, I find this helps me catch what staring at the screen does not. Someone taught me that once, and damn if it does not work for me.

I do that religiously. Problem was, because of the CNHI F day, I was a one-man show that night. I was reading my own work... never a preferred method.

Oh, I know. Sometimes you just do not have a chance to do that, but it amazes me what I cannot see on the screen that I see on paper.


Couldn't agree more. And I am continuously amazed at what I don't notice anywhere until the spoils are run for proof. When the press starts at my shop, sports are the only editorial people left in the entire building, so we are constantly making corrections on news pages. If we ever go DTP, it's gonna cost us a fortune because our news side doesn't proof anything but film.

 

[pride of pleasantville]

Last week, I received a team photo of our local Special Olympic softball team from the head coach. These young people are always thrilled to read their names or see their photo in the paper, so whenever they achieve something, it's nice to recognize them.

Anyway, in rewriting the cutline, he head "Head Coach" and our style is to lower case the words. Well, somehow, it came out a bit differently... as in "dead coach." Ugh. Obviously, I was mortified. It was 3:30 a.m. as I'm filing stories in our sports morgue when I discovered the error. I immediately sent an email apologizing for my mistake, making it clear 'twas me, not someone on staff, who screwed it up and spent the rest of the night an all night Sunday night feeling pretty much like pond scum.

Well, Monday morning rolls around and the coach received the email and replied. Basically, he absolved me and told me not to worry about it and thanked me for running the photo and that his kids were thrilled. No wonder the gentleman volunteers his time to work with special-needs kids... he's got a heart bigger than a catcher's mitt.

His response restored my faith a bit in people. If he ever needs a favor, as I replied to him, he need not hesitate to ask.

Finally, while the blame belongs nowhere but with me, and there's really no excuses, period, it is also a product of CNHI's corporate bastards and their payroll reduction/furloughs. While I did spellcheck the cutline, the guy who would have given the page a second set of eyeballs in addition to my own was on an F day.

I volunteer with special needs children and I can tell you some of the nicest people I know are in that field.

 

[forever_town]

I'm so glad the dead coach was so understanding.

My parents and my aunt all used to work at an institution for the mentally retarded that's now closed. It takes very special people to work with that population.

 

[93Devil]

WF MFn W

 

[amraeder]

Don't forget the JV dead coaches. They worked hard too.

Got a good laugh at this one.


Sorry to hear about the screwup, Colton. I can see how it happens, though. At the end of a loner shift, I think even the best of us are susceptible to a little brain-fry, and the potential screwups that come with it. At least you got a funny story out of the deal.