LazyReporter said:
I am very concerned when a so-called journalist tells me to get over my "little rules" about proper usage and grammar. Those "little rules" are essential tools of our trade.
I am very, very concerned when a so-called journalist says "it doesn't need to be defined specifically" to make it so. Something that is not defined specifically has little use in journalism.
You are correct when you say my "little brain can't fathom the point" you are making because you haven't yet made a point that is valid. I contend that the phrase "sank a putt" is grammatically incorrect. Please enlighten me as to how that phrase is grammatically correct.
Your posts scream Editor With An Asshole So Tight You Can't Jam A Pica Pole Up There With If You Shot It Out Of A Bazooka From Point-Blank Range.
Dude, I feel sorry for your readers and, if you are an editor, the writers on your staff. Writing is an art. Making everything so freaking literal and rigidly defined must make you a real joy.
My reference to your little rule isn't about quoting dictionaries (more illustration that you must be a laugh-riot at the water cooler). I was referring to your bad-ass edict that you cannot sink a putt.
From third graph of July 2005 Frank Deford story:
Incredibly, Jacklin eagled the 17th hole to level the match. With only one hole left, the whole Ryder Cup was at a tie. On the 18th green, Nicklaus had a four-foot putt for par, Jacklin a two-footer. Nicklaus sank his putt. It was Jacklin's turn.
From fourth graph of July 2005 Joe Posnanski column:
He wrecked it again Monday, wrecked it with an 11-foot putt that dropped in the heart of the cup and, one more time, left Kansas City's Tom Watson staggered, stunned and in second place in his own hometown. This was five years after Quigley sank a 12-foot putt to beat Watson in Kansas City.
From fourth graph of May 2006 Bud Shaw column:
By the time he reached the final hole and sank a birdie putt to a roar from the crowd, he waved at his golf ball as if to say "So, now you go in."
From third graph of July 2003 Randall Mell story:
He watched one of the most dramatic conclusions in U.S. Women's Open history on television, wondering if the tension could get any thicker when Stanford sank a 24-foot birdie to tie Lunke for the lead at the final hole.
From fourth graph of May 2000 Randall Mell story:
When Stewart sank that last putt at Pinehurst and punched his fist into the air, Mickelson's heart sank. It made him 0 for 28 in major championships. At the time, he wanted a chance at Stewart in a Monday playoff. Of course, he didn't know his wife, Amy, would give birth to their first child, Amanda, on that same Monday. He didn't know Stewart would die in a plane crash four months later.
From lead of July 2005 Bill Plaschke column:
Lining up a 13-foot birdie putt on the final hole, he knew he had one chance at a fitting goodbye.
He said it.
He sank it.
From fourth graph of August 2006 Mark Whicker story:
Nothing on Saturday indicated he wouldn't. Woods missed the first green, sank a long putt for par anyway, and didn't miss another. He had eight birdies and hit some shots that deserve prominent play in his own endless highlight video.
From first graph of April 2006 Alan Shipnuck SI piece:
Ten years. Has it really been that long? The sights and sounds of that wrenching day remain indelible. Who will ever forget Greg Norman falling to his knees after almost holing his eagle chip on the 15th hole, his head thrown back in anguish, looking like Y.A. Tittle in that famous old photo? There was that awkward, muffled cheer when Nick Faldo sank his birdie putt on the final hole, the now three-time Masters champ looking almost embarrassed.
From July 2003 Bob Verdi piece:
Verplank did not lack for quiet confidence or poker-faced concentration. Late in his third round, he stood over a devilish 12-footer on No. 16 when the siren of a passing police car blared. In cold blood, he sank the birdie putt.
From July 2003 Rick Telander piece:
By the end, after hitting a 3-wood to within 30 feet of the pin on his last hole, the 562-yard No. 9, Woods nearly sank another eagle putt. Oh, did I forget? Tiger had an eagle way back on his second hole, just to set the tone.
From close to April 2006 Martin Fennelly column:
On the 18th hole, he sank his 15-footer and embraced Kyle. He stuffed the ball in his pocket. It'll go in his den in Abilene, near the ball he used to finish the Masters he won. Charles Coody fumbled for his epitaph.
From the close of a June 2004 Mike Vaccaro column:
Only, that Phil Mickelson is gone. He was dissolved on April 11, the day he sank a birdie putt, felt the ground rumble under his feet, heard a roar that seized Augusta National and spilled over its ivy-covered walls, into living rooms and grille rooms all across America.
Go ahead and shoot off e-mails to Posnanski, Deford, Plaschke, Shaw, Whicker, Shipnuck and Mell to let them know they could have done it better. Because, you know, these guys don't really concentrate on their leads and neither Fennelly nor Vaccaro can close a column without just throwing something together.
Stick it, Jagoff.
