Dear dimwit on the phone

Like Tiger.

 

So if a guy's name is William Howard Baker III, but goes by Trey, and everyone calls him that, some of you would refuse to in your stories?

Trey is just as much of a nickname as Shooter, Bubba or Shanaynay

 

Yes to Trey in print, maybe to Shooter, probably not to Bubba or Shanaynay. I'd want to see that everyone calls them that means *everyone*, not just their friends at practice.

Why? Because it's my section, I can make judgment calls and I don't feel the need to lean on pre-set rules as a substitute for my own judgment.

 

Lost in all of this is that it's not the coaches fault Shee-Shee got in the paper. The coach does not copy edit. The intern taking the call hopefully isn't the one that releases the page.

BTW, everyone of us who does pages makes judgment calls all of the time. A nickname is the least of our worries in this industry.

 

Had kids in my coverage area known as Bubba, Peanut (girl), Junior and Putt-Putt.

We referred to both Bubbas as Bubba and Junior as Junior because that's what was listed on the roster/scorebook/tournament entry list.

However, Peanut and Putt-Putt -- who both play basketball for the same school -- have never appeared in our paper, in agate at least. Sometimes in a quote. But never on first reference because those two kids are listed by their real names on the roster/computer stats/scorebook. Both of their facebook accounts are with their given names and not nicknames.

Good thing in Kentucky is that it's a high school (KHSAA) rule that rosters must be submitted online. What's turned in is what we use on first reference.

 

If they call him in as Trey and list him on the roster as Trey, then I'd call him Trey and wouldn't even know he had any other name.

If they call him William for two years and the roster lists him as William and the coach one day decides to start calling him Trey, then that's a no-go for me.

 

Generally, what's on the roster. Doesn't seem that complicated ...

 

So, I'm on medical leave while I await surgery on two herniated discs in my back. Naturally, I use Out of Office assistant for e-mail and I re-recorded my voice mail greeting for the office phone and cell phone, saying my leave is indefinite.

Needless to say, I really miss some of the people who call want to call in their "crime" tips. Most of these boil down to insignificant things, like women asking me how long their ex-boyfriends got for pot possession, but they're hilarious.

 

Why am I getting the feeling that generally white-sounding nicknames are OK with some of you folks, but black-sounds nicknames aren't?

I would go with the nickname if it's what the kid goes by. If it's just the coach making it up, I wouldn't.

If an athlete goes by his middle name, you going to stomp your feet, hold your breath and use his first name?

 

I don't like Bubba and that's a white-sounding nickname.

And Tiger Woods is portrayed as a black man, so that theory goes down the tubes.

 

I think Trey was universally accepted in the posts in this thread. Bubba and Shooter were met with skepticism.

 

Bottom line - if you're using nicknames for pros - colt McCoy, bubba Watson, whoever else - you've established a precedent. If a kid is called by a nickname, refers to themself by that name, that's what you go with.