Worst lede ever

Actually, the worst writer I've ever had the misfortune of having to edit was also a Kansas grad. Just an observation.

 

I read that yesterday - sad actually.
Says a lot about the writer's interest in his job and the state of the edit desk at that particular pub. It's clear that just sailed through, and if I was a higher-up, I think I'd be more pissed at the desk than the guy at the keyboard.

 

Rok Chalk Jayhak!

 

prep football gamer. Dude is awesome, but was a little distracted by a term paper or the history channel at the time.

"During the Texas war of independence in 1836, a small band of settlers captured a Mexican cannon located in a small, hill country town.
Displeased, a small detachment of the Mexican army demanded the artillery piece be relinquished -- or else.
In a show of defiance, the settlers unfurled a makeshift flag featuring a crudely drawn cannon. Below the drawing were the words ''Come and take it.''
With their 28-6 victory over Huck Finn Central on Friday night, O'Migh County has made a similar challenge to region foe Wooden Feet: "If you want the region title, come and take it."

 

Wow, I got to "During the Texas war of indep..." and I was done.

 

Sorry, haven't been paying attention.

It's great to be here, really. Where shall we start....

From one writer:
"Can you smell what Dirocco is cooking?" (Softball player's name was Dirocco).
Later in the year...
"Oops, she did it again." (I don't remember what that story was about.)

From our stringer (written exactly as it was given) on a future D-I calibre girls bball player, who was a freshman at the time:
"SMITHVILLE — Q: How tall is she?
A: 6'3"-ish
Q: How old is she?
A: 13
Q: How good is she?
A: Might as well let the numbers speak for themselves."

And again...
"The Tigers pierced the veil of invulnerability and then ended the invincibility of the Lions as well as they scored a 2-1 overtime win on a foggy, drizzly, damp and dark day at the Smith School in Beantown."

And again...
"JONESTOWN — You want to be a millionaire? Answer this trivia question — name the only local school with, not one, but two of it's former players involved in the NCAA tournament?
For those of you who guessed Jonestown High School — call Regis."

And again...
"No one stepped up their game more than Fred Sanford as the senior became a whirling dervish on the floor after the Tigers lost the first two games and were trailing by 11 points in the third."
(According to Webster's Dictionary, Dervish: n. a member of any of various Muslim ascetic religious groups.)

And again...
"Linda Smith had fun at the annual get together of the AFC girls basketball coaches and captains earlier this week. Her goals were to survive the season; her expectations were an ulcer and her strength was that she was a very nice person."

From a nutjob whom we all swore would come in here with guns a blazin' soon after he was fired for insubordination:
"The Podunk football team lost its seventh game of the season Friday night and yet it still walked away with its heads held high.
They were proud because, although they lost 68-22 to the Mother Effers, they played tough, no-quit football and exceeded the expectations of many."
(Keep in mind that we cover both schools)

From me at a PGA event:
"Paired with David Berganio and Chris DiMarco, Phil Mickelson began his day...."

From our auto racing guy:
"If there's no guy who can get in Bob Jones' way, it's Bill Smith."

From another stringer:
"This is the first time Dickville-Cambridge played on Thanksgiving Day. The last time was in 1967 which was won by Cambridge 2-0."

From a writer:
"Podunk's Jill Jones breaks meet records like Eminem produces platinum records — it's always expected."

Reading these really makes a bad day feel better....

 

Forgot these from my college paper. From the same writer:

"I'll take Georgetown for $100, Alex."

And...

"Eagles, Orangemen and Redmen, oh my!"

 

Gee, Texas sure has changed in 170 years....and where the hell is that cannon now?

 

"Can you smell what Dirocco is cooking?" (Softball player's name was Dirocco).

Call me crazy, but I actually like this lede. It made me chuckle when I read it, and it certainly grabbed my attention.

Any lede that manages to make some sort of reference to professional wrestling is a good lede in my book.

 

you're crazy

 

I spotted this one in today's Oregonian. It struck me as being powerfully awful.

Wow, redundant much? I probably could have overlooked it if the story got any better from there, but it didn't.

 

There was a guy I knew who wrote one-sentence ledes. He's now the paper's scholastic sports editor. Sheesh.