Fewer letters, more accurate

I moved to Chicago in 1993, but it took me a few years to get used to the comedic stylings of the legendary announcer Harry Caray during Cubs radio broadcasts. (And, yes, I'm using "comedic stylings" to be diplomatic. If I weren't being so diplomatic, "incoherent ramblings" might be the better adjective and gerund to use.)

By the mid-90s, Caray had taken to using the airwaves -- during ballgames, mind you -- to give listeners such valuable information as, "Sammy Sosa's last name spelled backwards is ... Asos." It was even more fun when he tried to use that trick for players like Nomar Garciaparra or Todd Hollandsworth. His freewheeling style (again, that's the diplomatic description) frequently led to funny exchanges with his broadcast partner, Steve Stone. One time, Harry said something like, "I'm crazy about baseball," and Stone deadpanned, "Well, you're half right, Harry."

I mention that just to introduce a quick observation. I saw a headline on the New York Times web site today that I thought would be even more accurate if we could just remove the letters "d-a-t-e."

The headline read:

Bush Gives Update on Economy