From time to time the notion of computer assisted reporting crops up in conversation around here. This is a fun and little example of reporters using databases, public records, the Internet and other sources for a fun story on bad sportsmanship. The Wall Street Journal’s results don’t surprise me at all:
(W)hich college-football rivalry is the dirtiest? To find out, the Count tallied how many conduct and roughness penalties have been assessed in the last five meetings of 40 rivalries. Unsportsmanlike conduct, late hits and other roughness calls counted (including offsetting ones); penalties that aren’t generally malicious did not, like roughing the kicker.
The meanest matchup by this measure: Auburn-Georgia. The Deep South’s oldest rivalry, which began in 1892, has averaged 5.4 behavior-related penalties per game the past five years.
Need a WordPress cheat sheet? “Every tag you ever wanted to mess with is in here, and you have a great flow sheet to follow when you create new themes.”
Seems thorough to me.
Best story you’ll read today:
A devoted Iowa couple married for 72 years died holding hands in the hospital last week, exactly one hour apart.
The passing reflected the nature of their marriage, where, “As a rule, everything was done together,” said the couple’s daughter Donna Sheets, 71.
Gordon Yeager, 94, and his wife Norma, 90, left their small town of State Center, Iowa, on Wednesday to go into town, but never made it. A car accident sent the couple to the emergency room and intensive care unit with broken bones and other injuries. But, even in the hospital, their concerns were each other.
“She was saying her chest hurt and what’s wrong with Dad? Even laying there like that, she was worried about Dad,” said the couple’s son, Dennis Yeager, 52. “And his back was hurting and he was asking about Mom.”
When it became clear that their conditions were not improving, the couple was moved into a room together in beds side-by-side where they could hold hands.
“They joined hands; his right hand, her left hand,” Sheets said.
Read on for the best quote.
