Keith Allison from Hanover, MD, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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By Bill Stokes
Kickass, the doorstop dog, joins the rest of the Milwaukee world in knowing that the keeper will never learn how to spell Giannis Antetokounmpo, the name of the Bucks star who led the team to the NBA championship; this despite the keeper’s experience in grappling with Przybylski and Pierzchala and other Polish names on his first newspaper job in Stevens Point.
It being almost a sacred requirement for a reporter to get names right, the keeper extends heartfelt sympathy to those sports writers and commentators who must deal with Giannis Antetokounmpo on a regular basis; and adds that getting the name right is worth the effort, based on the keeper’s long-ago experience with irate Przybylski family members.
Of course, the subject of a news story determines the reaction to a misspelled name, and if it tends to be a positive story—such as winning the NBA championship, there is likely to be more consternation. Less reaction to a misspelling is likely with a negative story, such as would be the case had the Bucks lost; and the keeper seems to remember the incident of a Przybylski wedding story that included a wedding-dance fight and melee that was not much complained about.
There may be some obvious parallels to be made with news stories about Milwaukee’s NBA crown and the wedding dance riot, but the keeper is not about to make them: It suffices to be an ad-hoc sports fan and to move on.
