Miami Herald writer jokes about news industry cut backs

Posted: July 29, 2008

Sports columnist Greg Cote inserted a cute little quip about his newspaper in a column about the Florida Marlins, their game last night and their playoff push:

The buoyant crowd of 23,165, seventh-biggest home gate of the year, found warring factions of fans vying for supremacy in the stands as their teams worked the diamond -- the home side winning both ways.

Cody Ross delivered what proved to be the winning RBI single to right field in the eighth as the crowd roared, "Co-dy! Co-dy!"

Apparently it was a chant for Ross. For a second, I thought the crowd was chanting "Co-te! Co-te!" so that I might be inspired to make deadline.

(By the way, I hope this column made it to you OK, as these are austere times for a newspaper industry beset by drastic cutbacks. For example, I was recently made to give up my laptop and etched this column on small stone tablets transported back to the paper by night-flying carrier pigeons).

Oh that crazy singing sports writer is a funny one. Greg Cote and I got locked out of the Dolphins locker room together once at Dolphins training camp last year, true story. He asked me how to get in. I gave him the best "are-you-serious?" look I could. We eventually found our way in and laughed it off.

What do you think?