Hoops, pucks, hits and classic hits
It’s been Classic Hits May for the Globe’s sports page headline writers, and I love it. I read a headline and I start humming — even if the tune is awful.
With a respectful nod to my fellow blogger Ben Collins — and to the headline writers, who have a tougher job than you know — here are the Classic Hits Headline from the past 10 days on the Globe sports page:
Date: May 12
Story: Celtics beat Cavaliers in Game 5 of conference semifinals in Cleveland.
Headline: "Ohio Players"
Tune: Quite a few Ohio Player's hits to choose from. Since the Celtics have been so hot, I'll go with "Fire."
Date: May 12
Story: Bruins preparing to take on Flyers in Game 6 of conference semifinals in Philadelphia. (I don't wanna talk about it.)
Headline: "For Philadelphia freedom, Bruins need to rejoin battle"
Tune: "Philadelphia Freedom," an treacly tune with a catchy hook recorded by Elton John, in 1975, in anticipation of the Bicentennial.
Date: May 13
Story: Montreal Canadiens eliminate Pittsburgh Penguins from playoffs in conference semifinals.
Headline: "Habs do it again"
Tune: Maybe I'm taking liberties here, but I read that headline and into my head popped Steely Dan's "Do It Again."
Date: May 17
Story: Red Sox lose, 5-1, to Tigers in Detroit
Headline: "It’s another Detroit breakdown for the Red Sox"
Tune: Brilliant! Headline drawn from the catalogue of a legendary Boston band that'll be playing at Fenway Park this summer. Here's a live version of The J. Giels Band's "Detroit Breakdown (pronounced — or, more accurately, sung — DEE-troit).
Date: May 18
Story: Jonathan Papelbon gives up two two-run homers to the Yankees in the bottom of the ninth and the Sox lose, 11-9.
Headline: "Down Town"
Tune: What else? Petula Clark's "Downtown."
Editors who write headlines are generally over 35, so you won't see "The Fame" as a headline any time soon on a story about a Red Sox-Orioles game.
The headline for which I may never forgive the Globe's sport pages editors is one from October 29, 2007, the day after the Red Sox won the World Series: "So Good! So Good!" Man, I am even more tired of that song that I was in 2007. And that's saying something.
Any headline suggestions for this year's Red Sox?
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About the author
Mark Leccese, a journalism professor at Emerson College, covered Massachusetts politics, business and the arts for more than 25 years as a newspaper reporter, editor and magazine writer. He has More »Recent blog posts
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