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Sunday, November 22, 2009

Peter Forsberg won the faceoff, passed to Mats Sundin, who then passed to Nicklas Lidstrom for the tally

-- "The 10 best hockey games of the last decade" on Yahoo! Canada Sports on November 19, 2009

No. The video that is directly below the above text in the article clearly shows that it is the right-handed Sundin (#13) who takes the faceoff. Sundin loses the draw but the left-handed Forsberg (#21) gets control of the puck and carries it into Finland's zone. He drops it for Sundin who then makes a wicked drop pass to Lidstrom, and Lidstrom one-time slaps it into the top corner of the net. The video is right there, Yahoo! writer - you should watch it. But maybe you did watch it and in your world the first person to have clear control of the puck after the faceoff is determined to be the faceoff winner. That's not how it works.
Here's the video:

Saturday, November 21, 2009

It was like two show in one at GM Place Friday night.

-- "The Bobby Hoff show" on Vancouver 24 hours online on November 21, 2009

Two is plural and show (the noun, not the verb) is singular. Therefore, two show in one is in disagreement. Sticking an S onto the end of show to make two shows will make your readers happy and, considering this is the article's first sentence, it's important to give reason for readers to continue reading.

She also doesn't understand; shes lost thousands of dollars

We have here a Novermber 19 article - "Depressed woman loses benefits over Facebook photos" - found on Yahoo! Canada News. I don't understand how an article that is chock-full of correctly used apostrophes can contain two apostrophe omissions. Here's the second omission, from the article's ultimate sentence:

Click on over to the article to see the apostrophe errors for yourself; they're still there (or not there, as it were) as of the writing of this sentence.

Friday, November 20, 2009

Isn't the old adage, "cheaters never prosper?"

-- "The Hand of Henry: Handball sends France to World Cup" on Yahoo! Canada Sports on November 18, 2009

No, silly writer, you're wrong. The old adage "cheaters never prosper" is not a question. Therefore, the question mark at the end of your question should go outside the closing quotation mark. As for the soccer game, what a terrible non-call.

The father-son team of Gary and Matt were eliminated this week.

-- "Simpson, Sale win Battle of the Blades" in Vancouver 24 hours on November 20, 2009

Another Friday, another Amazing Race error by the same writer. The singular team was eliminated. It would be correct to write that Father and son Gary and Matt were eliminated, but the subject in the sentence in the 24 hours article is team, so was eliminated should have been written. Is that clear? Clear as mud?

who passed away at last Monday at the age of 92

-- "Lasting legacy" in Vancouver 24 hours on November 20, 2009

That is a very unfortunate place to add the extra word at. She passed away at last, eh? This is a prime example of why proofreading is important. The text surely should have read, who passed away last Monday at the age of 92.

accessible by the Canada Line, which provides an exiting experience in itself

-- "It's fun for kids at YVR" in Vancouver 24 hours on November 20, 2009

Of course, the Canada Line also provides an entrancing experience without the excitement, if you know what I mean.

"I was wondering, 'Is he stalking her'?"

-- "How helpless is Bella?" in Vancouver 24 hours on November 20, 2009

"I was wondering, 'Is the above written by a professional writer?'" The placement of the question mark is an amateurish error.

in the 14-year history of it's website

-- "Boyle breaks record" in Vancouver 24 hours on November 20, 2009

It's not a big character, but the apostrophe in it's does not belong.

Thursday, November 19, 2009

Protester Chris Coward was troubled be the demolition.

-- "Protesters decry Little Mountain demolition" in The Vancouver Courier on November 11, 2009

I'm troubled by the errors that sneak past editors and proofreaders.

Raj Hundel

-- "Raj against the fright (Central Park)" in The Vancouver Courier on November 11, 2009

His name is Raj Hundal, as you can see on his Vision Vancouver page, which, as I just found out, happens to feature an error:

A graduate of the both the. Omit the first the, please.

If you buy anywhere else you'll pay to much!

-- Maple Ridge Chrysler advertisement in The Now on November 11, 2009

A lot of people consider one error in an ad to be one error too many.

GET CRANKY: 44%

-- "Yesterday's poll" in Vancouver 24 hours on November 17, 2009

What the fuck is going on at 24 hours? The past week has not been good for the "Yesterday's poll" section of 24 hours. First there was this post, and then there was this post. Today's post, however, takes the cake. Once again, the color key is off, but unlike the previous two posts, it's not merely a matter of swapped colors. Which number is higher, 44 or 56? 56, right? Therefore, the portion of the pie that is orange - that is, the color that 24 hours has designated to represent 56% - should be larger than the portion of the pie that is blue and represents 44%.

But the orange portion is smaller - much, much smaller - than the blue portion. Far smaller than the 44% it would have been if 24 hours had just stuck to its annoying habit of swapping the colors. It looks to me like the blue portion of the pie, which should be 44%, is about 80%, while the orange portion of the pie, which should represent 56%, is about 20%.

Two parents unhappy with their kid's workload sign a formal 'no homework' contract. >> What they'll be marked on

-- Yahoo! Canada homepage on November 19, 2009

Their kid's workload means they have one kid, right? If they have two or more kids, it would be their kids' workload. Therefore, we've established that the parents have just one kid. But wait a second, what's with the they in what they'll be marked on? Clicking to the article - "Calgary family negotiates homework ban" - I find that the parents indeed have two kids. Methinks the editor at Yahoo! needs to monitor the website's writers as though they are grade-school students and be checking their work far more frequently.

Oprah Winfrey Apologizes To Robin Givens Over Reaction To Mike Tyson's 'Sock Her' Comment

-- Yahoo! Canada homepage on November 16, 2009

Why is Oprah's story the only one in which every word begins with a capitalized letter? I would like to see some consistency.