plural people

[FRITZ JUENGLING]

George,
out of curiosity, why does it strike you as being "pointless, inane, and stupid"?
What about pluralizing names of people who are not ballplayers, e.g. "The Smiths are coming to dinner tonight" or that old phrase  'Keep up with the Joneses"?
fritz

>>> george.thompson at NYU.EDU 4/12/2006 8:16 AM >>>
For msome years I have been struck (and annoyed) at the habit of some
sports broadcasters of pluralizing the last names of ball-players;
referring to "the diMaggios, the Mantles, the Berras" and so forth.
It has always struck me as pointless, inane and stupid.  But it turns
out to have a long history, as in the following:

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