verbing ol é

[victor steinbok]

Umpire Jerry Meals on his blown call at the Atlanta-Pittsburgh game:

“I saw the tag, but he looked like he oléd him and I called him safe for
that. I looked at the replays and it appeared he might have got him on the
shin area. I’m guessing he might have got him, but when I was out there when
it happened I didn’t see a tag. I just saw the glove sweep up. I didn’t see
the glove hit his leg.”

Most stories copied the quote as is, although some dropped the diacritics.

To add a twist, Fox Radio site changed the verb:

http://goo.gl/MwfDk
"I saw the tag, but he looked like he [missed] him and I called him safe for
that..."

The same reading found its way on at least one radio station's site, but
they might have just picked it up from Fox.

http://goo.gl/3Nwt5

One of Pittsburgh local papers decided to explain the terminology:

http://goo.gl/ynhbE
"I saw the tag, but he looked like he 'Oled' him [like a bullfighter waving
a cape at a bull] and I called him safe for that..."

Although the text with the direct quote came from AP, some editors just
could not leave it alone:

http://goo.gl/ZkErZ
"I saw the tag, but he looked like he olid him and I called him safe for
that..."

Another slight variation in a Georgia paper and in another WV paper:

http://goo.gl/vsHC9
http://goo.gl/Ta8yR
"I saw the tag, but he looked like he ole'd him and I called him safe for
that..."

There are some tertiary sources that also picked up one or another version,
but I only wanted to list the direct media citations.

VS-)

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