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I Read the News Today, Oh Boy: Gold Smith

We actually gave three hints last week, because we snuck a second, very big one, in on Friday. Hint #1 was "This is one of those themes inspired by the day's events (specifically, what was on TV while we were putting the theme together yesterday)." Hint #1.5 was "Hopefully, readers who don't get it won't spit in our face." And Hint #2, on Saturday, was: "Still working on the headline theme? We'll tell you it has nothing to do with the band Nickelback. Nope, this theme is exactly five times better than that." And here is the solution, courtesy of reader T.K. in Half Moon Bay, St. Kitts:

The headlines this week all contain the name of a current NFL starting quarterback:

Doubling Down, Part II: White House Wants to Nix Gun Ownership for Trans Individuals—Bo Nix, Denver Broncos

Doubling Down, Part III: Trump Wants You to Know He's Young, Virile, and Strong—Bryce Young, Carolina Panthers

Judge Not, Lest Ye Be Judged, Part I: So Much Winning, It Hurts?—Jalen Hurts, Philadelphia Eagles

Judge Not, Lest Ye Be Judged, Part II: Judges Trying to Ward off Disaster—Cam Ward, Tennessee Titans

I Read the News Today, Oh Boy: Marshall Fields—Justin Fields, New York Jets

This Week in Schadenfreude: CNN's Gotta Love This—Jordan Love, Green Bay Packers

This Week in Freudenfreude: That Green Energy Sure Is Purdy—Brock Purdy, San Francisco 49ers

Yep. Some of these guys won't be starting for long, we think, but they all started in the first week of the season, which began last Thursday night. And in the first play of the season, Jalen Carter of the Eagles was ejected for spitting in the face of Dak Prescott of the Cowboys. Meanwhile, five nickels make a quarter, so five Nickelbacks make a quarterback, right? Oh, and Geno Smith, of the Raiders, is also a starting QB (which covers the headline of this item).

Here are the first 50 readers to get it right:

K.F. in Berea, KY
M.A. in Park Ridge, IL
R.S. in Landing, NJ
R.D. in Cheshire, CT
J.N. in Zionsville, IN
C.B. in Lakeville, MN
E.W. in Skaneateles, NY
M.S. in Canton, NY
W.M. in Livonia, MI
M.J. in Oakdale, MN
Z.K. in Albany, NY
J.S. in Huntington Station, NY
B.M. in Chico, CA
J.H. in Lake Forest, CA
W.S. in Louisville, KY
T.K. in Half Moon Bay
D.H. in Leesburg, AL
M.S. in New York City, NY
G.M.K. in Mishawaka, IN
J.S. in Elkhart, IN
T.W. in Jackson, MS
D.B. in Pittsboro, NC
M.T. in Simpsonville, SC
B.K. in Mystic, CT
W.S. in Greenville, NC

G.M. in Boston, MA
A.D. in Gaithersburg, MD
D.D. in Highland Park, IL
M.M. in Charlottesville, VA
J.R. in Austin, TX
T.M. in New York City, NY
J.W. in West Chester, PA
K.H. in Maryville, TN
R.C. in Eagleville, PA
A.G. in Plano, TX
R.E. in Birmingham, AL
F.S. in Cologne, Germany
K.M. in Ypsilanti, MI
M.M. in Dunellen, NJ
A.W. in Chicago, IL
M.K. in Long Branch, NJ
R.N. in Cleveland, OH
M.T. in Wheat Ridge, CO
M.K.M. in Marblehead, MA
D.D. in Carversville, PA
R.A. in Chesterfield, MO
S.L. in St. Louis, MO
E.B. in Bloomington, IL
J.S. in Azusa, CA
T.A. in Apex, NC

The 50th correct response was received at 6:33 a.m. PT on Friday.

For this week's theme, it relies on one word per headline, and it's in the category... um, Language, we guess. For a hint, we'll say that we would imagine scientists (especially chemists) and finance professionals will be at an advantage. Oh, and the Charlie Kirk headline is not part of the game.

If you have a guess, send it to comments@electoral-vote.com with subject line September 12 Headlines. (Z)

This item appeared on www.electoral-vote.com. Read it Monday through Friday for political and election news, Saturday for answers to reader's questions, and Sunday for letters from readers.

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