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I Read the News Today, Oh Boy: Sugar Ray Robinson Won 109 Fights by K.O.

We knew we'd only have one hint for last week's headline theme, so we tried to make it a good one. It was: "we'll say that you might think 'O'Neal' should be a potential clue, but that is actually not correct (to the chagrin of many people, including Z, in the relevant time period)." We will take this opportunity to remind folks that the hint is an important part of the puzzle, and an answer that does not work with the hint is, therefore, not the right answer. Specifically, we had a number of guesses that the theme was "Basketball Hall of Famers" or "NBA All-Stars." That's close, but: (1) Shaquille O'Neal is in the Hall of Fame and was also an All-Star many times, and so WOULD be a correct clue for that theme, and (2) That doesn't really match with the note about the theme having to do with a specific year/time period.

And now, here is the correct solution, courtesy of reader J.M. in Eagle Mills, NY:

Olympic gold medalists in basketball at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics—a.k.a. members of the "Dream Team":

Legal Bytes: Roll, Jordan, Roll (Eggs, That Is)—Michael Jordan

In Congress: Markwayne Mullin Nomination Advanced to the Senate Floor—Chris Mullin

I Read the News Today, Oh Boy: Sam Malone Starred in Sinners... Really—Karl Malone

This Week in Schadenfreude: A Little Bird* Told Me Never to Hire One of Those Pinko MIT Law Grads—Larry Bird

This Week in Freudenfreude: Afroman Works His Magic—Earvin "Magic" Johnson

* - Honorable mention to Sue Bird, who turned 12 in 1992, but claimed five Olympic golds in 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016 and 2020.

Shaq had to wait until 1996 in Atlanta.

Yep, they decided there would be one "token" college player (something they don't do anymore), and then decided that player would be Christian Laettner, rather than the much-more-skilled Shaq. Meanwhile, from the headline for this item, David Robinson was also on the team.

Here are the first 60 readers to get it right:

P.H. in Ft. Lauderdale, FL
J.S. in Huntington Station, NY
T.K. in Manchester, MO
M.S. in Canton, NY
M.K. in Seattle, WA
H.B. in Santiago, Chile
K.R. in Austin, TX
E.S. in Providence, RI
S.K. in Ardmore, PA
T.K. in Half Moon Bay, St. Kitts
D.D. in Highland Park, IL
D.B. in Pittsboro, NC
M.T. in Simpsonville, SC
W.M. in Livonia, MI
G.M.K. in Mishawaka, IN
N.S. in Los Angeles, CA
R.S. in Pittsgrove. NJ
A.G. in Plano, TX
R.S. in Milan, OH
M.J.S. in Gig Harbor, WA
J.U. in Chicago, IL
G.M. in Chevy Chase, MD
S.G. in Durham, NC
T.W. in Effingham IL
J.M. in Eagle Mills
P.R. in Havertown, PA
A.B. in Naperville, IL
C.G. in Pflugerville, TX
S.I. in Minneapolis, MN
J.S. in Columbia, MO

M.A. in West Windsor, NJ
D.D. in Bucks County, PA
M.T. in Wheat Ridge, CO
S.S. in Lucerne, Switzerland
M.J. im Oakdale, MN
M.W. in Frederick, MD
N.E. in Anchorage, AK
B.D. in Hood River, OR
B.E. in Brooklyn, NY
B.F. in Baltimore, MD
L.H. in Manchester, England, UK
T.D. in Chicago, IL
J.G. in Linden, NJ
B.B. in Avon, CT
A.R. in Los Angeles, CA
G.W. in Avon, CT
B.M. in Chico, CA
C.S. in Palm Beach County, FL
R.J.L. in Columbus, IN
B.A. in Sioux Falls, SD
P.W. in Tulalip, WA
D.O. in Brookline, MA
D.W. in State College, PA
G.G. in Lexington, KY
J.H. in El Segundo, CA
S.M. in Warren, MI
J.N. in Zionsville, IN
N.H. in London, England, UK
W.V. in San Jacinto, CA
D.L. in Springfield, IL

The 60th correct response was received at 6:50 a.m. PT on Saturday.

For this week's theme, it relies on one word (or letter, in one case) per headline, it's in the category Sports, and the Iran headline is NOT part of it. For a hint, we'll say we don't like to do Sports two weeks in a row, but given what yesterday was, our hands were somewhat tied.

If you have a guess, send it to comments@electoral-vote.com with subject line "March 27 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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