Pope Joins Local Pickup Game—and Scores 50!

I wanted to take exception to Wikipedia's characterization of the Weekly World News as "a mock tabloid newspaper." (After all, it is printed in tabloid format, or roughly 23.5 by 14.75 inches.) As a teen I gladly forked over my hard-earned cash for the WWN, usually when summer's boredom was especially acute or right before a road trip. ("Russian Scientists Reconstitute Hamburger Back into a Cow" caused my friend Bob to laugh himself to tears—somewhat dangerously, behind the wheel of a Ford Fairmont—during one drive to Bemidji.)

But now I'm a reasoning adult, nearly reconciled to the possible non-existence of Santa Claus and Superman. I read that beginning in 2004 the WWN itself began suggesting that "the reader should suspend disbelief for the sake of enjoyment." Hm.

Publisher American Media has decided to cease publication of the Weekly World News as of August 3. No reason was given, but Bob Greenberger, an editor with WWN, reports on his blog:

"[We were] shown into an office where we are told the Board of Directors has chosen to close Weekly World News. The reasons given make no sense. We're stunned and shell-shocked. We're to stay on through August 3, finishing the reprint issues and then we're done. A glorious, funny, odd publication, born in 1979, will go out with a whimper and all I can think is that something's going on that they're not telling us because it just doesn't make sense."

Bat Boy Lives, a compliation of the best [sic] of WWN, sits proudly on my shelf at home. In it, former editor Sal Ivone writes, "If someone calls me up and says their toaster is talking to them, I don't refer them to professional help, I say, 'Put the toaster on the phone'." That's the spirit that made me love the WWN.

The WWN once reported the story of a surgeon who re-attached a pair of "Siamese twins" (the WWN was never much for politically correct terminology), after they failed to pay their medical bill for the initial separation. It could happen. It could still happen, but now you won't read about it in the Weekly World News.

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Please let me know if you will or will not be playing hoops at St. John's tomorrow. We tip off at 8:00 a.m., as usual. Bring a friend!