TSN Sportscentre graphics goofs an early Christmas gift for error-spotters

Of all the words to appear over an image of Canadian icon Steve Nash on the night when he dramatically returned from missing 24 games with a leg fracture.

Hopefully no one at TSN gets a written reprimand or worse for Christmas. Considered this shared not to gloat or make anyone feel bad, but out of sympathy. To err is human, evidently more so for the editors at TSN Sportscentre who were working on the last Saturday night before Christmas and have gone too long without sharpening their games by cutting up NHL highlight packs, their bread and butter. Everyone who has worked in a fast-paced newsroom environment, especially in these days of shrinking editorial staffs, has usually had some embarrassing mistakes get out for public consumption.

Generally, a cardinal rule is never leave in text that would be inappropriate. That might have been ignored before Saturday night's Sportscentre. As you can see, during the opening teaser montage, there was some major chyron fail when the words "This Game Sucks" appeared over a clip of Nash, whose Los Angeles Lakers at that moment were struggling in the first half of a big NBA game against the Golden State Warriors. The words might have been the default placeholder text that is supposed to be replaced before broadcast. (Wouldn't that create a greater chance of error than having some XXXXXXXXXX-like gibberish, which many news organizations have in their templates?)

The game did not suck. Nash had 12 points and nine assists to help the Lakers overcome a 13-point deficit for an overtime win over Golden State.

Hey, it happens. This might seem like a shocking statement, but broadcast journalists are human. They can be just as prone to checking out mentally from work on their last shifts before getting time off for Christmas as anyone else. The difference is that the public saw a result of it. It's innocuous.

At least someone bothered to use real words. Seconds earlier, "Headlines Font 1" appeared during the setup for TSN's coverage of a tentpole event, the world junior hockey championship.

It is just ironic that happened with a clip of the great Nash. It is doubly ironic it came in a game that did not suck whether one was watching more as a NBA fan or because Captain Canada had returned. The triple irony is that someone converting from NHL to NBA temporarily probably found gritty Golden State easier to root for than Nash, Kobe Bryant, Dwight Howard, Pau Gasol and the Laker show.

Stuff happens. Here is hoping the staffer(s) responsible do not feel awful.

The mistake will not matter in five days, let alone five years. There is no "TSN must hate basketball" subtext. Plus media junkies got to laugh and feel haughty for spotting the error. God bless us, everyone.

(Stick tap: Pension Plan Puppets.)

Neate Sager is a writer for Yahoo! Canada Sports. Contact him at neatesager@yahoo.ca and follow him on Twitter @neatebuzzthenet.