It was with no small degree of concern that Deadspin noted the lack of a Sign of the Apocalypse in this week's Sports Illustrated. Until August, the magazine had been chronicling the demise of Western civilization via sports news of the weird at least as far back as 1993, when it noted that "David Carradine, years older and pounds heavier than in his Kung Fu prime, is hawking his own t'ai chi workout video." We pray for the safe return of SI's SotA.*
Meanwhile Deadspin is happy to continue picking up the slack. We could discern doomsday portents in Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy confessing that his team didn't run up the score during its 84-0 demolition of weak-sister Savannah State, or in a Colorado school district construing Peyton Manning's No. 18 jerseys as possible gang signs. Whoda thunk! But instead, Deadspin's SotA:
Earthquakes Friday in southwestern China killed more than 80 people, injured more than 800 and forced the evacuation of 100,000 more as houses collapsed and boulders cascaded onto roadways, stymieing rescue efforts. Further, rains were forecast in the poor agrarian and mining area as aftershocks continued to terrorize the survivors.
UPDATE: The reported lack of a SotA was merely on SI's website. As Adam Duerson pointed out, the feature is alive and kicking in the print and digital versions. And if you're wondering how to best to point out a chowderheaded error like this to a ditzy Internet writer, take a note from Mr. Duerson, who closed his calm, respectful correspondence with, "Mistake is fine; maybe a correction?" Consider it done!