On Thursday night, 15 youngsters who are much smarter than most of us will face off in the finals of the 2017 Scripps National Spelling Bee. And while I wouldn't stand a chance in that competition, I could hang in there if instead of actual words, we were required to spell athletes names.
I remember interviewing for a job at ESPN back when I was in college, and in addition to several rounds of answering sports trivia questions, there was a written test. Part of that test involved a list of names and locations, some spelled correctly and others misspelled. What I had to do was decide which ones were incorrect and then provide the correct spelling instead.
Now, it's your turn.
I'm not going to make it quite that difficult – you'll have two choices, one of which will be spelled correctly – but that doesn't mean it's going to be easy. Below, you'll find 20 names (five of them are Philly-specific) that are incredibly hard to spell if you've never had to write them before. Most of these, I now know by heart, likely after learning the hard way.
But I can tell you that there is one of these that I will never get correct. Never have. Never will.
All I can say is, good luck. You're going to need it.
PART I: AROUND THE WORLD
Pick the correct spelling.
1.
a) Dwayne Wade
OR
b) Dwyane Wade
2.
a) Matt Szczur
OR
b) Matt Sczcur
3.
a) Ikponwosa Igbinosun
OR
b) Ikponmwosa Igbinosun
4.
a) Michael Hoomanawanui
OR
b) Michael Hoomanawani
5.
a) Giannis Antetokounmpo
OR
b) Giannis Antekotounmpo
6.
a) Adeiny Hechavarria
OR
b) Adeiny Hechavaria
7.
a) Erisbel Arrubarena
OR
b) Erisbel Arruebarrena
8.
a) Mike Kzryzewski
OR
b) Mike Krzyzewski
9.
a) Dustin Byfuglien
OR
b) Dustin Bufyglien
10.
a) Sokratis Papastopoulos
OR
b) Sokratis Papastathopoulos
11.
a) Marc Rzepczynski
OR
b) Marc Rzepchinski
12.
a) Jeff Samardzija
OR
b) Jeff Smardzija
13.
a) Ben Rothelisberger
OR
b) Ben Roethlisberger
14.
a) Niklas Hjalmarsson
OR
b) Niklas Jhalmarsson
15.
a) Kirk Neuwenheis
OR
b) Kirk Nieuwenhuis
PART II: PHILLY-SPECIFIC PLAYERS
Pick the correct spelling.
16.
a) Timothé Luwawu-Cabbarot
OR
b) Timothé Luwawu-Cabarrot
17.
a) Jerad Eickhoff
OR
b) Jared Eickoff
18.
a) Halaapoulivati Vaitai
OR
b) Halapoulivaati Vaitai
19.
a) Shayne Ghostisbere
OR
b) Shayne Gostisbehere
20.
a) Valtteri Filppula
OR
b) Valteri Flippula
How did you do? Check your answers below...
By the way, Nos. 2 and 8 are the ones that always get me.
ANSWER KEY: b, a, b, a, a, a, b, b, a, b, a, a, b, a, b, b, a, b, b, a
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