Damn you, Goatberg! You’re spoiling the fun!


So as you may recall, last week we introduced you to a new game that the hacks in the Wall Street Journal newsroom have been playing for years. It’s called the Goatberg Game and the point is simply to count up how many times the egomaniacal Goatberg uses the word I in his column. Half points for words like my, mine, and me. Plus one point for every word that’s used in a phrase that is utterly unnecessary to the story and could be cut without losing anything. Last week, for example, Goatman used the word I thirteen times in a single 840-word column.

But this week Goatberg has pulled a fast one on us — he’s churned out a column where he only uses the word I twice. See here. We’re not sure but we think this may be a new record for Walt. Then again, as Walt acknowledges in this week’s column, his piece today is a retread — or as Walt puts it, “updated from a similar column I wrote in 2006.” To see the original from 2006, go here.

Here’s to hoping that when Walt sits down to write a fresh column he maxes out the egometer once more.