Space-time continuum 1; Japan Times 0

Our Man didn't really expect a reply - he's noticed that editors (and Vulcans) don't seem to take sarcasm seriously - from the Japan Times sports desk, but he really has to wonder what's going on.

Yes, they've led the back pages with World Cup news every day now, as logic demands, and while Our Man could quibble whether leading with two-day old match reports is more useful to readers than previews of upcoming games, this morning the JT saw fit to lead with a preview of the Holland-Brazil game.

Let Our Man run that through the transcorder for folk whose brains are accustomed to move at the tortoiselike speed of office politics and not at the warp factor speed of real life:

The game was yesterday. It finished 2-1 to Holland at 1am. My copy of the Japan Times arrived this morning at 4am or so. It featured a preview of what to expect in the game. The game which had finished. That anyone with any interest in the World Cup has already watched.

Now Our Man will grant you that the JT and any newspaper with an absurdly early evening deadline for a morning paper, can't hope to keep up with, how you say, The News, but...

If you are going to preview a game, make sure it appears before the game, not after it.

Speaking of previews, howabout one to the Argentina-Germany game tonight? Nowhere in the JT. Do you want people to buy the paper or not? I'm thinking not.

Hey, howabout a preview of McCain's chances of beating Obama in 08? I reckon that Aso could give Hatoyama a run for his money too.