Since the Opening Ceremonies there's been discussion in the News Room on the subject of results.

If we give results before they air, do we give  "spoiler alerts" for those who want to watch the event on TV?

If this were say, 1972, that would be a valid point.

The truth is, even if we did that, the odds are, SOMEONE is going to break the news out.

Let's say, in one of our newscasts, we said "Here's some Olympic results, if you don't want to know, don't listen for a moment" (Believe me, radio people would NEVER say that phrase!).

But right before our local news, here comes FOX News, and THEY give the SAME result WITHOUT a spoiler alert!

SOMEONE is still going to blame us, and probably call to complain.

My point, it's a no win situation.

With information being available instantly from an infinate number of sources, how can one NOT know ahead of time?

Simple, for the rest of the Olympics, DON'T go online, DON'T listen to the radio, and DON'T watch TV other than the Olympics.

Not sure about you, but to me, that's just impossible to do.

EVEN if you do that, there's STILL a chance SOMEONE (family member/co worker/friend) will spill the beans.

This past Saturday, for example, while I was on Facebook, I knew within seconds that Michael Phelps lost.

OK, get away from Facebook, let's check my e-mail from Yahoo.

Uh, fail!

See what I mean?

It's not just sporting events; TV shows, movies, and even new music before it's released are targeted.

So, don't blame us, blame...society.

Or just go live on a mountain top.

Mike Patrick

mike@wgy.com