Eric Crawford joins the battle against exclamation points

I kept waiting for the section on smiley faces and people who go back on their promise to reward the victor of their Twitter contest with a yet-to-be-decided prize, but alas. Baby steps.

I can't help it. That exclamation point makes me wince every time I type it. I'm developing a nervous twitch. And The Courier-Journal will adhere to the style of the arena's proper name, which means that the exclamation mark will be in there whenever the arena's name is mentioned. Every! Bleeping! Time!

I don't want to be a snob about this. It's not the existence of the exclamation point that I have a problem with, though I agree with The New York Times Guide to Style and Usage, which notes, "When overused, the exclamation point loses impact, as advertising demonstrates continually," and says it should be reserved for words that are "shouted or deeply emotional."

Great. We have an arena name that only Dick Vitale will pronounce correctly every time. Still, Shakespeare himself used exclamation points in abundance, so they can't be all bad.

No, my problem is that this arena name is commanding us all to be excited about it. I agree with local blogger Mike Rutherford of cardchronicle.com, who has decided to use the exclamation point only when he feels like it — and not when he feels less than excited about it.

I fully expect to see my name pop up again in three weeks when Bozich finally tackles the issue of pants.

Spoiler: I'm against them.