Picks writer answers to authorities after long story delay

The writer of the website stories for the Sunday Football Picks is under fire this week because of a lengthy delay in posting the Week 5 article.  The 39-year-old Lombard man, who authorities did not identify, spent Wednesday night behind bars at the police station.

When this week's Picks story failed to appear by early Wednesday evening at www.geocities.com/pickscentral, several complaints lit the switchboard at the Lombard Police Department, and officers felt compelled to take the writer into custody.  He was charged with "obstructing the entertainment and amusement of enthusiastic readers."

Fans of the Picks website insisted that the weekly wacky story about Sunday's family football results is always posted within three days, and often in just a day or two.  They claimed that their right to a good laugh was blatantly violated with the long delay of the Week 5 installment.  It was causing them mental anguish, they said.

"This is completely absurd, or I should say preposterous," the writer said from jail Thursday morning.  "I've been extremely busy, and there is nothing exciting to report this week, so I've been struggling with the text."

The Picks writer noted that all seven members oddly finished with identical 8-5 records, leaving no winners, no losers and nothing much to say.  It was the fourth annual "Pick Like Pa Week" taking place a week late, and participants complied by giving forgettable performances as every favored NFL team prevailed.

"You can't blame me for having a busy family life, trying to satisfy work commitments and being a dedicated player on the hospital softball team," the frustrated writer said.  "I'm entitled to all of that, and there's no such crime as 'obstructing entertainment.'  It's called writer's block.  Did I say this is absurd?"