If you read this week's Observer, you might have seen this article about Gary Spitz, a 42-year-old ball boy at the U.S. Open. If you read yesterday's Times, you might have seen this article about Gary Spitz, a 42-year-old ball boy at the U.S. Open. If you happened to be reading the Washington Post around this time last year, you might have seen this article about Gary Spitz, a 41-year-old ball boy at the U.S. Open. In 2002, USA Today had a fascinating glimpse into the life of Gary Spitz, a 38-year-old ball boy at the U.S. Open. And way back in 2001, ESPN took a look at a 37-year-old U.S. Open ball boy by the name of Gary Spitz.

Now, we understand that "world's oldest ball boy" is the kind of hardy perennial that just keeps getting better each year. We're not going to blame the papers for running the stories, however duplicative they are. We're just a little concerned that all the attention paid to Mr. Spitz will lead inevitably to something like this:

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We would have gone with Will Ferrell, but given Hollywood's recent commitment to cost-cutting, we're pretty sure this is how it's gonna play out.