We joke in our house that Dad thinks he’s funny, but he really isn’t. Every now and then, though, he’ll crack me up. Witness:

My husband loves sports, but he hates sports broadcasting. I don’t care about the sports he cares about, but we pretend to listen to each other. We were discussing the Chicago Marathon, which has been named the Bank of America Chicago Marathon. The announcers proclaimed it the 35th Annual Bank of America Chicago Marathon. We, being the nit-pickers that we are, noted that while we had witnessed the 35th Chicago Marathon, it was not the 35th Bank of America Marathon. We’re annoying that way. My husband then went on a diatribe (he has a Ph.D. He doesn’t rant; he diatribes) about the rampant use of endorsements.

“You wouldn’t believe it!” he said. “When a relief pitcher comes into a game, they call it the ‘Rolaid’s Relief’ pitcher.”

“What’s next?” he continued, “The Kotex Cotton Bowl?”