I don't know what happened to me when doing Joy Andrews' NYS. The theme entries missing GG didn't come to me quickly enough, and neither did the rest of the fill. Was anyone else slower than usual on that puzzle? No? Guess it was just me. Kudos to Joy for getting VIZIER in there, though!

In Kyle Mahowald's NYT, I sense a confessional mini-theme: YES MAAM, I ADMIT IT. SO WHAT? But what is he confessing? A weakness for tennis-themed crosswords?

Today's LAT is by Ben Tausig, but in a cleaned-up puzzle suitable for a family newspaper. I prefer the Ink Well puzzle he runs in independent papers, in which ASSES may be clued as "moon units" and there are often some political references; it's fresh and different and interesting.

I've started the NYS Crosswords book #1. It's only 20% Themeless Thursdays and Weekend Warriors, but I love those puzzles and where else am I going to get the old ones? The book covers the first few months of modern-day NYS puzzles, so I'll probably be buying adding the rest to my Amazon wish list.

NYS 6:08
NYT 3:59
LAT 3:44
CS 3:27