"Intellectual athletes"

The Scripps Howard National Spelling Bee is moving to prime-time network TV, with the final portion airing on ABC this Thursday evening. Wait, if ESPN2 has lost the Spelling Bee broadcast, does that mean they have room for the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament finals next March? Just a thought.

In an LA Times article about the Bee, ABC exec Andrea Wong says of the contestants, "They're all incredibly likable kids that you're rooting for. These aren't nerds; they are intellectual athletes."

Intellectual athletes. That's an apt description of the Stamford set, isn't it? Definitely zippier than "word nerds." I vote for a full-scale switch to the new terminology.