Over the course

THIS IS WORDY AND REDUNDANT: Why redundant? You have back-to-back sentences with "over the course" in them.

The more telling number, however, is the 15.1 yards per catch Owens averaged over the course of the season. That's right in line with where he has been over the course of his career and should be the first statistic mentioned by any Owens supporter hoping to dispel the notion that he has lost a step.

Let's try again:

The more telling number, however, is the 15.1 yards per catch Owens averaged last season. That's in line with where he has been over the course of his career and should dispel the notion that he has lost a step.

HERE'S ANOTHER: When I’m not covering the Miami Dolphins, or spending time with my family, I’m submerged in hip-hop music, and it’s culture.

The first part of that sentence is fine. The last part of that can be changed to I'm submerged in hip-hop music and its culture.

But hip-hop music isn't what I'd call culture.

Contact: Reach me at tgilli52@gmail.com or nc3022@yahoo.com.

More EDITOR@WORK blog entries

• You really DO need an editor

• Reminders for would-be novelists

• What I do when I'm editing

• What I charge (it's a deal) and what I edit

• Slogging through the Internet

• J-school: More eyes on your stories

• J-school: Go out and learn

• Rookie mistakes for magazine writers

Entries from The Dog Blog

• Katie cried

• Growl and pull

• 10 years with Lady

• ... said the spider to ...

• The Dog Diary (2014)

• YIP! YIP! The stereo-sound huskies

• What Lady and Michael Jackson had in common

Blog entries from The Auto Racing Journal

• Angel in Black: Remembering Dale Earnhardt Sr.

(a book of great stories about the Intimidator)

• Then Junior Said to Jeff...

(the book of great NASCAR stories)

• My best day as a sports writer

• Jeff Gordon's milk toast to Dale Earnhardt

• Wayne Auton: A life in racing

More blog entries by Tom Gillispie

• Resume for a writer and editor

• An editor's views on powerful writing

• Advice for be and would-be novelists

• Links to TG's stories online

• Favorite quotes

• What I do when I'm editing

Anecdotes by Tom Gillispie

• Wipeout at Death Valley

• Days with rainbows

• A desperate writer working in the dark

• Yer outta there!