OT: Goodman reports Bolden of UCLA ineligible

[upstater]

Did Goodman graduate from Findlay Prep?

 

[Fishy]

Other than 'began', the sentence is fine.

You can't use 'began' after an auxiliary like "had".

Past tense vs past participle, etc., etc.

 

[mauconnfan]

Can Bolden write a sentence as well as Goodman? If he can then he should just leave UCLA and go to Memphis immediately...........

 

[Mazhude]

Well, technically, he didn't attend school at Australia but at a school somewhere in Australia, so that school should have been mentioned from a parallel structure perspective, and then it would have been helpful to have a "so what" comment at the end of the sentence, like "and that is a violation of NCAA requirement x, y and/or z..." Leaving Australia is not an issue, leaving a high school in Australia might be.

 

[UCweCONN]

http://espn.go.com/los-angeles/mens...s-rules-ucla-freshman-jonah-bolden-ineligible

Does anyone know what Goodman is trying to say in this trainwreck of a sentence?

"Sources told ESPN the issue stems from Bolden leaving Australia after his senior season had already began to attend Findlay Prep in Las Vegas."

Sources told ESPN, the issue stems from Bolden leaving Australia to attend Findlay Prep in Las Vegas after his high school season had already begun. Better??

 

[RichZ]

Should have been begun rather than began, but other than that, is fine grammatically. Despite the modifier (already) between the two words, the use of had indicates the past participle -- begun. The only place you could possibly insert a comma would be after the word begun, and I don't think that one's really necessary.

 

[Gurleyman]

Other than 'began', the sentence is fine. You can't use 'began' after an auxiliary like "had". Past tense vs past participle, etc., etc.

Upstater may have influenced me into thinking something was wrong with the sentence, and I read it with some bias, but (leaving aside the began/begun issues) if the brain processes that he had "already begun to attend Findlay" since those words run together, the rest of the sentence falls apart. It took me a second read to decipher what I thought was jibberish the first time.

"To attend Findlay" explains why he left Australia, so it is better sentence structure to keep those portions of the sentence together and then add the additional information about the when ("after his senior season had begun") at the end. Of course, Goodman was a bit unlucky. The same clause that reads, for example that he "left Australia after Christmas to attend Findlay" is perfectly clear. But he "left Australia after Fishy was sentenced to attend Findlay" is not. Was Fishy sentenced to attend Findlay? Or was he sentenced to prison and that is just a point of reference for the timing of when the subject went to Findlay?

It could very well be that Goodman has been dead on accurate about everything as a columnist, but sentence structure has held him back. For example, when he wrote that Daniel Hamilton is a selfish gunner who will only pass the ball if you put a knife to his throat, he may have actually meant that he's a versatile wing who can beat you in any number of ways, but he didn't use the Oxford comma.

 

[upstater]

Upstater may have influenced me into thinking something was wrong with the sentence, and I read it with some bias, but (leaving aside the began/begun issues) if the brain processes that he had "already begun to attend Findlay" since those words run together, the rest of the sentence falls apart. It took me a second read to decipher what I thought was jibberish the first time.

"To attend Findlay" explains why he left Australia, so it is better sentence structure to keep those portions of the sentence together and then add the additional information about the when ("after his senior season had begun") at the end. Of course, Goodman was a bit unlucky. The same clause that reads, for example that he "left Australia after Christmas to attend Findlay" is perfectly clear. But he "left Australia after Fishy was sentenced to attend Findlay" is not. Was Fishy sentenced to attend Findlay? Or was he sentenced to prison and that is just a point of reference for the timing of when the subject went to Findlay?

It could very well be that Goodman has been dead on accurate about everything as a columnist, but sentence structure has held him back. For example, when he wrote that Daniel Hamilton is a selfish gunner who will only pass the ball if you put a knife to his throat, he may have actually meant that he's a versatile wing who can beat you in any number of ways, but he didn't use the Oxford comma.

It's wrong no matter what. I'm not even a stickler for grammar. Verb/subject agreement is off. That makes it ungrammatical.

 

[Mazhude]

I'm sure it will all make sense in 20 minutes...

 

[David 76]

Bolden transferred to FP in LV after having begun his senior year in Australia, according to ESPN's sources.
K.I.S.S.

Gotta love a good grammar debate.

 

[Kitaman]

Should have been begun rather than began, but other than that, is fine grammatically. Despite the modifier (already) between the two words, the use of had indicates the past participle -- begun. The only place you could possibly insert a comma would be after the word begun, and I don't think that one's really necessary.

I was looking for your analysis. Wish you would have posted earlier then I could have skipped this thread thereafter.

 

[Rico444]

Goodman now reporting that Jim Calhoun is interested in the open PF slot at UCLA.

 

[I Bleed Blue]

Goodman mist have went to Prime prep. Deion Sanders school.

 

[Rocktheworld]

Goodman mist have went to Prime prep. Deion Sanders school.

I hope this is supposed to be ironic.