Crossword, Sudoku aficionados race to the end in Little Rock competition

Oliver Roeder, senior writer and puzzle editor for ESPN’s blog FiveThirtyEight, speaks Sunday at the Clinton School of Public Service in Little Rock about “Gridgate,” a plagiarism scandal unfolding in the crossword puzzle world.
Oliver Roeder, senior writer and puzzle editor for ESPN’s blog FiveThirtyEight, speaks Sunday at the Clinton School of Public Service in Little Rock about “Gridgate,” a plagiarism scandal unfolding in the crossword puzzle world.

The home stretch at Sunday's crossword puzzle tournament at the Clinton School of Public Service in Little Rock rivaled any of Saturday's finishes at Oaklawn Park.

The fury of Glenn Whaley's and Ellen Brantley's pencils stopped abruptly one after the other, but only one of the former Arkansas Puzzle Day crossword champions could add another title to her collection.

First the puzzles were checked for accuracy. Both were perfect.

The crown went to Whaley, the operations manager and Bill Clinton State Government Project coordinator at the Butler Center for Arkansas Studies, because she finished a split-second before Brantley, a former Pulaski County circuit judge.

"It was fun," said Whaley, who works The New York Times crossword puzzle each day. "These puzzles were odd, which made it difficult."

There was also a Sudoku tournament, which Beth Levi, a law professor, won.

The ninth annual Arkansas Puzzle Day was in conjunction with Arkansas Literary Festival. Before the Sudoku and crossword tournaments, Oliver Roeder, a senior writer and puzzle editor at ESPN website FiveThirtyEight, addressed about 30 puzzle enthusiasts gathered around circular tables at Sturgis Hall.

Roeder published a story on FiveThirtyEight in March that used decades of crossword puzzle data to spotlight allegations that the editor of the USA Today crossword puzzle, Timothy Parker, plagiarized hundreds of puzzles from past editions of The New York Times, Los Angeles Times and other publications.

Since Roeder's story, which was picked up by numerous national media outlets, Parker "stepped back" while USA Today investigates the claims, according to a news release from the newspaper.

Other editors, including Little Rock District Judge Vic Fleming, have crafted the crosswords in Parker's absence.

Roeder gave the audience a look into how the story began and the reporting behind it. He also explained why it mattered that "Gridgate," as the crossword scandal has been called, was exposed, beyond the possible copyright infringements.

"We lose a lot when we replicate puzzles, whether the broader solving public realizes it or not," Roeder said. "Crossword puzzles are an art form."

Fleming was master of ceremonies for Sunday's event. His jokes, which would have soared over the heads of anyone unfamiliar with comic page staples, were met with roars of laughter from the crowd fluent in crossword lingo.

Fleming, who had an acoustic song about crosswords featured in the 2006 documentary Wordplay, ended Roeder's talk with a ballad he wrote after the plagiarism accusations arose.

"Ain't no need to write your own crossword," he sung in a not-so-familiar refrain.

Metro on 04/18/2016

Upcoming Events