Forgive me for getting a bit snarky, but this kind of thing drives me up the wall.

In her story on Vinny Del Negro's demeanor through the turmoil surrounding his job status while the Clippers were struggling, Ramona Shelburne quotes Vinny as follows:

I didn't miss a blink

Now, there's an idiom about not missing a beat, meaning that one doesn't pause or hesitate, that one is not perturbed by the distractions around them. It derives from the world of music, from a musician keeping the beat of a song.

There's also a saying that says one doesn't blink. This has a similar connotation about not being fazed by anything. The use in this case might have more to do with a lack of fear in the face of danger. "He stood his ground without blinking" that sort of thing.

Didn't miss a blink? It's a malapropism incorporating two similar ideas that together makes no sense.

Now, I'm not criticizing Vinny. When you're speaking off the cuff, it's easy and incredibly common to make this sort of mistake. I do it all the time. My wife tends to coin excellent words like disastrophe quite frequently, and I find it charming.

But I have no explanation for what the editors of ESPN were thinking when they decided to include the quote in a headline.

Are they intentionally making fun of Vinny? Do they not realize that it's an illogical amalgam of two related idea? Why the heck would that be in your headline? The only explanation is that they are being ironic, or nasty, or just dumb. I don't get it.