Mike Guerdon's influence is as wide as his girth

Figure 1-A: The Girth of Mike Guerdon

Indiana boy spells 'guerdon' to win national bee

By JOSEPH WHITE Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) -- After watching his sister try three times to win the Scripps Nationals Spelling Bee, Sameer Mishra put himself on a mission. "I told my mom I was going to do the bee," Sameer said. "And if I was going to do it, I was going to win it one day. And I guess it happened."

Did it ever. With the sister coaching him, Sameer augmented his spelling talent with a sense of humor that often kept the Grand Hyatt Ballroom audience laughing. The 13-year-old from West Lafayette, Ind., was finally all business when he aced "guerdon" - a word that appropriately means "something that one has earned or gained" - to win the 81st version of the bee Friday night.

That is really wierd. Because I thought Guerdon meant "He who is a gock."

Go figure.

But Mike Guerdon, you are a gock.

Ya gock.