Big Time

Wed, May 28, 2008 - 1:49 PM

May 27, 3:13 p.m.

At least four production trucks are lining the street outside the Grand Hyatt, where hundreds of would-be spelling champions are preparing to compete in the 2008 Scripps National Spelling Bee.

The power generator on the corner is larger than many apartments I've seen in the Washington area.

The ABC/ESPN crews who typically run cable for sporting events and the occasional lumberjack contest have got to be wondering who declared spelling a sport fit for TV.

I already bumped into one nervous parent. Thirteen-year-old Matthew Evans from New Mexico is the only speller from his state and get this -- his dad said this was his fifth time in the Bee.

-Neil Simon