The Sport Of Spelling

I spend a lot of time watching ESPN and because of that, I’ve recently discovered a new sport:  spelling.
Not since ESPN’s early days of broadcasting things like Australian Rules Football and hours-upon-hours of Sportscenter have we seen anything like it.
ESPN televised the 90^th Scripps National Spelling Bee.  Ananya Vinay, 12, from Fresno, Calif., won the title by correctly spelling “marocain” (a heavy crepe fabric, its name derived from the French word for Moroccan).  I’ve never heard of the word.
For winning, the sixth-grader took home a $40,000 first-prize, a $2,500 savings bond and a large collection of reference books.
You can bet she knows how to spell this list of most misspelled words, according to Scribendi:

1. Separate
2. Definitely
3. A lot
4. Accommodate
5. Consensus
6. Acknowledgment
7. Embarrass
8. Unnecessary
9. Liaison
10. Deductible

Thank God for spell-check – and PR pros who don’t forget to use it!