The Art of the Soundbite: Topically Applied Topical Metaphors

Check out this quote from Cliff Spiegelman, a Texas A&M statistics professor and an expert in bullet-lead analysis, on his recent JFK assassination study:

"We're not saying there was a conspiracy. All we're saying is the evidence that was presented as a slam dunk for a single shooter is not a slam dunk," said Spiegelman, a Texas A&M statistics professor and an expert in bullet-lead analysis.

This is pretty much the definitive way to get your quirky, left-field news story reported on CNN or probably any other major news outlet. Give them a cute opportunity to allude to something that's actually (in the) news. (In this case, George Tenet's dumbass basketball metaphor for the WMD intel. Imagine if it had been Baseball. "The intelligence is a standing double with a man on third!")

Basically Spiegelman has gotten his hands some ultra rare Western-Winchester Cartridge Co. Mannlicher-Carcano bullets and fired them all over the place to see if the claims of the late Warren commission forensic chemist, Vincent Guinn, hold any water. He says no.
[Link to paper published in "Annals of Applied Statistics"]
[Link to CNN article]