Lead Assignment

Hard Lead:

KABUL, Afghanistan — A foretaste of what would be in store for President Hamid Karzai after the election of a new American administration came last February, when Joseph R. Biden Jr., then a senator, sat down to a formal dinner at the palace during a visit here.

Between platters of lamb and rice, Mr. Biden and two other American senators questioned Mr. Karzai about corruption in his government, which, by many estimates, is among the worst in the world. Mr. Karzai assured Mr. Biden and the other senators that there was no corruption at all and that, in any case, it was not his fault.

I liked this lead for the most part, but I think the author should have included what country Hamid Karzai is president of (for those who don't know). It mostly got to the point, giving the people involved, where they were, and what they were talking about, but some pointless information--like what they ate--distracted the main points.

The most important aspect in this article appeared to be that Karzai is not recognizing the obvious corruption in his country.

Anecdotal:

http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2009/feb/07/tigers-dominate-gonzaga-68-50-victory/

SPOKANE, Wash. — You only get so many chances at the University of Memphis to show the country what you are, to find out how far you’ve come and to put yourself in position to be called a contender for — yes, it’s OK to say it now — the NCAA title.

So this was the place on Saturday, in an arena that had been sold out for months, against a Gonzaga team perceived to be of equal or better quality, with a national television audience on ESPN waiting to be convinced.

It was okay, but I could see how it could be offensive to the University of Memphis: "You only get so many chances at the University of Memphis to show the country what you are..." What's that suppose to mean?

And Gonzaga wasn't perceived to be of equal or better quality. We were ranked #15. They were ranked #18.

However, it got the point across even if the wording wasn't great, and was an interesting anecdotal lead, so I suppose it was effective in getting the message across.

The most important aspect according to this lead? That Memphis beat a great team on ESPN.