That's an odd headline, eh?

A freelance writer at NBC Sports has been fired for lifting dialogue from the fourth season opener of The West Wing ("20 Hours In America") in a story about a horse trainer in the Kentucky Derby that had rescued three children from a fire. The episode had a storyline about a bombing at a college swim meet, and President Bartlet used the words "ran into the fire" in the same way that this writer in the piece used them.

But it doesn't end there. In the same episode, Bartlet said: "The streets of heaven are too crowded with angels, but every time we think we've measured our capacity to meet a challenge, we look up and we're reminded that that capactiy may be limitless." The Derby piece had this:

"... funny thing about life is that every time we think we've measured our capacity to meet its challenges, we're reminded that that capacity may well be limitless."

Wow, I'm not a horse racing fan, but if I had heard that, I would have immediately recognized it, since I've seen that episode 4 million times.

[via TV Tattle]