Occasionally, a writer may delay the point of a lead; the reader has to read down through the lead to discover the point. Thus the name delayed climax.

Here Charlie Meyers of The Denver Post uses a delayed climax lead for his story of the Italy-Norway cross-country ski race during the Lillehammer Olympics. This was run on the wires February 22, 1994. His key line (the fourth paragraph): “In the Super Bowl of Nordic skiing, Buffalo won.”

LILLEHAMMER, Norway-to the shock and chagrin of 105,000 Norwegians, interlopers from Italy stole the grandest cross-country ski prize of these Olympic Games, the men’s 4×10-kilometer relay.

The Italians did it when their youngest racer outkicked Norway’s great champion, Bjorn Dahlie, on the final leg. And they did it by selecting a 43-year-old in his final season to start the race.

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When Silvio Fauner, a 25-year-old with a modest portfolio, beat Dahlia to the finish line by four-hundred this of a second following a dramatic side-by-side sprint, a roaring throng fell deathly silent as if someone had flipped a switch. In the Super Bowl of Nordic skiing, Buffalo won.

Here is a perfect example of a delayed climax lead. Michael Murphy, writing for the Houston Chronicle, profiles a Houston- area pitcher, Ronny Carroll, who had decided to attend Southwest Texas State University in San Marcos.

After a key telephone Cali, he changed his mind and decided to attend Texas Christian University in Fort Worth. This article was published in the Houston Chronicle May 11, 1994. The headline is shown under the lead.

Ronny Carroll still smiles when he talks about “the phone call.” A senior pitcher for Langham Creek High School, Carroll was home icing his arm last month after a District 20-5 A victory over Cy-Fair when the phone rang.

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Carroll picked up the phone and heard an oddly familiar voice. “Hi, Ronny,” the voice started “This is . . .”

Before the caller could finish, Carroll knew. He was talking with Nolan Ryan. “I knew right away (who it was),” he said. “I recognized the voice from somewhere. I just said, ‘Whoa.’ It was wild.” It would get wilder.

“I was wondering why he was calling me,” Carroll said. “I figured there was no way he was calling to congratulate me on the game just pitched. Then, he told me about TCU.” Ryan, a restricted-earnings coach at Texas Christian, was calling in an official capacity. He had seen a pitcher he wanted on the Horned Frogs’ staff. In other words, he wanted Carroll.

“I just liked him,” Ryan said. “He had good command of his breaking ball, and he throws the ball with good velocity. I think his velocity will improve, too.” Ryan should know. So it was goodbye, Southwest Texas where Carroll was originally planning to go and hello, TCU.

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“When Nolan -Ryan calls, you go,” said Carroll’s father, Ronny Sr. “What a huge recruiting tool. He wanted Ronny, so that’s where he’s going.” It didn’t matter one bit that Carroll, who has compiled an 8-3 record with a 0.79 ERA for the Lobos, has only one arm, his left. (p. CI) The Houston Chronicle’s headline for this story was: “What handicap?”