Where in the world ...? And why can't we pronounce it?

It's a tiny gripe, but one that I get this time each year. For the last three weeks, I have listened to broadcasters hop back and forth between calling it the Tour de Frantz (rhyming with Lance) or the Tour de Frahnce.

Now, to be honest, I prefer Frahnce. I think it sounds better. And yes, I took French in high school and that could easily be the reason why.

But ....

The broadcasters who insist on calling it France (rhymes with Lance) say that they're going to pronounce it the "American" way.

Oooookay.

Notice, though, that they are not calling it the "Tour OF France" (rhymes with Lance). No, they are using the French "de." So much for the American pronounciation.

Oh, and by the way, these are the same broadcasters who made such of big deal of calling the last Olympic host city "Torino." Remember that cloth that supposedly has the imprint of Jesus Christ on it? Yeah, that's right, the Shroud of Torino. Yeah, me too. Never heard it called that ... not even once.

*sigh*

The Washington Post made a big deal six months ago about calling Turin Turin. Almost everyone else (including, most notably, ESPN) made a big deal about calling it Torino. And yet, today, it is ESPN that insists on calling it France (rhymes with Lance). Some consistency would be nice.

Of course, I have not had the chance today to listen to Washington Post radio. (And no, don't get me started on the whole "the newspaper owns the radio station and are being incredibly shameless about cross plugging and pretty much reading the listenership the newspaper each day -- that's a rant for another day.) But I'm betting that The Washington Post, who insisted on the American nomenclature for Turin, is today pronouncing that country with the wine and the really long bicycle race "Frahnce."

Consistency, after all, appears to be highly overrated.

*double sigh*

Or, as Pepe le Pew might say ...

*le sigh*