It, if I recall inside my version, was not said by Billy at all but rather by a sports writer in his column. And, it was not worded exactly like that at all. Bottom line however, is that the final wording no matter how it arrived was better than the actual technically correct version.
This happens over and over, one could recount examples all day. So which is the best? The abstract one often seen in the distant past that creates the spiritually correct wording that far exceeds the actual recorded words? The ancient historical writers could capture the most memorable incidents several years after an event, more so than a concretely correct recording. The latter version was often cluttered with minutiae that clouded rather than providing any clear explanation of an event.
Numbers, when quoted by the ancients were not exact either. Forty meant a lot of days, not exactly forty. The spirit is always the more accurate and cutting science off from the spiritual limited the gaining of new knowledge from the previously unknown. In these later day however, there is some evidence that science and religion is coming closer. It was a blow when they separated that may be healed in future days, if there are any.
