The Verbization of a Noun

Dear Sports Commentators,

I am writing to warn you, in this Olympic year, that it is grammatically incorrect to make verbs out of nouns. Specifically, the repeated usage, begun sometime in mid-1990's, of the noun "medal" as a verb. As in: "Bode Miller lost his chance to medal in this year's Olympics when he was disqualified in the Alpine Combined event." Now, does that really read correctly to you when you actually say it to yourself? To medal? I medal, you medal, we medal? It makes no sense. May I recommend the addition of three small words that would make the sentence grammatically correct, but still concise? "To earn a." See how that helps the sentence make sense? To earn a medal. It practically trips off the tongue. Good grammar costs nothing.

Love,
PopCultureMaven