Sports Writing

Sports Writing

Match the mascot to the team (NFL)◦ Ravens◦ Bills◦ Bengals◦ Browns◦ Broncos◦ Texans◦ Colts◦ Jaguars◦ Chiefs◦ Dolphins◦ Patriots◦ Jets◦ Raiders◦ Steelers◦ Chargers◦ Titans◦ Cardinals◦ Falcons◦ Panthers ◦ Bears

Match the mascot (MLB) & National League ◦ Angels◦ Athletics◦ Blue jays◦ Devil rays◦ Indians◦ Mariners◦ Orioles◦ Rangers◦ Red sox◦ Royals◦ Tigers◦ Twins◦ White Sox◦ Yankees

◦ Astros◦ Braves◦ Brewers◦ Cardinals◦ Cubs◦ Diamondbacks◦ Dodgers◦ Giants◦ Marlins◦ Mets ◦ Nationals◦ Padres

Trivia Time!

Matching: NBA◦ (Central Div.)

Bulls Cavaliers Pistons Pacers Bucks

◦ (East Teams) Celtics Nets Knicks 76ers Raptors

◦ (NW Div.) Nuggets Timberwolves Blazers Sonics Jazz

◦ (SE Div.) Hawks Bobcats Heat Magic Wizards

Trivia Time!

How did you do?

Trivia Time

Logistics Statistics Deadlines Ethics lingo/jargon

Challenges

Conflict of Interest Boosterism Freebies

Ethics

Coaching changes Letters of intent Awards “unsavory” stuff

◦ Difficult stories require courage, a sense of fairness- and for HS journalists since Hazelwood- a supportive administration

News

Sports features Trend Advance Advance trend News stories Game stories

Types

These are the stories behind or beyond the gameBased on human interest and/or oddity

◦Athlete profiles◦Seasonal activities ◦Girls playing on boys teams◦Athletes paying for personal trainers◦Students who coach teams with younger kids

Informative features on unusual sports and the students who play them

Sports feature

Does not rehash plays from each gameHighlights trends in the course of a team’s play since the last issueAnswers the question: What’s gone on over the last month and WHY?More analysis and focus on individual players

Trend

Gives insight into the upcoming game, providing as many specifics as possibleMay focus on a specific aspect of the upcoming game: how will the team replace an injured star?Built on strong quotes, description and anecdotesRequires coaches and reporter to think ahead

Advance

Adds information on the upcoming game to the trend story, including how last month’s games influence it

Include information on the upcoming event as the first part of the storyDevote more space to the upcoming eventCondense into the available space as many of the highlights of the past events as possible

Advance trend

Sports have also become big business, especially at the college/professional levelLook for stories about college recruiting, sports funding, fan behavior, use of performance enhancing drugs

Sports news stories

Seldom used in monthly student newspapers unless a late deadline on a significant game

Excellent option for posting on line Not a rehash of play-by-play action Focus on interesting and game-changing

moments first Weave in postgame quotes from players

and coaches

Game stories

Differences ◦ Sports writing is more

colorful, less formal than news writing

◦ Sports writing is more faster paced and lively

◦ Sports stories can be more flexible than news or feature writing

Similarities ◦ Both use similar

types of leads: feature angle or news lead

◦ Both look for interest-compelling facts

◦ Both use an inverted pyramid structure (unless it’s a feature)

Sports vs news stories

News in descending order ◦ Game events aren't told chronologically; key

moments or developments are played high ◦ Second graph supports the lead◦ Some basics are played high but no “bunched”

together Transitions

◦ While stories may be written in an “unnatural” (not chrono) order,they should still flow. This can be accomplished by simply using appropriate transition words

Writing sports stories: structure

Scores are numerals separated by hyphens (12-6, not 12 to 6)

Team records are numerals separated by hyphens (8-2, not 8 to 2)

Winning scores always come first (your team lost 12-6, not 6-12)

Spell your opponents’ team/school name mascot correctly

Use sports terms that apply to the specific sports occasionally, however, you do not have to define them unless they are obscure

Writing sports stories: style

1. have a strong lead 2. write clearly and concisely 3. know the content 4. give the major play by play 5. use quotes as possible 6. check you facts**See your handout for these notes**

Writing sports stories: how to

Write about players and teams, not games When writing about players, always identify them by class

in school and position on team Keep up with team stats and use them frequently in stories Keep up with individual stats and use them frequently in

stories Know sports writing style Watch the team practice and play (especially for

personality profiles) Look for opportunities to do sports feature stories that are

not tied directly to the games There is a difference between reporting and commentating

on… Never be a cheerleader for your team

Writing sports stories: tips

Score Records Site Classification What’s next (tournament or playoff…)

Basics- when reporting you need…

Commentary Expertise Player criticism Clichés Redundancy quotes

Pitfalls

http://www.sportscliche.com/

Lingo/jargon

Give the outcome of the play if possible Name players on BOTH teams Give the outcome of the game/match within

the caption It’s preferable to have stats about the

player in the caption Use player’s number (in caption) after their

name, if they number is visible in the photo

Captioning sports photos

Example:◦ While avoiding an East Paulding defender, senior

Drew Coffee, #45, prepares to go up for the shot. “I played pretty well this game. I was very relaxed. Having a good game feels great and builds your confidence,” said Coffee. Coffee scored 14 points aiding the team in their 64-56 defeat of the Raiders. 1st sentence in PRESENT and describes what’s going on

in the picture 2nd sentence is a QUOTE related to the picture/game 3rd sentence is PAST tense and gives background on

stats/game outcome

Captioning sports photos

Write a caption for thePhoto to the right-

Caption practice

See handout

Group analysis