1. “Sports do not build character. They reveal it.” -Heywood Hale Broun
SPORTS WRITING
“Sports do not build character.
They reveal it.”
-Heywood Hale Broun

2. How much do you know?
If you are playing in one of the four Majors, what sport are you playing?
As a guppie, if you used a lift bag after blowing bubbles, what sport would you be participating in?
If you are riding goofy, what sport are you participating in?
If people call you a Grommet, what are you?
If you try to open up the passing lanes, what sport are you playing?
If you hit a chester, what sport are you playing?

3. The Answers Golf SCUBA diving Snowboarding Young Surfer Football
Volleyball

4. Be Prepared
Most people believe sports reporting is easy because they have watched/played sports all their lives.
There is more to preparation than immersing yourself in sports. You need the following:
Psychology – competition pushes people to their limits, bringing out their best and worst
Sociology and history – sports has played a major role in struggles for gender and racial equality
Economics – sports, professional and amateur, is big business
Math – fans want to know player and team statistics

5. Be Prepared continued…
Specific sport
Know the rules, various strategies (and reasons behind them)
Get to know coaches and players
Go to practice sessions as well as games
Read other sports pages, watch sports on television, participate in sports
Once you have an understanding of the sport and team, begin planning your coverage.

6. The Pre-game Story Gather information Your coach Opposing team’s coach
Opposing team’s sports editor
Pre-game story content
Time, date and place of game
Last year’s score
Team’s physical condition
Starting Lineups
Comparison of records
Styles of play
Significance of game
Analysis of individual players
Historical background of rivalry
Weather outlook

7. The Pre-Game Story
You can also help present and future staffs by compiling your school’s sports history.
Pre-Game coverage should also not overlook related spirit activities: the band’s halftime show, new cheerleaders, pep assemblies, etc.

8. Game Story Develop a system of note-taking
Recording play-by-play
Recording statistics
Watch for turning points in the game
Fumble that sets up touchdown
Bench player who leads the team
Shift in defense that shuts down the other team

9. Game Story You cannot be a cheerleader while you are reporting.
You can be partisan (rooting for a specific team) but you can’t let that interfere with the job of reporting.
As a student reporter, be sure that if the professional press has covered the story, you find a new angle.

10. Interviewing for Game Story
Be prepared to ask intelligent questions
Don’t ask questions that point out the obvious (turning point in game – interception for touchdown with 30 sec. left)
Be aware of temperament of coach
Don’t ask questions that will make coach mad/upset at beginning of interview, but don’t throw out all ‘softball’ questions
Have questions prepared – but be flexible
Jot down notes and have questions prepared, but if interviewee leads you in a direction, take it.

11. Following the game, continued
Be observant
Observing what goes on in the locker room (crying, laughing, bewilderment) is just as valuable as interviews
Check with trainer
Check status of injured players
Remember to talk with assistant coaches and non-star players
Have significant observations you might not have seen or realized
Phrase questions carefully
Open-ended – gives coach room to maneuver and an opportunity to give a lengthy response
Close-ended – Only get one-word answers

12. Post-game story Sports feature Sideline story Background story
Sports interview
Locker-room story
Can include the following:
Spectator's actions during the game
Historical features on a sport or rivalry
Wrap-ups of the season
Discussion of rule changes
Untangle confusing events that occurred during a game
Update readers on scoring records and individual statistics
New team standings, awards earned because of performance in game

13. Sports Leads that work Summary (AP) Narrative Descriptive 5 W’s and H
Appropriate on features
Paints a scene
The rusting wire fences and crumbling graffiti walls mark its entrance. The faded lines of paint on the dark asphalt draw its inner boundary. In its purest form, the game of basketball belongs to the city.
Descriptive
Usually run longer, immediately thrust readers into the action
When Roger Clemens toes the mound, you can’t take your eyes off him. Standing erect, he exhales deeply as his empty right hand falls politely to his side. Like a chubby-cheeked choirboy lifting an open hymnal, he raises the black Wilson mitt on his left hand to a resting place in front of his solemn face.

14. Sports Leads continued
Contrast or Comparison
Effective in stories that establish a relationship between “close to home and far from home” and “that is how it was and this is how it is” angles
Almost three years ago, the Atlanta Hawks were looking for a center whom they hoped would make the big shots and big plays for them. So they signed Moses Malone after deciding that Bill Cartwright, whom the Knicks were offering, was no more than a second-string center who had about two years left in him. But Friday, with Malone watching from the bench, where he was for most of the night, Cartwright hit the big shot for the Bulls, that enabled them to defeat the Hawks
Background
Used when the background to a significant story is nearly as noteworthy as the new development itself.
They had lost an NCAA-record 34 straight games. They were 1,106 days removed from their last victory. Each loss, the players said, put another monkey on their back. Northwestern’s football team was living on the Planet of the Apes.

15. Sports Leads continued
Staccato
Giving information in short, rapid-fire bursts
Bodies ache. Adrenalin flows. Mouths thirst. Breathing is hard. Sweat is dripping. Players count the days. Fourteen to go State University opened fall football camp today with 33 lettermen reporting.
Literary
Sometimes circumstances in sports will parallel a literary title or reference
The USC running back situation now reads like the plot from Agatha Christie’s mystery novel, “Ten Little Indians,” also titled “And Then There Were None.”

16. Sports Clichés
Sports fans want stories they read to reflect the tension, color, excitement, joy, or sorrow of the game.
Writers often relay this by overusing clichés and slang.
Don’t sway from good English!!!
Sports writers need figures of speech, but they should be bright and inventive:
(Good) The USC varsity hits the field like a broken ketchup bottle. They’re not a team; they’re a horde. You can’t beat them; you must dismember them.
(Bad) The Centerville High School Tigers clawed their way to the Intercity League football championship Friday with a 14-0 shellacking of the Anytown Cougars – who played more like kittens.

17. Sports Features
It’s hard for scholastic publications to compete in timeliness with daily newspapers, so most sports are featurized because the outcomes are already known.
Finding feature ideas
Look for the losers – losing may not build character, but it certainly bares character
Look for benchwarmers – player who has spent four years practicing but never gets in the game, you might find people who both love their sport and understand it more than the stars do, you will find more humanity
Look beyond the crowds – Title IX

18. Sports Features continued
Minor sports/participant sports (non-competitive) are largely untapped sources of good stories.
More people watch birds than play football, more hunt or fish than play basketball, and more watch stock-car races than track meets
These sports, if covered, are usually by newest or least talented reporter…
Get out of the press box!!!
Drop by bowling alley, skeet-shooting range, Frisbee-throwing tournament…. Find stories there, and maybe some of the athletes you are already covering.

19. Sports Features Activity
With your group, examine the piece of information provided.
Brainstorm at least 3 feature ideas from the information.
Be prepared to share with the class.
BE CREATIVE!!!

20. In-Class ASSIGNMENT
Using the 3 sports stories from newspapers, magazines and credible online sources.
Identify what type of story it is (pre-,post-, feature, etc.)
Identify what type of lead is used
Identify any clichés used
Pick ONE story, rewrite the first four paragraphs to create another possible lead, using factual information in the article.