Underwater hockey is among several unusual sports that could yield stories this summer.
Once high school sports conclude at the end of the month, what’s left to cover? Far more than one can imagine. At some newspapers, the summer is a time to recover from an exhausting prep season. But let’s not forget all the ripe sports stories ready to be plucked. Summer is a great time to reflect, report and write some amazing stories. Here are some possibilities.
- How difficult is it for a coach to relax during the summer? Find a coach who is traveling to some exotic place, such as Costa Rica, in order to soar across rain forests on tree lines. Or find a coach who volunteers at a local charity. Or even a coach who relaxes by planting a garden – perhaps, you can have some relaxing conversations as he works the garden that reveals this person’s philosophy on life and coaching sports. Away from school, coaches are finally able to unwind, which means they might be able to speak more candidly. Hang out with a coach or two and learn a little about the challenges of coaching, and why they might need the summer to decompress. Continue reading Summer offers some of the best stories →
The Fort Worth Star-Telegram covered Hamilton's 4 homers from all angles.
Inexperienced sports journalists tend to start at the beginning when writing game stories, offering information about the early innings before the key late-inning rally or about a play in the first quarter instead of the game-changing play in the final minutes.
Or they might instead offer a very general overview or some personal commentary.
In class last month, my students used information from a football game between South Florida and Kansas to write a game story. Two key plays led to USF’s upset victory – an interception with 41 seconds remaining that led to a 43-yard game-winning field goal as time expired. Several students focused more on total points scored in the game (71) or on total yardage, instead of on the key plays. Of those who did focus on these two key plays in the opening graphs, most then reverted to the opening quarter in subsequent paragraphs instead of going back to describe the interception and the plays that led to the field goal.
Continue reading Don’t start game stories at the beginning →
Say what you will, Deadspin produces some terrific sports content. Today, the site’s editors offered several topnotch stories, including:
- an analysis of the crazy riots in Lexington, Ky., where fans started fires, fired guns at one another, set off fireworks and surfed atop cars.
- a compelling, thorough and sometimes humorous series on umpires by Erik Malinowski that also serves as a terrific model for multimedia reporting, entitled “Better Know an Umpire.”
Continue reading Deadspin’s dead on with sports content →
TrueBlueLA has established itself as a credible site
Sports blogging has always received a bad rap, framed as though all bloggers live (and rarely leave) their parents’ basement. That is no longer the case.
The NHL was the first sports organization to see the value in bloggers, realizing these writers could reach more fans than local newspapers that offered scant coverage usually assigned to inside pages. In Washington, for example, the Post focused far more on the Redskins, Wizards and baseball than on the Capitals. As a result, the Caps credentialed several bloggers early on.
Continue reading Only true fans can create fan sports blogs →
It’s fun to talk like an insider, yelling that a play was Prime Time, baby. Or that Pujols just mashed a tater. Or even that a scrum half wiggled his way upfield like a baggy up a Border burn. The folks in Hawick were chuffed when rugby commentator Bill McLaren offered that analogy – even if you and I would not have a clue what this means.
Cliches are fun to say, but difficult to understand, especially to readers who have just started following a sport. We can’t write just to insiders, otherwise newer fans will get frustrated and confused. That’s why sports journalists need to be more precise. To assist in that quest, here are some tips to improve writing about baseball:
Continue reading Tips to improve baseball writing →
Legendary sportswriter Furman Bisher, who regularly spoke with Ty Cobb, snared the only interview offered by Shoeless Joe Jackson, covered the first authentic NASCAR race, and offered illuminating insights on sports, died Sunday, prompting countless eulogies for a man who defined sports in the South for many years. Robert Bohler, longtime journalist and current adviser to Texas Christian University’s student-run newspaper, The Daily Skiff, reflects on this amazing career.
Furman Bisher, one of the greatest sportswriters of the 20th Century died on Sunday, and the wires (and the Web) are full today of coverage and tributes to the former sports editor of the Atlanta Journal and Constitution.
And even if you never read his stuff, it’s hard not to miss Bisher or the other major columnists of the day on ESPN Classic footage as they weigh in on the great sports figures and events of the last century.
And what a life he had.
Continue reading Bisher was a writer for the ages →
No quotes in a game story? Inconceivable.
As I judged two state collegiate journalism competitions the past week, noticed a few areas where students can improve their coverage.
Add insights from players and coaches. Many stories failed to include a single comment, which is almost inconceivable for today’s readers. Most others included brief comments from the local school team. Few offered comments from opposing coaches and players, people who can deliver a much wider perspective on key plays, significant stats and player performances. By speaking with these other sources, you’ll be notably more informed and your stories will be considerably better.
Continue reading Some basic tips for improving game stories →
Are you going to be a shill or are you going to be a reporter? That’s what the Los Angeles Times’ T.J. Simers wants to know. In this terrific column, Simers focuses on how Tiger Woods and boxer Floyd Mayweather each tried to intimidate reporters last week in order to avoid responding to the tougher questions. This column should be required reading in all sports (and news) reporting courses. Maybe afterward you’ll also go report and hear someone, like Tiger, say: “You’re a beauty, you know that?” I mean, who doesn’t like to hear they are aesthetically pleasing, right?
Want a terrific example for live blogging? Check out the Wall Street Journal’s Daily Fix, which offered excellent play by play, analysis and commentary.
Ryan (left) is a terrific storyteller & analyst in any medium.
I wonder how many others, like myself, grew up reading and admiring Bob Ryan’s work at the Boston Globe? Plenty, I’m sure. He’s arguably been the best basketball writer in the country for decades. (Called the ‘real’ NBA commissioner by Bill Simmons.)
Plus, he remains a premiere sports columnist. Last week, he put the current Celtics-Lakers rivalry into proper perspective, writing:
This had nothing to do with future playoff messages. This only had to do with a couple of former heavyweight kings picking up one more payday and giving their fans occasional glimpses of the things that once made them great.
And he’s also a multimedia threat, filling in to host PTI and appearing in countless other sports shows, such as The Sports Reporters. Sadly, he’s retiring after this summer’s Olympics.
Continue reading Ryan’s one of the all-time best sportswriters →
The following economists say head injuries might eventually transform football, if not the entire sports landscape, in the United States. Within 10 to 15 years, they argue, the NFL might slip below the NHL’s popularity. Is that possible? Had you asked Americans in the 1930s about horse racing, they’d have said you’re nuts, that horses like Sea Biscuit and War Admiral would be remembered forever. Americans in the 1950s would have mocked any suggestion that boxing would be marginalized within a few decades. In fact, Americans in the 1950s would have rolled their eyes had you suggested football would grow so strongly that Super Bowl Sunday would essentially become a national holiday.
The authors chronicle a doomsday scenario where CTE fears will prompt football to slowly lose its economic, social and entertainment values, eventually rendering it less popular than rugby in the United States. The argument is a hybrid column, really. Like any good column, this one is alarmingly logical and specific evidence supports all claims. Check it out – even if afterward you’ll probably need to leave the light on in order to sleep. Sweet dreams.
The Duke Chronicle called it “The Miracle on Franklin Street.”
The Daily Tar Heel lamentably wrote that the final shot ‘froze’ the Smith Center.
The Raleigh News & Observer characterized the finish as the ‘craziest’ in Duke and North Carolina’s 233-game history.
Yahoo Sports tagged it an ‘instant classic’ game.
Continue reading Grantland Rice would be kinda proud →
Yahoo, not ESPN, is the top destination for online sports coverage – at least when it comes to total audience. Yahoo attracted nearly 55 million unique visitors in January, more than 16 million more than runners-up FoxSports and ESPN, reports SportsBusiness Journal. Yahoo trails ESPN, though, when it comes to time spent on a website, earning a 32.1 percent share compared to Yahoo’s 19.9 percent. While jobs at print publications have declined, companies bid for the top talent online. And here’s why – that’s where readers (and advertisers) are headed. So, as I’ve noted, build both your reporting and online skills to better position yourself for the ever-evolving world of sports media.
How best to turn yourself from sports fan to professional sports journalist? Quickly moving beyond general guidance about sports writing, Joe Gisondi focuses on the nitty-gritty, with hands-on, practical advice on covering 20 specific sports. From auto racing to wrestling, you’ll find tips on the seemingly straightforward—where to stand on the sideline and how to identify a key player—along with the more specialized—figuring out shot selection in lacrosse and understanding a coxswain’s call for a harder stroke in rowing. Preparing you for just about any game, match, meet, race, regatta or tournament you’re likely to cover, Field Guide to Covering Sports is the ideal go-to resource to have on hand as you master the beat. You can 
