 Sportswriting Let’s play handegg and jumpball!

What Are Sports, Anyway?  I mean, what makes a sport a sport?  Why do they matter so much to us?

Let Me Be Honest With You  Sportswriting is painfully cliché much of the time.  What are some of the most common clichés in sportswriting that you have heard? In pairs, come up with the worst offenders. Write a short sports story that is as cliché as you can make it.

How to Avoid Clichés  Read about the sport and team to know what is already trite and overdone  Talk to the coach and players outside of the season and outside of game days to know them in a relaxed setting  Remember, sports stories are about people  Sports stories should ask why  Look for off-the-field relationships among the team that impacts what occurs on the field  Winning does not always make the best story. A team trying to win its first game could make an excellent one.  Sports is not always about playing the game; it goes beyond

What Makes a Good Sports Reporter?  Know sports well: the rules, strategy, team and player records, etc. Become well-informed as possible, not relying only on prior knowledge  Work at detecting strengths and weaknesses of a team or individual  Don’t attend games as a cheering spectator; you might miss important aspects of the game  Support all opinions with facts  Be informal and original as possible!

Develop a Focus  Don’t simply go write a story about hockey. What aspects of the team and its achievements and failures make it most interesting? Focus on that.

Sports Slang and Sports Language  Instead of this: “The 145-pound blazer rumbled through the giant grid of the goal line for a sweet six points,” …  …write this: “Senior running back Jonathan Belsher leapt over the defensive line from the one yard line to score the game-winning touchdown.”

Sports Slang and Sports Language  If a phrase is so ridiculous that no one would say it, then avoid it.  Nobody says, “grid mentor” to speak of a football coach. You shouldn’t, either. You don’t say “ice master” to speak of a hockey coach.  Use the specialized writing of the sport without getting too technical. For instance, a “jumper” wouldn’t need explanation, but a “swing backside on a lost post pick” would.

Statistics  Stats are important to a sports story, but don’t get carried away.  Rather than say the running back “had a good day,” explain that he “ran for a season-high 220 yards and two touchdowns.”  Place statistics in context of the sport, too, so reader knows what they mean.

Preparing to Write Consider these aspects when starting at your story:  Significance of event. Is title at stake?  Probably lineups and changes  Records of teams and individual players  Compare records of teams  Tradition and rivalry  Weather conditions  Systems of play and each team’s strategy  Rankings  Individual angles, like star players  Coaches’ statements  Who is favored  Crowd antics, new uniforms, etc.  Check pg. 105 in SJ

Types of Sports Stories  Advance story : gives insight into upcoming game, builds anticipation, answers 5 W’s and H  Trend story : what’s gone on recently and why? While focusing on the past a bit, keep in mind the future is more interesting to readers  Sports news: what affects the sport beyond the actual game  Game story: tells story of game; looks for key moments, stats, or trends to weave this story  Sports feature: story beyond or behind the game; focuses on human interest; pg. 111 in SJ