Slide 1

SPORTS WRITING

Identify the sports the following slides refer to.

Outspike

Ans: Volleyball

Kegglers

Ans: Bowling

Five

Ans: Basketball

Love

Ans: Lawn Tennis

Photo finish

Ans: Track

TKO

Ans: Boxing

Birdie

Ans: Golf, Badminton

Ace

Ans: Lawn Tennis

Back Stroke

Ans: Swimming

Quintet

Ans: Basketball

The trick to writing sports is not just to report the scores but to try to tell what happened - readers want to meet the players that made it happen and have a front row seat to the game's action.

structure of the sports article

Each newspaper article has a title (called the headline) that is set in large type. The writer of a newspaper article is often not credited; if the author is mentioned, this credit is called the author's byline.

Structure of the Sports Article

The beginning of each newspaper article (the first paragraph) is called the lead (one or two sentences long); the lead should summarize the main facts of the article, telling the 5 W's (who, what, when, where, and why) and how. The first paragraph should also contain a hook (or the wow!), something that grabs the reader's attention and makes the reader want to read the rest of the article.

The nut graph is the paragraph that contains the core information about the story and tells the reader why the story is important. The remainder of the article contains supporting paragraphs that go into more detail about the topic, often including quotes and interesting facts.

The less important information should appear later in the article, since the article may be cropped (shortened) by the editor (the person who puts the newspaper together) to make the article fit on the sports page.

Reminders:(1) The reporter's opinions should not appear in the article - only the facts. (2) Use clear and simple language. (3) Keep the article short and to the point. (4) Use active verbs (for example: QSC president receives award) and not passive verbs (for example: An award was received by the QSC president). (5) Each picture, graph or illustration should have a caption describing or explaining it.

General Types:1. The Conventional Leads-make use of the most appropriate W/H to cast the news in a catchy manner.2. Unconventional Leads-make use of noveltyopening lines:quote, question,parody, staccato, punch, etc. Writing the Sports Lead

1. Conventional Lead1.1. Star Player Lead (Who Lead) 1.2. Winning Team Lead (Who Lead)

2. Unconventional Lead1.1. Analytical Approach1.2. Common Novelty Leads1.3. Grammatical Lead- participial lead, adverb lead, infinitive lead, etc.Special Types of Sports Leads

What should be included in the conventional lead?

Who won? Against whom? By what score? What game? Where When

Example1:

Stallion belles oust hawks,72-66

The Stallion netters ousted the defending champion, Hawks five, 72-66, in the Basketball championship round held during the KVNHS Intramurals Meet at the school ground, September 22, 2008.

Example 2.AC smasher conquers NV Tennis Tourney

Aldersgate College ace, Rowena G. Torres, smashed off five other university netters to reign in the Nueva Vizcaya Tennis Tournament held last May 22, at the Provincial Capitol during the Panagyaman Festival.

What should be included in the unconventional lead?

Why/How did they win? What was the crowds reaction? What was the weather situation? What was the relevance of the game? Whats the background of the game/platers?

Example 1.Stallion belles oust hawks,72-66Unleashing their blazing ire in the game plan, the Stallion netters dismayed the defending champion Hawks, 72-66, to romp off with the Basketball championship crown during the KVNHS Intramurals Meet at the school ground, September 22, 2008.

Example 2.

KVNHS smasher conquers NV Tennis Tourney

Riding high on tricky shots and powerful smashes, KVNHS ace, Rowena G. Torres, overwhelmed five other netters to reign in the Nueva Vizcaya Tennis Tournament held last May 22, at the Provincial Capitol during the Panagyaman Festival.

The Body of a Sports News

Other components which may be included in the Sports Article:play-by-playweather conditioncrowd favorites and reactionsplayer background/record quotes from star player/coach/losing teamrelevance of the game score boxunusual data/events

Example 1:Stallion belles oust hawks,72-66Unleashing their blazing ire in the game plan, the Stallion netters dismayed the defending champion Hawks, 72-66, to romp off with the Basketball championship crown during the Kongkong VNHS Intramurals Meet at the school ground, September 22, 2008.Headline: Stallion five oust hawks,65-54Lead:The Stallion netters ousted the defending champion Hawks, 65-54, in the Basketball championship round held during the KVNHS Intramurals Meet at the school ground, September 22, 2007.

Paragraph 2.

The chilly morning caused by the drizzly condition during the final game day turned hot as the nearly thousand spectators livened up the KVNHS grounds with cheers and boos.

Paragraph 3.

The Hawks taking off an early lead with the successive and almost perfect free throws by team forward Danielle B. Oregon, finished the first half at 42-40 on the board.

Paragraph 4.Posting invincible rebounds, the Stallions eyed on the sliding prowess of the Hawks and gained momentum in the first deadlock, 49-49, after having set eyes on high scorer Oregon.

Paragraph 5.Stallions Maxima F. Rizal and Josa G. Roxas rallied with three point shots in early second half of the game to nail a ten point advantage over the Hawks, 59-49.

Paragraph 6.Stallions, remaining spirited with the cheers of the most populous year level, rode high with tricky moves and placing to overwhelm the Hawks and closed the match at 65-54.

Paragraph 7.My angels really were determined to win. They have the discipline of a winner. said Stallion coach Romeo J. Pelaez, fourth year PE Teacher.

Paragraph 8.Oregon, on the other hand, expressed his regret for not maintaining the crown though he said that the Stallions deserve to be this years champion.

Paragraph 9.The following shows breakdown of scores:

StallionsFirst HalfSecond HalfTotal1. Maxima F. Rizal1510252. Josa G. Rojas97163. Gina F. Valido4264. Claudine N. Varett7295. Nora T. Santos5276. Payapa M. Wala022Hawks4025651. Danielle B. Oregon122142. Gwen V. Garcia104143. Leron C. Tan8194. Luz Z. Zaza5165. Riza N. Maruha0226. Faye D. Flor729421254

Other terms for defeats:(Singular)oustsoutspikesoverwhelmsdampens outpowerstopplesoutwitsdismays overwhelmsdisarrays nips conquersroutstrounces overthrowssmashescrushesblastsclobbersbashesinches outedges out

As a student reporter you must remember:

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1. Focus on the important plays of the game or a key player, and build your story around it. Ex. Michael Jordan scored 35 points to help the Chicago Bulls clobber the New York Knicks by a score of 105-73.

Dos and Don'ts in Sports Writing

2. When reporting in sports, you don't have to put in every play, just the important ones that made a difference.

Ex. Joe Carter's two-run homer in the seventh inning led the Toronto Blue Jays to a 6-4 win over the Milwaukee Brewers.

3. Everyone would like to know exactly what happened in the game but they don't need to hear every play or every detail. An example of overusing information on an unimportant play would be like this:

Ex. Fred Smith came up to bat in the second inning, and swung strikes on the first two pitches. He fouled off on the next pitch, and then popped one up into left field. Gonzales, the left fielder, caught it in the air for the first out.

4. Lively quotes from the players or managers can give your story a boost.

Ex. "It's lack of faith that makes people afraid of meeting challenges," explained Muhammad Ali and I believed in myself."

5. Sports don't always happen on the playing field, so if you describe the crowd's mood, size, or the effect they had on the game, it helps keep your readers interested.

Ex. A heavy helping of octopi was heaved onto the ice at game's end by the 12,400 angry hockey fans in attendance.

6. Your story doesn't even have to be about a game. It could be player profiles or about teams preparing for a new season or a tournament - whatever is happening that may be interesting.

6. Make sure you know exactly what the players or athletes have accomplished, so your story has the correct details.

Given the details below, write an appropriate lead/sport news:Who won: Solano Team Against whom: Bambang TeamBy what score: 655-653What: Bowling Championship RoundWhere: N.V. Bowling Center, BayombongWhen: June 28, 2008How: Solano prime keggler John Mendez posted 5 successive spikes and 3 spares to run off with 174 points.Who: Gov. Cuaresma sponsored the tournament.

Illustration of a Sports Feature:76ers Rout Lakers for 6th Straight Win.

The Sixers 1st sellout of the season. 20,577 fans. Hey it was the Lakers game. What'd you expect? For as long as I can remember its has been THE 'must see' game of the season. Kobe Bryant's return to Philly just spices it up a little. The conflicted mix of fans of which some come to cheer the Upper Merion native and others come to jeer the self-centered, wife cheatin', dirty playin', stinkin', jerk. But for many its the "Lakers Game". The 76ers opponent in the their last two finals appearances. Its the Hollywood "Show time" attitude that rubs this blue collar town the wrong way. There's only one home game a year. The place will be rockin'

Sports Feature: Personality SketchJohn Chaney ...Diamonds Are Forever...John Chaney shares a common trait among our Giants of Philadelphia. Hes sure hes not one. And beyond that, hed tell you that no one else sees him as one either. Theres a story he thinks proves the point.There was this bus driver making his route through Mt. Airy. Hes got a bus full of riders, all looking to get home for dinner. The driver looks up at the houses as hes driving past. The nice, well kept, proud but modest homes that make up Mt. Airy.Low and behold, who does he think he sees. None other than Coach Chaney one of his Philadelphia heroes. His eyes dont deceive him. Married to his wife Jeanne for 54 years, John Chaney still resides in that same Mount Airy row home.The bus driver, passengers notwithstanding, immediately pulls the bus over and jumps out. "Excuse me, are you John Chaney ? Chaney replies, Yes, I am.Well, I just wanted to say, that it is a real pleasure to meet you. But I have to confess, I thought you lived in a mansion. Before, John Chaney could answer, the passengers were out of the bus, not caring who the heck the driver was talking to and to get his butt back in the bus.When John Chaney thinks something is truly funny, he doesnt politely laugh, he laughs hard. He sees the bus driver scene as not only does Coach Chaney think he shouldnt live in a mansion. The people on the bus sure as heck dont either. Hes laughing hard.

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