4. Among the different sections of a
newspaper, the sports page perhaps has
the widest range of readership. Survey
shows that 95% of male readers
read the sports page. This is
because sports stories are more
interesting to read due to the action and
rivalries of opposing teams which are
vividly and colorfully written.
The rivalry between schools and intramurals
teams brings thrill and excitement to the student
readers.
5. Ideally, any sports story
would have quotes from the
winners and losers. Indeed,
many sports articles are
written around what athletes
say rather than what they
have achieved on the field of
play.
6. The main elements of a good
sports story are
•a catchy lead,
•clear focus and
•lots of quotes.
Writing Sports Stories
7. a catchy lead,
• The lead is the attention-getter, the
news in a nutshell.
• The classic five W’s appear in the sports
leas as:
1. Who won?
2. Against whom?
3. By what scores?
4. Where?
5. When?
8. Example of a catchy LEAD…
The VGIS Lions (1) poured 10
baskets in the last three minutes to
edge out the CabIS Tigers (2) 65-63
(3) at the opponents’ homeground
(4), yesterday afternoon. (5)
9. The lead can also dramatize
other elements like:
THE KEY PLAY
1. The VGIS sluggers bombed the CabIS
batters with six runs in the third inning to subdue a
nerve-fuzzling CabIS rally, 14-12 as they clinched the
invitation game here, in connection with the
celebration of the Foundation Day of VGIS.
2. Foreign Philippine masters champion
George Olayban birdied two of the last three holes
for a four-under-par 67 yesterday and a one stroke
lead over Robert Pactolerin in the opening round of
the P200,000 Philip Morris Long Golf Classic.
10. The lead can also dramatize other elements
like:
THE OUTSTANDING PLAYER
1. Angelika Dela Cruz of VGIS, after four
hours battle over the chess board, copped the
most coveted YMCA trophy after outfitting Balligui
High School chesser William Santos in 27 moves
of a Sicilian defense.
2. Ace Striker Rossel Filamer slotted home
the priceless maker that lifted that multi-titled NCR
team to triumph over hard-fighting Cebu-Lhuillier,
1-6, to capture the fourth Don Andres Soriano Jr.
Football Cup before a big, enthusiastic crowd at
the Perdices Stadium in Davao City.
11. The lead can also dramatize other
elements like:
THE ANALYTICAL APPROACH
1. Riding high on sizzling spikes ad tricky
placing, the MLQ netters blasted the crucial
third set to win 15-10, 11-15, 15-7 mini-district
meet, Sept. 21 at the Torres High School Oval to
celebrate the First Filipino Thanksgiving Day.
2. Pumped-up Purefoods played solid
defense to frustrate a winner-take-all contest on
Sunday for the PBA All-Filipino Conference
Crown at the Ultra.
12. THE BODY
The FLOW of the body:
1. Team and/or individual standing- if the
event is part of a series of games, the
story must report how the teams or
players stand in their relation to their
competitors.
2. Decisive play- this is the most crucial
part of the game that gives a certain
team the winning margin.
3. Best scores for the day- the scores
usually appear in the headline and in
the lead. However, the writer must not
neglect the top scorer of the day.
13. THE BODY
The FLOW of the body:
4. Play-by-play- due to limited space,
play-by-play has to be condensed. In
top boxing events, a separate rate
round-by-round account is provided,
describing the progress of the fight
in detail.
5. Quotation- it is costumary for the
hero of the day to have his
sentiments of the fight in detail.
14. Former executive editor Jose Luna Castro of
the Manila Times has listed elements that
make up a good sports story.
• Personalities
• Play-by-play description
• Statistics
• Quotes by players
• Quotes by trainers/coaches
• Background stuff on players
• The importance/significance of the
event
• The background of the game
15. Suggested Pointers:
• The score or outcome- who won? That of
course is the point of the story. Even if
the game should end in a tie, with a riot,
or be called off on account of a rain, the
outcome is still important
• The significance of the outcome- was a
championship at stake? Do the standings
of the teams change? Who gets the cup?
Is the grudge wiped out?
16. Suggested Pointers:
• Highlights of the game- find the turning
point of the game. Describe spectacular
plays. tell about the last minute fumble, or
the last three-second basket from
midcourt if it were a basketball game.
• Comparison of the teams- which was the
better team? Was the defending champion
out-jumped on the rebound? Who did
better from the foul line? In what
department were the losers weak?
17. Individual stars- while present-day sports
stories on teamwork have greatly discouraged
individual stars and so called- “grandstand”
players, there are still instances where some
players stand out from the rest? Who are
they? What did they do to become the heroes
of the game?
Weather conditions- mud, sunshine, heat,
cold, or wind may have a bearing on the
game.
Suggested Pointers:
18. Crowd and celebration- don’t forget the
spectators. Was it a record crowd? How
did the spectators behave? Where they
particularly hostile to the referee?
Suggested Pointers:
20. STRUCTURES OF A SPORTS NEWS
Sample News based on
structure:
NBA game between Boston
Celtics and Cleveland
Cavaliers on April 1 as our
example article.
21. 1.Intro – the most important news aspect
of a sports game is the score. Who
won? How did they win and what effect
did the victory have? Also important is
whether we are writing from a Boston perspective or
Cleveland. In this case, we will go with Cleveland.
“Cleveland Cavaliers lost 98-96 to the Boston Celtics
after Delonte West’s sank two free throws in the final
seconds, dropping three and a half games behind
the Pistons for the best record in the Eastern
Conference."
22. 2. More info – The above is
enough for those who have a
passing interest in the sport.
However, NBA fans would want
more information and you could
give it to them in one or two
paragraphs.
23. “The Cavaliers were without star player LeBron
James, suffering from a knee injury, while
the Celtics were minus Paul Pierce. Gerald
Green led the way for Celtics with 25 points
while Kendrick Perkins had 12 points and
nine rebounds.
The Cavaliers, for whom Larry Hughes scored
24 with Sasha Pavlovic scoring 17, have
already qualified for the play-offs while
Boston are out of the running."
24. 3. Quote – This is where you
can provide a quote from the
coach or a key player from both
teams. You can precede each
saying with a lead-in paragraph
or go straight into the quote.
25. “Celtic forward Al Jefferson, said:
‘They were missing their best player
and we were missing our best play.
We just stuck in there.’
Cavs coach Mike Brown said James’
absence was a key factor in their
loss.
26. 4. The rest – Once you got the
main information and key
quotes out of the way, you can
go on to describe the game.
Even better would be to
describe just one or two plays
and include more quotes.
27. 10 tips for
improving
scholastic newspaper sports
writing:
Steve Row, Journalism Education Coordinator,
Richmond Newspapers Inc.
28. 1. Write about players and teams,
not about games. When school
papers come out once every
four to six weeks, stories about
individual games a month
earlier serve little purpose and
in fact are a waste of space.
29. 2.When writing about players, always
identify them by class in school
and position on team. Don't say
"John Smith" when you can say "senior
tackle John Smith," and don't say "Sue
Jones" when you can say "sophomore
goalkeeper Sue Jones." And don't use
double-digit numbers to refer to either
grade in school or year of graduating
class.
30. 3.Keep up with team statistics
and use them frequently in
stories. Find out who keeps
the scoraebooks for various
sports, and review the stats
often.
31. 4. Keep up with individual statistics
and use them frequently in stories.
If a player sets or ties a school or
local record, note it in a story.
Maybe highlight it as its own story.
Be sure your coaches and/or
athletic director inform you when an
athlete or team ties or breaks a
record.
32. 5. Know sports writing style: scores are
numerals separated by hyphens (12-6,
not 12 to 6); team records are numerals
separated by hyphens (8-2, not 8 and 2);
winning scores always come first, even if
your school did not win the contest (your
team lost 12-6, not 6-12). Spell your
opponents' school name and nickname or
mascot correctly.
33. 6.Make sure your sports stories
are the last stories turned in
before deadline. This is so the
stories can contain the
most up-to-date records,
standings.
34. 7.If you are writing about a team,
watch the team practice and watch
the team play. You must be present
to know what happened, and you
must take notes on what you are
watching. You cannot write a good
sports story on the basis of what
someone tells you from memory.
35. 8. If you are doing a profile on an
athlete, watch that person at
practice and watch that person
in competition.
36. 9.Look for opportunities to do sports
feature stories that are not tied
directly to games. These might
include stories about student
trainers, the pre-season tryout
process, different coaching
philosophies, why benchwarmers
persist in trying out for teams when
they know they won't get much
playing time.
37. 10. Sports writing can be more flexible
than news or feature writing, but
remember that even in sports writing a
clear distinction exists between
reporting and commenting. If you are
writing your own opinion about a
team or a sport or a sports issue,
that is commentary.
38. SPORTSWRITING RULES:
• NEVER be a cheerleader for your teams on the
sports pages. Don't write about "our" team, write
about "the" team.
•NEVER congratulate a team or an athlete in
your sports stories.
•NEVER end a story like this: "The Fighting
Gnus will undoubtedly be the class of
conference and will achieve anything they set
out to do.
48. Tim Lincecum (Filipino/White)
Known as: Professional Baseball Player (Starting Pitcher for the San
Francisco Giants of Major League Baseball; Two-time Cy Young Award
winner; Four-time All-Star; 2010 Babe Ruth Award Winner; 2008 MLB
Strikeout Champion; Three-time National League Strikeout Champion)
54. Ateneo nears elimination-round sweep
Cebu Daily News7:08 am | Sunday, September 4th, 2011
THE SECOND encounter proved to be just as
one-sided as the first one as the Ateneo Blue
Eagles moved a win away from achieving a sweep
of the elimination round after they disposed of the
National University (NU) Bulldogs, 61-39, in the 74th
UAAP basketball tournament yesterday at the
Araneta Coliseum.
The four-time champions Eagles are now
just a victory away from gaining an outright seat in
the finals, but will be hardpressed to complete the
feat with the Adamson Soaring Falcons standing in
their way.
55. Struggling to bust the Bulldogs’ zone all
game, the defending champion turned to
its defense and held NU to its lowest
scoring output since the start of the
archiving of statistics in the UAAP in 2003.
A telling third period exploit triggered by a
10-0 blast to conclude the first half gave
the Blue Eagles their commanding
advantage as they dropped 22 points
compared to the Bulldogs’ eight in one
just one quarter.
56. Mainstays Kirk Long and Nico Salva
and newcomers Kiefer Ravena and Greg
Slaughter took turns in the demolition job,
churning out double-double scoring.
Salva, whose slam with 7:36 in the
fourth quarter spiked the lead to 24 points,
55-31, produced a game-best 14 points even
as Slaughter, Ravena and Long added 13, 12
and 10 markers respectively.
Long, who was tasked to contain NU
Ray Parks’, held the hyped rookie to just 10
points on 3-of-14 shooting and forced him to
commit five turnovers.
57. Parks and Emmanuel Mbe contributed
10 points each in a losing cause for
NU. /Correspondent Jonas Panerio
58. Alaska's storied partnership ends
By Olmin Leyba (The Philippine Star) Updated
September 02, 2011 12:00 AM
MANILA, Philippines - The Alaska Aces ball club
and long-time coach Tim Cone officially parted ways
yesterday, ending probably the most successful
team-mentor partnership in the Philippine
Basketball Association.
“As there’s been a lot of speculations,
questions, we felt it’s important to address the issue
professionally. We’re now confirming that we have
released Tim Cone as head coach of Alaska Aces,”
team owner Wilfred Steven Uytengsu said in a press
conference in Makati.
59. Alaska's storied partnership ends
Cone handled the coaching chores for
Alaska the past 22 years, leading them to 13
championships spiked by a rare grand slam in
1996 and a near-triple crown in 1998. The former
TV analyst steered the franchise to 25 Finals
appearances throughout his tenure.
“Tim wants to explore other options,
challenge himself, pursue other horizons. We’re
saddened but of course, we wish him well. We
really had quite a journey. We know there’s never
been a 22-year partnership like this in the PBA and
there never will be another,”Uytengsu said.
60. “I’m disappointed, though, that I’m not gonna
see Tim break Baby Dalupan’s record while
coaching Alaska,” he added, referring to the
legendary Crispa mentor who owns 15 PBA titles,
just two ahead of Cone.
Uytengsu said “the show goes on for Alaska”
and for starters, they are elevating senior assistant
Joel Banal to Cone’s old job.
“I wouldn’t consider it a rest; more of a
change in direction, kind of parting of ways, not a
breakup, and taking a different career path,” Cone
said in explaining his decision to ask for a release
from Alaska.
61. The grapevine is swirling with talks of Cone
supposedly moving to another team but the multi-
titled mentor himself said he’s not going anywhere
– for now.
“I don’t have any firm offer. I have close
friends saying there’s this or that but I’ve not done
anything. I’m kinda open, “ he said.
Saying goodbye to a long-time partner was
quite emotionally draining for Cone.
“I’ve been actually married to the Alaska
organization longer than I’m married to my wife,”
said a teary-eyed Cone.
62. “The hardest thing for me right now is
leaving the players. When I saw them here, it’s like
a sledgehammer hitting my heart. I don’t want
anyone to feel I’m abandoning them but in fact I am
so it kills me,” he said, getting a warm hug from
team captain Tony dela Cruz.
But both Cone and Alaska management
expressed confidence with Banal, an assistant for
10 years and champion coach with Talk N Text in
2003, taking over.
“He (Banal) is too good to be an assistant
coach,” said Cone.
63. Special Mass held for Pacquiao,
Marquez at Manila Cathedral
A special Mass was held Sunday at the Manila
Cathedral for Filipino boxing icon Sarangani Rep.
Emmanuel “Manny" Pacquiao and Mexican legend Juan
Manuel Marquez, who will face each other in the ring on
November 12.
Manila Auxiliary Bishop Broderick Pabillo presided
over the Mass that started shortly after 8:30 a.m.,
according to a report by radio dzBB’s Manny Vargas.
But Pacquiao and his party had yet to arrive more
than 10 minutes after the Mass started, the report added.
64. In contrast, Marquez received an early tour of the
historic Manila Cathedral after he and his party arrived
early. Marquez wore denim pants and a purple shirt, the
report added.
Cathedral rector Msgr. Nestor Cerbo led officials in
giving Marquez a tour of the historic structure.
Security was tight at the Cathedral, which was
packed with regular Sunday churchgoers.
Pacquiao and Marquez held a face-off in Manila
Saturday to promote their November 12 bout. The two are
to leave abroad to promote the bout further before going
into training. — LBG, GMA News
65. Manny Pacquiao unrelenting in workout
By Ronnie Nathanielsz, Philippine Daily Inquirer
MANILA—Manny Pacquiao hurt his left wrist
early in a punch mitts session with Filipino trainer
“Buboy” Fernandez on Thursday evening at the Planet
Jupiter Gym in Makati City.
But after a short break, Pacquiao shrugged off
the discomfort and continued his workout for six rounds
in-between discussing strategy with Fernandez on how
to counter Juan Manuel Marquez’ favorite right straight
and uppercut.
66. Pacquiao told the Inquirer that Fernandez was adept
at strategy for the Marquez duel at the MGM Grand on
Nov. 12 because “he watched my two previous fights
with Marquez and he knows his style.”
Pacquiao was throwing combinations to the mid-
section which was protected by a body-guard when he
inadvertently landed a hard left on the punch-mitt that
Fernandez used to cushion the impact of Pacquiao’s
body shots.
67. Pacquiao appeared to twist his left wrist as he
connected and shouted and grimaced in apparent pain
with adviser Michael Koncz and Fernandez himself
showing concern.
But Pacquiao made Fernandez remove his body-
guard and Pacquiao went through his regular routine
working on the speed ball along with skipping rope and
a series of abdominal exercises.
Although he was faster and hit harder on the fourth
day of his return to the gym after a four-month layoff
since his last fight against Shane Mosley, Pacquiao
said he was “not satisfied because I am only 50
percent.”
68. Reacting to Marquez’s earlier statement warning
him to train hard because their fight was going to be a
war, Pacquiao replied: “It’s going to be a war for him,
for me it’s going to be fun.”
But Pacquiao later insisted that “it will be a good
fight and we’ll give the fans a great fight to watch.”
Fernandez said that
Pacquiao’s trainer Freddie Roach had taught him how
to handle light training at the start of his workouts.
69.
70. What is a striking headline?
-The headline of a sports coverage story should
tell right away who or which team won over
whom or whose team( and whenever
appropriate or applicable, by what score).
-Appropriate action words should be used to
indicate who won depending on how the event
unfolded
Examples:
• Beermen dump Gins, 106-93
• Fil-Am sprints for gold in 100m,
sets new record in SEA Games
71. VERBS USED IN SPORTS WRITING
English
Bag
Grab
Harvest
Sweep
Triumph
Clinch
Take
Filipino
Nakamit
Dinurog
Napasakamay
Namayani
Namayagpag
Nanguna
Nasungkit
