Unit 5

WRITING THE SPORTS STORY
SPORTS WRIING HAS BECOME one of the most popular forms of modern journalistic
writing. More and more readers are now turning to the sports section before looking
at the more prosaic news of the day,
But while many talk about sports, there are only few who can write a sports story.
Even experienced beat reporters get lost covering games and writing about them
because it takes more than just answering 5 W's to be able to come up with a
comprehensive sports news story.
STRUCTURE OF THE SPORTS STORY
Sports writing, meaning writing a sports report on an event or a game, is news

writing. The sports story has the structure of an action story but with greater
freedom of a style in writing. It is considered a specialized filed; therefore, the
sport writer is expected to possess certain qualities not so common among beat
reporters.
Aside from having a "nose for news", he should also: 1) have interest in all sports
event, 2) know the rules and regulations of the event or game he is writing about,
and 3) have a working knowledge of the language and jargon of sports writing
usually referred to as sports lingo. In this connection, he should avoid cliches
(tired old phrase) that have seen better days. Examples of cliche are "swishing the
cord" "hitting the willowroot," and "canning the birdie."
Even when writing only for a school paper, the budding sports writer is expected to
possess the three characteristics of a sports writer = just mentioned although he
does not need to be a star player himself of the game before he can write
interestingly about it.
TYPES OF SPORTS STORIES

Three tyoes of sports stories can be written. These are the advance story, the
coverage story and the advance coverage story.
The advance story, sometimes called dope or prognostication builds up enthusiasm
for comung events. It may be one of the three types:
1. straight news story;
2. background story; and
3. prediction story.
The coverage story is an on-the-spot coverage of an actual game or event,
The advance-coverage story includes the information of a coming event as the first
part of the story and the information on the past event as the last part of the
story.
QUALITIES OF A GOOD SPORTS WRITER
Aside from a working knowledge if the medium he is going to use in writing his
story, the sports writer should also have the following know-how:
1. Must know sports: rules, strategy, team and player's records
2. Must attend the games or meets as a reporter, not as a spectator or cheerer
3. Must how coaches and players as intimately as possible
4. Must observe accuracy
5. Must be fair and unbiased in reporting, even though he has a favorite team
7. Must not make comments without supporting them with facts on which they are
based, although sports writers have more freedom than any other news writers
8. Must use the specialized langauge of the particular sports that he is
reporting
9. Must avoid sports slang and trite expressions which hack writers use today. He
should tell the story in plain, factual terms, that describe the action.
10. Must bear in mind that he writes for his readers and not for himself
WRITING THE SPORTS STORY

The Lead
Like any other news story, a sports story has a lead and a body. The sports lead is
the attention-getter, the news in a nut-shell.
The classic 5 W's appear in the sports lead as: 1) Who won? 2) Against whom? 3) By
what score? 4) Where? and 5) When?
The Torres High SChool Quintet (1) poured 10 baskets in the last three minutes to
edge out the Osmeñians (2) 65-63 (3) at the opponents homeground (4) yesterday
afternoon (5).
This kind of summary lead may vary.
The lead can also dramtize other elements like:
A. The key play
The Soliman High School sluggers bombed the Lakandula batters with six runs in
the third inning to subdue a nerve-frazzling Lakandula rally, 14-12 as they
clinched the invitational game here, in connection with the celebration of the
Foundation Day of Lakandula High School.
B. The outstanding player
Romeo Reyes if Roxas High School, after almsot four hours of battle over the
chess board, copped the most coveted YMCA trophy after outwitting Manila High
School chesser William Santos in 27 moves of Sicilian defense.
C. Analytical approach
The outcome of the game is the result of a particular key play or action.
Riding high sizzling spikes and tricky placing, the MLQ netters blasted the
Laurel High killers in the crucuial thirds set to win 15-10, 11-15, 15-7 in a mini-
distrcit meet, Sept. 21 at the Torres High School oval to celebrate the First
Filipino Thanksgiving Day.
The Body
After the lead, the other elements follow in descending order. These will include:
A. 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 relation to their competitors.
B. Decisive plays
This is the most crucial part of the game that gives a certain team the winning
margin.
C. 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.
D. Play-by-play
Due to limited space, play-by-play has to be condensed. In top boxing events, a
separate round-by-round account is providedm describing the progress of the fight
in detail.
G. Quotations
It is customary for the hero of the day to have his sentiments recorded for
prosperity.
The above format was a suggestion of sports writer Eduardo Lachica of The
Philippine Herald. Former executive editor Jose Luna Castro of the Manila Times had
likewise listed eight elements that make up a good sports story. These are:
1. Personalities;
2. Play-by-play description;
3. Statistics;
4. Quotes by players;
5. Quotes by trainers and coaches;
6. Background stuff on players;
7. The importance or significance of the event; and
8. The background of the game.
A story carrying all these ingredients is the interpretative type.

SUGGESTED POINTERS
1. The score or outcome - Who won? That of course is the central point o 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.
2. 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?
3. 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.
4. 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 waht department
were the losers weak?
5. Individual stars - While present-day sports stories on team-work have greatly
discouraged individual starts and so-called "grandstand" players, there are still
instances where some players stand out from the rest. Who are they? What have they
done to become the heroes of the game?
6. Weather conditions - Mud, sunshine, heat, cold or wind may have a bearing on
the game.
7. Crowd and celebration - Don't foregt the spectators. Was it a record crowd? How
did the spectators behave? Were they particularly hostile to the referee?
SPORTS LINGO, SLANGUAGE AND CRUTCHES

It is important that a sports writer masters the langauge of sports because only
when he has complete command of the lingo can he sound authoritative and convincing
to his readers. In fact, there are sports terms that enable a sports writer to
explain in only a few words certain happenings in a game.
Among these terms are:
A. Basketball - five, quintet, shot twinner, pivot, rally, rebound, technical
foul, quarter count, 15-foot line, hook shot, lay-up, ice-breaker, tip-in, press,
zone defense, man to man, 30-second rule, full court, gun time, lemon time, keyhole
area, long tom, tip-in, follow-up.
B. Baseball and Softball - diamond, pitcher, back stop, deep center, struck out,
lower fourth, shut out, hitless inning, hit a homerun, one bagger, two baggers,
force out, scorcher, fly back, pitcher's mound, upper third, lower fourth, flier,
rolling ball, umpire, struck out, bunt, slide, short stop, fielder, southpaw, no-
hit-run, fanned out, pegged at third, deep center, a scorcher to left out field.
C. Volleyball - spikes, neat placing, change court, Chinese kill, wallop, blocked
his kill, blooming service, net ball, return play, three out of five.
D. Soccer or Football - soccerities, goalie, full back, corner kick, centrada,
penalty kick, free kick, pigskin.
E. Sipa - fancy kick, dead ball, ball on play, single, double, etc.
F. Track:
Dashes - 100:200-80 m, Runs 200-400;800 and 1500 m; hurdles: 110 m high, 400 m
low and 80 m low; Relay: 4 x 100 m and 4 x 400 m; breasted the tape, burned the
cinders, clock a new record, bore down on him, home stretch, photo finish, middle-
distance runner, long distance runner, anchor man, pass on the baton.
G. Field - heaved the shotput, hurdled the javelin, threw the discuss, hop step
and jump, broad jump, high or long jump, pole vault, Grecian disc.
H. Tennis - best of three matches, surfeit services, straight set, single, smash
cut, backhand, drive, doubles, racket, forehead
I. Swimming - tanker, naiads, aquabelle, breast stroke, side stroke, back stroke,
tank, plunge, springboard
J. Golf - caddy, club, putt course or links, gree, tee
AIDS (CRUTCHES) THAT MAY BE USEFUL IN COVERING A GAME:

A. Basketball - FG (field goal) 2; FT (free throw) x 1; PF (personal foul); TP
(total points); js (jumpshot); di (drive-in); lu (lay-up); lt (long tom), etc.
B. Baseball and Softball - ab (at bat); h (hit); rbi (run or runs batted in); e
(error), etc.
C. Volleyball - p (placing); bs (booming service); s (spiker); bb (block ball); cp
(change of phase), etc.
EXERCISE
DIRECTIONS: Write a basketball story based on the following facts. Supply the
headline with correct scores.
Scores: PNU BLUE - 96 UP GREEN - 91
Facts:
- Quarterscores: 21-16; 43-42; 69-68; 96-91
- The victory gave PNU Blue the 3rd conference title in the State Colleges
and Universities Athlectic Association (SCUAA).
- The first two conferences were won by UP Green.
"My boys seemed to have lost their confidence in their shooting. The
referees were making all the bad calls againsts us," said UP coach Arnel Laparan.
"The idea was to tire UP's first stringers before I send in a fesh and
rested combination," said PNU coach Raul Valdez.
- Highest pointers for PNU were F. Vendivel, 18; J. Chan, 14; R. Garcia,
14; A. Arellano, 13; C. Capuli, 12 and J. Banting, 13.
- Morales fouled out with six minutes left in the final period and Arellano
followed him to the bench with 1:07 in a vain attempt to stop the redhot Vendivel.
- The game was played at the PNU gym. Attendance was 1,000 Saturday night.
- PNU missed 17 free throws and lost Arciaga on fouls with three minutes 10
seconds remaining in the game.
- Arciaga finally held his iwn against Capuli scoring six of his 10 points
in the third quarter that put PNU out front at 91-84 before Vendivel struck for
three points, 98-89, after UP closed in at 92-89.
- Garcia keyed breakaway from 69-68 lead.
- Tebelin and Morales combined in the third quarter to push UP ahead for
the last time at 64-61.
- Twenty-first meeting of both clubs. PNU's win was only its ninth over UP.

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Unit 5

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WRITING THE SPORTS STORY

STRUCTURE OF THE SPORTS STORY

Sports writing, meaning writing a sports report on an event or a game, is news

TYPES OF SPORTS STORIES

QUALITIES OF A GOOD SPORTS WRITER

WRITING THE SPORTS STORY

A story carrying all these ingredients is the interpretative type.

SPORTS LINGO, SLANGUAGE AND CRUTCHES

AIDS (CRUTCHES) THAT MAY BE USEFUL IN COVERING A GAME:

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