10 QUALITIES of a GOOD SPORTS WRITER

1. MUST constantly bear in mind that he writes for his readers and not for himself
2. MUST attend games as a reporter, not as a spectator or cheerer.
3. MUST observe accuracy in his articles or write-ups.
4. MUST be fair and unbiased in reporting, even though he has a favorite team among the competing groups.
5. MUST know sports well enough – its rules, strategies, team and player records and the like.
6. MUST know the coaches and players as intimately as possible.
7. MUST be able to take notes quickly without losing the sequence of the play.
8. MUST use the specialized language of the particular sport she is reporting.
9. MUST avoid sports slang and trite expressions; and should tell the story in plain, factual terms that truly
describe the action.
10. MUST not make comments without supporting them with facts on which these are based.

SPORTS WRITING is, basically, news writing, too.

. • Observably all the elements found in news writing – timeliness or immediacy, prominence, proximity or
nearness, oddity, conflict, consequence, human interest, drama, romance or sex, numbers and others – are also
present in sports writing. All the rules present in news writing – especially those on accuracy, brevity and clarity --
virtually apply to sports writing, too.
. • The latter, however, has a greater freedom of STYLE.
. • Moreover, the most defined element in sports writing is conflict as sports connotes competition, contest,
dispute, struggle or battle for supremacy by individuals or groups of individuals. Definitely, conflict is present in
sports competitions.
• Opposing forces generally fight for the crown and exert all efforts and strategies towards this much-sought
triumph.
. •ACTION, therefore, is present in sports and it is the duty of the sports writer to bring or picture this action
to the readers who were unable to directly watch the actual contest. The sports writer who can expertly describe the
sports action through words, phrases or sentences is one successful writer, indeed!• Since action is foremost in
sports, there is consequently a need for the writer to be adept at or knowledgeable about verbs and adjectives. Verbs
are action words and adjectives are words that can aptly describe the action in the event.
• At present, there exists much leeway in sports writing styles. Merely reading sports stories at present
immediately proves that most sports stories are now gearing towards NOVELTY LEADS. Nevertheless, of course,
sports writers have not totally forsaken the summary lead.
The leads nowadays promptly describe the action through carefully selected sentences that instantly
deliver the reader to the sports scene.

The SUMMARY LEAD

 THE LEAD ITSELF• When utilizing the summary lead (Five Ws and One H), the writer must not fail to state
specifically who won the game and against whom.• It is imperative to state the score or outcome. Where was the
contest held? When?• If the game was not completed due to weather conditions or other incidents, say so; but tell
the existing score when it was stopped.
 THE BODYOF THE STORY• If the lead is written in a thrilling vein, the body should be given the same
treatment.• Give the play-by-play account of the contest, taking note of decisive or interesting plays or any
highlights that occurred therein.
 Give the best scores of the day as well as the team or individual standings after the game, plus the game’s
significance, if any. Statements that are quite controversial or significant may likewise be included in the body of
the story. The weather condition may be mentioned, too, together with the crowd’s reactions and subsequent post-
game celebration scenes.
 USE of SLANG LANGUAGE
• DISCARD: … a severe blow administered to the face and another, with the left hand, to the region of the
stomach.
• PREFERRED : … a hard uppercut to the jaw and a left jab to the belt line.
• DISCARD: The left-handed pitcher threw the ball so well that his opponents were unable to strike it.
• PREFERRED: The southpaw pitched airtight ball.

 SPORTS NOVEL TY LEADS

. • SAN DIEGO – The St. Louis Cardinals surrounded Reggie Sanders in the clubhouse and chanted “MVP!
MVP! MVP!” ==========• A double black-eye. With that, it’s understandable why Aterneo coach Norman Black
is feeling blue these days. ==========• FARMINGTON, Pennsylvania – Phil Mickelson. Vijay Singh. David
Thomas, Jim Furyk. With four of the top five money winners on the US PGA Tour, the 84 Luimber Classic has na
better field than most of the post-major tournaments. ==========
• The best is yet to come from the “Beast”. “Coach told me that we have a very long tournament so I have
to pace myself,” Purefoods Chunkee import Marquin Chandler said Sunday night. ==========• Marquin
Chandler was not merely a Giant for Purefoods Chunkee last night. He was a monster. ==========
 • For a while, as confetti rasined down on the triumphant Far Eastern U Tamaraws, it looked like coach
Bert Flores will be going through the whole euphoria without experiencing the biggest thrill of it all – a victory ride
from his players. ==========• The newest faces of Philippine tennis continued to emerge from the horizon.
==========• LAS VEGAS – Shane Mosley was anything but sweet. He was a winner, though, with his sights set
on bigger things. ==========

. SPORTS HEADLINES
•HEADLINES are an equally important part of a sports news story. While the lead summarizes the entire
news development, the headline summarizes the lead itself.
 ONE DECK Pacquiao wins! P’sinan is champ! Espino is victor! Patriots, Beermen clash tonite
 TWO DECKS Mindanao beach volley champs GM Barbosa off to Vietnam La Salle gals eye second
crown in UAAP volleyball Donaire in 12th Elorde awards
 THREE DECKS Broken nose steals milestone glory from Kobe Powerade vows to win crown
Undermanned Azkals battle Icheon FC
 FOUR DECKS M’weather: Maganto, Pacquiao ‘cheaters’ POC to raise own funds for Olympic
participation
 Transforming the HEADLINE Dagupan City hosts national seniors basketball tournament Dagupan
hosts national seniors basketball tourney
Dagupan hosts nat’l seniors cage tourney
Dagupan hosts nat’l cagefest

 SPORTS VOCA BULARY(Some frequently used terms or sports lingo)

 • BASKETBALL - quintet, zone defense, five, rebound, rally, man-to-man, keyhole area, 30- second clock, long
tom, tip-in, press, steals, 15-foot line, twinner, follow-up, lemon time, playoff slot, haul rebounds, dish out assists,
inside baskets, point guard, homecourt advantage, playmaker.

• BASEBALL/SOFTBALL - diamond, pitcher, short stop, southpaw, shut out, back stop, pegged at third, swatters,
pitcher’s mound, hit a homerun, fails to make the catch, deep center, fielder, strike out, innings, a double steal of
second and third bases, unearned runs, reaches first base safely. \

 VOLLEYBALL - booming service, net ball, spikes, change court, wallop, best attacker/receiver/
server/blocker/digger/setter, block, two out of three, blocked his kill, spiker, peppered with 12 hits.–

 SOCCER FOOTBALL - goalie, fullback, corner kick, pigskin, penalty kick, centrada, corner kick– SIPA - fancy
kick, dead ball, single, ball on play, double.

 • GOLF - hole-in-one, birdie, bogey, par, fired a 7- under-64, win by two strokes second putt, behind the green,
one- shot lead, tee-off, four-stroke lead, sprint down the fairway, hit pivotal shots, hole clutch putts, carded a two-
under par 70

• TENNIS - straight sets, singles, smash cut, doubles, half volleys, passing shots, good serving, grass court,
backhand volley, double fault, lost serve

• TRACK EVENTS - breasted the tape, dashes, runs (200, 400 & 800), hurdles,burned the cinders, relay, clocked a
new record, photo finish, middle distance runner, anchor man, pass the baton,bore down on him, break the record
 FIELD EVENTS - heaved the shotput, hurled the javelin, threw the discus, broad jump, pole vault, hop-step-and-
jump, Grecian disc, long jump.

 CYCLING - wheel by wheel, remate, multi-lap, yellow jersey, lead pack.– BOXING - round by round, slugfest,
flyweight, welterweight, jab, uppercut, heavyweight, uppercut, ring, knockout loss, landed a left body blow,
lightweight, super-featherweight, split decision, boxing stable, flurry of punches.

 SWIMMING - aquabelle, freestyle, tanker, breaststroke, naiad, backstroke, diving board, butterfly

 TAEKWONDO - turning side kick, jins, heavyweight, finweight, flyweight.– CHESS - grandmaster, chess board,
zugzwang, plus 47 ELO rating, nine-round tournament, blitzkrieg chess, king,queen, board one, bishop, knight,
opening move, rookor tower, pawn.

 ARCHERY - bowman, drawing back