Читать книгу Field Guide to Covering Sports - Joe Gisondi - Страница 20

Sports fans today no longer await game recaps in print to learn how their favorite teams and players fared. Odds are, fans already know final outcomes, stats, and highlights, even before the final whistle blows, thanks to social media and mobile phones. So there’s no need to fill stories with what happened, because fans already know most of the play-by-play and have probably viewed video highlights, which are readily available as they happen.

Instead, game stories today blend analysis, commentary, and narrative into feature-centric pieces that focus more on how and why a team or player won or lost. Ultimately, though, you are there to tell a story, whether the focus is on a player returning from a back injury or an opposing player who entered the game on a hot streak or a major slump. Develop potential angles before you arrive at the arena or stadium; otherwise you will be forced to scramble the entire game—and odds are, you’ll fail to deliver an interesting story.

“Don’t focus as much on what just happened,” says Michael Wallace, an NBA beat writer for ESPN, “and instead shape a story to tell readers why this game’s outcome is important and what it might mean moving forward. Usually, in every game, something amazing or unexpected happens. There tends to be a breakout performance on some level from someone who wasn’t expected to deliver on such a level. I tend to start there when developing what my game story or column will be about.”

By the time the Miami Heat had defeated the Toronto Raptors to even the 2016 Eastern Conference semifinal at 3–all, most fans already knew the score (103–91), that Goran Dragic had scored a lot of points, and where Game 7 would be played. But they did not know Dragic’s thoughts on eight players heading to free agency, something the Miami Herald’s Manny Navarro had learned during a seven-minute interview with the Miami point guard earlier that day. Plus, fans did not know how or why the Heat had changed its starting lineup right before tip-off to feature shorter, quicker players.

As a result, Navarro’s lead reads more like a sidebar or feature. The final score, along with the team’s key scorers, is not mentioned until the fourth paragraph:

Goran Dragic didn’t want to start looking ahead to this summer and the looming free agency of most of his Heat teammates.

“I feel like if we start talking too early then you’re already done, not focused about these games,” Dragic said several hours before Game 6. “You know, it’s not good timing to talk about that. We’re still alive.

“We’ve still got—hopefully, two games—at least two games left. That’s all that matters.”

The Heat, facing elimination Friday for the third time in these playoffs, will have at least one more game. Led by Dragic’s team-high 30 points, seven rebounds and four assists and 22 points, six rebounds and five assists from Dwyane Wade, the Heat advanced to another Game 7 with a 103–91 victory over the Toronto Raptors at American Airlines Arena.

SOURCE: Miami Herald

(http://www.miamiherald.com/sports/nba/miami-heat/article77613752.html)

Later in the story, Navarro outlines how the Heat’s smaller lineup succeeded, focusing on a trend, significant plays, noteworthy statistics, and comments from players on both teams. We learn that Miami used this smaller lineup for nearly two-thirds of the game, implemented a man-to-man defense, and used one bigger player for a stretch of play, which is visually described:

The Heat waited until about eight minutes before the 8 p.m. scheduled tipoff to announce it was replacing 6–10, 245-pound center Amar’e Stoudemire in the starting lineup with the 6–7, 225-pound Winslow. The Raptors, though, probably had an inkling Miami’s small lineup was coming because of the success the Heat had with it in Game 4.

With Winslow, Dragic, Luol Deng, Wade and Joe Johnson for the final 4:48 of regulation and then five more minutes of overtime in Game 4, the Heat turned a 79–72 deficit into a 94–87 victory. Then, in Game 5, a similar small lineup with Richardson and Tyler Johnson rotating in for the injured Deng cut a 15-point fourth-quarter deficit to 1 with under two minutes to play before the Raptors pulled away behind DeRozan and Lowry.

On Friday, the Heat’s lineup worked again. Miami went small for all but 18 minutes and 19 seconds in the game. Despite giving up size to the Raptors, Miami only lost the rebounding battle by two (43–41) and just scored just two fewer points in the paint than the Raptors (46–44).

“It was just one-on-one defense,” DeRozan said. “We’ve just got to buckle down, not try to rely on help so much. Every individual on our side just has to man-up and play one-on-one defense so we don’t have to get in rotation where it involves guys getting to the basket, getting easy shots.”

McRoberts was the only big man who played for the Heat, and he had several big moments. He flew in for a tip-in dunk over Bismack Biyombo in the second quarter and then had a pair of tip-ins off misses in the fourth. McRoberts finished with 10 points and five rebounds.

Winslow, meanwhile, finished with 12 points and three rebounds in 26 minutes. But he had help throughout as Miami gang-rebounded and made sure to box out.

Said Wade: “Sometimes unconventional works.”

SOURCE: Miami Herald

(http://www.miamiherald.com/sports/nba/miami-heat/article77613752.html)

This story included a 53-photo slideshow, four video clips from the game itself, a video clip from a post-game interview in the locker room, another one from the press conference, and a two-minute, 49-second post-game wrap-up that featured Navarro and colleague Ethan J. Skolnick. Plus, the story included a link to columnist Greg Cote’s perspective on the game and to the box score.

“In the end, the modern game story really isn’t a work of art anymore,” Navarro says,

but an ever-evolving compilation of pregame/post game insights from players and coaches, statistical trends and a couple of highlights of the key moments of what happened in that game. Since so many people watch a game on TV or see the highlights on SportsCenter, it’s a tough challenge as a writer to provide a unique angle or perspective on what happened in that game and to look ahead to what might happen going forward. The toughest part? Remembering to do that as fast you can because in 10 minutes something else will be trending and you will be writing the next story.

As Wallace and Navarro know, good writing comes from solid reporting. Anybody can knock out a witty one-liner or craft a clever lead once in a while, but only dedicated reporters can deliver captivating stories, compelling insights, and breaking news.

“Even the stylists like Gary Smith, Frank Deford and David Foster Wallace report the hell out of a piece,” says L. Jon Wertheim, author and reporter for Sports Illustrated. “If you have an abundance of material, the writing part is so much easier. In my experience, the pit in the stomach comes when you have 1,000 words of material and a 2,000-word space to fill.”

sports insider

Print deadlines are still the toughest part of the job when writing a game story. With games starting later and later, particularly in the playoffs, it presents huge challenges. For one, we usually have to file for print within minutes of the game ending. So, generally, I try to grab a storyline from earlier in the day at shootaround or from practice the day before, develop it and use that as my lead. That’s assuming it ties into a general point of my game story. So, for instance, if Goran Dragic has a big game I’ll go back to the transcription of my latest conversations with Goran (hopefully it was a one-on-one) and take something from it that presents a unique perspective or thought he shared and explain how it ties to this game in particular or playoff series.

My early stories for print usually aren’t very good or insightful beyond that because those are the only quotes that usually get into my stories. In the rest of the early print story, I include a big picture nut graf and follow it up with key moments in the game, stats and important news on injuries. I also provide some perspective when I can without stepping on the toes of any fellow writer from my paper who may be writing a sidebar, column or notebook.

Once the game ends and I’m done filing my early story for print and online, I head down to the locker room and work it as hard as I can. Not only am I looking to gather quotes for my daily game story, but also for day-after stories, blogs, etc. I’m also shooting video when I can (usually group interviews).

I’ve found the best approach after I get back to my computer and I’m done in the locker room is to compartmentalize what I’ve gathered by headlines/stories. Anything newsworthy, or the best quotes, I tweet out as fast as possible. Major news outlets like ESPN, CBS Sports, Bleacher Report pick up those tweets and post them on TV and usually give you credit. That’s one way to help bring in more Twitter followers and readers.

As far as writing, the necessary news and best post-game quotes go into my revised gamer for online (sometimes, print if we have a second deadline). Then, I’ll save something else (preferably a one-on-one interview) for a blog or for the next day’s story. Teams sometimes won’t practice the day after the game because they travel or players are given a day off. So, you always have to have something in the bag in reserve.

Manny Navarro, Miami Herald

Before each game, reporters need to read, interview, and observe as thoroughly as possible.

If there’s time for another phone call, make it.

If there’s an article worth reading, find it.

If you can get your hands on the rule book, read it.

If a colleague has a good scorekeeping system, steal it.

If there’s a practice or event scheduled, attend it.

If there’s the tiniest prospect of an interview, grab it.

If you do all this—and then, while the game’s going on, you take every note you can—you’ll end up with far more information than you can possibly use. That’s when you’ll know you’re becoming a reporter.

“It’s a lot of work, frankly,” says Bob Ryan, sports columnist emeritus for The Boston Globe. “And you don’t know which 5 percent you’re gonna need. But it’s all there if I need it.”

Sportswriters write all sorts of news and feature stories, blog postings, and columns, but most of them spend much of their time covering games. If writing about a game were as simple as showing up and watching, anybody could do it. Journalists, however, realize that far more is required. You need to understand the context of the event, know the key participants, and have some idea what makes today’s game unique—all before you even arrive. And that’s what comes after you’ve gotten a handle on the basics, like making sure you have press credentials and know how to read the stats.

In the chapters that follow, you’ll find practical, how-to information on covering every sport to which you’re likely to be assigned: what to look for, whom to interview, what to ask. All of the resulting material will go into your notebook or recorder or camera—or some combination of the three. This chapter helps you figure out what to do with the information once you’ve collected it.

In simplest terms, your job as a sports reporter is to look for angles, leads, and storylines, so that even fans who saw the game themselves have reason to revisit it through your eyes. “The goal of a newspaper story, especially in the 24/7 information age of online, is tell people something they couldn’t know without reading the story,” says Bryce Miller, sports columnist for The San Diego Union-Tribune. “We talk about these key words high in stories—‘first,’ ‘biggest,’ ‘only’ and ‘most.’ If you can use any of those words, it means your reporting has identified the uniqueness in the event. Newspapers also have the chance to take you into locker rooms, into interview areas and places quick radio/TV sound bites do not.”

Fans have more access to sports information than ever before in newspapers, magazines, websites, blogs, social media, TV, and sports-talk radio. As a result, fans’ expectations have grown. Readers now expect:

 ▸ More sophisticated stats

 ▸ To know more about trends (why a team is on a winning or a losing streak)

 ▸ To know what’s coming next

 ▸ To understand what a loss or a victory means

 ▸ A unique angle they cannot get elsewhere

Sports writers need to research teams and players before they even get to the field, so they can prepare possible storylines. Then they need to take comprehensive notes. And finally, sports writers need to ask questions that probe why something happened on or off the field.

Crafting a story on deadline is a challenge—whether the deadline is 20 minutes or two days away and whether you became a sports writer last week or 20 years ago. “You need to keep readers interested by telling a story, whatever the story is that day, in a readable, entertaining way,” says Tyler Kepner, national baseball writer for The New York Times. Kepner used to write 150-plus game stories a season covering the New York Yankees. “It’s a grind because you have to churn out so many stories. But I try to make sure, when I sit down to write each one, that they’re appealing for more than the dry facts.”

There’s no trick to meeting a deadline, except to start quickly and keep plugging away. After a game, think about the most important thing you want to say—on this day, about this game—and make that point in any words that come to mind. Then, keep writing. You can always change the lead later, when you’re done with the first draft; your first goal is simply to get something down.

“I don’t worry myself into corners,” says Glenn Stout, editor of The Best American Sports Writing series and author of more than 20 books on sports. “If you keep working, the words come. Writer’s block is a luxury.”

Navarro says print deadlines present the biggest challenge for game coverage. Writers typically have to file game stories within minutes of the game concluding. Jenifer Langosch, the Cardinals beat writer for MLB.com, files her game stories in the bottom of the eighth inning, sending in an update only if the final score changes. Then, she goes downstairs to attend the manager’s post-game press conference and to interview players lingering in the locker room. Langosch inserts these comments into a revised story that is filed roughly 45 minutes after the first story.

Digital Assist: Preview Packages

Create a preview package online. That’s what The Columbus Dispatch does for the Ohio State football team, something that should be a model for all sports departments. This package includes a cover story, profiles of players from each team, rosters, schedules, updated weather reports—and five keys to winning games. Check out “Buckeyextra” at www.dispatch.com.

For late-night basketball games, Navarro generally develops a storyline from a shootaround or practice held the day before, if it connects to the main action in the game. Then, he’ll insert a big picture nut graf and follow it up with key moments in the game, stats, and important news on injuries. After he returns from the locker room, he’ll review his notes, tweet his best quotes, and start revising the final draft. The best post-game quotes go into the revised gamer, but he’ll save interview material, preferably from a one-on-one interview, for a blog or next-day story. Teams often won’t practice the day after the game, so he likes to keep some material in reserve.