AP's final word on Finals and finals

Maybe I've just been oblivious to this, but AP's refusal to use a capital F when referring to the Stanley Cup and/or NBA Finals just unnerves me.

How about you?

 

Actually, it should be Stanley Cup Final or NBA Final. There is only ONE final, even though it is a best of seven series.

 

According to the leagues, it's
Stanley Cup Final
NBA Finals

Both proper nouns, therefore both should be capitalized (and singular in the NHL/plural in the NBA).

 

I wouldn't uppercase First Round and therefore I wouldn't change style just because it's the last set of games.

 

Instead of preaching to the powerless here at SportsJournalists.com, it's easy enough to ask the people who publish the AP Stylebook to share their thinking. Go to apstylebook.com and click on the "Ask the Editor" button (if you subscribe electronically) or pose your question on Twitter (@apstylebook). And, once upon a time, the editors would even answer direct questions via email (try David Minthorn at dminthorn@ap.org).

You may not like what they tell you, but it's also possible that they might make you reconsider your viewpoint. That said, the AP Stylebook is not a legally binding document. If you want to do it in a different way, it's your publication ... just be consistent.

 

I am waiting for the AP folks to begin referring to the NFL Championship Game as such instead of the Super Bowl, or the third full weekend of the NCAA Tournament as the National Semifinals and National Finals instead of the Final Four.

Selective, and stupid.

rb

 

that distinction never made any sense to me. They're both best-of-seven series.

 

Top three live threads on this board are about job cuts and less frequent publishing schedules, and we're worried about whether its Final or Finals or final or finals.

Hoo boy.

 

Canadian colloquialism (Final = one series) vs. American colloquialism (Finals = 4-7 games).

I have to get on my writers because they want to use "sectionals" to describe the first round of the high school tournaments in our state. I tell them "we only play in one sectional, so it can't be plural." They look at me like I'm from Mars, because "sectionals" is the colloquial term.

 

Western Conference Final.

Eastern Conference Final.

The conference finals.

 

Reminds me of the tempest in a teapot stirred up every year during the NCAA tournament over whether to say East Region, East Regional, East Regional semifinal ... I agree. Just pick one and move on. In the overall scheme of things, it's not that important.