Lots of numbers and play by play or the story?

It all depends on the budget. If you have to write a 700-word gamer, then a lot of PBP is needed. But if its 400 words, it's more of a lede, quotes, and some stats.

 

I despise play-by-play.

 

I think balance is the best approach. Key plays or runs may deserve some play-by-play. Some stats are important, such as the leading scorer or rushing yards for the star back. There are certain nuts and bolts that should be there, but don't forget to tell the reader a story. Find a way to get a bit of play-by-play and a sprinkling of stats into a compelling storyline.

 

That's one of my problems. I sometimes think of my gamers almost as sidebars when I'm covering colleges. People will already know the results, so i write about a specific moment or play, but then I read my story the next day and think, "it's great I talked about this last second play, but i left out some / most of the drama (PxP) of how they got to that point."

Forward thinking is good, but it all depends on the game time. If you cover an afternoon game people that care should know the score. For pros or colleges it will be on the Internet; for HS or small colleges you have local radio, tv and word of mouth. The later the game is, the less likely people will know about it. With afternoon games you have extra time, so talk to an extra player or think of a more unique angle. Night games you don't always have time for that you have to get your one or two quotes and get the desk 10-15 inches ASAP.

 

Hardly anyone wants to read play-by-play when it comes to preps. The interest level just isn't that high. You need to find something interesting beyond the actual game action to expand your readership.

 

Ditto

 

NOBODY wants to read play by play. You're on the right track.

When I was doing gamers my guiding thought was to find the one thing that makes that game different from all of the other games you've covered and then write about it. And that was before cable TV and the Internet changed the way we consume sports.

 

Just because veteran journalists hate play-by-play, Damaramu, doesn't mean that you don't need some.

Never assume that everybody who wants to know about the game was at the game. That's another trap we fall into -- that, and writers becoming enamored with their ability to spin a yarn.

Strike a balance. Don't give me a minute-by-minute of the second quarter. But do point out the big plays and how they were set up.

The answer isn't ruling out PBP ... the answer is knowing when to use it.

P.S. And give me the final score before the story jumps.

 

I use 60-40 formula when I write a gamer. 60 percent is more analysis of what happend and then 40 percent is PBP of big plays that occurred though out the game.

I just had to write a gamer for a basketball game that had 3 OT's before the game was finally settled and if the other teams player had actually made the last shot with 2 sec remaining, the game would have gone into a 4th OT. So most of my story was centered around the OT's and how it almost had to go into a 4th and then i added some big plays and the last shot that just did not make it.