Need help please planning my class

No problem. I really enjoyed the book and still get things out of it when I re-read sections. The way it's sectioned makes it relatively easy to teach and read.

Plus it's cheap, especially for something that's technically a college textbook.

And just an idea - if you want to hand out older articles that are considered classics, how many of them are available in an anthology? I know SI has a very large anthology out there, and BASW of the Century would also have many of the classics. That might be easy to pull from, and if one of your students is really a fan of the writing, you can direct them to the books to get more. Or heck, make them optional books for the course.

 

Two words, Moddy:

Guest. Speakers.

 

Heck, yeah. In fact, that story's linked here somewhere -- the Edes thread from last year's playoffs, I think?
Yup, here it is: http://www.sportsjournalists.com/forum/threads/48731/

For your "old" stories, why not pull stuff from "Best American Sports Writing of the Century" and SI's "Fifty Years of Great Writing"? Can't go wrong with anything out of either book.
(Edit: dammit, Smash. That'll teach me to answer the phone while typing a post.)

Oh, and how do I apply?

 

Moddy, use Pond Scum and Vultures. I've loaned out my copy several times to friends who told me how cool my job had to be.

Should be required reading for anybody who wants to be a sports writer, as well as the people who have to deal with them.

 

One key book on the history of sports writing is Stanley Woodward's "Sports Page" -- a chronicle of building a sports section by the guy who not only made Red Smith a household name, but was the linchpin between the Granny Rice slobberfest school and the Dick Young's of the world.

I have an old copy, but I'm sure you could find one webside.

Murray's anthologies are always useful. I still correspond with his widow, Linda McCoy Murray, who sends me columns on behalf of his foundation.

 

Forget giving this to a coach... I WANT to read this. I'm going to head for BN right now...

 

Real Sports Reporting is good. Same time I bought that I bought Wilstein's AP Sports Writing Handbook.

http://www.amazon.com/Associated-Press-Sports-Writing-Handbook/dp/0071372180/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1211506331&sr=8-1

 

I wonder if you can still get that book in any quantity...I know people who have searched and failed. Great resource for the kids, though, because it's about the writers they know--lots of Reilly, Albom, Plaschke. But to me, the Holtzman book is the bible, if you want some history.

What about selecting an edition of BASW, and let them analyze why certain pieces worked (or argue why they shouldn't be included)?

(okay, i see someone just said something like that above, sorry....must be a very good idea).

 

Bill Nack did an excellent piece on the death of Secretariat. I know it isn't historical yet, but it does give the reader an idea of how important the sport once was. For a time it was horse racing, boxing and Ivy League football.

I'd also check into Michael Oriard. He's a former NFL player who has written books on the history of college football writing. Good stuff.

 

Seconded 100 percent. This book is really good, even though I think it's a few years old.