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Stats

Discussion in 'Journalism topics only' started by mattyb, Sep 22, 2007.

  1. mike311gd

    mike311gd Active Member

    That's a fucking bum job, dude. Is there an opening in news?
     
  2.  
  3. Batman

    Batman Well-Known Member

    Getting back to the topic for a moment...
    I like to use a big, Five-Star notebook. Draw a line down the middle of the page and do a play-by-play that goes like this (for example purposes, our teams will be Podunk High and Smalltown High)

    1st Quarter
    -------------
    -#8 Ret KO to PH 30 (22)
    PH Ball at PH 30
    1. #22 runs to PH 32 (2)
    2. #12 Fumb snap
    -- #12 Recov to PH 30 (-2)
    3. #12 Pass to #80 to PH 42 (12)
    1. #12 runs to 50 (8)
    2. #22 runs to SH 45 (5).
    1. #12 PASS TO #84 FOR TD (45)
    --#6 PAT Good
    PH 7
    SH 0
    ------------------------------------
    SH Ball at SH 20
    1. #6 Inc.
    2. #44 runs
    -- PEN, Hold, on SH, to SH 10 (-10)
    2. #6 Pass to #16 to SH 18 (8)
    3. #6 Inc.
    4. #15 Punts to #8 to PH 45
    PH Ball at SH 48

    The stuff in parentheses is the yardage. The rest is pretty self-explanatory. This gives you a nice, easy-to-read play-by-play, the yardage, attempts and passing are all easy to add up, and for high school games one quarter fits nicely on one page. Stats take me about 10 minutes to add up at halftime, and afterward maybe another 5 to total up what I need for the story.
    Now if you're on a tight deadline this might not be ideal. But I've found it to work well.
     
  4. mattyb

    mattyb Guest

    Yes I'm serious and remember I'm new to journalism. I'm not sure if what I'm doing is right or not. Just doing it.
     
  5. buckweaver

    buckweaver Active Member

    Keep asking questions. To anyone who will answer.

    Then sort through the bullshit, and pick out the best answers.
     
  6. mike311gd

    mike311gd Active Member

    Just remember your first season will be the hardest. You might stumble through football season this year, but after it's done, sit back and reflect upon what worked and what didn't. Next year, you'll have a better idea of how to attack the beast. The same goes with every sport.

    Aside from soccer with its low scoring, baseball is probably the easiest -- only because a self-explanatory scoring format is created for you (providing you've scored baseball before, like many little-leaguers learn to do).

    But there are different tricks to the trade, and everyone has his or her own "right" way. Just get comfortable, and you'll pick up a good rhythm and increase your speed and productivity.

    Then you just need to worry about writing well on deadline, and that's a whole different animal.
     
  7. FileNotFound

    FileNotFound Well-Known Member

    If a high school football program provided stats after the game, would you use yours or theirs?
     
  8. wickedwritah

    wickedwritah Guest

    I never trust high school stats.

    Often they are done by fanboys/parents whose only job is to make the high school team look good.

    They don't know the difference between the pro rules (e.g. deducting sack yardage from passing yards) and college rules (deducting sack yardage from rushing yards) and other idiosyncrasies. Many of us do this twice each week all season long.

    OK, there is one area where I'll take stats: defensive stats. A tackle is a tackle is a tackle.
     
  9. I've been tempted to string a game for my newspaper for some time ... sounds fun.
     
  10. pressboxer

    pressboxer Active Member

    It would also help to have a copy of the NCAA Football Statistics Manual. You can download a pdf from www.ncaa.org. I live in Texas, which uses NCAA rules with some modifications (12-minute quarters, width of goal post, etc.), but even in a state that plays Federation rules, the stats manual will give you an idea of what to keep an eye out for.

    I recently had a game with an intentional grounding penalty that somehow wound up being exactly 15 yards. The radio guys came around to ask me when grounding became a 15-yard penalty and I had to explain that it's really a penalty for 0 yards. The play goes as a sack and lost rushing yardage for the passer, no pass attempt and a loss of down, which is the real penalty. I don't think they ever quite got it right because they had the quarterback with 15 yards more rushing than I had.
     
  11. I described my way in the other thread, but I made a PDF of one of my stat sheets. I should probably just buy one pre-made, though.

    http://www.mediafire.com/?0ignxdvelmt

    All name boxes are six-wide. First, I write out 20-30 up top as that will be the basis for rushes/receptions/completions.

    I make eight lines for RBs (with two extra below), three two-line boxes for QBs (I split the first line for name/number and interceptions while using the second line for pass attempts, though I guess that first line could be 4-2... and leave room for a fourth QB if necessary) and eight lines for WRs (same format as rushers).

    I use the bottom for punts and first downs and the right side of the same lines for fumbles/fumbles lost.

    I keep my scoring summary on one Word file, my game notes (drive times, plays, other notes) on another while I leave a third open for my story. As always -- save early, save often.
     
  12. Angola!

    Angola! Guest

    I was just thinking, what stats are you guys required to keep?

    These are ours
    Rushing
    Receiving
    Passing
    Interceptions and returns
    Fumbles and returns
    Sacks
    Kickoff returns
    Punt returns
    Punts
    Penalties-yards
    Fumbles-lost
    First downs

    Does anyone else do this much? Are people keeping track of even more, like tackles?
     
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