Tips on basketball gamers?

spud, it might just sound like the obvious answer, but listen to the folks on here who are telling you to read as much as you can. I was reading the first-run game story by my favorite hockey writer (I'm a hockey guy) while waiting for stuff to finish my page tonight, and I could probably list a solid five to seven things I picked up just on that. And I've been doing this long enough to not embarrass myself in gamers. Reading is absolutely the best way to learn this stuff, and what could make it even better is if you watch the game, and then read the account.

 

He's right.
Show up with about five minutes to go in the game. Take a few notes, question the coaches' decision-making abilities and fry the kid who missed the game-winning shot.
That should get you the five graphs you need.
Any other questions?

 

always find a way to work the weather into your lede. if you can do that in basketball, you're truly showcasing your versatility.

 

Interesting.

I've never covered basketball. Sure, I know about basketball, but just no coverage. However, for one team, I know I'll get at least one good interview. There's one girl who, no matter what happened during the game that went well for the team and no matter what the coach says, always takes the opposite position. She's a perfectionist and nothing is good enough for her. She's not afraid to be quoted on it either.

For example:
"What got the win tonight: better rebounding or shots just falling one after another?"
Coach: "They were more aggressive than usual under the boards. I wasn't expecting this. We're supposed to shoot like this, so the rebounds were a big help."
Player: "I don't think we tried that hard to pull down rebounds."

I'm not the best interviewer, but it's nice to have an interview where they player isn't towing the team line.

 

i couldn't have said it better myself. WFW.

 

not to be prickish, but so there's learnin' involved, the phrase is "toe the line"

The phrase "toe the line" is equivalent to "toe the mark," both of which mean to conform to a rule or a standard. The Oxford Dictionary of Word Histories (Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press, 2002; ed. by Glynnis Chantrell) says, "The idiom toe the line from an athletics analogy originated in the early 19th century" (514).
The specific sport referred to is foot-racing, where the competitors must keep their feet behind a "line" or on a "mark" at the start of the race--as in "On your mark, get set,
go!"
So one who "toes the line" is one who does not allow his foot to stray over the line. In other words, one who does not stray beyond a rigidly defined boundary.

 

come on EE, what's next? are you also going to suggest the question "what got the win tonight" needs to be worked on as well?

 

OK. Thanks.

 

I thought "toe the line" came from the era of bare-knuckle prize fights. A round ended when a fighter was knocked down and the fight was stopped when a fighter couldn't walk to (or toe) a line in the middle of the ring.

 

You're both wrong. To toe the line means you're sober and allowed to drive. Or drunk with really good balance. Oh, wait ... that's heal-toe the line I'm thinking of.

 

Does anyone have a score sheet or system they like to use that they wouldn't mind sharing? Thanks.