When's the latest you should get the score in a gamer?

To date, I've held myself, more or less, to the AP's basic format: a) brief lead (1-2 sentences, usually), b) sentence or two tying lead to game result.

I try to be creative within the obvious constraints of the score-and-location-must-be-very-high construction.

I read things like the following, though, and I wonder.
--
GEOFF BAKER
SPORTS REPORTER

A few of the signs on that road being travelled by Blue Jays pitcher Shaun Marcum last night were starting to look a little too familiar.

It was only a week ago in Baltimore that Marcum allowed eight straight hitters to reach base en route to giving up seven first-inning runs. The situation wasn't nearly as dire this time around when the Kansas City Royals led off the sixth with three consecutive singles to load the bases.

But Marcum, ahead by five at the time, ensured no repeat of last weekend's debacle by putting on a pitching display that will give the Jays much to think about this coming winter.

"Any time you can get out of any jam it's a big confidence booster,'' Marcum said after posting his first victory in a month, a 6-3 decision in front of 26,342 at the Rogers Centre. "I wanted to come out and show the guys the last start's behind me.''
--
What are your thoughts?

 

no later than the third graf, generally.

 

By the time the paper comes out, everybody who cares knows the results and has seen the highlights several times. There is no need to include the score in the story.

 

Then there's really no need for a story.

 

You should put the score in there somewhere, but sw's right in the sense that the way the media is today, there are no such thing as newspapers of record. The idea that readers need papers to get something as simple as the score is as obsolete as traditional play-by-play game stories, which are just a waste of time for writers and readers.

 

Of course the score needs to be in there. Not all games are on TV, and not all results are universally known. Third graf seems like a decent time to let you be clever with the lede and still get the news in. And ABSOLUTELY before the jump.

But one pet peeve: Don't put a partial score before the final score, as in "came back from a 6-3 deficit to win 7-6." Confusing as hell to everyone.

 

I was taught before the jump or third paragraph whichever came first.

 

I hear you, but it's different for small-circulation newspapers covering minor league, high school, or amatuer teams.

 

It is to laugh derisively.

 

Did someone forget to use the sarcasm font?

 

You use these words as a punch line.

 

That is the biggest bunch of bullshit I've ever read. God I hope your sarcasm font was set to kill on that one.