Rule No. 1: "advise" is a verb. "Advice" is a noun. :rolleyes:
The first thing to do is get an AP style guide and read it cover to cover. That way, you'll know how not to write.
There are many, many little rules -- in sports and news writing -- that are not followed. Some can be a real pet peeve for "professional" journalists. A few:
* Always write the final score in the lede of your story.
* Never write any other score before the final score. "Podunk came back from a 20-point deficit ..." rather than "... a 40-20 deficit ...".
* Write in past tense. I don't care what anyone else says. (See what I did there?)
* Never put the losing score first. Ever. Eeeeeeever.
* Time, date, place. In that order.
* Never put two nouns back to back ("the game is in Dallas Friday.") Remember time, date, place.
* "towards" is not a word.
* Alternate between the town name and the nickname. Try to avoid singularizing the town name and pluralizing the nickname.
Examples: "Dallas missed its star player... " "The Royals' Mike Moustakas ..."
* Team names are plural, I don't give a damn if they end in "s." "The Magic are ..." "The Thunder are ..."
* There is no mound in softball.
* When using stats, if it's a noun, no hyphens. If it's an adjective, use hyphens. "Smith went 3 for 4 ..." "Smith was 3-of-4 shooting ..."
* Omit redundant words. Keep your stories clutter free. "Smith finished with six strikeouts in five innings pitched."
* "... Smith said." Not "... said Smith." Nobody talks like that.
* Do not ever, eeeeeeeeever use the passive tense with "would." I will hunt you down and choke you. "Smith would finish with 20 points..." No, mothertrucker, he DID finish with 20 points.
There are about a million more, but that's a start.
