Tips on basketball gamers?

[spud]

Anybody have a site or any place where I can find some tips on writing basketball game recap stories? It's about that time of year and I'd like to brush up on my technique a little bit.

Thanks.

 

[Shifty Squid]

Read, read and read some more.

Any good newspaper site is the site you're looking for.

 

[HejiraHenry]

The first half almost never matters,

 

[Chi City 81]

The first half almost never matters,

To echo that, use as little play-by-play as possible.

 

[awriter]

Read, read and read some more.

Any good newspaper site is the site you're looking for.

Just to add to that, go to papers in NBA or major college markets.

 

[SoSueMe]

I'm with everyone else: Read.

I have 30-plus newspapers which cover the NBA bookmarked on my internet browser.

 

[BillySixty]

I'd disagree with you on those that think reading NBA gamers will help you with your own technique, provided you are mainly covering high schools. These guys are covering the same team (and only that team) day in and day out.

That's not necessarily the case with high school gamers. Unless you are covering one high school every single game (and not the opponent), I'd recommend reading other prep gamers from any paper you can find, just to see how others set it all up.

 

[slowcenter]

This may be extraordinarily obvious, but please put in the records for both teams. I see many, many prep gamers that don't have that info, and I think it is essential.

If it's a true gamer and not just a roundup, make sure to let the reader know if it is a conference matchup or a non-conference one. Also, find out in advance what the team's records were last year and who is returning.

These are all basics, but once you have them down, you can concentrate your story on what actually took place on the court. When you add some description of the game, runs, etc, and you already have the nuts and bolts of the story, you'll look up and realize you already have 12 inches. And isn't that what we are all hoping for? ;D

 

[blondebomber]

Track the runs, write a little play-by-play on the turning point of the game. In general, if there's no obvious storyline, spin it forward on what the win/loss means to each team. And talk to both teams, even if one opponent isn't in your circulation area.

 

[Sxysprtswrtr]

Track the runs, write a little play-by-play on the turning point of the game. In general, if there's no obvious storyline, spin it forward on what the win/loss means to each team. And talk to both teams, even if one opponent isn't in your circulation area.

Not to be mean (really, I'm not trying to be) ... but, couldn't you insert ANY sport into that methodology, blondebomber?

 

[blondebomber]

Track the runs, write a little play-by-play on the turning point of the game. In general, if there's no obvious storyline, spin it forward on what the win/loss means to each team. And talk to both teams, even if one opponent isn't in your circulation area.

Not to be mean (really, I'm not trying to be) ... but, couldn't you insert ANY sport into that methodology, blondebomber?

Sure. Go ahead and write about runs in football, hockey, soccer, boxing and auto racing. That would be riveting stuff.

 

[slipshod]

To quote an athlete of the past, ``It was a game of spurts, and we spurted last.''

 

[MertWindu]

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.

 

[fishwrapper]

The first half almost never matters,

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?

 

[Tom Petty]

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

 

[Crimson Tide]

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.

 

[Tom Petty]

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.

 

[Leo Mazzone]

Track the runs, write a little play-by-play on the turning point of the game. In general, if there's no obvious storyline, spin it forward on what the win/loss means to each team. And talk to both teams, even if one opponent isn't in your circulation area.

Not to be mean (really, I'm not trying to be) ... but, couldn't you insert ANY sport into that methodology, blondebomber?

Sure. Go ahead and write about runs in football, hockey, soccer, panty hose and the ones that leave brown streaks in your whitey-tighties. That would be riveting stuff.

 

[EE94]

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.

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.

 

[Tom Petty]

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?