The Game in the Press Box

That very moment the referee steps to center court and tosses the ball into the air for tip-off, the clock starts and opposing teams begin their battle on the court. The events that occur between that first scramble and when the buzzer goes off could ultimately make or break a team’s season and dream for a national championship. Either way, there is a story to be told after those forty minutes of play. With an audience eager to listen, a new game quickly begins in the press box. The object of this game?  Which journalist can get their readers the best seat in the house.  

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In the competitive world of sports journalism, the goal is to make the reader feel as if they were at the game themselves. The angle and form of story is up to the journalist. Once the players have laid out the framework, it is the journalist’s job to paint a picture for the audience in the most effective way possible. The key is to take the reader into the locker room and into the minds of the athletes to provide them with the inside scoop using any surrounding drama to their advantage. Generally, those emotional aspects are portrayed in developed or “feature” game stories rather than the boring “hard” news story. The following three articles, have both their strong and weak points; however, they have one thing in common: a feature-like twist. Whether it is a big rival game, cinderella win, or a snapped losing streak, giving more than just statistics can either go a long way or take away from the game.

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Back on January 30^th, the St. John’s University men’s basketball team hosted number three Duke in non conference action and stunned the country with their first win over a top five team since 2000. With the Blue Devils 21-1 at that point, ESPN’s Kieran Darcy took advantage of the opportunity. He begins the article titled, “Heads-up effort has Johnnies sky-high” with an image of Dwight Hardy running out the clock and head coach Steve Lavin high-fiving his St. John’s team. Turning the attention to the stands, Darcy acknowledges the shock that took over the “sell-out” crowd and adds a statement from St. John’s forward, Justin Burrell, which may or may not have been needed. After four paragraphs of color, Darcy mentions the final score and transitions into the more statistical portion of the game without letting the excitement fade. The addition of interviews by both coaches and star players, Hardy and Burnell keep the attention nicely. As much of a shock this game was because of Duke’s record, Darcy played up St. John’s performance giving credit where credit was due.

John Elitis AP

A rival matchup is another perfect opening for a feature game story, and there is no better thrill than when the Texas Longhorns and Texas A&M Aggies are on the same court. For Brent Zwerneman, his article published in the College Station Bureau was a beat story but a different one at that. In “Longhorns win a laugher,” he begins by capturing the Aggies disappointment in their growingly weaker team and 69-49 loss. Though he did not provide the reader with as much color as Darcy, he made up for it later in the article. Zwerneman’s interview with the Aggies coach, Mark Turgeon followed up his beginning statements about the game perfectly. For a not overly colorful and statistical game story, it worked.

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With a four game losing streak, Jim Boeheim and the Syracuse Orangemen seemed to be the midst of a mid-season crisis when more controversy arrived prior to their game against UConn last week. An anonymous poster on a message board had falsely accused Scoop Jardine and two other teammates of point shaving. Though all accusations were put to rest after the person apologized, Jardine was clearly shaken up during the game, and Fox’s Jeff Goodman made sure to get to the bottom of it. From the beginning of his article, “Irate Syracuse Snaps Skid,” Goodman addresses Jardine’s off performance but never completely hits the highlights of the game. Even though the moral of the story was that Syracuse squeaked out the win against sixth seed UConn and Jardine was in the clear, there was more to be told.  

Just like a team on the court, a feature story requires five players: color, statistics, detail, interviews, and emotion. The team that fails to pick up one another generally loses.

A Light in the Tunnel for the "Selfless" Hero

Back in the early 1900’s, sports journalism was built around the athlete and focusing solely on their “selfless” heroism. Now over a century later, this focus has slowly changed and that “selfless” athlete seems to be no more. Though, have those individuals become extinct in the sports world, or do the current voices of the mass media forget about them? Either way, once in awhile there is a reroute back to what this industry was based on and the “selfless” hero gets recognized.

ESPN College Game Day feature profiles typically consist of the unique story of a college athlete who has in one way or another impacted their teammates, fans, or sport. This week the unlikely hero was Kevin Laue, the 6-11 230lb Manhattan College sophomore center, who has seen time in 19 games this season and is one of the Jaspers’ top dunkers. Yes, current stars like Jared Sullinger give this performance every game. So what makes Laue a “selfless” hero and worthy of this feature you ask? Well in 2009, the California native became the first one handed scholarship Division I basketball player. 

Born with the umbilical cord wrapped twice around his neck and left arm, doctors were forced to amputate his hand and the rest is history. Laue put in the time proving his natural ability for the game and all he needed was a chance to take it to the next level.  Jaspers’ head coach, Barry Rohrssen, opened the door to that opportunity. “Kevin is a source of motivation for many people. We wanted him to understand that if we did give him a scholarship that that wasn’t the sealing. It was for him and countless other people,” said Rohrssen in the heartfelt three minute segment. He was correct.  Not only is Lure an inspiration to his teammates, but also to the Jaspers community.  Parents of children with one arm are encouraged by Laue and have continued to look to him for support.  

ESPN discovered Laue in 2009 when he received the scholarship to Manhattan College and  acknowledged his achievement on ESPN First Take. For them, it was a follow up story as Manhattan would face Marist College earlier today. For me, it was a breath of fresh air and an instance of great journalism. The journalists presented this story in a way that gave me a personal interest in watching the game.

At noon today, the Jaspers tipped off against the Red Foxes and won 60 - 59 on a buzzer beater half court shot by Michael Alvarado. With this example of remarkable journalism in mind, I couldn’t help but wonder, was this a coincidence or could this be a reminder to all of the sports world that the “selfless” hero truly is the heart and soul of this industry?