Game Story Notes
Elements:
•Storyline – the narrative
thread that runs through most of the game story, something that addresses the
significance of the event, of a strategy, of a play, or of a player. The
storyline keeps fans reading, even if they’ve already watched the game.
•Context – explains the news
values and offers key details, such as the score and the participants.
Sometimes, this information, referred to as the nut graph, is included in the
lede paragraphs for stories that do not take a narrative approach.
•Quotes – comments from players
and coaches reveal insights into key plays, approaches and performances.
Writers need to speak with participants on both teams.
•Key plays – descriptions and
references to key plays illustrate how a team or player performed during key moments.
•Key statistics – the most
significant numbers, particularly those that help propel the main storyline or
that clarify a main point.
STORYLINE
Nearly 24 million people tuned in to Game 6 of
the NBA Finals, many cheering for Dirk Nowitzki, who elevated his game in the
second half and led Dallas to its first championship. A large percentage of the
TV audience also jeered LeBron James, probably the NBA’s most hated player
after departing his native Cleveland for Miami following his hyped “Decision”
announcement last summer. James fizzled down the stretch, shooting infrequently
and poorly, setting up a perfect foil for Nowitzki, the assiduous forward.
Essentially, that was the storyline for most journalists, a comparison between
James and Nowitzki.
One of the authors used the two different players to
start his lead while the other author focused more of staring off the story with
the outcome of how it ended, and the last author went for more of the reaction
of a character in the story. We notice that there is many different ways to
start a story.
CONTEXT
Should address which teams played, where
they played, when they played, who won, what the final score was, and, perhaps,
a brief reference to how the game culminated.
Author techniques:
·
Insert most of the info in the second graph and
add details about what Dallas earing NBA title by winning the first three games
of the series.
·
Insert several reasons why Dallas won.
QUOTES
Never
interview local coaches and local teams because you will get two different
stories. However you should always interview the opposing team to talk about
how they saw the ball movement, to then see and understand how the game was
played, without having too many opinionated thoughts.
KEY PLAYS
Basketball is a
game of scoring runs. The team that strings together the most runs usually
wins. So you’ll need to keep detailed notes as you watch a basketball game,
highlighting where a team outscores its opponent in runs like 8-0, 12-2, 14-4.
You’ll also want to underline key plays and to determine how a team scored
several unanswered points. Was it thanks to 3-point shooting? Strong
rebounding? Transition points? Focus more on the runs that usually ended being
buzzard beaters and different plays that defined the games and helped the team
stay strong, as well as overall player scores and include timing.
KEY STATISTICS
You do not need to
recite every scoring leader in a game story. Less can certainly be more.
Readers’ eyes will glaze if you offer too many statistics, especially if these
numbers are packed together. Look for stats that might not emerge in a box
score, such as a player’s shooting percentage in a quarter or half.
