How do you approach game coverage?

so shot, are you suggesting the phrase: Jimmy Douchbag CLEARED the boards in a formidable manner and finished with 16 rebounds?

 

That's so ridiculous. Using one word like "corralled" isn't enough to call someone a bad writer. You absolutely can not judge a 500-600 word story based on him using a synonym that you don't approve of.

Bottom line is if the story flows well and tells the story, then it's a good story. Some are better than others, and I agree that some people get too thesaurus-happy. But let's try to keep this in focus here.

 

Still haven't seen anyone actually explain their problem with "grabbed."

 

Agree with Mert. See nothing wrong with grabbed.

I mean, you do grab the rebound. Can you not even pull down or snag a rebound either. Is "had" the best way to go? I figure as long as you don't throw about 20 different ways to got had 16 rebounds, it's okay using a couple.

 

Oh, since this got WAAAAAYYYYY off topic. If it's two teams you cover, go with the winner angle.

If not, go with the your team lost or your team won angle.

Oh, and it's always best to start with play-by-pay from the first quarter and and go from there. The end of the game should be at the end of the story. Right?

 

Only if you refer to him as a "cager." Until the spring, when he becomes a "thinclad."

 

There are so many better synonyms to use:
My favorite: spirit away.

abduct, catch, clutch, collar, gain, glom onto, grapple, grasp, grip, jerk, jump, kidnap, nab, pluck, pull, rescue, seize, snag, spirit away, steal, take, win, wrench, wrest, yank

 

In terms of interesting writing, I think the priority should be on active verbs. Always better to say "scored" 14 points instead of "had" 14 points; and as far as rebounds, do the desk people here approve of anything other than "had"?

 

With game stories, to me it's best to lead with a crucial point in the game, explain why it was crucial and what happened and then do recap based on how much space you have.

 

I never said I had a problem with grabbed.
I also never said using corralled made Sue Me a bad writer, just that using words like that is bad writing.

 

I always find it best to break the game into halves or quarters.

One of my most used ledes is: It was a tale of two halves.

Works every time.

 

You know, that can work with teams or cities, too.