Singular team names

So AP actually encourages the style "Metallica are playing a show in Phoenix," rather than "Metallica is playing a show in Phoenix." Interesting.

 

Actually, that IS interesting, and I wonder how often they follow that with regard to band names.

Oddly, as the guy who defends "Heat are," I don't think "Metallica are" seems right at all.

 

You're not going to write Miami 27 times in a story when referring to the Heat. In my particular case, there is no city name. It's just a stupid travel softball team that was trying to be too cute when it named itself.

 

I say go singular for team names that aren't plural and for band names.

The team is, the band is, etc.

 

Everybody: Quit calling it a SINGULAR PLURAL! It either is singular or it is plural. Period. It doesn't have to end in "s" to be plural. Thank you.

 

Simple answer: Different papers have different style.

 

Creeping Euro-Britization.

You wanna speak British, go to Britain. In America, we speak American.

 

Online AP Stylebook for sports:

http://216.239.51.104/search?q=cache:ueU1G8kRuPwJ:fredericksburg.com/FreeLanceStarCompany/Newsrooms/newsroom/APStyle/APtxt/Sprtguid.htm+AP+stylebook+team+nickname+plural&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=4&gl=us

 

I agree with all those that have said to treat it as a plural noun -- the Heat are

However I'm surprised nobody's said the wise-ass obvious answer yet "ask your sports editor what your paper's style is and if you are the SE, set the style yourself"

 

It should be "are". In too many U.S. publications, it's "is."
I've been fighting this battle for years.
Still losing.

 

Uh, there are words that are both singular and plural.

Quoting from the AP Stylebook again, this time under plurals ...

WORDS THE SAME IN SINGULAR AND PLURAL: corps, chassis, deer, moose, sheep, etc.
The sense in a particular sentence is conveyed by the use of a singular or plural verb.

You're welcome.

 

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