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Another soccer question (style)

lone star scribe said:
In Texas, if a stadium clock is available, it is the official time for a HS match, unless the referee has it shut off because of some malfunction. Refs always keep the time as a backup, because clocks can malfunction. (And if you look closely enough, you'll see that refs wear two watches. Can't be too careful.) ;)

In Texas, no one gives a shirt about soccer except 2 moms in your whole circ area who have your EE on speed dial.
 
Want to know why newspapers are dying, Bat? Head-in-the-sand attitudes like yours. Don't like soccer, NASCAR, X Games, whatever? Just ignore it. Give 'em more football. And you wonder why you can't attract new and younger readership.
 
Pastor said:
I believe, based on all that I've read, it goes by the minute. So, based on 40' halves, the 35:40 of the second half would be the 76' mark.

Now, say a goal is scored in 2:20 of extra time, it wouldn't be listed as the 83' it would be listed as 80' (+3). And the same would be for the extra time of the first half 40' (+3).

Pastor (Crass) hit the key. The goals are scored in the 16th minute, in the 22nd minute and in the 38th minute, for example.
Goals scored late are not in stoppage time, injury time, etc. They are in the 40th minute or 80th minute if your state HS governing body mandates 40-minute halves.

Similar to Massachusetts, Smallpotatoes - at least in the two states where I've staffed matches - the clock kept on the scoreboard is merely a guide and should be shut off with two minutes to play in each half (or OT period) because the referee keeps the official time.
 
Billy Pritchard said:
2muchcoffeeman said:
Billy Pritchard said:
Since most of the fields I cover prep soccer at have scoreboards, I always refer to the exact time of the goal.

At every prep soccer game I've ever covered, the official time is kept by the referee on the field, not by the scoreboard operator. So if you're putting the indicated time from the scoreboard in your story, you're giving your readers incorrect information.
I only hope they can recover from this tremendously harmful piece of misinformation.
Maybe I should start writing that "the scoreboard read 28:12 when the goal was scored." If you write it was scored in the 29th minute, how do you know that's accurate? Maybe it was in the 28th minute or 30th minute according to the officials.

Digital watch with stopwatch mode. When I see the ref signal for a clock stoppage, or stop his clock, I stopped mine.
 
2muchcoffeeman said:
Billy Pritchard said:
2muchcoffeeman said:
Billy Pritchard said:
Since most of the fields I cover prep soccer at have scoreboards, I always refer to the exact time of the goal.

At every prep soccer game I've ever covered, the official time is kept by the referee on the field, not by the scoreboard operator. So if you're putting the indicated time from the scoreboard in your story, you're giving your readers incorrect information.
I only hope they can recover from this tremendously harmful piece of misinformation.
Maybe I should start writing that "the scoreboard read 28:12 when the goal was scored." If you write it was scored in the 29th minute, how do you know that's accurate? Maybe it was in the 28th minute or 30th minute according to the officials.

Digital watch with stopwatch mode. When I see the ref signal for a clock stoppage, or stop his clock, I stopped mine.

That's a piece of technology I lack. I guess I'll just keep doing it the way I do it and leave it at that. Besides, I forgot to mention that the scoreboard clock is official here ... or as official as I need it to be. ;D
 
Soccer is all guesswork anyway. I just look at my regular watch before the game starts. If it's 6:33 when the kickoff happens, and there is a goal at 6:43, that's the 11th minute.

I don't know how you can give an exact time when stoppage time is basically decided on how much time the ref THINKS was wasted during the half because of injures, balls going OB, goals or whatever.
 
Also, when you say Kelly Kicksthesnotoutoftheball scored in stoppage time, people get the hint that she scored really late.

Kicksthesnotoutoftheball is a sophomore.
 
KP said:
Kicksthesnotoutoftheball is a sophomore.

No wonder I haven't heard of her yet. I can't wait to see how much progress she makes over the next two years. (Assuming, of course, she doesn't quit the high school team to concentrate on her club.)
 
Getting the exact, to the second time on a goal scored in soccer is like saying the goal was made from 12 yards out. Twelve yards. Can you be sure? It's an approximation, letting the reader know that the kick didn't come from out of the penalty box and it wasn't just dumped past the goalie.
 
Smallpotatoes said:
In Massachusetts, the referee keeps the time. If there's a scoreboard clock, it's unofficial and shut off with two minutes left in each half.

Well, yeah, because it would destroy the integrity of The Beautiful Game if the players really knew how much time was left in the half, because if they did, they would probably start trying real hard to score, which would disrupt the natural flow of the game, so we just can't have that. ::) ::) ::) [/typicalsupereffetesoccerelitist]
 

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