Sports Team

I guess boys will really be boys. And girls will always be sex objects - even in sports publications. I guess that's still the fate of women. Girls, it's cool that you work hard developing skills, that you sacrifice your body in games, and that you build your strength. But, put on a bikini, honey, and the boys will be more impressed. I guess sports fans really are pigs . Sure, sex sells. But do we really need it in our sports publications? CBSsportsline.com and Gatorade recently focused on women's sexuality rather than on their athleticism. To Gatorade's credit, four of the 10 athletes in its " Every Game Needs A Hero " ad are women -- but two are in bikinis and one is in a short skirt. I guess that's a reflection of the sports themselves where flesh sells. Yet, Gatorade could just as easily have selected Candace Parker , the Vols' talented junior forward, or world-class softball pitcher Jenny Finch (above), or someone from New Hampshire's top-ra...

Sports journalists understand their audience, as you can tell from the stories posted below by newspapers in Wisconsin and New York. Fans want to know about their own teams the most. Something else you'll notice if you read the stories below - - comments from players and coaches of both teams, something that also serves hometown fans. Fans learn more about their own teams by listening to new voices, which, in this case, would be the Giants coaches and players, if you are a Packers fan. Bob McGinn of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel offers comments from Packers general manager Ted Thompson, defensive tackle Ryan Pickett, coach Mike McCarthy, quarterback Brett Favre, and offensive coordinator Joe Philbin, but he also includes a quote from Giants coach Tom Coughlin for this night game. Given more time, this reporter may also have included a comment from Corey Webster on the pivotal interception and from a Giants defensive lineman on the Packers' struggles with the running game. Col...

Doug Mills/The New York Time s It's clear that new media rules in sports -- at least, if you checked out the news organizations covering the NFC Championship Game. Newspapers as varied as Oshkosh's The Northwestern , the New York Times and the Green Bay Press-Gazette all had audio slideshows, picture galleries and audio or podcasts. Fans could also weigh in on the numerous blogs dedicated to these teams at Newark Star-Ledger , Long Island Newsday , Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel and Wisconsin State Journal . Clearly, fans love this constant flow of information. As a New York Giants fans, I checked nearly a dozen websites last night after the game - and just as many this morning. Give me more news, information, quotes, analysis. I also love reading leads for game stories, which offer insights into communities the sportswriters serve. No fans embrace their team more than those living in Wisconsin. The Packers are as much a part of their community as city hall and the local schools...

photo/U of Maryland Diamondback Michigan relied on a 40-foot desperation shot to defeat Wisconsin women’s basketball this weekend. And Maryland’s men celebrated when Tyler Hansbrough’s last-second shot bounced off the rim in Chapel Hill, N.C., in arguably the biggest upset of the season. Nothing is more exciting in college sports than a hard-fought game – especially when that game is against a regular rival. Sprinkle in last-minute heroics or a major upset and the drama increases and the bumps starting goosing up though the skin. The college journalists covering these games were up to the task of revealing these exciting games, even if the stories lacked some perspective at times. These sportwriters grabbed readers by writing solid stories that offered context, analysis, and good writing. Sources, though, seem to be the biggest problem in college sports reporting. Too often, college journalists fail to offer sufficient perspective, relying too heavily on comments from their own coache...

So I guess losing one's legs is now considered an advantage -- at least in the world of track and field. The world's governing body for the sport says Oscar Pistorius, a double-amputee from South Africa, uses technology that is unfair to other Olympians who will compete in the 2008 Games. Therefore, he won't be eligible. The International Association of Athletics Federation says Pistorius's carbon fiber prosthetics "give him an advantage over athletes not using them." Instead, these other able-bodied runners are stuck with their own muscular legs. Yes, it is easy to attack the IAAF on this issue as the big bully picking on the poor, challenged kid. And, yes, there may be a time when technology prevents paralympians from competing -- but now does not seem the time. Based upon the IAAF's study, Pistorius's prosthetics are more efficient than a human ankle, allowing him to run with about 25 percent less expenditure than able-bodied sprinters. For all th...

Now that the holidays are over, prep sports seasons kick into high gear across the country. As a result, you may want to check out sports schedules, records and other information about prep sports across your state or across states in your region. There is no better resource for this than the website for the National Federation of State High School Associations, if only because it has a directory for every state high school sports association . The site also has updated rules and regulations for specific sports and information on issues related to injuries and sports medicine . You'll have to pay $12.95 for the national high school record book , something every prep editor and reporter ought to have in the office. You may want to bookmark this page for future reference. -30-

I stumbled across this story while catching up on the New Hampshire primary. I love that certain sports thrive in select areas of the country, like lacrosse in Maryland, field hockey in the Northeast, and eight-man football in some Plains states. That's why -- after reading about Rudy Giuliani's thoughts regarding a vice presidential choice -- I checked for sports stories on the Concord Monitor 's website , where I found this story on prep ski jumping. Sounds like fun for both the athletes and reporters. I'd love to cover ski jumping. Getting out on the slopes alone would be worth the trip . I'd also like to learn how the sport is scored for team results. It appears points are awarded for reaching certain distances. Perhaps, scores are calculated based upon difficulty, like in diving. After reading this story, it also appears four skiiers' efforts count toward a team's overall score, where the higher score wins -- unlike in cross-country running. I'd l...