Sports Journalism 101

In an attempt to bring the somewhat lofty nature of my previous posts back firmly onto the ground, I wanted to comment on the sometimes hilarious answers sports reporters get from players. The other day I was listening to NPR, which I thoroughly enjoy, but where I always find the sports coverage to be funny. Perhaps it's my own bias, but they approach sports in the same hard news way they approach everything else. The facts of the game they are reporting about are delivered in the same way they would rattle off the key points of a Bush press conference, but with a somewhat lighter tone of voice. It's hard to describe, you just have to hear it. This, however, is beside the point. The other day they were interviewing Atlanta Braves pitcher Tim Hudson.

"What is your pitching strategy for tonight's game, Tim?" The reporter asked.

"Well, you know, I just plan to go out there and make good pitches and get guys out," Tim replied.

Um, yea. This is akin to a player being asked what's the key to winning today and answering, "Well, you know, I think the key will be to have more runs on the board than our opponent at the conclusion of the game. We'll stand a real good chance if we can do that, you know."

The thing is, though, no pitcher in professional baseball is stupid, even if their answers sometimes are. I'm sure Hudson had spent the afternoon (or at least plenty of time during the days prior to the interview) studying player charts on the opposing team: where they like pitches, where they don't, the strategy, etc. But how do you answer such a stupid question? I think that's the key here. Sports reporters...go after the real story. Stop asking the obvious: "You won the World Series! How do you feel?" "Um...good, I guess." Maybe even change the subject. Ask about what music the player likes...um, on second thought maybe that isn't such a good idea. At any rate, at least spice it up a bit.