Sports Fan News

- Early numbers indicate that WrestleMania XXIV did approximately 1.1 million buys with 700,000 to 800,000 of them from North America. This will place it at number two on the list as one of the most watched pay-per-view events in WWE history.

- WWE is taking the initiative to get more African American faces on television. Over the last year WWE has lost Boogeyman (out with a torn calf), Marcos Cor Von, Booker T, Sharmell, Kristal Marshall, and Bobby Lashley. This is likely the reason for Cryme Tyme’s return out of nowhere.

- The WrestleMania XXIV DVD will include the entire Hall of Fame ceremony and the pre-show Battle Royal.

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– India’s Merinews has another article on The Great Khali. In today’s piece, they talk about the growing popularity of the sport of wrestling in the wake of Khali’s success in World Wrestling Entertainment.

– Road Warrior Animal is auctioning off the ring worn black leather jacket he wore during his infamous heel run in WWE two years ago.

– Amazon has revealed the DVD cover for the upcoming Nature Boy Ric Flair - The Definitive Collection 3 disc DVD set. The DVD set will be released on July 8, 2008. The contents of the DVD set have yet to be disclosed.

– The Sun has an interview with William Regal. He says he wants to be champion. “Of course I want to be involved more in a wrestling capacity, that’s why I’m in the shape I’m in. Next I want to be world champion, I really do.” He also wants to be a lot more active in the ring. “I’m always jumping all over Vince McMahon to let me wrestle more. He can’t stand the sight of me! But you’ve got to. I’m 40 in a few weeks and I feel like I’m better in the ring, and more on my game, than I’ve ever been. I don’t want to be remembered for pulling funny faces, I want people to get a chance to see me wrestle the top fellas and have some big time matches.” He also talks about Chris Benoit. “It was a really weird time for me, because the only time that I got to show off the kind of wrestling I was capable of was against him. And all of sudden it was like ‘that’s it’. It is selfish, after all the horrible stuff that happened, but that was a big part of my career gone. I couldn’t go out and do those matches anymore. Then again I put my name on YouTube the other day and there must be 10 of my matches against Benoit on there. So people are obviously watching them again. They’ve forgotten all about those horrific things and have gone back to watching the actual wrestling.” Regal also talks about wrestling stars on the rise, Ric Flair, and more.

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Source: TNAWrestling.com

- In the much-anticipated main event, Samoa Joe successfully retained the TNA World Heavyweight Championship over Kurt Angle after Scott Steiner hit Angle with a steel pipe. Following the bout, TNA Management Director Jim Cornette announced that the main event at the Sacrifice Pay-Per-View would be Samoa Joe vs. Kurt Angle vs. Scott Steiner for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship!

- Thursday was a busy night for Cornette, who also announced that over the next few weeks on “iMPACT!” the “Deuces Wild Tag Team Tournament” would take place, with the finals to be held at the Sacrifice Pay-Per-View. Whoever wins the tournament will become the new TNA World Tag Team Champions.

- Cornette also announced a “TNA Knockouts Makeover Battle Royal” for Sacrifice. The winner will get a shot at Awesome Kong’s Knockout Women’s Championship - while the runner-up will get her head shaved!

- But Cornette wasn’t done! He also revealed plans for a new TNA concept match, set to be unveiled next Thursday night on SpikeTV! According to rumors, the new bout will be the latest in a series of innovative TNA matches including The Ultimate X, Elevation X and Six Sides Of Steel!

- In the first of the Deuces Wild tournament, Team 3D defeated Black Reign and Rellik to advance.

- In the second Deuces Wild bout, Christian Cage and Rhino beat The Motor City Machineguns to advance.

- In the third Deuces Wild tournament bout of the broadcast, Sting and Booker T defeated Robert Roode and “Cowboy” James Storm to advance. Following the match, Storm and Roode got into a shoving match over miscommunication that cost them the bout.

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World Wrestling Entertainment issued the following press release today:

Everything Is Bigger In Texas: WrestleMania® XXV In Houston

STAMFORD, Conn.–Fresh off a tremendously successful WrestleMania XXIV in Orlando, World Wrestling Entertainment® is already working with the Houston business community on WrestleMania XXV, which will be held on Sunday, April 5, 2009, at Houston’s Reliant Stadium, home to the NFL’s Houston Texans.

WWE® executives and WWE’s most decorated Superstar, Ric Flair, traveled to Houston today to meet with local city officials and businesses, to begin preparations for this milestone event. Their collaborative agenda includes planning stadium production, discussing sponsorship opportunities and organizing citywide activities. The trip included a luncheon with more than 100 Houston business leaders and discussion of how their companies could integrate with sports entertainment’s biggest pop culture event.

For the past two years, WrestleMania has attracted fans from around the world, and infused up to $30 million into the local economies of host cities Detroit (WrestleMania XXIII) and Orlando.

The always anticipated WrestleMania weekend is expected to feature the 2009 Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, the annual Bacon, Bagels and Biceps Brunch, the annual national WrestleMania Reading Challenge Finals, another wish granting initiative with the Make-A-Wish Foundation, visits to schools and libraries, local fundraisers and exciting opportunities to meet WWE Superstars and Divas at various public appearances. “Fans in Houston can expect an up-close and personal experience when WrestleMania XXV comes to Texas next year,” said Geof Rochester, Executive Vice President, Marketing. “It’s going to be an amazing 25th Anniversary celebration.”

In 2001, the Houston Reliant Astrodome hosted WrestleMania 17 (WrestleMania X-Seven®). A record 67,925 fans witnessed Stone Cold Steve Austin regain the WWE Championship from The Rock, among other exciting matches, making WrestleMania X-Seven, at the time, the highest grossing live event in WWE history. In addition, the event shattered Reliant Astrodome live attendance records.

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WWE creative team member Michael Hayes has been suspended from the company for 60 days following an incident that took place in Orlando during Wrestlemania weekend. Hayes, the head writer of the SmackDown brand, allegedly used racist language towards SmackDown star Mark Henry.

The incident took place at a party that was held either Friday or Saturday night. Hayes had been drinking when he approached Mark Henry. Hayes told Henry, “I’m more of a n—– than you are.” Henry took offense to the comment. After a physical altercation between the two, Henry reported the issue to either Vince or Stephanie McMahon.

At first, WWE tried to keep the suspension quiet. People who inquired were told that Hayes on vacation. However, when word got out about the incident with Henry, it was revealed that Hayes is suspended.

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Below is full taping results from tonight’s edition of ECW on Sci-Fi from the Greensboro Coliseum in Greensboro, North Carolina.

ECW On Sci-Fi (To Air Tonight at 10 PM)

The Cutting Edge segment featuring Edge and Kane opens the show. Edge talks about how respected Kane and Undertaker are and then talks about the Lita situation with Kane from several years back. Edge goes on to talk about the Guerrero family and how the titles are the property of the family. Kane says that Vickie will be the only one left and that he would take care of her. A fight ensues as Chavo Guerrero, Zack Ryder, Curt Hawkins, and Bam Neeley come out. Chavo connects on a chair shot to Kane. Kane eventually fights them off and says that him and Undertaker will take care of Vickie.

Tommy Dreamer & Kelly Kelly b. Layla & Mike Knox. After the match Knox levels Dreamer during celebration.

Jimmy Wang Yang b. John Morrison

Kofi Kingston b. Shelton Benjamin in what is described to me as a high intensity bout.

Mark Henry b. Nunzio in what is described to me as a squash match.

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WWE is currently taping this week’s edition of Friday Night SmackDown from the Greensboro Coliseum in Greensboro, North Carolina. Below are exclusive match by match results.

Dark Matches:

Funaki b. Stu Sanders

After the match, Chuck Palumbo comes out and says that he just beat a nobody. Palumbo says he had a bike in the back that he would bet he could beat him. A match ensues.

Chuck Palumbo b. Funaki

SmackDown (Air Date: 4/25)

The show opens with Edge, Vickie Guerrero, Chavo Guerrero, Zack Ryder, Curt Hawkins, and Bam Neeley. Vickie makes Undertaker vs. Batista a no DQ match. CM Punk comes out. Edge challenges CM Punk, Vickie Guerrero makes the match for later tonight. Theodore Long is also out.

They show clips of Finlay and Hornswoggle from the King of the Ring tournament on Raw last night.

John Morrison w/The Miz b. Shannon Moore

Natalya Neidhart w/Victoria b. Cherry w/Kelly Kelly with a sharpshooter.

Matt Hardy comes out for an interview. Michael Cole gets involved. Hardy says that his knee is 100% and he is ready to go Sunday against MVP. United States Champion MVP comes out. Hardy says MVP screwed him, MVP says Hardy is jealous. Hardy says he is certain that he will win on Sunday, MVP hits him with the US Title belt and leaves.

Edge b. CM Punk
This was described to me as a very good match. Lots of nears falls throughout, our correspondent says Punk ends up hitting Go to Sleep but Edge falls to the outside. Punk goes to get him and Zack Ryder gets involved. Edge ends up hitting the spear for the win.

Vladimir Kozlov b ????

Video of Batista thanking Vickie Guerrero for his match tonight against The Undertaker.

Batista comes out for his match against The Undertaker.

The Undertaker b. Batista
They give this some time. Undertaker dominates early and the action eventually spills to the outside. On the outside, Undertaker throws Batista into the ring stairs. Undertaker gives a leg drop to Batista off the apron. Both try finishers but miss. Undertaker ends up hitting a chokeslam for a two count. Batista a spear for a two count. Undertaker puts the steps in the ring. Undertaker goes for the Tombstone but Batista counters with a spear. Batista goes for the Batista Bomb but Shawn Michaels comes out. He gives him a superkick. Undertaker ends up getting the win.

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Source: Brad Borchardt

Batista and the Undertaker battle it out!

We kick the show off tonight with Chris Jericho and his Special Edition Smackdown Highlight Reel. Jericho informs the fans he will offically be the special guest referee at Backlash for Shawn Michaels vs. his guest on the Highlight Reel tonight….Batista! Out comes Batista and Jericho wishes him luck against Undertaker tonight. He also wanted to talk about Shawn Michaels and Jericho says he is right when he said Michaels is a phony and enjoyed retiring Ric Flair. Jericho says by hitting him with Sweet Chin Music, he basically agreed. Batista tells Jericho that he never asked him to speak on his behalf and he will confront his problems. Batista does not want Jericho getting into his buisness and does not want to deal with Jericho as referee at Backlash. Jericho says he never asked to be referee but he is anyway. He also finds it odd that Batista is so upset about Flair retiring. Jericho acuses Batista wanting to be the man who retired Flair so he could get the passing of the torch. Jericho brings up their past and says it must of hurt Batista that Flair picked Michaels over him. Jericho saw the emotion between Flair and HBK during Flair’s retirment ceremony and says Batista was too “cool” to show his emotion that night. He asks the audience if Batista wanted to retire Flair himself and other questions about Batista being selfish causing Batista to nail the Batista Bomb on Jericho!

-Commercial-

We’re back and out comes Matt Hardy for some special commentary!

Match #1: WWE United States Champion MVP vs. Tommy Dreamer (ECW) (non title)

MVP mocks Dreamer to begin the match so Dreamer shoves him. Dreamer hit a few shots and then a couple of arm drags. Dreamer tries to lock on an armbar but MVP gets to the ropes. Dreamer argues with the ref so MVP hangs Dreamer out to dry on the ropes. Reverse neckbreaker by MVP for two and then a few kicks to the back. MVP drags Dreamer to the ropes and catipults him into the ropes. Snapmare takedown and a chin lock by MVP but Dreamer gets out and hits a few rights. MVP fights back and hits the running big boot for a two count. MVP locks in a modified abdominal stretch and then a face buster with the knee. BALLIN’ elbow drop by MVP for two. I think it’s been a while since he did that. MVP goes to the top but Dreamer meets him on the way down and hits a few clothesline and a bulldog. Dreamer hits a swinging neckbreaker for two. MVP gets back on track with some elbows but Dreamer counters the Playmaker with a DDT! One….two…MVP grabs the bottom rope before the three. Dreamer goes for the Dreamer Driver but MVP shoves him into the turnbuckle and hits another running big boot for the win.*1/2 Nothing special but nothing bad either. Just there to give Hardy his chance at commentary and help make MVP look strong for Backlash.

Winner: MVP via pin fall

In the back, Finlay is getting Hornswoggle ready for his match.

-Commercial-

Match #2: Hornswoggle w/Finlay vs. Matt Striker

Horny pulls out some tennis balls and juggles them…then whips them at Striker. Finlay trips Striker and Horny hits a dropkick. Horny starts squirting Striker with some water guns. Everytime Striker breaks one, Finlay gets Horny another. Striker then attacks Finlay but Finlay fights back as Horny distracts the ref. Finlay throws Horny at Striker but Striker finally shoves down Horny. He starts slapping Hornswoggle and stomps him. Striker grabs the shillelagh but the ref stops him. The ref gets rid of it, Finlay rolls in, and hits Striker with a different shillleagh. Hornswoggle hits the Tadpole Splash for the win! 1/2* Well the crowd was into it so I’ll give them that. Same fun as last week but I hope Finlay gets some sort of push after Backlash. Watching this, I doubt it.

Winner: Hornswoggle via pinfall

They show footage of Great Khali’s peace offering to Big Show and Show taking him down. Big Show says he isn’t interested in making peace with Khali. At Backlash, he will finish what he started. Tonight, Mark Henry is going to need all his strength to take him out.

-Commercial-

Match #3: Chavo Guerrero (ECW) w/ Bam Neely vs. Jaime Noble

They lock up and Chavo gets a wasite lock. Noble counters with a take down but Chavo counters back with a side headlock. Chavo hits a headlock takedown but Noble fights back with an arm drag and a wrist lock. Chavo gets to the ropes but then Noble gets a roll up for two. Another pin by Noble for two. Chavo hits a Gory Bomb on Noble into the ropes and then choke him with the bottom rope. Chavo locks in a modified arm bar and then a knee to the gut as soon as Noble broke the hold. Chavo gets a chin lock but releases to get a few shots. Chavo reapplies the chin lock until Noble gets to his feet and hits a back body drop. Noble gets a few forearm smashes and a NORTHERN LIGHTS SUPLEX! Love that move. Noble gets some knees to the head of Chavo but misses a running knee. Chavo hits the Two Out of Three Amigos as Noble couters the third into a swinging neckbreaker for two. Noble goes for a Texas Cloverleaf butChavo kicks him away. Chavo hangs Nobleoff the ropes and hits the Frog Splash for the win. *3/4 It was a decent match, but a disapointment considering who was in the ring. Also, if Chavo had this much trouble with Noble, who is going to think he can beat Kane?

Winner: Chavo Guerrero via pin fall

After the match, Bam Neely hits a full nelson slam on Noble and Cole and Coachman are devasted. Ok. I mean, yeah, it could of hurt….but it isn’t something that Kane hasn’t kicked out of before or anything.

-Commercial-

Match #4: Big Show vs. Mark Henry

Both men lock up and it’s a stalemate. They do it again and same result. Henry and Show then exchange shots and headbuts. Clothesline by Show and a few jabs/ He gets Henry in the corner and nails a big chop. Henry picks up the Big Show and locks in a bearhug! Show is able to break it after a minute or so and hit a big boot. Chokeslam to Henry but Khali comes out and he hits Show with a chop. Khali shoves Show into the steps. He rolls Show in the ring and locks in a shoulder version of the Khali Vice Grip and then hits a Khali Bomb! Khali walks away and taunts Big Show. 1/4* Nothing really there or entertaining but a match with those two for that amount of time has no right being good.

Winner: Big Show via disqualification

-Commercial-

Match #5: Cherry w/Michelle McCool vs. Victoria w/ Natalya Neidhart

Victoria shoves Cherry down and then gets a headlock takedown. Victoria dominates Cherry. Cherry tries to fight back but Victoria catches a kick and hits a clothesline. Victoria misses with a charge and Cherry gets a roll up for two. Victoria locks in a camel clutch. Victoria slams Cherry around but McCool distracts Victoria and Cherry gets a roll up out of nowhere for the win! 1/2* Victoria dominated but Cherry showed shades of ability (not too much) but I have heard good things about her in the indy scene.

-Commercial-

Match #6: Leroy Kecave? Vs. Vladmir Kozlov

I have no idea about the jobber name. My bad. Vlad takes Leroy down with a big arm drag and then hits a fireman’s carry. Armbar by Vladimir and then a big running shoulder block. Vlad slams him into the turnbuckle but Leroy gets a few uppercuts. Vlad rams his head into Leroy’s gut and nails an over head belly to belly. Big stomp by Vladimir and reverse DDT for the win. ¼* Nothing really there. The reverse DDT does not look devastating as Cole make it sound. Sorry, still not buying him.

-Commercial-

Match #7: Batista vs. WWE World Heavyweight Champion Undertaker (non title)

Edge and the Edgeheads are watching from ringside. Taker and Batista lock up and Taker gets some jabs. Batista hits an Irish whip (HE’s NOT EVEN FINLAY) but Taker hits a clothesline. Batista battles back with some shoulder thrusts. Batista hits a high elbow for two. Taker out of nowhere gets the running DDT and then works on the shoulder of Batista. He slams the shoulder into the turnbuckle and then Taker beats down Batista in the corner. Batista counters Old School and hits a clothesline for two. They both run off the ropes and hit each other with clotheslines as we go to commercial.

-Commercial-

We’re back with Batista and Taker fighting on the top rope. Batista hits a superplex for two. Taker gets a choke hold right after the count and then a few headbuts. Old School by Taker and then Taker works on Batista off the ring apron. Taker goes for a Tombstone but Batista falls back and hits a Spear for two. Both men get to their feet and brawl outside the ring until the ref counts both men out. They continue to brawl despite the match being over. Taker attacks Edge and then Hawkins and Ryder jump both men. Taker and Batista take them out and brawl with each other. Edge then is in the ring with both Taker and Batista. Taker and Batista takes out the Edgeheads and then Chavo and Bam hit the ring and get destroyed as Edge leaves. Vicky comes out and then punishes both Taker and Batista for attacking Edge, Ryder and Hawkins as they were just fans tonight. So Vicky announces that both men will have a rematch next week for the World Heavyweight Championship!

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News writing style is just as important for sports reporting as it is for general news, business stories or any other journalistic work.

The advantage of sports writing is that you are allowed a little it more leeway in your choice of words. In crime or business writing, you are restricted in your use of adjectives and adverbs and are encouraged to focus more on nouns and verbs.

Sports writing, however, allows you to go to town in describing plays, the atmosphere, fans and other colorful aspects of a sporting event.

For this article, we will go through, step by step, how to write a straightforward sports report using quotes.

Ideally, any sports story would have quotes from the winners and losers. Indeed, many sports articles are written around what athletes say rather than what they have achieved on the field of play.

However, you also have sports articles written without quotes. When rookies learn how to write like a journalist, especially in sport, they are likely to come across the structure that we will show you here.

We will adapt the NBA game between Boston Celtics and Cleveland Cavaliers on April 1 as our example article.

1. Intro – the most important news aspect of a sports game is the score. Who won? How did they win and what effect did the victory have? Also important is whether we are writing from a Boston perspective or Cleveland. In this case, we will go with Cleveland.

“Cleveland Cavaliers lost 98-96 to the Boston Celtics after Delonte West’s sank two free throws in the final seconds, dropping three and a half games behind the Pistons for the best record in the Eastern Conference.”

2. More info – The above is enough for those who have a passing interest in the sport. However, NBA fans would want more information and you could give it to them in one or two paragraphs.

“The Cavaliers were without star player LeBron James, suffering from a knee injury, while the Celtics were minus Paul Pierce. Gerald Green led the way for Celtics with 25 points while Kendrick Perkins had 12 points and nine rebounds.

The Cavaliers, for whom Larry Hughes scored 24 with Sasha Pavlovic scoring 17, have already qualified for the play-offs while Boston are out of the running.”

3. Quote – This is where you can provide a quote from the coach or a key player from both teams. You can precede each saying with a lead-in paragraph or go straight into the quote.

“Celtic forward Al Jefferson, said: ‘They were missing their best player and we were missing our best play. We just stuck in there.’

Cavs coach Mike Brown said James’ absence was a key factor in their loss.

‘We miss LeBron. We miss LeBron every time he doesn’t play. He’s our guy,’ said Brown.”

4. The rest – Once you got the main information and key quotes out of the way, you can go on to describe the game. Even better would be to describe just one or two plays and include more quotes.

The thinking behind sports articles is that people would have watched the game on TV anyway and would not want boring game description. Therefore, quotes from the people who matter, such as athletes and coaches, would offer better reading value.

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