Develop voice by describing more

Nice story by Jesse Baumgartner on North Carolina’s victory over Duke last night in the Daily Tar Heel. Solid writing. But a comment or two from the opposing team elevates stories like this. Still, good job. … David Ely’s game story chronicles North Carolina’s fourth straight victory in Durham. Pretty amazing.

Post all stories online, not just the big ones

Texas fans did not get to read about the womens soccer team's victory Monday morning unless they went to the school's athletics site. Newspapers should post all stories online – and quickly. (photo/texassports.com)

Texas football coach Mack Brown said Saturday’s game against Oklahoma was one of the greatest games he had ever seen. Better than Vince Young’s heroics against Southern Cal a few years ago? Coaches are prone to hyperbole, so we’ll allow this emotional post-game statement. The Longhorns’ 45-35 victory over Oklahoma may have been the best big-game this season. Offensively, this sure was a (Red River) Shootout as both offenses ran and threw, seemingly, at will. It was a fun game to watch. The Daily Texan’s David R. Henry was up to task of covering a game between a No. 5 (Texas) and No. 1 (Oklahoma). Here’s his lead:

DALLAS — Chris Ogbonnaya’s run toward a roaring sea of orange at the Cotton Bowl in the fourth quarter put an exclamation point at the end of Texas’ new No. 1 ranking.

The senior running back’s 62-yard run to the 2-yard line with Texas up by three led to the game’s final score, a 2-yard Cody Johnson run, giving the No. 5 Longhorns a 45-35 upset win over No. 1 Oklahoma in Saturday’s Red River Rivalry.

“It was one of the greatest football games I’ve ever seen,” said Texas coach Mack Brown. “Every time one would get up, the other one would come back and vice-versa. It was a heavyweight fight that continued throughout the day.”

After Missouri and LSU, formerly in the top five ahead of Texas, fell Saturday, the Longhorns overtook second-ranked Alabama in the Associated Press Top 25 and USA Today coaches’ polls to score their first No. 1 ranking since October of 1984.

Henry covers all the main elements – key play (62-yard run in final minutes), significance (Longhorns now are No. 1), context (two other top 5 teams lost during the weekend), and solid quote that emphasizes the lead’s focus.

College papers explore Red River Rivalry

The Daily Texan sports staff regularly packages its football preview material in a section called 'Double Coverage.'

Apparently, playing in front of a packed football crowd is as difficult as we all had imagined. As Tennessee Titans tight end Bo Scaife once told Longhorns coach Mack Brown: “Coach, I think I’m hyperventilating.” Stories like this are a joy to read. The Daily Texan covered nearly many angles on the 103rd game between No. 5 Texas and No. 1 Oklahoma. The newspaper posted stories that reflected on last year’s game, analyzed some match-ups, and offered some commentary. Would have also liked a slightly more traditional piece that also examined the match-ups, offered assessments from Oklahoma’s players and coaches, and put the Red River Rivalry into more perspective.

Meanwhile, the Oklahoma Daily offers a story with that kind of analysis, showing, for example, how Texas linebacker Roddrick Muckelroy leads a defense that allows only 51.8 yards rushing per game. Sportswriter Kyle Burnett also includes comments on the match-ups from coaches and players. This is a pretty good story, one worth reviewing. As always, this story would have been better – and more insightful – had comments from the opposing team been included. Yes, getting comments from opposing teams can be a challenge, but plan early – call sports information directors at other schools early in the week to set up interviews. A second story, part of a three-part series on the rivalry, does include comments from Texas, which shores up a pretty good effort by the Oklahoma Daily on this highly anticipated game.

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