You are so reaching acro. Geez. Where in the article does it say that Steve was the hero of the game?? The writer reported the facts of the game and its up to the reader to make his own "hero" type conclusions. Sounds to me that you would prefer an AP recap writer NOT to mention a player in the cap if he made mistakes, even if he offset those mistakes and helped his team pull out a win. I mean, thats basically what you are saying right?? BTW, if you read that Yahoo recap, Taylor's 14 points were mentioned and an accompanying link to a boxscore is cited at the top of the article where the reader, if he/she wants to, can get all the minute details that you feel belong in the main recap.
I regret that I am going to have to point you to the following link: http://www.tmcc.edu/english/syllabi/Journalism101Syllabus.html Have you ever read a wire service recap of a sporting event before? They generally all look the same, and codell was right, btw, there's no reason (nor is their even textual space) in a 200 word wire service recap to mention events that had no tangible effect on the outcome of a game.
One point is not so accurate, Yao was out of offense because guards want to take over the game and he didn't demand the ball. A little bit half half. But you are right, Francis step up and Yao didn't. I don't care for whatever reason, if you step up and win the game for the team, you are the hero . It didn't matter how many shots you missed and how poorly you played before. Winning counts and stats next. Yao better learn that.
1) If Cavs made those 2 FTs, then the game would have been tied, and they wouldn't have fouled SF and give him 2 final FTs. The result is most likely a jumper from SF at the end wich had 30% chance to go in (I cannot recall a buzzer beating shot from SF this year). 2) Fouling at the crunch time and stopping the clock is pretty serious mistake. I am not saying this should be reported in a short recap. I just don't agree with your statement that non-decisive mistakes shouldn't be included in recap. Yao's missing two FT's the other game was reported in recap although it didn't affect the game outcome. I think that report did well by including that fact.
OK last time I will say this before I abandon this thread and begin smashing my head against the wall as a preferable alternative: In a wire service recap story that can only be a few hundred words long, there is no space, nor is there any reason, to mention hypothetical events and what would have, could have, or should have happened. It is to give a brief description of the events of the game. That's what it did. End of story.
codell: You are absolutely right on that. That has always been the case in my memory of reading the media coverage. And that is exactly the problem. You may think the players are not influenced by the media report. Not necessary. They are all human; they read newspaper and internet. Some of them may be mature enough, and of a charactor immune from the media coverage. But others who favour media praises and individual image higher than the team value. They are mainly the players who favour individual play. And they are usually very good players and deservedly so when they play well. Yet, just because they had the high point did not necessarily mean they played well. Let's be objective by looking at analysing the AP report. It sounds like the whole game was between James and Francis. We may be too excited or subjective to touch Francis. Let's look at James. At least three players on Cleverland played better than or as good as James. The same could be said for Francis. I am not talk about Yao; I meant other Rocket players. If you are unbiased, you can check the tape or stat.
Uhhhh. No. If James makes the 2nd FT, then its 83-82. Taylor hit a shot making it 85-82. If Boozer hits the 2nd FT, its 85-84. That leaves 18 secs and the Cavs would still have had to intenionally foul us. Regarldess, an AP recap isnt there to cover difference scenarios based on what could have happened. Its there to recap what DID happen. Yao's missed FTs were mentioned because it directly setup a potential game winning shot as time expired. The writer obviously felt that Damon's last second 3 point attempt to win as time expired was a significant part of the game, and thus, Yao's missed FTs were mentioned in conjunction with that because it directly set all that up. Steve's fouls at the end of the game didnt a) Allow the Cavs a chance to tie the game or b) Allow the Cavs a chance to win the game. Believe me, if Steve had fouled James and James missed a FT that could have tied or won the game, it would have been mentioned.
Cavs trailed by 2 points, 83-85, before they fouled SF the last time. Had they made those two FT's, it would have benn 85-85.
damn, no edit. it should be: Cavs trailed by 2 points, 85-87, before they fouled SF the last time. Had they made those two FT's, it would have been 87-87.
See, you tried to make it sound like you werent bashing SF. But in reality, you are. Just admit to it though. Right here you are more than insinuating that Francis is immature and impressionable to the point of being affected by this basic AP recaps and thats why you brought the subject up. You are saying that Francis plays selfishly and as an individual because he likes seeing his name mentioned in AP recaps right?? [quoe]Yet, just because they had the high point did not necessarily mean they played well. Let's be objective by looking at analysing the AP report. It sounds like the whole game was between James and Francis. We may be too excited or subjective to touch Francis. Let's look at James. At least three players on Cleverland played better than or as good as James. [/quote] *shaking my head* An AP recap is not a commentary. Its not there to comment on how well a player played or didnt play. Its there to give facts. You are trying to change the way AP recaps games. lol Also, Ilgauskas, Battie, Brown and Williams were all mentioned in the recap and nowhere in the recap, did it insinuate that James outplayed any of his teamates. I dont necessarily disagree. But what does that have to do with an objective AP recap??? Its not the writers job to make conclusions on his reported facts. He leaves that up to us, the readers.
And we would have had the last shot with 9 secs left. So how do you know that we wouldnt have hit a game winning shot?? Why is it the writer's job to cover all these "what if" scenarios??? Why not cover what could have happened if Mo misses his jump shot??? Why not cover what could have happened if Jackson makes his jump shot??
Well the press isn't here to help players impove their games. They point out the story of the game. That usually means who scored the most for the winning team or who hit the big baskets in a close game. As for you not wanting to Steve to think he is doing well, I don't doubt it for a second. I'm sure you may not want Steve to take over the game in the fourth, and depending on the situation I might agree with you. Tonight his shots and the assists he made in the fourth came within the flow of the offense. He wasn't trying to force anything. If the papers were to print that Steve did force it and got lucky, it may or may not keep Steve from trying to be a hero, but it wouldn't be accurate.
*shaking my head* Surely you should? "An AP recap is not a commentary. Its not there to comment on how well a player played or didnt play. Its there to give facts. You are trying to change the way AP recaps games. lol" The fact is, they are not recapturing what actually happened over the game and during the clutch. The fact is, what they recapturing was not the essence of the game. The fact is, media should report facts! Also, Ilgauskas, Battie, Brown and Williams were all mentioned in the recap and nowhere in the recap, did it insinuate that James outplayed any of his teamates. It is the weight that were given to James. The AP used seven paragraph to describe what James and Francis did, close to the end of the recap, apart from mentioning what they accomplished at the beginning and in the middle of the recap. James' teammates were mentioned casually in only one or two paragraphs in the middle. "I dont necessarily disagree. But what does that have to do with an objective AP recap??? Its not the writers job to make conclusions on his reported facts. He leaves that up to us, the readers. [/QUOTE]" An objective recap is factual reporting; not biased on the high point. The writer's job is not to mislead the readers to come to a conclusion based on the high point. That should be the basic for factual recap.
Now, you can see the difference when the media is biased on the high shot and hype players who does the spectacular things but not necessary good for the team. Weren't there other players like Cat and Mobley on the Rocket team who played better than Francis tonight? Didn't Cat score the same point as Francis with less shots. Wasn't Mobley who sank the last field goal? Why shouldn't they be more focused with your logic?
acrophobia this is the lamest attempt EVER of tryin to cover up your true meaning. You think that all SF cares about is seeing his name in the paper or on the internet. that is your opinion, it isnt factual...yet you keep going on and on about being factual. Im not gonna bother going over what a recap should carry, codell, Sam, and FB covered it more than well enough. If you dont want to believe them...whatever.. Truth is, what SF cares about more than anything is winning. That is a fact. Truth is, Yao did nothing spectacular enough to be featured in the recap. Truth is, James is big news, just like Yao was last year...that is why he is mentioned prominently inthe recap...that is what their readers want to see. It comes down to what was said earlier inthe thread...SF didnt play bad enough for you to bash him outright...so you couched it in this tirade about the "media". Transparent. PWNED
If you think that was the truth, you better read the following Chronicle recap, which was clearly capturing the essence of the game much more unbiased: CLEVELAND -- Steve Francis was sick and tired, and the condition had nothing to do with the Rockets' recent play. The cold that had made Steve Francis nearly as ill as the Rockets offense has been had also dropped his voice a few octaves to Allen Iverson range. By Tuesday in Minnesota, Francis could have been 'talking about practice' or Larry Brown, and with eyes closed no one could tell the difference. With eyes open a night later, however, the Rockets needed a more impressive and difficult Iverson imitation. With the Rockets crashing toward a fourth-consecutive loss, someone had to take over. But when invited to their familiar collapse under such pressure, Francis led the Rockets to a sudden 13-0 run and an 89-85 comeback win over the Cavaliers on Wednesday that under the circumstances, they had to have. Even if they were not ready to consider all their ills healed, they stopped the bleeding. "It's the NBA," Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy said. "You never know if you're stepping forward or stepping in it." That sentiment aside, the Rockets had every chance to fold and didn't. Francis, who had made 35 of 105 shots in his previous seven games, and when missed five consecutive shots to end the third quarter and begin the fourth he was 4 of 14 on Wednesday. The Cavs took their lead to seven and the Rockets had made 1 of their previous 10 shots. "We showed we didn't want to give up," Francis said. "We haven't done that in a long time. We haven't not folded in the end. 'Today, we did something we haven't done in those games we lost. We showed more spirit, more will as far as guys not wanting to lose the game." Cuttino Mobley, who made 8 of 16 shots for 18 points, scored on a tough, runner from nine feet and the Rockets took off. Francis nailed a 3 then passed to Maurice Taylor for a jumper. Francis drove to the lane then passed to Mobley for a trey. Francis pulled up at 17 feet before chasing down a long rebound and taking it the other way for a fast break layup for an 83-78 Rockets lead with 2:58 left. Francis would miss several more shots and LeBron James banked in a trey. But Francis made four free throws in the final 16 seconds - in another change from the Rockets' form in many close games - to put away the win. "That was good," Van Gundy said. "We gutted it out. We took a couple daggers on a couple long threes at the end of the (shot) clock and Steve finished with making free throws. We've missed a lot of fourth quarter free throws. And Mo made a big shot. It was good." Coming in off the worst three-game stretch of scoring in franchise history, it will have to do. But as the first meeting of last season's first NBA draft pick, Yao Ming, and this season's, James, it was anti-climatic. Not that there was much anticipation. The drawing power of Yao and James combined to pull in the smallest crowd of the season 14,567, in Gund Arena. About the only interesting meeting of the two came when James plowed hard into Yao on a first-quarter charge. "It's a double-edged sword," Yao said. "If you play well, everybody is rooting for you. If you play well, everybody thinks you're awful. But I think he's playing better than I did last year." But Yao started with the energy and confidence he has rarely shown in recent weeks. He made 4 of 5 shots to score eight points in eight minutes. But foul trouble and the matchup with Zydrunas Ilgauskas, held Yao to four points the rest of the night. James was no more effective. Even with his late 3 off the backboard, he was held to 17 points on 7 of 19 shooting, with three assists and just one rebound, going much of the second half against Francis. "I consider him like Yao," Francis said of James. "Once they realize they can take over a game at any time, the sky is the limit. They're definitely on that next level as far as being talented." Instead, the Cavaliers needed a huge boost from the considerably less celebrated Tony Battie, Eric Williams and Kedrick Brown. Acquired from Boston on Monday and playing without even one practice, they combined for 36 points and seemed as familiar with the Cavaliers offense as the Rockets have with theirs recently. That might have begun to change on Wednesday. Even missing 14 3-pointers, the Rockets had 23 assists, their most in 11 games. Their 10 turnovers were their fewest in eight games. Francis had nine assists with just one turnover. "I thought he played real hard," Van Gundy said. "Didn't turn the ball over. He only had one turnover. You can play well when you don't shoot well." He could also play well when he felt horrible. But if the Rockets go as goes Francis, they might be still sick, but feeling better. "I wasn't as (ill) as I was yesterday," Francis said. "My energy level was down bigtime. At least, I wasn't as dramatic as Michael Jordan." With that, he mimicked Jordan's NBA Finals collapse on the bench with flu. That might have been his only Jordan impersonation. But sounding and finishing a game like Iverson was enough.
The Chronicle recap briefly described what worked well and what did not. It did not create an unjustifiable heroic image on Francis or James. It gave due share of credit to their teammates while provided the credit to Francis and others on what they deserved. This type of media coverage would have a much better, positive influence to the players and thus the team. The Chronicle does not have the same wide circulation as others such as the AP recap; but it surely does a better job most nights. Unfortunately, some posters here are simply not objective enough to see the full picture what the game went on and label others as Francis basher of YOF.
