By John Bednarowski
APSE First Vice President

 

Tommy Deas, Joey Chandler, Molly Catherine Wash, Drew Taylor and Drew Hill of the Tuscaloosa News won first place in the Associated Press Sports Editors 2017 contest in the Projects category for the Under 30,000 circulation division.
Deas, Chandler, Walsh, Taylor and Hill won for his project “Should Your Kid Play Football?.”

The winner in each category will receive a plaque at the 2018 APSE Summer Conference in Nashville. The banquet and awards dinner will conclude the APSE Summer Conference, which takes place June 17-20 at at the Marriott Hotel Nashville / Vanderbilt University.
Brian Mull and Dan Spears of the Wilmington StarNews placed second. Brad Tollefson, Carlos Silva, Nicholas Talbot, Bryan Navarette and Mike Graham of the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal finished third.
Sports editors in the Under 30,000 category submitted 14 Project entries. The contest is open to APSE members. Click here to join.
Contest chair John Bednarowski and fellow APSE officers Jeff Rosen, Todd Adams and Robert Gagliardi numbered each entry, assuring they had been stripped of headlines, graphics, bylines and any other element that would identify the writer or news organization.
In February, preliminary judges at the APSE Winter Conference in St. Petersburg, Fla., and off-site around the country, selected a top 10, with each judge ranking the entries in order from 1 to 10 separately on a secret ballot. Entries were given 10 points for a first-­place vote, nine points for second and so on down to one point for a 10th­-place vote. The final 10 were given to a second judging group, which ranked the entries 1-­10 in the same fashion. The winner and final rankings are determined by tallying the ballots.
The Projects category judges a  Collection of articles that sheds new light on personalities and issues in the news, including trends and original ideas.
The top 10 is listed below, with links to writers’ Twitter pages, APSE member websites and winning entries.

  1. Tommy Deas, Joey Chandler, Molly Catherine Walsh, Drew Taylor and Drew Hill, The Tuscaloosa News, 60 points (6 first-place votes
    Should your kid play football

  2. Brian Mull and Dan Spears, Wilmington StarNews, 50 points
    Wells Fargo

  1. Brad Tollefson, Carlos Silva, Nicholas Talbot, Bryan Navarette, Mike Graham, Lubbock Avalanche-Journal, 45 points
    The Process
    The Process
    The Process
    The Process
    The Process
    The Process
    The Process
    The Process
    The Process
    The Process

  1. Brandon Foster, Casper Star-Tribune, 41 points
    The Firebaugh Files: Josh Allen’s family history deeply rooted in small hometown
    The Firebaugh Files: Supportive household key to Josh Allen’s success
    The Firebaugh Files: Farming is a part of Josh Allen’s past, but not a part of his future
    The Firebaugh Files: Josh Allen’s multi-sport upbringing aided his rise to football success
    The Firebaugh Files: Josh Allen molded by years as a high school quarterback
    The Firebaugh Files: Season in junior college bolstered maturity for Josh Allen
    The Firebaugh Files: 2014 Fresno State game leads Wyoming to Josh Allen
    The Firebaugh Files: 2015 injury delayed start to Josh Allen’s Wyoming career
    The Firebaugh Files: Josh Allen, Wyoming made storybook ascent in 2016 season
    The Firebaugh Files: Josh Allen’s 2017 decision a tough one after sudden rise as NFL prospect

  1. Julie Jag, Santa Cruz Sentinel, 29 points
    Pacific Crest Trail hikers face greater perils this year
    Pacific Crest Trail hikers face greater perils this year
    Pacific Crest Trail hikers face greater perils this year

  1. Justin Pelletier, Nathan Fournier, Ron Morin, Sun Journal, 28 points
    It was magic
    Main page
    Championship memories last
    Team built on chemistry
    Game by game recap
    Where are they now?
    The covers
    Podcast: Remembering the title run

  1. Brett Vito, Denton Record-Chronicle, 27 points
    An unlikely path: Baker’s rise to UNT athletic director originated from chance encounter with professor
    An incredible future: Baker vows good times ahead for UNT as his first year comes to close

  1. Bret McCormick, The Herald (Rock Hill, SC), 24 points
    A week behind the scenes with South Pointe football

 9. Joseph Hoyt, Ames Tribune, 18 points
How Iowa State football coach Matt Campbell found his process
How Iowa State football coach Matt Campbell found his process
How Iowa State football coach Matt Campbell found his process

10. Matt Tait and Tom Keegan, Lawrence Journal-World, 8 points
Hall of Fame Material
He’s in! KU’s Bill Self elected to Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame
Larry Brown ‘in awe’ of Bill Self’s stellar run at Kansas
 Daughter Lauren most impressed by Bill Self’s ability to mentor
 Frank Mason III knew right away that Bill Self was the coach for him
 Doc Sadler says Bill Self same (sarcastic) guy as the day he met him
Bill Self’s style, passion make Danny Manning a proud alum  

 

 

 

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