By Mike Sherman, APSE First Vice President/Contest Chair
David Waldstein, the Yankees beat writer for The New York Times, took first prize in Beat Writing for the over 175,000 circulation category in the 2013 Associated Press Sports Editors contest.
Waldstein, whose five-story entry included the story behind Alex Rodriguez’s 10-year, $275 million contract — the largest ever in America sports, will be presented a first-place plaque at the 2014 APSE banquet June 28 at the Crystal Gateway Marriott in Arlington, Va.
Waldstein’s Times co-worker Sam Borden placed second and Baxter Holmes of The Boston Globe was third. The top 10 is listed below with links to writers’ available Twitter pages and entries.
Sports editors in the over 175,000 circulation category submitted 66 Beat Writing entries. Contest catchers 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 early March, preliminary judges at the APSE Winter Conference in Indianapolis 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 1 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 Beat Writing category recognizes the most authoritative, newsy and innovative coverage of a beat during 2013. Each APSE member news organization was permitted to submit up to two entries of five stories each. Each entry consisted of at least one breaking news story, one event or game coverage, one enterprise piece and two wild-card stories that could include a blog post.
The contest is open to APSE members. Go to this link to join.
2013 APSE Contest: Beat Writing, over 175,000 circulation
(First-place votes in parentheses)
1. David Waldstein, The New York Times, (2), 48 points
With a Win, the Ending to Pettitte’s Illustrious Career Is Complete
All About A-Rod on the Day the Yankees Lose Teixeira
Hal Steinbrenner Plots New Course for Yankees
Hitched to an Aging Star: Anatomy of a Deal, and Doubts
The Boyhood Tides That Formed Baseball’s Sandman
2. Sam Borden, The New York Times (1), 43 points
Freed of a Secret’s Burden, a Soccer Player Looks Ahead
Bayern Munich, Champion of Germany, Adds European Title
Pickup Soccer in Brazil Has an Allure All Its Own
European Soccer’s Biggest Star May Be a Song
Building a World Cup Stadium in the Amazon
3. Baxter Holmes, Boston Globe, 42 points
Defense has long been a trademark of Avery Bradley
Celtics lose in Doc Rivers’ return to Boston
Easy to see Celtics’ Rajon Rondo as a coach
Clippers reach deal to hire Celtics coach Doc Rivers
Indiana roots bound Brad Stevens to basketball
4. Benjamin Hochman, The Denver Post, (2), 35 points
Nuggets have come to know JaVale McGee as "The Great Adventure"
Athletes and Pot: Legalized marijuana in a league of its own
Nuggets beat Warriors on Andre Miller's last-second shot
Survival shaped new Nuggets head coach Brian Shaw
Brian Shaw hired as next Denver Nuggets head coach
5. Jesse Temple, FoxSports.com, 33 points
Pain of losing baseball still resonates at Wisconsin
Wisconsin's Andersen guided by principles, loyalty
Big Ten to pay just under $5 million to FCS teams in 2013
No way to mask Badgers' poor shooting
Onetime Wisconsin starting QB Danny O'Brien leaves program
6. Michael Gehlken, U-T San Diego, 31 points
Chargers doctor David Chao steps down
Chargers send Eli back to New York
Kyle Turley's fight for the mind
Early pattern to Ryan Mathews' usage
7. Andy McCullough, The Star-Ledger, (1) 29 points
Yankees general manager Brian Cashman forges ahead despite aging roster, pessimistic fan base
Mariano Rivera: 42 snapshots of Yankees closer gives the big picture
Alex Rodriguez almost impossible to ignore as MLB's one-man reality show
Mariano Rivera stars in final Yankee Stadium appearance in 4-0 loss to Tampa Bay
Carlos Beltran agrees to three-year, $45 million contract as Yankees resume spending
8. Corbett Smith, The Dallas Morning News, 27 points
UIL committee recommendation limits in-season, full-contact football practice
Special report: Some Texas schools fail to provide catastrophic care for injuries (Part 1)
New UIL mandate could help save young lives, but does it go far enough?
Order for certification has DISD coaches scrambling to earn teaching credentials by end of 2013-14
9. Jeff Barker, The Sun (Baltimore), 25 points
Maryland deal included multimillion-dollar travel subsidy from Big Ten
Seth Allen's two free throws lift Terps to 83-81 win over No. 2 Duke
University of Maryland launched extensive PR campaign to change impressions about Big Ten move
Former Terps star Kenny Tate is trying to keep his NFL dream alive
Maryland coaches Mark Turgeon, Brenda Frese initially opposed move to Big Ten
10. Joseph Goodman, Miami Herald, 17 points
Miami Heat’s global reach evident in response to Harlem Shake video
Miami Heat defeats San Antonio Spurs in Game 7 to win second consecutive NBA title
Miami Heat uses amnesty clause to waive Mike Miller
The Miami Heat’s ‘Birdman’ wins his name back
Green doesn’t matter to Miami Heat’s Ray Allen
(Mike Sherman, APSE first vice president and contest chair, is sports editor of The Oklahoman. Email him at msherman@opubco.com, follow him at @MikeSherman or call 405-475-3164.)
