AP Top Sports Stories of 2014 - Illustrating Why Journalism Is Dead

[Tugg Speedman]

The very top stories are not sports stories.  This is political advocacy (not surprisingly, left-wing) pretending to be sports stories.

People watch sports to get away from this stuff.  AP is not turning anyone's opinion, they are driving customers away from their product.

AP editors, save your money as you are headed to unemployment like the rest of your journalism colleagues that don't know the difference between reporting and advocacy.


http://news.yahoo.com/nfl-domestic-violence-ap-sports-story-084851192.html;_ylt=A0LEVj3MMJpUQUgAoX0PxQt.


Here are 2014's top 10 stories:

1. NFL DOMESTIC VIOLENCE: Baltimore Ravens star running back Ray Rice knocked his now-wife unconscious in an Atlantic City casino elevator Feb. 15, but it wasn't until July 24 that domestic violence cases spiraled into a crisis roiling the NFL. Commissioner Roger Goodell suspended Rice for just two games, which drew widespread derision. More than a month passed before Goodell admitted he "didn't get it right" and announced harsher sanctions for future domestic violence offenses.
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FILE - In this Oct. 25, 2013, file photo, Los Angeles …
FILE - In this Oct. 25, 2013, file photo, Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling, right, and V.  …

But the NFL's problems were only beginning. On Sept. 8, TMZ Sports released video from inside the elevator that showed Rice punching his then-fiancee; the Ravens responded by releasing him and Goodell suspended him indefinitely. And on Sept. 12, one of the league's biggest stars, Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson, was indicted on felony child abuse charges for using a wooden switch to discipline his 4-year-old son. The Vikings initially planned to play him just over a week later, reversing course only after the ensuing uproar.

The year ends with Rice reinstated by an arbitrator but without a team and Peterson suspended and suing the NFL. Chastened by those and other cases, the league is pushing a new personal conduct policy, but the players' union is balking at Goodell's role in the disciplinary process.

2. CLIPPERS' STERLING BANNED: Donald Sterling had withstood accusations of racism throughout his more than three decades as owner of the Los Angeles Clippers. But when audio surfaced April 25 of Sterling spewing racist remarks, he was banned for life by new NBA Commissioner Adam Silver just four days later and forced to sell the team.

3. LEBRON GOES HOME: This time, LeBron James decided to return home. Four years after spurning Cleveland to sign with the Miami Heat, the Northeast Ohio native and four-time NBA MVP announced July 11 that he was rejoining the Cavaliers to try to end the city's half-century title drought.

4. FIRSTS FOR GAY ATHLETES: Jason Collins became the first openly gay man to play in the big four North American pro sports leagues when he made his debut with the Brooklyn Nets on Feb. 23. The veteran center had come out 10 months earlier, a trailblazing moment that helped inspire other athletes and sports officials to follow his lead in 2014. That included Missouri All-American Michael Sam, who went on to be drafted into the NFL, though he has yet to play in a game.

5. GIANTS WIN WORLD SERIES: Madison Bumgarner pitched seven dominant innings to win Game 1 of the World Series. Then the San Francisco ace topped himself with a shutout in Game 5. He outdid himself yet again with five scoreless innings of relief in Game 7 to clinch the Giants' third championship in five years.

6. COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF PAYS OFF: Ohio State lost to Virginia Tech on Sept. 6. Oregon was upset by Arizona on Oct. 2, and Alabama fell to Ole Miss two days later. The rest of those teams' regular-season games still mattered because of the new College Football Playoff, which made more and more matchups meaningful deep into the fall.

7. TONY STEWART: One of NASCAR's biggest stars, Tony Stewart, was taking part in a small sprint car race in upstate New York on Aug. 9 when he struck and killed 20-year-old driver Kevin Ward Jr. A grand jury decided not to bring criminal charges against Stewart, who skipped three NASCAR races as he grieved.

8. WORLD CUP: Brazil's World Cup was a big celebration until those German goals started piling up. The expected massive protests didn't materialize, and the construction delays caused few headaches. The major disappointment came on the field when the hosts, without injured star Neymar, were thrashed 7-1 in the semifinals by eventual champion Germany.

9. SEAHAWKS WIN SUPER BOWL: Richard Sherman's Seattle defense was way too much for Peyton Manning's Denver offense. The Seahawks flustered and flattened the Broncos with a 43-8 victory in the Super Bowl, when the weather cooperated outdoors in New Jersey.

10. SOCHI OLYMPICS: The Sochi Olympics opened amid fears of terrorist attacks and denunciations of Russia's so-called "gay propaganda" law. The games went on peacefully, with the hosts winning 33 medals — though not in hockey. But by the closing ceremony, darkness lurked nearby in the world in violence in Ukraine.

[PuertoRicanNightmare]

I'll go you one further, the athletes coming out was a non-story, as it should've been. Damn near nobody cared.

[Skitch]

It is interesting that you say that "people watch sports to get away from this stuff" while posting it to a sports forum. Aren't you doing the same thing the media is doing?

[ChitownSpaceForRent]

Reminds me when they would not stop talking about Favre retiring. I couldn't care less and refused to watch ESPN because that's all they would talk about. Same goes for when Vick wentry to jail.

[Tugg Speedman]

It is interesting that you say that "people watch sports to get away from this stuff" while posting it to a sports forum. Aren't you doing the same thing the media is doing?

Yes ... and I don't get paid to post here, and the AP editors should not get paid either.

[rocket surgeon]

the lallapallooza around michael sam hurt his chances before he was even drafted.  then espn runs a story on their "concerns" for when he showered, etc around his teams schedule...riveting.  i'm sure that was going thru everyones minds and they just had to get the inside scoop.  espn later apologized-oopsie

[MU82]

The very top stories are not sports stories.  This is political advocacy (not surprisingly, left-wing) pretending to be sports stories.

People watch sports to get away from this stuff.  AP is not turning anyone's opinion, they are driving customers away from their product.

AP editors, save your money as you are headed to unemployment like the rest of your journalism colleagues that don't know the difference between reporting and advocacy.

AP does not choose these stories. As it said in the second paragraph of the story you linked:

Ninety-four ballots were submitted from U.S. editors and news directors. Voters were asked to rank the top 10 sports stories of the year, with the first-place story receiving 10 points, the second-place story nine points and so on.

Each year at this time, AP compiles a list of dozens and dozens of stories -- some what you might call "political" in nature, but most "sports" in nature -- and sends that list to news editors/directors of newspapers and electronic media outlets from all around the country. The editors rank their top 10 stories in order. AP then uses a scoring scale to get a Top 10 -- kind of like the way the football and basketball Top 25s are chosen.

So again, as is typical with knee-jerk reactions to anything media-related, the messenger is blamed.

As an aside ...

I don't think anybody should be "blamed," because obviously the NFL's woes and Sterling were sports stories.

There is considerable crossover from news to sports and there always has been. Jackie Robinson integrating the major leagues, Ali refusing to go to 'Nam, the Munich massacre, the Miracle on Ice, the 1980 Olympic boycott, the labor-related cancellation of the 1995 World Series, steroids in baseball, etc, etc, all fall into that nuanced intersection of news and sports.

Just because something doesn't fit your little narrative of what defines a "sports story," it doesn't make everybody else wrong.

Sports hasn't been only about "games" pretty much since Abner Doubleday came out of the closet.

[Benny B]

I blame DVR.

[Tugg Speedman]

AP does not choose these stories. As it said in the second paragraph of the story you linked:

Ninety-four ballots were submitted from U.S. editors and news directors. Voters were asked to rank the top 10 sports stories of the year, with the first-place story receiving 10 points, the second-place story nine points and so on.

Each year at this time, AP compiles a list of dozens and dozens of stories -- some what you might call "political" in nature, but most "sports" in nature -- and sends that list to news editors/directors of newspapers and electronic media outlets from all around the country. The editors rank their top 10 stories in order. AP then uses a scoring scale to get a Top 10 -- kind of like the way the football and basketball Top 25s are chosen.

So again, as is typical with knee-jerk reactions to anything media-related, the messenger is blamed.

As an aside ...

I don't think anybody should be "blamed," because obviously the NFL's woes and Sterling were sports stories.

There is considerable crossover from news to sports and there always has been. Jackie Robinson integrating the major leagues, Ali refusing to go to 'Nam, the Munich massacre, the Miracle on Ice, the 1980 Olympic boycott, the labor-related cancellation of the 1995 World Series, steroids in baseball, etc, etc, all fall into that nuanced intersection of news and sports.

Just because something doesn't fit your little narrative of what defines a "sports story," it doesn't make everybody else wrong.

Sports hasn't been only about "games" pretty much since Abner Doubleday came out of the closet.

So it's worse than I said, all sports editors are corrupt and pushing political agendas, not just AP.  Got it.

And as far as fitting my agenda, it's actually everybody's agenda. Because all these editors publications are going out of business in a hurry because Nobody reads them anymore.  Why? That's because they're not covering sports anymore. They're covering political stories that happened to somebody who gets paid a contract to play sports.

I'm sure they looked into the Ferguson event hoping anyone involved had a sports background so that could have been the top story of the year.  And I'm sure are disappointed they couldn't find a sports connection to put it on the sports pages.

You could argue their has been crossover in the past and I agree.  But the crossover now is forced and too much. And that's why it's getting difficult to read the sports pages and that's why sports writers and editors are becoming unemployed.

[MU82]

So it's worse than I said, all sports editors are corrupt and pushing political agendas, not just AP.  Got it.

And as far as fitting my agenda, it's actually everybody's agenda. Because all these editors publications are going out of business in a hurry because Nobody reads them anymore.  Why? That's because they're not covering sports anymore. They're covering political stories that happened to somebody who gets paid a contract to play sports.

I'm sure they looked into the Ferguson event hoping anyone involved had a sports background so that could have been the top story of the year.  And I'm sure are disappointed they couldn't find a sports connection to put it on the sports pages.

You could argue their has been crossover in the past and I agree.  But the crossover now is forced and too much. And that's why it's getting difficult to read the sports pages and that's why sports writers and editors are becoming unemployed.

All due respect, you don't know what you're talking about.

[Anti-Dentite]

...and illustrating is spelled wrong.

[Tugg Speedman]

All due respect, you don't know what you're talking about.

Actually I do ... the sports reporters and editors are in a crisis.  No one reads them, no one watches them and the list above is a good reason why.  They are not covering sports anymore.

And yes Ray Rice and Sterling were sports stories, but they were NOT the TOP 2 sports stories of the year.  The only way they get to the TOP 2 is political agendas that is ruining journalism is still entrenched on the sports pages.

[Tugg Speedman]

...and illustrating is spelled wrong.

So I spell as good as Mike Hunt.

[MU82]

Actually I do ... the sports reporters and editors are in a crisis.  No one reads them, no one watches them and the list above is a good reason why.  They are not covering sports anymore.

And yes Ray Rice and Sterling were sports stories, but they were NOT the TOP 2 sports stories of the year.  The only way they get to the TOP 2 is political agendas that is ruining journalism is still entrenched on the sports pages.

You are stating your own politically-charged opinion as if it were fact.

This is a perfect example of that:

"I'm sure they looked into the Ferguson event hoping anyone involved had a sports background so that could have been the top story of the year. And I'm sure are disappointed they couldn't find a sports connection to put it on the sports pages."

And I'm sure you'll pull anything out of your arse to advance your own political agenda.

The reason newspaper journalism has been on the decline has nothing to do with political agendas. It is because people get their information for free on the Internet. It is because people can sell stuff and companies can advertise on craigslist, all but killing off classified ads, which used to be the ultimate cash cow for newspapers. It is because the average American media consumer has the attention span of a gnat and can't be bothered to look past the surface of anything -- as you beautifully demonstrated.

BTW, Fox News and the Huffington Post have extreme political agendas and yet both are quite popular.

[ATL MU Warrior]

Actually I do ... the sports reporters and editors are in a crisis.  No one reads them, no one watches them and the list above is a good reason why.  They are not covering sports anymore.

And yes Ray Rice and Sterling were sports stories, but they were NOT the TOP 2 sports stories of the year.  The only way they get to the TOP 2 is political agendas that is ruining journalism is still entrenched on the sports pages.

So what are your top 10 stories of the year?  Top 5?

[ChicosBailBonds]

Journalism died around 2008.....rumor has it that it might make a comeback in 2016, but that remains to be seen.

[Tugg Speedman]

So what are your top 10 stories of the year?  Top 5?

Numbers 3 and 5 to 10 work for me.

1,2 and 4 are not sports stories.  Problem is the editors all think these were the most important stories.

[PuertoRicanNightmare]

My favorite is when sports reporters go off the rails when an athlete chooses not to talk with them for one reason or another. Of course, nobody gives a crap but it's reported as if the athlete in question stole somebody's bicycle.

[Benny B]

BTW, Fox News and the Huffington Post have extreme political agendas and yet both are quite popular.

In one sentence, you just explained why the percentage of morons in any given precinct is roughly the percentage of voter turnout.

[4everwarriors]

Respect the process, aina?

[JuniorCardigan]

My favorite is when sports reporters go off the rails when an athlete chooses not to talk with them for one reason or another. Of course, nobody gives a crap but it's reported as if the athlete in question stole somebody's bicycle.

a.k.a. Marshawn lynch. I don't even get why they bother doing postgame interviews sometimes, the questions are all worthless ("what was going through your head when you got concussed?") and most of the guys clearly don't even want to be getting interviewed. i get that its in their contract to speak to the media, but the interviews serve almost no purpose

[Tugg Speedman]

You are stating your own politically-charged opinion as if it were fact.

This is a perfect example of that:

"I'm sure they looked into the Ferguson event hoping anyone involved had a sports background so that could have been the top story of the year. And I'm sure are disappointed they couldn't find a sports connection to put it on the sports pages."

And I'm sure you'll pull anything out of your arse to advance your own political agenda.

The reason newspaper journalism has been on the decline has nothing to do with political agendas. It is because people get their information for free on the Internet. It is because people can sell stuff and companies can advertise on craigslist, all but killing off classified ads, which used to be the ultimate cash cow for newspapers. It is because the average American media consumer has the attention span of a gnat and can't be bothered to look past the surface of anything -- as you beautifully demonstrated.

BTW, Fox News and the Huffington Post have extreme political agendas and yet both are quite popular.

The bolded part is nearly 100% wrong.  Everything is driven by content.  The content that editors and reporters were offering was garbage and it was the lack of alternatives that kept them going. Once alternatives appeared, they were toast.

If the editors and reporters were offering content that people actually wanted, they they could make money on the internet.  The fact is their content is so bad that free bloggers offer better stuff than the paid professionals.  Make no mistake, journalism is in crisis.  They have been taught to be advocates and no one wants what they offer and now they don't know what purpose they serve, the sports pages included.

Why is their content garbage?  Numbers 1, 3, 4 above.  Offering political agendas instead of sports stories.

Or to turn it around.  Where is Mo'ne Davis on this list (the girl pitcher in the LLWS)?  How about Clayton Kershaw (who is on a short listed for the greatest season a pitcher ever had).  How about a 7 seed (Kentucky) playing a 8 seed (Uconn) in the NCAA finals?  Is it because these stories were months ago and editors cannot remember what happened last summer or spring?  That would be my bet.

It is a total embarrassment to sports reporting that Donald Sterling is the #2 story of the year?  If anything the story was Ballmer paying $2 billion and redefining the value of a franchise.  But they did not go with this angle.  Instead they went with the left-wing interpretation.

What is another way of saying "soon to be unemployed?"  Sports reporter/editor

[ChitownSpaceForRent]

Stories number 8 and 10 should be 1 and 2. Those are worldwide significant events and the only ones I cared about on this list.

[RushmoreAcademy]

Of all the crap to get bent out of shape about.....

[MU82]

The bolded part is nearly 100% wrong.  Everything is driven by content.  The content that editors and reporters were offering was garbage and it was the lack of alternatives that kept them going. Once alternatives appeared, they were toast.

If the editors and reporters were offering content that people actually wanted, they they could make money on the internet.  The fact is their content is so bad that free bloggers offer better stuff than the paid professionals.  Make no mistake, journalism is in crisis.  They have been taught to be advocates and no one wants what they offer and now they don't know what purpose they serve, the sports pages included.

Why is their content garbage?  Numbers 1, 3, 4 above.  Offering political agendas instead of sports stories.

Or to turn it around.  Where is Mo'ne Davis on this list (the girl pitcher in the LLWS)?  How about Clayton Kershaw (who is on a short listed for the greatest season a pitcher ever had).  How about a 7 seed (Kentucky) playing a 8 seed (Uconn) in the NCAA finals?  Is it because these stories were months ago and editors cannot remember what happened last summer or spring?  That would be my bet.

It is a total embarrassment to sports reporting that Donald Sterling is the #2 story of the year?  If anything the story was Ballmer paying $2 billion and redefining the value of a franchise.  But they did not go with this angle.  Instead they went with the left-wing interpretation.

What is another way of saying "soon to be unemployed?"  Sports reporter/editor

I will acknowledge another's superior knowledge on any number of subjects on this and other boards. But I will not cede on this subject, especially to a politically partisan gentleman who really doesn't know what he is talking about regarding the business of journalism.

I agree with others who wonder why this bothers you so much. It's a freakin' end-of-year list, one of about 1,000 on various subjects this time of year. It's what journalists call a "throw-away story" -- of no real value but one that can spark short-term conversation.

Obviously, given your undies and the bundle they are in, it worked.