Compiled by FRED M. FAOUR
Houston Chronicle

The Sun News in Myrtle Beach had the largest single-day circulation in the newspaper's history on Feb. 20, thanks in part to the one-two punch of a special six-page live section covering the annual Myrtle Beach Marathon and a NASCAR season preview wrap around the regular sports section. The day's paper was led on Page 1A by staff writer Melinda Waldrop's profile of an 80-year-old local dentist who was participating in the event — becoming one of only 21 people to finish all eight Myrtle Beach Marathons — despite having heart surgery seven months earlier. The big sales day eclipsed the paper's previous best set the day after Dale Earnhardt died at the 2001 Daytona 500.

— Ron Wagner
Hendersonville Times-News

With the NHL lockout and subsequent cancellation of the season, it's not surprising that Canadians seemed a little grumpy this winter. Perhaps because of that, the Toronto Sun ran a six-page list of The 100 Things We Hate About Sports. It was intended as a light-hearted poke at the industry we cover and suggestions were submitted from a number of reporters, columnists and editors in the section. Items included such things as Gary Bettman and Bob Goodenow, fans who shout "You da man" in golf, and athletes who claim to be misquoted in their own autobiographies. he response from readers was surprisingly positive and the paper followed up with some of their submissions.

— Pat Grier
Toronto Sun

The Madison (Wis.) Capital Times added 8,000 to its monthly circulation total for February by distributing four-page, photo-driven wraps on two days during the WIAA state individual wrestling tournament. These sections were wrapped around copies of the paper for distribution at regular outlets near the Kohl Center, which hosts the tournament. They followed the same formula — a single, large photo on the cover along with the TCT ID, photos on 2-3 and a back-page ad. It was a cooperative effort between sports, photo and graphics that was well worth it. The daily circulation is only 21,000, so every little bit helps — not to mention the goodwill that was created with the wrestling community.

	HEY!
	A successful region report for the APSE newsletter depends on all members — and the process is a chain. Sports editors should direct interesting news at their papers to their region chairs. The chairs send their reports to Fred M. Faour of the Houston Chronicle, who compiles the newsletter story.

The Wisconsin State Journal also provided expanded coverage of the WIAA state boys and girls basketball tournaments, including a four-page wrap, which was ad-driven but had team photos, rosters and tournament brackets that were sold at the Kohl Center.

On Feb. 27, The Indianapolis Star commemorated the 50-year anniversary of the 1955 state boys basketball championship won by Crispus Attucks High School with a four-page package of stories, photos and graphics. That team, which was led by future NBA superstar Oscar Robertson, became the first all-black squad to win a state title. Tracy Dodds was the lead writer on the package, which went beyond the team's on-court accomplishments and also addressed the racial environment in which the title was won. Four days later, The Star conducted a community forum at Crispus Attucks, which is now a middle school. Robertson, who resides in Cincinnati, was one of the panelists, along with another member of that squad, a former assistant coach, a current player on what was the No. 1 ranked team in the state at the time and another former Indianapolis schoolboy star, George McGinnis, who won a state title at a different city school several years later. More than 500 people attended the forum, which included questions from the public and was moderated by a reporter from The Star.

The Midland (Mich.) Daily News placed first among Hearst community newspapers in the 2004 contest. Hearst judges four quarters worth of entries. The Daily news sports department placed first in the sports category in two quarters, with stories written by sportswriters Dan Chalk and Fred Kelly. Cash prizes are given out to those who place first through third at year-end. The Daily News, with a circulation of 17,000, also received press credentials to cover the Ryder Cup at Oakland Hills near Detroit last September. The Daily News felt it was an honor to be included among other media members, since Ryder Cup typically doesn't give out credentials to newspapers with circulations of less than 50,000.

The Chicago Tribune, with Illinois the top seed heading into the NCAA tournament and Chicago the site of a one of the regionals, planned to publish five special eight-page wrap sections during the weekend.

— Brad Zimanek
Appleton Post-Crescent

The Denver Post started an outdoor recreation extra in February and reader reaction has been strong. For years, The Post has sporadically covered the huge outdoor active lifestyle that defines Colorado. With the introduction of Outdoor Extremes, the paper has devoted four pages each Tuesday to the people who play in the mountains. Tuesday is a slow circulation day for the paper and OE is seen as a way to generate readership. The section consists of a cover story that can focus on anything from beginner to hard-core activities. There are several smaller features, usually focusing on trends or people. The pages also contain utility, with gear reviews, after-play hot spots, book reviews, Q&As, family suggestions and reader interaction.

The Des Moines Register produced an eight-page special section detailing 50 years of Veterans Memorial Auditorium, keyed toward Iowa's state wrestling and basketball tournaments. A newsroom-wide effort produced the section, which included an all-time concert list, rodeo, circus, graduations and other items of interest that mapped the lives of generations of Iowans in the building. The new Iowa Events Center and Wells Fargo Arena open this fall.

— Scott Dochterman
St. Joseph News-Press

The Erie Times-News (Erie, Pa.) launched a monthly feature, Behind the Scenes, that combines print and new media to give readers access to usually restricted sports venues. Columnist John Dudley writes a feature for the first Sunday of each month, and Karen Burchill of CyberInk, the newspaper's new media arm, uses a special camera to create a 360-degree tour of the site. Audio interview files are added when appropriate. The Sunday print feature sends readers to www.GoErie.com/behindthescenes, where they get free access to the interactive features. A major junior hockey team dressing room, a high school wrestling practice room and a sports talk radio studio were the first three featured locations.

Gary Silvers, executive sports editor of the Bucks County (Pa.) Courier Times, was named the 2004 Courier Times Employee of the Year for his work in the newsroom and the community. In the past six years, Gary has helped raised almost $100,000 in scholarship money for Lower Bucks County high school seniors through his annual Sesame Place Classic 5K race and scholar-athlete awards banquet. Gary also was nominated for Calkins Media Employee of the Year, which will be selected in late April.

With the Eagles put to rest for another season, on the field anyway, The Philadelphia Inquirer sports section has set its sights on a series of projects. There have been three to date with at least five more in the works. The first was a multi-storied project on leadership, looking at the dramatically different styles of the professional coaches in the city. It was accompanied by stories on coaching colleges and high schools and what it means to be a leader as an athlete. The second and third projects were generated by the high school coverage team and focused on wrestlers making weight and scouting high school athletes. It is important to note that the writers are working the projects into their daily responsibilities and succeeding with both. It has been a morale booster for all involved.

The Intelligencer (Doylestown, Pa.) rode the Eagles to the Super Bowl with a 16-page NFC title game special section and a 24-page Super Bowl special section.

— Jim Jenks
Philadelphia Inquirer

Ten under-40,000 sports editors and six 40,000-100,000 sports editors entered the first Northeast Region APSE contest for smaller papers. Now editors from the larger papers in the region are judging the writing-only contest. In a few weeks a list of finalists will be e-mailed to the sports editors that entered the contest. The goal of this contest is to provide extra feedback to small-paper editors and staffs and give them one more reason to remain as a member of APSE. The winners of the contest will be honored at the spring Northeast Region meeting, May 2-3 at The Journal News in White Plains, N.Y. The meeting will include a number of sessions still in the works and a trip to Shea Stadium Monday night to see a Mets-Phillies game. We have a locked-in room rate at the Hampton Inn in Elmsford, N.Y., for $119. Anybody that wants to get a early start can reserve a room by calling 914-592-5680 and just mention you are part of the APSE group. Rooms need to be reserved by April 18. A full schedule of events will be sent out on the Associated Press wire to Northeast papers at the beginning of April.

— Mark Leary
The Journal News White Plains, N.Y.

Did not report.

The Jackson (Miss.) Clarion-Ledger remains in the market for an assistant sports editor. Interested parties should contact sports editor Rusty Hampton.

The Anniston (Ala.) Star also is looking for an assistant sports editor. Former ASE Tyler Greer recently moved to news side to take the position as assistant metro editor.

The Florida Times-Union in Jacksonville ran special sections ranging from 10 to 32 pages for eight consecutive days during Super Bowl week. On the Friday of Super Bowl week, the Times-Union produced an additional 16-page special section, titled the NFL in 3-D. The section was comprised of the best 3-D images from throughout the NFL season, selected by the sports and photo editors. The Times-Union included a pair of 3-D glasses inside every section. The Friday paper turned out to be the highest single-copy sale of a record week.

— Bob McClellan
Nashville Tennessean

The Fort Worth Star-Telegram Sports Department won 10 awards in the 2004 Society of News Design contest. The Athens 2004 and Baseball 2004 special sections finished with Silver Awards. Assistant Sports Editor Michael Currie and designer Seth Schrock won for their sports portfolios.

The Houston Chronicle held its staff awards program on March 7, honoring the paper's best work from 2004. Several members of the sports department won "Jesses," a bronze sculpture of former president and publisher Jesse H. Jones. Columnist Richard Justice was named commentator of the year and also won for sports reporting for his Super Bowl coverage. Assistant Sports Editor Fred Faour was named editor of the year, copy desk chief Steve Schaeffer won an award for best headline,  and Assistant Managing Editor/Sports Dan Cunningham was honored with a Hearst Eagle award for general excellence. In addition to overseeing the sports department, Cunningham was the project manager on the paper's redesign, which was completed in 2004.

The Beaumont Enterprise had its first top 10 in the APSE writing contest since 1998. The project, which finished third, was written by Jeff Wick and Rush Wood. It was called "Method to the Madness — a week long look at the Port Neches-Groves-Nederland football rivalry." It was the second straight for Wick, who won in 2003 in the under 40,000 explanatory at San Angelo.

— Fred M. Faour
Houston Chronicle

The Riverside Press-Enterprise produced several special pages and sections for the Auto Club 500, held Feb. 27 at California Speedway. The Press-Enterprise published a special four-page wraparound that was only available at the track each day. The wrap included profiles of the drivers, schedules, features and a different full-page poster over the three days of racing. The PE published its biggest live daily sports section ever on Sunday (105 columns). It also had a 99-column Saturday section and a 79-column Monday section, including seven pages devoted to the NASCAR race.

Long Beach Press-Telegram columnist Frank Burlison has been chosen for induction into the U.S. Basketball Writers Association Hall of Fame.

In a continuing overhaul of the section, The Salt Lake Tribune launched a new Sunday NASCAR page in February and a new Sunday Page 2 in January. The NASCAR page features Tribune Power Rankings for the top 20 drivers and various standing features and breakouts. Page 2 features an offbeat column by staffer Patrick Kinahan, letters to the sports editor, calendars and schedules and various staff-generated breakout material for a breezy, fun read. Those changes are in addition to a number made last fall, which included a revamped weekly college football page, a new weekly college basketball page, a makeover of the agate presentation, a makeover of the daily NBA presentation, a new Sunday NFL page as well as revamped and expanded NFL coverage for Mondays, an eight-page college football wraparound section on Sundays and a four-page NBA pullout section on Sundays. The college football wrap featured expanded national coverage in addition to expanded coverage of Utah college football. The NBA pullout is a mix of live coverage, commentary and NBA enterprise, a revamped weekly NBA page and a new "Jazz Sunday" feature.

— Larry Ames
Ventura County Star

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