for an exclusive report about the NHL investing in China and for breaking the news that the U.S. women's hockey team had ended a boycott launched over a wage dispute. http://apne.ws/2nd1wTV
In any year, coverage of the Daytona 500 is a major undertaking that presents challenges. NASCARâs biggest event stretches nearly two weeks and story planning begins a month in advance.
But this year the AP crew had to adjust on the fly as the story veered in multiple directions. First, President Donald Trump finalized a visit just 48 hours in advance. Then rain fell early in the race, eventually postponing the event until the following day. And finally, a lurid crash just short of the checkered flag resulted in a stunning finish followed by an agonizing wait for news on the condition of driver Ryan Newman.
The AP team never faltered, deftly handling everything Daytona threw at them with informed, precise reporting and outstanding images.
For constantly keeping the AP ahead during a wild weekend, writers Jenna Fryer, Dan Gelston and Mark Long, and photographers John Raoux and Chris OâMeara share this weekâs Best of the States award.
for a multiplatform breaking news package when former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick held a workout for fans. Kaepernick had been scheduled for an NFL-arranged workout at the Atlanta Falcons training facility, but the quarterback switched signals at the last minute, working out at a high school 60 miles away. https://bit.ly/2r9x9AC
for spending four months tracking the details of penalty targeting hits to the heads and necks of defenseless players in college football, showing that the number of hits continues to rise. http://bit.ly/2AxoqHv
for getting exclusive word revealing details of Major League Baseball rules that would pitchers and hitters on a clock to speed up the game. http://apne.ws/mkcQerv
for noticing from a police report that the name of the man arrested for possessing marijuana-laced candy matched that of a New York Jets player. http://bit.ly/2DpRabx
for scoring a rare, lengthy and exclusive all-formats interview with 38-year-old tennis great Roger Federer in which Federer â who repeatedly faces questions about how long he will continue on tour â said he does not consider it important to walk away at the top of his game and the top of his sport. The sit-down in Dubai during Federerâs pre-season training resulted in numerous text stories and an 8-minute video package. Fendrich has been covering tennis for AP for nearly two decades and Federer thought of Fendrich when he decided to do an exclusive interview with a U.S. or British outlet. https://bit.ly/2PUBUbe
for producing two AP Only stories on Rockets players during the highly competitive Western Conference finals, scooping the approximately 100 credentialed media competitors.https://bit.ly/2LrcVIphttps://bit.ly/2s9vfwFhttps://bit.ly/2IIpsZZ
for his scoop that the Miami Dolphins told players they could face discipline for protesting during the national anthem, a story followed several hours later by the NFL and its players union saying they would halt enforcement of all anthem policies while trying to reach a compromise between players and owners. https://bit.ly/2mtuJXV
for his detail-laden account of the first practice of the football season at Floridaâs Stoneman Douglas High School. Among the victims in the Feb. 14 massacre at the school that killed 17 people was assistant football coach Aaron Feis. The emotional training took place at midnight and AP was the only media allowed to attend except for hometown paper. https://bit.ly/2vfM4IJ
for reporting exclusively that the commissioner of one of two rival women's hockey leagues in North America admitted that a single league is âinevitable,â an extraordinary turnaround from her previous position. https://bit.ly/2qfFxKZ
for scoring an APNewsBreak on one of the most important details of how Olympic leaders in the United States are handling sexual abuse cases, finding that $2.2 million in key federal funds could not be used for the most pressing need of investigating any cases, with a backlog of more than 800 to be resolved. https://bit.ly/2TbqAqE
for an exclusive on the recommendations of a key panel led by former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to address corruption in college basketball. https://bit.ly/2JoydUZ
landed an exclusive interview with Dick Pound, the senior member of the International Olympic Committee, changed the conversation around the Tokyo Olympics. After organizers had been saying for months that the Games would not be affected by the coronavirus, Pound spoke frankly about the risks facing the Olympics, estimating there is a three-month window to decide the fate of the Tokyo Games, which open July 24. The comments were picked up and analyzed by thousands of outlets, all of whom had to credit AP. https://bit.ly/2wwaQrs
studied how soccer has applied rules against activist protest without considering the impact of major issues outside of sports. Harris wrote his analysis after a player for Borussia Dortmund, Jason Sancho, received a yellow card for showing his undershirt with a handwritten message of support for the George Floyd protests, contrary to the rule for players not to lift their jerseys in celebration. âRarely has a rule looked so out of touch,â Harris wrote, noting that the killing of Floyd had resonated far beyond the United States. After the piece, FIFA reconsidered its policy and urged organizers to show common sense. The AP story was widely cited in other media.https://bit.ly/30VeCI4https://bit.ly/30VeQ1S
used access and anticipation to set up and deliver an exclusive multiformat package from inside the NBA bubble. When Miami Heat forward Meyers Leonard stood during the national anthem while his teammates knelt before their seasonâs reopening game, Reynolds had his full story on the wire within five minutes of the end of the anthem, and his interview package, including video, was hours ahead of other outlets, who credited AP.https://bit.ly/2DuUNxThttps://bit.ly/2Psz7oA
National sports writer Eddie Pells was first approached in February by the mom of a player who said she had some concerns about abuses going on in the volleyball program at Oregon State.
Over the next five months, Pells conducted dozens of interviews both in and out of the program, and checked with experts to learn if volleyball coach Mark Barnard was over the line. Several athletes spoke to Pells, including a former OSU player who described how the coachâs abusive practices contributed to a suicide attempt.
Pellsâ exclusive led to immediate calls for the coachâs firing and questions about the university officials who didnât take action after hearing complaints.
For months of persistent and sensitive reporting despite uncertain prospects, resulting in an impressive story with impact, Pells wins this weekâs Best of the States award.
for arranging to be with the New York Liberty as they tried out the first NBA Live video game with womenâs players. http://bit.ly/2wHoUbY http://es.pn/2w7NMdD
noticed at the 2005 World Series that the Houston Astros fielded a team without any U.S.-born Black players, prompting the AP baseball writer to wonder when he would cover a World Series without such a player on either team. The answer: 2022.Leaning on his previous reporting, reaching out to sources and working closely with Race and Ethnicity reporter Aaron Morrison for precise language about Black identity in baseball clubhouses, Walker and AP were alone in reporting that this yearâs Astros-Phillies Fall Classic would be the first since 1950 without any U.S.-born Black players.In a World Series full of big names and rich storylines, Walkerâs piece was undoubtedly the buzz of baseball in the days before Game 1. It was the top Google result for searches of âWorld Series,â âMLBâ and âbaseballâ for several days, and it was cited widely even outside the sports world, by NPR, CNN and others.Read more
for getting behind-the-scenes access to former Miami Hurricanes coach Butch Davisâ return to coaching at Florida International University after a seven-year hiatus. http://bit.ly/2xbt5Bx https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kP9Fs6EHlsY