NCAA Tournament page one madness, Day Two
March 20th, 2010I’m on the road this weekend — In D.C., actually, teaching a session Sunday morning on newsletter design for a group of postmasters. So please excuse my lateness in posting.
If you saw my piece yesterday, then you’ll remember the deal. I’m looking at the NCAA tournament brackets and pulling the front page — from the Newseum – of each school’s hometown paper.
Let’s see if the presentation of the previous day’s game is on par with their school’s performance on the court…
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MIDWEST REGIONAL
No. 5 Michigan State 70
No. 12 New Mexico State 67
Michigan State gets a nice skyline across the top of the Detroit News (and the Free Press as well; more about that later). But I couldn’t find squat for New Mexico State. The Albuquerque paper ran nothing at all for New Mexico State, as far as I could find.
Left: Detroit News, circulation 167,849.
Right: Albuquerque Journal, circulation 94,066.
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No. 4 Maryland 89
No. 13 Houston 77
Is there a mention of the Houston game anywhere on the front page of Houston today? If so, I can’t find it. The above-the-nameplate promo deals with Oklahoma State, Texas A&M and Baylor.
Meanwhile, Baltimore provided pretty good coverage — with a great photo — of the Maryland game.
A great job by Baltimore. But still, a win by default.
Left: The Sun of Baltimore, circulation 186, 639. Lead art by Gene Sweeney, staff
Right: Houston Chronicle, circulation 384,419.
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No. 10 Georgia Tech 64
No. 7 Oklahoma State 59
Atlanta did cover the Georgia Tech win on A1 today, but only in a very small item at the bottom left of the page. Meanwhile, Oklahoma City blew out their team’s loss with a nice four-column post-game A1 shot.
Set, match, point, Oklahoma State.
Left: Atlanta Journal-Constitution, circulation 211,420. Georgia Tech photo by Morry Gash of the Associated Press.
Right: The Oklahoman of Oklahoma City, circulation 147,212. Lead art by Bran Terry, staff.
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No. 2 Ohio State 68
No. 15 Cal-Santa Barbara 51
I can’t find any paper at all that mentioned UCSB on page one today. I cited the daily in Santa Barbara as a default — perhaps their deadline wasn’t compatible with with the final score or something.
Meanwhile, Columbus played a nice over-the-nameplate promo. Win, Ohio Sate.
Left: The Columbus (Ohio) Dispatch, circulation 183, 742.
Right: The Daily Sound of Santa Barbara, Calif., circulation 10,000.
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WEST REGIONAL
No. 1 Syracuse 79
No. 16 Vermont 56
That’s a wonderful package on the front of the Syracuse paper. And it’s awfully nice of the paper to split up their space to give equal time to the folks down the road in Cornell.
However, Burlington devoted two-thirds of its page to Vermont’s losing effort, including a wonderful lead photo. Advantage, Vermont.
Left: Post-Standard of Syracuse, N.Y., circulation 93,176. Syracuse art by staffer Gloria Wright.
Right: Burlington (Vt.) Free Press, circulation 41,901. Lead art by Emily McManamy, staff.
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No. 8 Gonzaga 67
No. 9 Florida State 60
This one puzzled me quite a bit. Gonzaga played Friday — and the game was over early enough — for it to easily make A1 in Spokane. Indeed, it’s there — buried way down in that little tint box. The huge centerpiece focuses mainly on folks from other schools — the five-column photos is of Purdue fans, for Chrissakes.
Tallahassee wins for that embarrassingly small promo at the top right.
Left: Spokesman-Review of Spokane, Wash., circulation 89,779.
Right: Tallahassee (Fla.) Democrat, circulation 49,939.
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No. 6 Xavier 65
No. 11 Minnesota 54
At first, I was immediately drawn in by the nice photo on the front of today’s Strib. But then I discovered that picture goes with a story about high school girls hoops. The Minnesota story is in the skyline.
Meanwhile, Cincinnati made its Xavier story it’s A1 centerpiece but used its art way too small — a common problem for that paper. However, the photos worked incredibly well with the clever, clever headline.
Mark up a victor for Xavier.
Left: Cincinnati Enquirer, circulation 168, 511. Lead photo by Jeff Swinger, staff.
Right: Star Tribune of Minneapolis, Minn., circulation 304,543.
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No. 3 Pittsburgh 89
No. 14 Oakland 66
Another skyline battle. I selected the Freep to represent Oakland — that tiny grey line at the very top of the page was the best A1 love the tiny school in surburban Detroit got fron anybody today. Meanwhile, in Pittsburgh, the Tribune-Review gave Pitt a tiny photo at the upper right.
A win for Pittsburgh. But just barely.
Left: Tribune-Review of Pittsburgh, Pa., circulation 168,218.
Right: Detroit Free Press, circulation 269,729.
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EAST REGIONAL
No. 12 Cornell 78
No. 5 Temple 65
The only paper I could find giving A1 coverage to Cornell today was the Syracuse paper — which was understandably preoccupied with its own hometown school. Yet, the Post-Standard equalized its play quite a bit. This easily overcame a three-column, top-of-the-page photo by the Inky. Which wasn’t even of Temple’s loss — this photo was of Villanova, which didn’t even play Friday.
It’s a win for the paper from Syracuse — not in the Vermont vs. Syracuse contest, but for its treatment of the Ivy Leagues at Cornell.
Left: Post-Standard of Syracuse, circulation 93,688. Cornell photo by Steve Helber, the Associated Press.
Right: The Philadelphia Inquirer, circulation 288,298.
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No. 4 Wisconsin 53
No. 13 Wofford 49
Wisconsin gets treatment in a left-side rail, while the boys from tiny Wofford is blown out all over A1 in Spartanburg, S.C. Wofford’s page loses points for mostly showing backs of heads — my new sports photo pet peeve these days — but gains points back for a wonderful headline and an even better deck.
Left: Wisconsin State Journal of Madison, ciirculation 92, 213. Lead photo by Steve Apps, staff.
Right: Herald-Journal of Spartanburg, S.C., circulation 42,380. Lead photo by Gray Guetti, CalSport Media.
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No. 7 Clemson 78
No. 10 Missouri 86
Where is the Greenville News today? Where is the Anderson Independent-Mail (actually the latter never posts at the Newseum.)
This leaves my beloved Clemson Tigers without a representative in our little A1 bracket. My former paper — the Herald of Rock Hill, S.C. — is hard-pressed to fill in for them, with only a skyline and a one-column mug shot.
As luck would have it, though, it’s enough to slam-dunk the paper from Columbia, Mo., which used an even smaller promo. Clemson earns a win due to readability.
Left: The Herald of Rock Hill, S.C., circulation 30,848.
Right: the Daily Tribune of Columbia, Mo., circulation 18,131.
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No. 2 West Virginia 77
No. 15 Morgan State 50
While the Morgan State presence afront the Baltimore Sun isn’t huge today, at least it’s there — a one-column photo above the fold and a nice, bold headline.
Meanwhile, try to find a mention of this game anywhere on the front of Morganton. There’s a story at the bottom right about state agencies blocking NCAA games from live-streaming broadcasts. But no score or even a mention that the game might be a late one.
The Sun is the second paper playing double-duty for us today. And it marks its second win of the day here.
Left: Post of Morgantown, W.Va., circulation 22,792.
Right: The Sun of Baltimore, Md., circulation 186, 639. Secondary Morgan State art by Rick Stewart, Getty Images.
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SOUTH REGIONAL
No. 1 Duke 73
No. 16 Arkansas-Pine Bluff 44
Durham blew the tournament out on A1 while Little Rock — filling in for Pine Bluff, which was a no-show today at the Newseum — ran only a tiny refer in the skyline. Duke wins, despite a very goofy photo.
Left: The Herald-Sun of Durham, N.C., circulation 32,515. Lead photo by Bernard Thomas, staff.
Right: Arkansas Democrat and Chronicle of Little Rock, circulation 169.458.
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No. 8 California 77
No. 9 Louisville 62
Neither paper led with the game today, making this the Battle of the Skyboxes. A nice reverse treatment by the Merc gives Cal the nod.
Left: San Jose Mercury News, circulation 225,175.
Right: Courier-Journal of Louisville, Ky., circulation 176,638.
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No. 5 Texas A&M 69
No. 12 Utah State 53
The folks in Logan, Utah, led with dejected Utah State players leaving the court after the game. College Station used an action shot, so bonus points for them. But it’s so tiny. Advantage, Utah State.
Left: The Eagle of Bryan and College Station, Texas, circulation 21,654. Photo by the Associated Press.
Right: The Herald Journal of Logan, Utah, circulation 16,037. Lead photo by Braden Wolfe, staff.
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No. 4 Purdue 72
No. 13 Siena 64
Both papers led with shots taken after the game. The Purdue presentation is larger and cleaner — plus, in the Siena page, I’m mostly seeing backs of heads. Win, Purdue.
Left: Journal & Courier of Lafayette, Ind., circulation 34,545. Lead photo by Brent Drinkut, staff.
Right: The Times Union of Albany, N.Y., circulation 89,256. Lead photo by Rajah Bose of the Associated Press.
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