sports teams not ending in "s"

Fife Club · **Posted:** Tue Dec 17, 2002 10:18 am

Hi. This is my first visit to this site but it looks like a good one for me to bookmark :-)After years of debate I wanted to get an absolute, definitive answer to a question that keeps coming up around here. When writing a script for a sporting matchup, how do you treat the name of a team when it does not end in an "s"? Do you consider it singular because it is one team, or do you consider it plural because you are referring to a team that is comprised of many players? To be specific let me use this example: Do you write "the Wolfpack take on the Knights" or do you write "the Wolfpack takes on the Knights"? Another example: "the Sting look to defeat the Comets" or do you write "the Sting looks to defeat the Comets"?Thank you very much in advance for your help.P.S. Is there an online guide that answers frequently asked writing questions like this (particularly in regards to writing for short form electronic media)?

Phillip Blanchard · **Posted:** Tue Dec 17, 2002 1:44 pm

<blockquote>quote:<hr>Originally posted by Fife Club:
To be specific let me use this example: Do you write "the Wolfpack [b]take on the Knights" or do you write "the Wolfpack takes on the Knights"? Another example: "the Sting look to defeat the Comets" or do you write "the Sting looks to defeat the Comets"?
[/b]<hr></blockquote>"Wolfpack" is singular. Singular nouns take singular verbs in all cases, unless you're in Great Britain, but that's another story. At any rate, you don't write "the Wolfpack takes on the Knights," you write, "the Wolfpack plays the Knights."After years of debating, you may now move on to other matters.

palepink · **Posted:** Fri Jan 10, 2003 4:11 am

<blockquote>quote:<hr>Originally posted by blanp:
"Wolfpack" is singular. Singular nouns take singular verbs in all cases, unless you're in Great Britain, but that's another story. At any rate, you don't write "the Wolfpack takes on the Knights," you write, "the Wolfpack plays the Knights."
<hr></blockquote>Or unless you're in Utah, where "the Jazz are playing on TV; don't bother me." Don't know whether that long-ago decision was influenced by the fact that "Jazz" ends with a sound similar to that of many plural words.Also don't know whether the New Orleans Jazz was plural. (Sorry: whether the New Orleans Jazz were singular.) Anybody remember?--Suzii.

rlbynum · **Joined:** Thu Jan 09, 2003 1:01 am **Posts:** 7

If the nickname doesn't have an "S" at the end, it's a singular."The Wolfpack is having a parade to celebrate its fourth-place finish in the ACC."The frustrating part is that you don't have a word that can be used to refer to one member of the team. If it's Ohio State, he's a Buckeye. If it's Miami (Fla.), he's a Hurricane.But if you are a member of the Miami Heat ... you can't say he's "a Heat."There ought be a constitutional amendment outlawing nicknames without an "S" at the end. There would be a special exception for Red Sox and White Sox, which are both treated as plural, by the way.[ January 10, 2003: Message edited by: Scribe ]

tim · **Posted:** Fri Jan 10, 2003 3:24 pm

<blockquote>quote:<hr>Originally posted by Scribe:
"The Wolfpack is having a parade to celebrate it's fourth-place finish in the ACC."<hr></blockquote>You do realize you can edit these posts. <blockquote>quote:<hr>The frustrating part is that you don't have a word that can be used to refer to one member of the team. If it's Ohio State, he's a Buckeye. If it's Miami (Fla.), he's a Hurricane.But if you are a member of the Miami Heat ... you can't say he's "a Heat."<hr></blockquote>Nothing frustrating about it. Don't refer to a member of a team by the team nickname. Don't call him a Buckeye or a Hurricane. Just use the person's name.

Guest · **Posted:** Fri Jan 10, 2003 5:43 pm

Fife Club:In response to your postscript query ... yes, you can pretty much be guaranteed same-day (sometimes even same-hour) slap-around service.

monkey_brain · **Posted:** Sat Jan 11, 2003 5:44 pm

According to the sports guidelines in my 2002 AP Stylebook, "team names such as the Jazz, the Magic, the Avalanche, take plural verbs."Really. (I don't have one handy.) Well, that's moronic. When's the last time you heard, "The Crimson Tide are playing great basketball!"?[ January 11, 2003: Message edited by: blanp ]

Rio · **Posted:** Sun Jan 12, 2003 1:22 am

<blockquote>quote:<hr>Originally posted by monkey_brain:
According to the sports guidelines in my 2002 AP Stylebook, "team names such as the Jazz, the Magic, the Avalanche, take plural verbs."<hr></blockquote>And the credibility of the AP Stylebook takes yet another well-deserved hit. :roll:

Phillip Blanchard · **Posted:** Sun Jan 12, 2003 1:38 am

The Crimson Tide (11-2, 1-1) hasn't beaten the Commodores in Memorial Gym since 1990, a span of seven games, and had a chance but took too long to make a late run. (AP)***Luckily, AP doesn't follow its own style.***

dmfugitive · **Posted:** Sun Jan 12, 2003 8:50 pm

<blockquote>quote:<hr>Originally posted by Scribe:
If the nickname doesn't have an "S" at the end, it's a singular.
<hr></blockquote>... which is news to the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and the Syracuse Orangemen.

Powderhorn · **Posted:** Tue Jan 14, 2003 12:58 am

Also, the Stanford Cardinal. As I went to a Pac-10 college, this was a frequent issue (every time the Huskies played any team from Stanford, the mystery 's' would appear).

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