The Times Sports Section Scores APSE Contest Sweep

The Times was one of two large-paper sports sections, and one of only four among all newspapers in the country, to place in the top 10 in all four section categories Wednesday in the Associated Press Sports Editors annual national contest.

Judges from around the country, meeting Sunday through Wednesday in Redondo Beach, put The Times in the top 10 in large-paper daily, Sunday and special sections and also named it Best in Show in page design. The Chicago Tribune was the other large paper listed in daily, Sunday and special sections and was listed as one of the top 10 in page design.

The two other papers sweeping all four section categories were the Glen Falls (N.Y.) Post in papers 50,000-and-under circulation and the Akron Beacon Journal in the 50,000-175,000 group.

The Times also placed in the top 10 in three writing categories, with two in features, two in news and a 13-person team in investigative reporting. Section placing is final, but writing category finalists are sent to another group of judges to select Nos. 1-5 and honorable mentions.

Chris Dufresne’s story on Frank Kush and Bill Plaschke’s story on Andrea Jaeger were chosen in the feature category, as were a news story by Maryann Hudson and Greg Sandoval on a class at USC where attendance of enrolled athletes was questionable and one by the late Allan Malamud on Tom Lasorda’s surprise retirement announcement.

In the investigative category, a series of stories on Jim Harrick’s problems and eventual firing at UCLA was one of 10 moved forward. Staffers working on that series of stories, which spanned a month, were Lisa Dillman, George Dohrmann, Bill Dwyre, Emilio Garcia-Ruiz, Jim Hodges, Tim Kawakami, Jason Reid, Eric Shepard, Paul Singleton, Steve Springer, Larry Stewart, Dufresne and Sandoval.

Papers in the 175,000-and-above category finishing in the top 10 in daily, Sunday and special section categories, in addition to The Times and the Chicago Tribune, were the Atlanta Journal Constitution, Boston Globe, Dallas Morning News, Philadelphia Inquirer and Washington Post.

Also placing well were the Palm Springs Desert Sun among small papers in special and Sunday sections and the Fresno Bee in middle-sized special and daily sections.