2006 Better Newspaper Contest — Sports Photo

Sports Photo

View Winners' Slideshow

Division 2 Dailies 7,000 to 99,999

1. The Eagle, Bryan College Station - By Butch Ireland. "Snook Bluejays' title" Good moment, clean and quick read. "Cup opener" Very sharp subject and out-of-focus background. Great facial expressions and body language.

2. Odessa American - By Mark Sterkel. "Unbelievable" Good moment. "Trading places" Nice moment, very good to get reaction in golf, good composition.

3. Midland Reporter-Telegram - By Kris J. Murante. "Leaping up" Great action from football game, showing a memorable moment, as noted in the caption. "Nice grab" Peak action, good clean and quick read.

4. Lubbock Avalanche-Journal - "Hockey fight" by Staci Gray. It's hard to get fist to face moment in a hockey fight but this photographer nailed it. Good grimace too. "Rodeo" by Joe Don Buckner. Unusual rodeo photo but looked slightly soft.

Division 3 Dailies Less Than 7,000

1. Sweetwater Reporter - By Ben Barkley. "Sweet Victory" Nice repetition of form with coach smiling. "Nice catch" Excellent peak action gives the reader the feeling of being there. The wide receiver bending backwards grabs your attention.

2. Taylor Daily Press - By Jeremy Weber. "To the plate" Nice focus on the ball - it's a real focal point of the photo. "Slalom skiing" Good composition, strong graphic appeal, nice light. Good diagonal line.

3. Plano Star Courier - By Matt Nachtrieb. "Football" The flash is a little distracting, but the composition is nice. "Tennis" Great use of lighting and nice, clean background makes the photo have a dramatic quality.

4. Plainview Daily Herald - By Richard Porter. "Loose ball" Good job capturing action. "Too close for comfort" We liked that the ball appears to be uncomfortably close to batters face. The background is nice and clean.

Division 4 Semiweeklies 4,001 or More

1. Wise County Messenger - By Joe Duty. "Celebration time" Beautiful shot and excellent composition. The photo really captures the excitement of the celebration. "He ... could. ... go ... all ... the ... way" Nice action, clean background, feet off the ground.

2. Uvalde Leader-News - "Up, over and out" by James Volz. Photographer captured an unusual peak action moment. Clean background. "Turkey trotters" by Wade Carpenter. Wonderful color.

3. Hood County News - By Mary Vinson. "Long jump" Nice peak action. "Eye on the ball" Good composition, clean background, good facial expression.

4. Williamson County Sun - "Hopes dashed" by Karl Anderson. A very nice moment after an event. Judges were not happy that a stand alone sports photo did not indicate what sport it was. "Clearing the bar" by Mark Ashley. Nice color, clean and simple. Good composition.

Division 5 Semiweeklies 4,000 or Less

1. Copperas Cove Leader-Press - "Garland defender" by Larry Hauk. Good tight action. "New territory" by Walter Challap. This picture was a clear winner. It has peak action, clean background, sharpness, ball and faces. All the elements!

2. The Sealy News - By Johnny Griffin. "Rebound" Nice facial expression, good moment. "Slam dunk" Good action, some technical problems though.

3. Andrews County News - "Sticky Fingers" by Dave Redwine. Good peak action, fairly clean photo. Photo was a good daily effort, even if it was topped by another outstanding football photo. "Baseball" by Rudy Diaz. Good action.

4. The Canyon News - By Tim Ritter. "Champions" Good emotion on the girls. "7-on-7" Nice angle with the shot and great facial expression on the players.

Division 6 Large Weeklies

1. Fredericksburg Standard Radio Post - By Lisa Treiber-Walter. "Catcher" Nice action moment, good facial expression. "Runner bases" A wonderful peak action photo that has a Norman Rockwall feel. The awkward looking runner and his flush face make the photo. Excellent job!

2. River Cities Tribune, Marble Falls - By Daniel Clifton. "Golf" Two strong photos, both clean, quick reads. "Soccer" Good action shot and great facial expressions.

3. Pleasanton Express - By Daniel Elizondo. "Baseball" Good clean action, good use of long lens. Best of the two photos. "Soccer" Good action, sharp focus.

4. Azle News - By Paula Campbell. "Football" Weaker of the two photos. A ball would make the photo stronger. "Fly fishing" Beautiful color, scenic quality.

Division 7 Medium Large Weeklies

1. DeSoto Today - By Chris Hudson. "Basketball on floor" Great action moment, love the one hand on floor supporting everything you see. "Basketball jump" Nice angle, good action.

2. The Big Bend Sentinel, Marfa - By Alberto Tomas Halpern. "High jump" We really liked the composition of this photo. Also liked that you can see him struggling in his expression. "Softball" Good action, could be cropped tighter.

3. Lake Travis View, Lakeway - By Dan Kleiner. "Cavs win" The photo of the Cavs star quarterback celebrating among teammates has a wonderful feel, nicely composed. "Cavs loss" Solemn reaction moment, shows emptiness of loss.

4. Frio Nueces Current, Pearsall - "Play at the plate" by Dean Smith. Good job capturing the ball and players' action. A tighter crop may have helped draw the eye to the players better. "Stride for stride" by Manuel Azocar III. Nice action, like the similar stride; wish the background was cleaner, out of focus.

Division 8 Medium Weeklies

1. The Free Press, Diboll - "Follow the flight of the ball" by Anthony Delco. Nice peak action in basketball game. "Football" by Mike Zimmerman. The football photo shows peak action from a playoff game.

2. Iowa Park Leader - By Kevin Hamilton. "Long jump" Photographer did a good job following the action. "Football" Perfect moment, the ball on the fingertips makes it.

3. Rockwall County News - "Riptides in action" by Jeffrey Jordan. Good peak action of swimmer in water. "A historic run" by Michael Gresham. Great facial expressions and good composition. The ball helps center the photo and draws your eye into the action.

4. Frisco Enterprise - By Jeannie Millender. "Softball" Good peak action with good facial expression. Nice crop too. "Cyclist" Good facial expression. Like veins popping. Diagonal lines. Clean background.

Division 9 Small Medium Weeklies

1. McGregor Mirror - By Charles Mooney. "Emotions ran high" Great composition and reproduction. The photo captures the emotion of the game and is memorable. The angle might have been better if it were shot a little lower. "Football" Good quality photo and nice job centering the shot.

2. Friendswood Reporter-News - By Nick Adams. "Soccer Corey McPherson" The crop is a little tight, but nice color and action. "Soccer Katlyn Kaspar" Good facial expression, body language conflict. Wish Texas City player was not cropped at bottom left.

3. Palacios Beacon - "Football" by Kathy Jo Martinez. Good action as defender goes airborne. Clean background. "Softball" by Nick West. Interesting composition.

4. The Citizen, Clear Lake - By Kar Hlava. "Football" Interestingly-loose composition, nice blocking action. "Soccer" Cool shot with the ball centered above the players' head.

Division 10 Small Weeklies

1. Joshua Star - By Darlene Moore. "Soccer Oscar" and "Soccer neck" Great action, any person airborne is eye-catching!

2. Normangee Star - By Hank Hargrave. "Basketball" and "Baseball hug" Photographer captured a touching moment after the game that shows how important and rewarding taking chances can be.

3. The Morton Tribune - By Chris Woolam. "Football" and "Basketball" Good peak action. The eye goes right to the hands on the ball. Good ball, good faces.

4. The Albany News - By Donnie Lucas. "Football" and "Softball" Captures the action of the catch well and composition is good.