BamaCentral Wins Two Top 10 Awards in Annual Associated Press Sports Editors Contest

Crimson Tide lands honors for coverage of Alabama's 18th national championship and the 10-year anniversary of the tornado in Tuscaloosa.

BamaCentral received two top-10 honors in the annual Associated Press Sports Editors annual writing contest, the results of which were announced this week. 

It placed in both Event Coverage and Projects categories while competing in the C Division of the 2021 contest. 

The top 10 stories in each group will go through a second round of judging to determine first through 10th place.

The event coverage was for the national championship game in Miami, where Alabama capped the undefeated 2020-21 football season. Joey Blackwell, Tyler Martin and Christopher Walsh were on-hand for the 52-24 victory over Ohio State.

The project was a 10-part series on the 10-year anniversary of the tornado and the impact on both Tuscaloosa and Crimson Tide athletics. Among those contributing were Blackwell, Martin, Walsh and Edwin Stanton. 

"We're thrilled," said Walsh, BamaCentral's founder and publisher. "Both were really team awards and for the whole staff to be recognized like this is both exciting and special.

"To even move up in classification during just our third year of existence was quite an honor for us."

APSE is considered the most prestigious sports journalism organization in the country, with it national contests recognizing outstanding coverage.

2021 APSE Top 10 Results

Divisions are based on circulation and page hits online.

Category A is made up up of national and major outlets like Sports Illustrated, ESPN.com, Houston Chronicle and The Dallas Morning News.

Category B is for the next biggest outlets, while Category D is for the smallest. In general, the division is 25 percent of the membership in each. 

Division C Top 10 Event Coverage

The News-Press (Fort Myers, Fla.) — Alex Martin, Dustin Levy, Greg Hardwig, Izubee Charles
BamaCentral — Christopher Walsh, Joey Blackwell, Tyler Martin
The Free Lance-Star — Joey LoMonaco, Steve DeShazo, Mike Morones, Pete Cihelka, Taft Coghill
The Spokesman-Review (Spokane, Wash.) — Jim Meehan, John Blanchette, Theo Lawson, Vince Grippi, Justin Reed
Winston-Salem Journal — John Dell, Andrew Dye, Ed Hardin, Ethan Joyce and Joe Sirera
Clarion Ledger (Jackson, Miss.) — Nick Suss
The Beaver County Times — Parth Upadhyaya
The Daily Memphian — Geoff Calkins, Steven Johnson, John Varlas
Pensacola News Journal — Eric J. Wallace
The Florida Times-Union (Jacksonville) — John Reid, Garry Smits and Mark Woods

BamaCentral's coverage of the 2021 National Championship Game

Alabama Athletics

• Alabama Football Dominates Ohio State, Captures 18th National Championship
• We Can Only Call Nick Saban What He Is, the Best Coach in College Football History
• After 2020 Season, DeVonta Smith Will Be Remembered for So Much More Than Second and 26
• Notebook: Landon Dickerson and Jaylen Waddle's Toughness on Display Versus Ohio State
• Instant Analysis: No. 1 Alabama Football 52, No. 3 Ohio State 24

Also:

• All Things Bama Podcast: What Will Be the Legacy of the 2020 Crimson Tide?

Division C/D Top 10 Projects

BamaCentral — Christopher Walsh, Joey Blackwell, Tyler Martin and Edwin Stanton
The News-Press (Fort Myers, Fla.) — Alex Martin, Dustin Levy, Adam Fisher
The Beaver County Times — Noah Hiles
Naples Daily News — Adam Fisher, Greg Hardwig, Ed Reed
The Roanoke Times — Michael Niziolek
The State (Columbia, S.C) — Greg Hadley, Ben Portnoy
Daily Sun (Port Charlotte, Fla.) — Patrick Obley
Athens Banner-Herald — McClain Baxley
Denton Record-Chronicle — Brett Vito
The Fayetteville Observer — Chapel Fowler, Adam Smith, David Thompson

BamaCentral's Coverage of 10-Year Tornado Anniversary

Christopher Walsh/BamaCentral

10 Years Later, Tuscaloosa's Process of Coping, Recovering from Tornado Continues

With the Help of Alabama Athletics, Tuscaloosa Has Been Rebuilt Stronger 10 Years Following Deadly Tornado

All Things Bama Podcast: Mayor Walt Maddox Reflects on 10-Year Anniversary of April 27th Tornado

Memories of Destructive April 27 Tornado Still Vivid for Brian Robinson Jr., Kat Grill

78 Minutes: In Tuscaloosa's Hour of Need, the Patterson Family Answered the Call

To Alabama Baseball, the Game They Loved was a Return to Normalcy Following the April 27 Tornado

Tuscaloosa's Rising from the Tornado Inspired an Age of Champions

Nick Saban Reflects on the April 27 Tornado: "It Really Galvanized the Community in a Lot of Ways

Tuscaloosa Honors Victims, First-Responders, Volunteers of 2011 Tornado with Three Memorials Across City

With Help from Nick's Kids Tornado Rebuilding Goal Completed, But the Mission Continues

BamaCentral, which was founded in July 2018, was approved for membership two years ago as APSE used to solely be a newspaper-only organization. 

Last year marked the first time it was able to enter the writing contest. Blackwell and Martin placed in the top 10 for breaking news, and Walsh for explanatory feature in the "D" category. 

Sports Illustrated had a strong showing in Category A both years, with Ross Dellenger eventually winning first place in the 2020 contest in Beat Writing. Overall, it had seven top-10 finishes last year, and six in the 2021 contest.