William Felo

Professional Writing, Kutztown University

Professional Seminar: Summer 2013

Graduation Date: July 2013

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Statement of Purpose

Although I did not always know that I wanted to be a writer, once I chose professional writing as my major, I never wanted to be anything else. At Kutztown University, I learned an abundance of information about different areas of writing. I gained experience by writing many papers and articles about a multitude of different subjects. My first journalism class intrigued me more than any other course, and I decided that becoming a sports journalist would be my calling. Through my internship at a local newspaper called The Hummelstown Sun, I gained valuable experience writing sports articles about the local baseball team. Not only did I construct a number of articles, but I also received experience interviewing players and coaches and attending sporting events. In this portfolio, I have included writing samples from my internship and also work from my time at Kutztown. These pieces showcase my abilities as a journalist, especially in the sports field. The samples provided are ideal examples of journalism and professional writing in general. My work as a writer of journalism, game coverage, blogging and other facets of the sports world are what I will be demonstrating in the following portfolio.

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Table of Contents

Resume.............................................................................................................................................4

Weekly Article Hummelstown Sun: July 9, 2013...........................................................................5

Weekly Article Hummelstown Sun: July 3, 2013...........................................................................8

Weekly Article Hummelstown Sun: June 26, 2013.......................................................................11

NBA Prediction..............................................................................................................................14

Sports Profile.................................................................................................................................18

Live Game Article..........................................................................................................................22

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William Felo601 Burgundy Road · Harrisburg, PA 17112

(717) 574-0696 · wfelo925@live.kutztown.eduBlog: http://felosports.wordpress.com

OBJECTIVE To obtain a position as a Sports Journalist. EDUCATION B.A. Kutztown University of Pennsylvania, Kutztown, PA Major: English/Professional Writing Major GPA: 3.59/Overall GPA: 3.12 July 2013

Dean’s List Fall 2012 Chesapeake College Fall 2008-Spring 2010WRITING EXPERIENCE Assistant Sports Editor, Kutztown University’s student newspaper The Keystone Wrote Legion baseball articles, The Hummelstown Sun Writing Classes

Writing for the Workplace Copy and Line EditingCreative Writing Advanced Magazine WritingJournalism I Sports Writing and Reporting

Writing for Public Relations Technical WritingINTERNSHIP EXPERIENCE Sports Writing Intern, The Hummelstown Sun Summer 2013

Covered Hummelstown Legion baseball team. Interviewed players and coaches. Wrote game recaps and compiled team and individual statistics.

WORK EXPERIENCE Part-time Instructor, Harrisburg Gymnastics School September 2005- Present

Taught children gymnastic fundamentals. Responsible for the safety and well-being of participants. Answered phone calls and received payments from customers.

Part-time Concession Worker, Dauphin Pool June 2007- August 2011 Handled and cooked food. Operated cash register.

Part-time Fry Cook, Philadelphia Cheese Steaks and Hoagies June 2012- Present Served food to customers.

CAMPUS INVOLVEMENT Pitcher, KU Golden Bears Baseball Team. Fall 2010- Spring 2013

Team record 32-16 Spring 2013 Personal record 2-1, 20.1 IP, 3.54 ERA, 5 saves Team record 37-19 Spring 2012 Personal record 1-0, 20.2 IP, 1.31 ERA

Player, Chesapeake College Skipjacks Baseball Team. Fall 2008- Spring 2010 All-Maryland JUCO Spring 2010 All-Region XX

Weekly Article Hummelstown Sun: July 9, 2013

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The following piece is one of my weekly articles for The Hummelstown Sun. This specific article was written about the Legion team’s last week of their regular season. My objective was to report about every game that they played that week, and put a spotlight on the marquee match-ups of the week. The article was printed in the sports section of the paper on the page about Legion baseball. My goal was to replay each game for the readers, so they were aware of how the team is doing. Since their regular season ended this week, I also added upcoming playoff details. The audience for this article is the subscribers to the paper that are interested in the local Legion team’s season. Most of the readers are family and friends of the players that want to be kept updated on the team’s progress.

Headline: H’town Gains Playoff Momentum

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Date: July 9, 2013Words: 432By Billy Felo

Hummelstown Legion bounced back in game two of its doubleheader on Sunday to hand

Paxton its first loss of the season, 6-5, after losing game one of the twinbill.

With the victory, H’town (10-7) has concluded its regular season and captured the fourth

seed in the playoffs. Hummelstown will face the fifth-seeded Middletown at Nye Field in the

first round of the Dauphin County American Legion (DCAL) playoffs on Wednesday, June 10.

Chad Stine provided Hummelstown with a strong start on the mound, before Jason

Shellenberger closed out the 3-1 victory against Susquehanna on Wednesday, July 3.

Stine, an aspiring collegiate golfer, was dominant throughout the game throwing six

complete innings, while allowing one run on six hits and striking out four.

“I just focused on throwing strikes. First pitch strikes are a big deal. The curveball was

working pretty well, so I guess that got them off balance,” said Stine.

Although Shellenberger hasn’t thrown much this summer, the right-hander induced two

fly-balls and one ground-out to pitch a perfect seventh inning and earn the save.

“I was feeling good, and I only had to throw one inning. I don’t pitch that often, but I just

throw strikes,” said Shellenberger.

After consecutive hits by Marshal Kiessling and Deon Stafford in the first inning, Matt

Perrotti chopped a ball to the left side of the infield, but it was misplayed by the shortstop

allowing Kiessling and Stafford to both score. With Stine stymying the Susquehanna hitters,

those two runs were all that H’town would need.

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H’town scored again in the second inning, when leadoff hitter Kyle Fails knocked in Jake

Shellenberger with an RBI-single. Shellenberger was 1-3 with two stolen bases and reached base

safely twice.

On Friday, July 5, H’town coasted to a 17-5 victory against Middletown at Nye Field.

The following day, Hummelstown traveled to Upper Dauphin for a 3 p.m. game. The

teams were knotted at one heading into the bottom of the seventh inning, but three

Hummelstown errors allowed Upper Dauphin to score and walk-off with a 2-1 victory. Luke

Lingle was 3-3 for H’town, with three singles.

The DCAL playoffs are a six-team, double-elimination tournament. Paxton and Hershey

received the one and two seeds respectively, and both earned a first-round bye. Third-seeded

Upper Dauphin will host the six seed, Lawnton, on Wednesday, while H’Town faces

Middletown. All playoff games start at 5:45 p.m.

With a win on Wednesday, Hummelstown would face Paxton the next day in the second

round at Central Dauphin East High School. If H’town loses, it would play on Friday, July 12.

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Weekly Article Hummelstown Sun: July 3, 2013

The following piece is another weekly article for The Hummelstown Sun. The lead pertains to one of the games I attended that got shortened because of inclement weather. Hummelstown ended up losing the game after five innings. I thought it was important to mention the weather, because it had a major impact on the game, cutting it two innings short. My objective for this article was to report on the games that I covered, and mention how the players have been playing a multitude of games in a short period of time. The quotes that I received from the players proved that their crammed schedule was taking a toll on them physical. Again, my intended audience is the subscribers to the paper. The Legion games don’t get that large of a turn-out, so I attempt to recreate each game for the readers.

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Headline: Weather shortens game to five innings in H’town’s lossDate: July, 3 2013Words: 448By Billy Felo

Mother Nature was not on Hummelstown’s side, when heavy rains pounded the field at

Koons Park in the sixth inning allowing Linglestown to pull out the 4-0 victory in a rain-

shortened game on Friday, June 28 in Dauphin County American Legion.

After scoring one in the bottom of the first, Linglestown used a three-run third inning to

coast to victory behind a dominant pitching performance by Aaron Gress. Gress allowed only

two hits while striking out eight in the shut-out win.

Deon Stafford and Kaylor Kulina each singled for Hummelstown.

Blair Lewis was the starting pitcher for H’town. Despite striking out eight Linglestown

hitters, Lewis allowed three earned runs on six hits in four innings.

After a riveting high school season for Lower Dauphin, transitioning to Legion baseball

can sometimes be a difficult switch for players. “After playing in a lot of playoff games and two

championship games, it kind of lowers the seriousness level, but I think we’ll pick it up here

soon,” said pitcher Jason Shellenberger.

Instead of playing their regularly scheduled game against Dauphin the following day,

Hummelstown faced Linglestown again, this time at Nye Field, and bounced back with a 14-0

victory.

Two days later, on Monday, July 1, Hummelstown faced Upper Dauphin at home. Upper

Dauphin jumped out to an early lead, after scoring six runs on only three hits in the first two

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innings. Walks and shaky defense hurt H’town early, and they trailed Upper Dauphin 8-3 after

four innings.

The Hummelstown’s offense was able to chip away, scoring a run in the fifth and sixth

inning to head into the last frame down 8-5. After Hummelstown scored two runs in the bottom

of the seventh, Upper Dauphin turned a rare 5-4-3-2 double-play, with the bases loaded, to end

the game and earn the 8-7 victory.

Hummelstown split in a double-header with Lawnton on Tuesday, July 2, taking game

one 5-4 and losing 8-4 in the second game.

With rain-outs this past week, on Wednesday, June 26 and Thursday, June 27,

Hummelstown must add two more make-up games to their already crammed schedule.

The numerous amounts of games for H’town in the upcoming weeks could take a toll

physically on the 17 and 18-year old players. “My legs are tired. I have to take ice baths when I

get home every night. It’s just hard,” said catcher Ty Friedrich.

Hummelstown’s record is currently 7-5, and they will be playing almost every day from

here on out. Their next four games are:

-Wednesday, July 3, at Susquehanna, 6 p.m.

-Friday, July 5, at home against Middletown, 6 p.m.

-Saturday, July 6, at Upper Dauphin, 3 p.m.

-Sunday, July 7, at Paxton, 1 p.m.

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Weekly Article Hummelstown Sun: June 26, 2013

The following is another weekly article for the baseball team that I am covering. Since this was only my second piece of the summer, I attempted to acclimate readers with my writing style, so they will know what to expect in the upcoming weeks. My objective here was to, again, write detailed recaps of the games, so the fans will know what happened in each game of the week. With the multitude of games they played that week, it was difficult to recapitulate each one, so I just provided the scores for two of the games. My audience is the weekly subscribers to the newspaper and also anyone that is interested in the Hummelstown Legion team.

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Headline: H’town improves record to 5-2 by sweeping NewportDate: June 26, 2013Words: 509By Billy Felo

After being swept by rival Hershey in a doubleheader on Saturday, June 22,

Hummelstown Legion proceeded to beat Newport twice the following day. With victories

against Susquehanna and Middletown, H’Town improved last week’s record to 4-2.

In game two at Newport on Sunday, June 23, Michael Wilhite was the starting pitcher for

Hummelstown, after he threw a complete game shut-out in the previous game that day. Wilhite

only needed 40 pitches to earn the game one victory, 16-0, which was shortened to five innings

because of the mercy rule. Wilhite went four complete in the second game and left with no

decision.

Newport started the bottom of the sixth inning down by three, but they were able to string

together a few hits and tie the game heading into the seventh. With the tenacity of the

Hummelstown hitters, they rallied to score three runs in the top of the seventh to guide them to

an 11-8 victory.

The H’Town offense was led by Kyle Fails and Cory Atkins. Fails had three hits

including a solo home run, and Atkins led the team with three RBI’s.

In the previous day’s action, H’Town took on Hershey in game one at Nye Field at 4 p.m.

With the intensity of the game and multiple momentum swings, Hummelstown head coach Steve

Roberts said, “It was a classic rivalry game.”

Hummelstown struck first scoring a run in the bottom of the first inning. Hershey

immediately answered in their half of the second by batting around and plating four runs. After

H’Town scored two more in the second, Hershey was up 4-3 after two complete innings.

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The catalyst of the game arrived in the bottom of the sixth with Hummelstown down 5-3.

Marshal Kiessling stepped to the place with two men on and a chance to tie the game. Kiessling

hit a bullet to the outfield, but the Hershey right fielder made a fantastic catch to kill H’Town’s

rally. Hershey rode out their momentum to a 6-3 victory.

Game two of the doubleheader was played at Hershey under the lights.

Hummelstown had a commanding 4-1 lead, until a pitching breakdown led to a combined

six Hershey runs in the fifth and sixth innings. Hershey used six walks to take a three-run lead

heading into the seventh inning and would eventually win 7-4.

Hershey pitcher Tim Edwards earned the complete-game victory. “He was a bulldog

throughout and pitched a really nice game,” said Roberts.

Hummelstown beat Susquehanna 4-1 at Nye Field on Friday, June 21.

H’Town’s latest victory was against Middletown, 10-0, and improved their overall record

to 5-2.

Hummelstown faces Linglestown next in back-to-back days. They host Linglestown at

Nye Field on Thursday, June 27, and travel to Koons Park a day later for a 6 p.m. match-up.

After that, Hummelstown has five games in five days:

- Friday, June 29, at Dauphin, 6 p.m.

- Monday, July 1, home vs. Upper Dauphin, 6 p.m.

- Tuesday, July 2, home doubleheader vs. Lawnton, 4 and 6:30 p.m.

- Wednesday, July 3, at Susquehanna, 6 p.m.

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NBA Prediction

The following sample is an article that I wrote for my Sports Writing and Reporting class. The assignment was to create a sports prediction for an upcoming game or event. I chose to write a prediction for the NBA’s division winners for the 2012-13 season. I based my picks off of the current rosters, and how I thought each team would do throughout the season. Although this article was mainly opinion based, I researched statistics and team rosters to create a hypothesis about which teams would win each division. While I was not correct for all of the divisional winners, I was accurate about most of the team’s standings at the end of the season. After creating my rough draft, I made some changes regarding the tone of the article. Since it is a prediction piece, I needed to be more opinionated and straight-forward about who would win each division. Prediction pieces are different from most sports articles, and I had to tailor my style to conform correctly. For the assignment, I was on a word count, so I had to cut off two paragraphs at the end to have it fit. My last two paragraphs were about who I thought would win each conference and eventually the NBA Finals.

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Headline: NBA playoff predictionsSubhead: Some unusual division winnersSection: SportsDate: Nov. 16, 2012Words: 600By Billy Felo

KUTZTOWN -- Several teams in contention for the NBA title have some new faces in their

franchise for the 2012-13 season. Whether it was through trades, the draft or the waiver wire, a

number of notable franchises have beefed up their rosters. Most of the division champions from

last season look poised to take the division title again, but as there is every year, some surprise

teams could make a late run in the end.

In the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference, I am going with the Philadelphia

76ers to be crowned champions. I am looking for the Ohio State star, Evan Turner, to be the play

maker for his team this year. Turner showed signs of brilliance last season, but being his second

year in the league his inexperience showed late in games. With the addition of the Lakers’ center

Andrew Bynum via trade, the 76ers finally have a presence down low.

A few teams in the Central Division look evenly matched and could shake the playoff

picture up, but I like the Indiana Pacers. They have a multitude of young talent with none of their

starters, besides David West, over the age of 26. The Pacers will look for West to carry their

squad, especially on offense, as he averages 16 PPG and 7.2 RPG in his career.

The reigning champion Miami Heat are easily the favorite to win the Southeast Division

and repeat as NBA champions. Lebron James is the best player in the league and a statistical

monster. Last season he averaged 27.1 PPG with 7.9 RPG and 6.2 APG. The signing of the

sharpshooting Ray Allen, who signed this season with the Heat instead of the Boston Celtics for

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less money, poses a constant outside threat whenever James drives the lane and is double-

teamed. If I had to put my money on one team to win it all, it would be the well-balanced Heat.

In the Northwest Division, last season’s scoring-leader, Kevin Durant (28 PPG), and the

Oklahoma City Thunder are by far the favorite. After losing to the Miami Heat in last year’s

NBA Finals, they got a glimpse of the title and will be extra hungry for it this season. With a

quick team and a well-balanced offense, the Thunder are the favorite to repeat as Western

Conference champions.

Los Angeles is my pick to win the Western Conference Pacific Division title this season.

No, not the Laker team that has won the last five years in a row, but instead I’m going with the

Los Angeles Clippers. Any team that has Chris Paul running their offense should be considered a

title contender. As one of the best point guards in the game, 18.8 PPG, 9.9 APG and 2.4 SPG in

his career, Paul is a great facilitator and knows how to run a fast- paced offense. Add the

freakishly strong power forward, Blake Griffin, to the mix, and look for the Clippers to surprise

the complacent Lakers and take the Division.

In the Southwest Division, I am going to make a bold prediction and pick the Houston

Rockets. This team is going to be riding on the shoulders of James Harden, who Houston just

acquired in a trade from the Oklahoma City Thunder because of a money dispute. Harden just

recently signed a five-year, $80 million contract with the Rockets. Playing with the Thunder,

Harden scored 16.8 points and 4.1 rebounds last season and was the NBA’s Sixth Man of the

Year. Guard Jeremy Lin is also new to the team and will look to continue his late season success

from last year.

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Sports Profile

This next piece is another article that I wrote for my Sports Writing and Reporting class. The assignment was to conduct interviews and write an in-depth profile on a sports figure. We were able to choose any sports figure that we wanted, so I decided to write my piece on a student at Kutztown University that I heard was exceptional at disc golf. I chose a disc golf player, because the sport is not well-known, and I thought it would be interesting to see what makes a person want to start playing this sport. Initially, I had no idea the rules or how to play disc golf, but I ended up learning a lot about it from writing my piece. This made the interview oddly interesting, because my subject had to teach me so much about the sport. It turns out disc golf is a lot like ball golf, the popular sport that is played by hitting a small ball into a hole with clubs. I wrote my piece as if it were about an actual golfer, except I had to modify my vocabulary at a few different points. For this article, I again had to modify the length, because I was on a word count. I originally wrote a 2,000 word article, but I had to cut it down to about 700.

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Headline: Cody White: Unique man finds joy in unique sportSubhead: Disc golf provides an outletSection: MagazineDate: Nov. 9, 2012Words: 695By Billy Felo

After a few competitors take their shot on a chilly, overcast Saturday morning, it is Cody

White’s turn to throw next. Cody takes his stance standing sideways with his feet pointing

perpendicular to where he wants to throw. He torques his body backwards, with his feet glued to

the ground, and lets go of the disc as he spins forward. It’s a beautiful throw, gliding through the

air like a falcon searching for prey, that softly lands in the well-trimmed grass about 300 feet

between Cody and the first hole.

Cody’s dirty-blond hair falls down just below his ears and with his skinny face and

lengthy goatee, his appearance is similar to a jolly badger.

“Just like ball golf, you have to say screw it and throw. There are the same stressors as

with other sports. All of a sudden, the wind gets into your head and now all your putts are going

to miss,” Cody said.

It turns out the reason these four men are throwing Frisbees in the Conrad Weiser Park

isn’t to enjoy a relaxing Saturday playing with friends, but they are here to play a sport called

disc golf in the Conrad Weiser Open. Although relatively unknown, disc golf has official leagues

around the country and a professional facet called the Professional Disc Golf Association

(PDGA).

It takes an abnormal person to want to regularly play and excel in disc golf. Cody is

described by a friend as someone that doesn’t feel comfortable in social settings and talks to his

dog, Willy, more than his peers. “He cares for others more than himself but shows the exact

opposite. His older parents made him not great in social ways until you get close with him,” said

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one of his previous roommates. His involvement with disc golf could be a way to connect with

others that share a common interest with him.

The game is a lot more intricate and thought out than most people would think. Similar to

regular golf, the discs are made differently for each specific shot, most notably a drive, approach

and putt. Cody continued reiterating the fact that it was very similar to regular ball golf.

However, the biggest pet peeve of a disc golf player is to refer to their sport as not real

golf. They consider their sport another genre of the traditional golf that most people are familiar

with.

Cody feels very strongly about disc golf being comparable to ball golf and the way

people misconstrue the two sports. “There’s a huge stipulation with us if you refer to our game as

not real golf. We consider ourselves equal to normal golf. We call ours disc golf and theirs ball

golf. I think it’s just as much effort put into it. Most people see us as a bunch of hippies that just

go throw things,” said Cody.

When the opening round comes to an end, Cody’s score is 61, three shots over the course

par of 58.

In the second round, players are seeded according to their scores from the initial round.

Winners are decided by combining the scores from both rounds, and the player with the lowest

total score is crowned as victor.

When the tournament comes to an end, they announce the top scores from the amateur

division that Cody is in first. They start at the top ten and when sixth place is called, “Cody

White,” rings out over the microphone. He is awarded a yellow disc, just one of many to add to

his large collection. Sixth place out of 78 amateurs isn’t bad considering Cody has been playing

disc golf for only four months.

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Cody is adamant on recruiting new members to join the sport of disc golf. It is slowly

emerging in the Berks County area and with more players around, the PDGA is sure to offer

more tournaments. His advice for beginners that are interested in playing is, “Play as much as

possible and listen to anyone willing to help.” Cody himself is willing to help anyone that wants

to share his passion for the game. Just make sure to never refer to it as “not real golf.”

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Live Game Article

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The following article was also for my Sports Writing and Reporting class. The assignment was to report on a live game that you attended. Since I was on the baseball team at Kutztown, I wrote about our Boulder Invitational tournament. I did not play at all, so I figured it would be an interesting article to write. I did not make many revisions after I turned in the article, except I added some additional statistics that I found important.

Headline: Golden Bears repeat as Builder Invitational champsSection: Sports

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Date: February 26, 2013Words: 495By Billy Felo

KUTZTOWN -- The Builder Invitational reigning champion KU baseball team took the trophy

home for the second year in a row after beating Bloomsburg University 2-0 on Sunday, Feb. 26

in Newport News, Va.

The Golden Bears (4-2) went an astonishing 27 innings without allowing an earned run in

the four-day tournament.

Reliever Colin Holmes was impressed with the entire pitching staff and said, “We all

went out and made sure we got ahead in the count and didn’t give in. Even if we found ourselves

in a jam, we let them put the ball in play and have the defense do the work.”

In the championship game against Bloomsburg (2-2), KU struck first scoring a run in

each of the first two innings. Their early offensive production was all that proved necessary, as

eight total Golden Bear pitchers stymied the Huskies’ offense throughout the contest.

Southpaw Tom Neely started the game and threw two innings allowing one hit and

striking out one. After Neely exited the game, pitchers Gilbert Vega, James Rossi, Dave King,

Jordan Gottshall, J.R. Seader, Damon Valloreo and Matt Swarmer each threw shut-out innings in

that order. King recorded his first victory of his KU career, while Swarmer struck out the side in

the ninth for his second save of the season.

Kyle Stoudt, Matt Albaugh, Thomas Romano and John Dockins each recorded hits in the

game. Dockins, the starting shortstop, was the only Golden Bear with two hits improving his

average to .353 on the season.

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In game two on Friday, KU won against host Apprentice School 5-2. After a shaky start

in his last outing, Brandon Shurr recorded the victory throwing five innings and giving up two

hits and one earned run.

Brandon Shimo relieved Shurr after five innings and threw a perfect sixth and seventh

while striking out four. Shimo, a transfer from Lackawanna Community College, has thrown

three scoreless innings this season striking out four of the ten batters he faced.

Carson Baker and Albaugh, three and four hitters in the lineup respectively, both had two

hits and a combined three RBI’s in the game.

In the Golden Bears first game of the weekend, the pitching staff threw a combined one-

hit shut-out to lead the team to a 5-0 victory over Lock Haven University (0-3).

Ace Jason Henderson started the game, earned the win and recorded five strikeouts in as

many innings while giving up Lock Haven’s only hit of the game. Colin Holmes, Connor Wing

and Swarmer took the reins pitching for the rest of the contest.

KU’s offense rallied behind Stoudt who went 4-5 with four singles and a run scored.

Stoudt leads the team in average (.542), runs (4) and RBI’s (4). DH Brandon Hickey also had a

big game going 2-3 with two RBI’s. He is second on the team in average batting .364.

The Golden Bear’s next upcoming games are a double header against Virginia State

University in Petersburg, Va. on Saturday, March 9.

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