In this first edition of Hints and Hacks: tips on quick-formatting rosters, hints on office organization, a couple of must-bookmark websites.
First up, remember, this column is for your contributions. The basic ground rule is this: we want your small ideas that can have big impact on day-to-day operations in the college sports information office.
Send your ideas and suggestions to the HnH editor,
Bill Smith of the University of Arkansas. While substantial compensation or free stuff is not in the offing, you will earn the thanks of your colleagues by sharing your small time-savers.
Hint of the Month
Organizing Your Work
from John Arenberg, Emory University
Create a folder for each month. Drop in notes about tasks for that month, whether one-time or recurring.
At the start of the month, pull out the folder and prioritize the tasks. Use that information to develop weekly to-do lists.
Or go a step further and set up 31 folders, one for each day of the month.
Have a nomination form that is due on the 23rd of the month? Drop it in the folder for the 17th and you'll eventually be reminded that there is one week to the deadline.
Have a random thought for next year's tennis media guide? Write a note and drop it in the folder for whichever month you normally begin production. The thought will be waiting for you. The fewer things you have to remember in your head, the better.
For best results use one piece of paper per task when writing notes to yourself to place in the folder. Use 8 1/2 x 11 paper. Smaller pieces, especially phone message slips, tend to fall out of the pile.
With the folder system, you are less likely to misplace papers. Your desk will be cleaner. You will be more efficient in meeting deadlines.
Hack of the Month
Shortcuts for formatting program rosters
from Scott McCain, Major Program
Have you ever asked a visiting SID for a roster in a particular format (Word, for example) and gotten another format, or nothing at all? Grab their roster off their website and let Word do the work...
1. Copy the entire roster from their website, preferably while using Microsoft Internet Explorer.
2. Paste the roster in a blank Word document. Most likely, at least one table will be found in the paste.
3. Click inside the table, and from the menu bar choose Table, Convert..., Table to Text. You now have a tab-formatted roster to paste into the desktop publishing tool of your choice.
Bonus tip #1: If your opponent doesn't have the items in the order you would prefer them (he lists them "position, height, weight, eligibility" while your sequence goes "position, class, height, weight"), insert one more step between 2. and 3. Place your mouse pointer near the top of the column you wish to move to another spot. You'll see a 'down' arrow instead of your mouse pointer, and when you do, left-click. This will select the entire column. Hit Ctrl+x (cut), then move your mouse to the top of the column where you wish your clipboard material to be inserted (the "height" column in the example). Get the 'down' arrow again, left-click to select the column, then hit Ctrl+v (paste). This inserts the "cut" column before the column you selected last and effectively rearranges their roster to suit your needs.
Bonus tip #2: Don't want the font settings of Word to mess with the styles of your desktop publishing software? After step 3, copy the tab-formatted roster, then paste it into Notepad. Copy the roster from Notepad and paste into your desktop publisher. Notepad strips all the formatting out and allows styles in Pagemaker, Quark, etc. to be applied more readily.
Must-Bookmark Website
from Bill Smith, University of Arkansas
Giving credit where credit is due, CoSIDA third VP Charles Bloom pointed out the AP sports editor’s website, apse.dallasnews.com, to the assembled SEC media coordinators at our annual meeting. On its own, the APSE site can provide great insight into one of our major consumers of our products.
However, one of the big resources on this page is a set of links to other media organization sites, such as the media sides of the professional leagues and national outlets, such as ESPN.
Among the treasure trove of information available: logos for the networks and pro teams, schedules for television/cable in a less “slick” format that is of use to sports PR professionals.
Many of the sites require registration, but most welcome college SIDs to participate with the same access as regular media.