Tip the desk.

What the desk reads

What the desk reads — and what it doesn’t.

The desk treats every submission as a lead, not a finalised story. Below is what tends to break through and what doesn’t, so a tip stands the best chance of turning into a recap line.

• Heat-check rumoursDid you overhear a free-agent pitch at a bar? Spot an agent and a player meeting at a coffee shop? Note an unusual social-media posture from a team-official handle? The desk cross-checks against the source ledger before publishing.
• Injury sightingsA player who isn’t on the injury report but didn’t practice. A limp in a public appearance. A cancelled appearance with no team explanation. Pair the detail with a timestamp and a place — the desk re-verifies before any recap line goes out.
• Transaction leadsFront-office movement — assistant coaches switching teams, scouting hires, contract opt-outs before they hit the wire. The desk treats transactions as “Corroborated by N sources” only when two or more distinct beat writers pick up the same headline.
• What the desk does NOT publishMarketing pitches, agency PR drops, opinion columns, generic fan-rant threads, single-source gaming-league gossip, or anything that reads as advertising masquerading as a tip. The desk writes the wire; the desk does not amplify copy.