Sports journalism occupies a central position in Italian information landscape. The main cause is usually attributed to the lack of two distinguished audience sectors, in Italy. One is oriented towards the elite press and the other is interested in a more popular genre. But the ability of sports to draw the public’s attention can only be explained by the fact that it has in itself two main characteristics of journalistic interest: predictability of the event and uncertainty of the result. These characteristics fit into journalistic logic that inserts the subject within an organizational rhythm in the cycle of the unexpected. Over the years sports journalism has progressively changed its narrative logic, and its means of negotiation between the producers and the protagonists of the event, through public and journalistic mediation. This essay goes through the main phases of this change, emphasizing how the criteria that make sports news particularly desirable have been clarified and have accentuated a shift from the news as a focal point to discussion as the main interest.