It likely comes from the idea of "scooping" up a story before others, as if using a scoop to gather the latest information. The term has been used in this context since the early 20th century, when newspapers were in fierce competition to publish breaking news before their rivals.

In American football, the scoop and score  is a defensive play where a player picks up a loose ball from the ground and subsequently scores by running it into the opposing team's end zone. This type of play may occur when the ball is fumbled by the offense or mishandled in some way.