Terms used in Sports that make You Cringe*** I have a few, the one that I find the most cringe worthy is "True Freshman".

[The deacon]

In football, the defensive back knocks down a long pass "at the last second." Unless he had blocked the throw right out of the QB's hand, when else would he knock it down?

In golf, the player hits it close to the "hole location." How about simply close to the hole?

 

[Sifaka]

It's not just sports. Pompous jargon surrounds us. It's aim is to impress, not to communicate. Read the financial press, and don't be surprised if it feels like you are getting sucked down into buzzword quicksand. Of course many business types love sports terms, as they are about competing and striving and winning. Sports talking heads try to sound “professional” by repeating all the same cliches other sportscasters use. It's a never ending circle jerk. Why say homered or hit it out of the park when you can flash your in-crowd credentials by screeching goes yard!

Decades ago George Orwell warned us about dead metaphors, especially in public life. George Orwell: Politics and the English Language
Don't be put off by the title; the essay is not about politics. It is about lazy, sloppy, imprecise language, and people using words that don't mean what the writers and speakers think they mean.

Think of the last time you were told that the mother gave birth to a little baby boy. Glad to hear that it was a mother doing the birthing, and not a nephew. Do we need to say that the baby is little, to distinguish it from all the gargantuan newborns?

Keep dead and dying metaphors in mind the next time you are told that the pitcher challenged the batter. How's that for bush league language?

 

[KnightBridgeAZ]

It's not just sports. Pompous jargon surrounds us. It's aim is to impress, not to communicate. Read the financial press, and don't be surprised if it feels like you are getting sucked down into buzzword quicksand. Of course many business types love sports terms, as they are about competing and striving and winning. Sports talking heads try to sound “professional” by repeating all the same cliches other sportscasters use. It's a never ending circle jerk. Why say homered or hit it out of the park when you can flash your in-crowd credentials by screeching goes yard!

Decades ago George Orwell warned us about dead metaphors, especially in public life. George Orwell: Politics and the English Language
Don't be put off by the title; the essay is not about politics. It is about lazy, sloppy, imprecise language, and people using words that don't mean what the writers and speakers think they mean.

Think of the last time you were told that the mother gave birth to a little baby boy. Glad to hear that it was a mother doing the birthing, and not a nephew. Do we need to say that the baby is little, to distinguish it from all the gargantuan newborns?

Keep dead and dying metaphors in mind the next time you are told that the pitcher challenged the batter. How's that for bush league language?

Thanks for the link, I "favorited" it for future reading after a quick glance.

While signature lines - another form of jargon and referenced in this tread by the "Diaper Dandy" diss - probably fit the bill, I mind them a bit less if they are "clever" and you don't hear them every day. Kenny Mayne's "hit over some fencing set up in the outfield" is my favorite and the infamous "he could go all the way" of Chris Berman perhaps my least favorite.

 

[KnightBridgeAZ]

That is a Junior whose level of play has risen and is catching the eyes of coaches, mainly for the first time. That is what I see it meaning. All Juniors don't fit that description.

A rising Junior is a sophomore after the class year ends. It isn't a sports term. During the summer before your Junior year, you are a rising Junior. A little formal, but anyone using it otherwise is creating a new meaning.

 

[Alydar]

This a little off the thread, but during the Regionals much was made by the media, and some team that hates us forever, about UConn having an unfair advantage by playing in Bridgeport. I get it, the country gets it, and the whole basketball world gets it. It was the luck of the draw. But when Ryan Rucco kept bring it up during the NCState game, it started to bother me. Not just that, but after rewatching the Indiana game, he harped up on it there also. I don't know if he hates UConn, or he is stupid, because if the main announcer is pushing this than it does not give service for what the team went through, and our two huge victories are iIlegitimized. Sorry, but watching and continually hearing that got my goat.

That topic registered high on the public reaction scale. It was enjoyed by those who want UConn to lose, allowing them to be smug in the knowledge that UConn wins because they get all the breaks. And at the same time it ticked off UConn fans who pointed to about 30 instances in NCAA history when it happened without any comment from the media. ESPN is all about clicks and they don't care if the clickers are happy or ticked off.
It's why I stopped putting the audio on from the streams and synch up to the UConn radio feed.

 

[Alydar]

To me, Freshman sophomore, junior and senior are terms that describe academic progress and should have little to do with an athletes' years of eligibility. In college football and mens basketball there are a lot of 20+ year old "true freshmen" who spent a year or 2 in a prep school after high school. We find out after they have played 2 years of pro ball and we hear they are 28.

 

[Scoe]

"A bright future" You hear that term often used with a freshman or a rookie, or a bad franchise like the Lions or Jets during the NFL draft.

"Successful surgery" gee I would hope the surgery was successful, your never gonna hear about an athlete having uncessful surgery.

Speaking of that

Tyrod Taylor suing Chargers doctor who accidentally punctured his lung before 2020 game

Taylor seeks $5 million from the doctor who effectively ended his season as the Chargers' starting quarterback.

sports.yahoo.com

 

[Drift]

In basketball —

“Used her athleticism.” Really? Instead of using her social skills?

“The bank is open.”

”Bringing energy to the game.” Not lethargy?

“Brings so many skills to the table.” Good manners?

 

[meyers7]

"NCAA Champion Coach Carolyn Peck."

That's as bad as Andy Lander's jet black hair dye. Yes, she won an NCAA championship with Purdue, but she is in her mid 50's, if she was a good coach she would be coaching. Most of her time on the air, she is going against UConn.

Has anyone ever heard Geno introduced as 11 time champion coach????

Those that can, play.
Those that can't play, coach.
Those that can't coach. become analysts.
Those that can't play, coach or analyze become sideline reporters.

 

[Calbysdad]

Adding "Lady" when referring to a female college athlete...as in "Lady Vols"

 

[Calbysdad]

How about when 3 games into the season announcers call the game they're covering a "must win" game as if a loss makes the rest of their season meaningless?

 

[cullaville]

Running uphill or downhill - are the fields not level?

 

[cullaville]

exit velo. how long till the gambling nuts come with a way to wager on this? i heard an ad the other day where some outfit in this biz offered 'if the football team that you bet on to win is ahead at any point by 10, we'll immediately pay you, even if they lose.' they should change exit velo to mean the odds on which player or manager might get tossed.

southpaw. so a righty is a northpaw? everrbuddy in Canada is righthanded and everrbuddy in Mexico is lefthanded?

dressage. when u hear this, hide ur wallet. and, it's not pronounced
'dress-age' like i say it. it's pronounced 'dress-ahhhhhge.' say it wrong, and any horse nut, even from the next county, will hear it, and immediately correct youse. really annoying. don't bring me to horse shows as i have a ridiculously high 'exit velo' for that.

i've been trying to get a handle on cricket for years, with not much luck.
cricket lingo:
Toss, Run, Wicket, Pitch, Stump, Bails, Crease, Pavilion, Gloves, Wicket Keeper, Over, , Followon, Rubber, Spin, Ashes, Catch, Bowled, Stump out, Runout, L. B. W; Hit Wicket, Googley, Not out, No ball, Wide ball, Dead ball, Maiden over, Overthrow, Bye, Leg by, Cover drive, Late cut, Hook, Glance, Stroke, Shot, Pull, Sixer, Follow Through, Turn, Bouncer, Hattrick, Round the wicket, Over the wicket, Seamer, Boundry line, Slip, Square leg, Runner, Cover, Yorker, Gully, Long on, Silly point, Midwicket, Mid on, Forward short leg, Deep/mid-wicket,
googley? yorker? gully? silly point? forward short leg?
i ain't got a prayer, and should prolly forget this game, too.

they don't use the word 'rough' correctly in golf. hitting off the t is rough. hitting in the fairway is rough. hitting out of a bunker is rough.
hitting a putt is rough. getting the honest score from anyone for the card is rough. drinking like a fish is rough. playing in a t-storm is rough. listening to the excuses that 'normally imma great player, but for some reason today im having troubles' is rough. retrieving ur ball from the edge of a pond in alligator infested Florida is rough.
they should change the name to 'ruff.' or 'lie.'

The Mets broadcasters show an exit velocity chart during the game to show who hit the ball the hardest and go crazy for the hard hit out. I would much rather have a soft hit base hit than a hard hit out.

 

[JohnFSilver]

Either a player is a freshman, or they aren't. Plus, often times the same announcer will rip off the term repeatedly until I am forced to leave the broadcast. The 2nd on my list is a football term " The Line To Gain" what a tightass way to say what we used to say for over 65 years of my life "The First Down Marker, or Line". I have a few more but am curious to hear what term makes you cringe.

True freshman is a football term. I don’t think it matters much in Any other sport.

Line to gain is a technical term used by referees.

I don’t know. Cringy doesn’t bother me.

The reason they use redshirt freshman is to identify a sophomore by grade with 4 years of eligibility remaining.

Yes, it is all stupid. But their eligibility isn’t tied to their academic standing.

 

[meyers7]

Running uphill or downhill - are the fields not level?

No they are not. Most are/were crowned for water drainage.

 

[meyers7]

GOAT. Everybody is the GOAT these days. How is that possible?

So and so is a "cheat code." What does that mean?

Well there can be various GOATs, depending on the context. Like NBA GOAT, PG GOAT, NFL GOAT, QB GOAT, etc. ......and of course there is always Earl Manigault.

Is that a serious question? Do you really not know what "cheat code" means?

 

[temery]

"This pitcher hasn't given up a home run to a left handed batter in x years!"

crack. it goes out of the park.

 

[cullaville]

No they are not. Most are/were crowned for water drainage.

Granted, but the crown grade probably does not create an uphill or downhill situation

 

[Fairfield Fan]

"X team doesn't rebuild, they reload."

Come on. Have to imagine something better than that. And with all the mass shootings, talk about a team "reloading" should be banned.

 

[Jackcatscal]

"X team doesn't rebuild, they reload."

Come on. Have to imagine something better than that. And with all the mass shootings, talk about a team "reloading" should be banned.

That reminds me of a quote about Pete Carroll during the USC football glory days: "He doesn't recruit. He selects."

 

[Jackcatscal]

One that always gets me is when sportscasters say "they'll settle that mano a mano." That sure sounds like "man to man," and that's what they're indicating.

Unfortunately, it's a Spanish phrase that means "hand to hand." Undereducation.

 

[PAHuskeyFan]

Never been a big fan of the phrase "All American Candidate"...or "Player of the Year Candidate"...used when talking about a player during a game. Aren't all players eligible for these honors...although we all know only a few will get selected. It's a silly "label" to put out there. They can't sign up to be considered...like a politician throwing their hat into the ring for an election.

 

[donalddoowop]

A rising Junior is a sophomore after the class year ends. It isn't a sports term. During the summer before your Junior year, you are a rising Junior. A little formal, but anyone using it otherwise is creating a new meaning.

Some people are. Evidently, they are using it incorrectly.

 

[Cuango]

Adding "Lady" when referring to a female college athlete...as in "Lady Vols"

How do you feel about “women’s” basketball?

 

[Calbysdad]

How do you feel about “women’s” basketball?

I think you know that's very different