Words in Sports that annoy you.

I don't know if its just me, but sometimes I will be reading an article regarding sports and a word will pop up that just makes me cringe a little. The set of words that get me the most are "tally" which I know is correct, but somehow just annoys me and "brand name" when referring to a team or club that has a lot of history. Anyone else?

 

Spot on with the above posts. A popular phrase of the last couple years that are the proverbial nails on the chalkboard, 'it is what it is'

 

"Small Sample Size"

 

"The Good Lord was looking out for us today" Sorry but I don't think he takes sides in sporting events. Except of course he is a Fulham fan, but we already knew that

 

"At the end of the day..."

 

A former co-worker of mine actually credits me for inventing the phrase "It is what it is". I used it working with him in 2004 and he mentioned that it he liked it. He asked me where I heard it from and I said I didn't know that it was just something that I said. Then we used it more around work and then it seemed to take off (Google trends evidence: http://www.google.com/trends/explore#q="It is what it is").

I apologize if I really did invent this cliche. You must know it was unintentional and didn't seem that bad when used only occasionally. If you must exact revenge I suggest corresponding with me using my least favorite words "meal" and "supper" (yes, I only call it "dinner").

 

I'm guess this developed in the last couple of years but when announcers say, "So and so is out with an ankle" or "He's out with a knee". Would it kill them to add a descriptor in there like "sprained", "dislocated" or "bionic"? I mean, if I were to take the sentence literally, is it that the player now has an extra knee? Is he on a date with an ankle? Out drinking with his buddy, finger?

 

I was going to say the whole dropping of the word injury but Encore beat me to it. I am also not a fan of virtually every injury in English football is described as a "knock". This gives me absolutely no indication as to what is wrong.

"Us against the world" annoys me.

And since I'm bringing the entire world in on this thread, I despise that winners of American sports leagues are called World Champions.

 

Don, Jim and Heather got all of mine.

 

#1 most annoying for me is Dick Vitale using "baby" as punctuation.

 

I'll think of some others eventually, but for now, this will have to do...

 

Dookie V sucks.

Just heard a more recent one for me...."on my grind".

 

My number one pet peeve of sports phrases is "just about".

 

The first thing that came to mind, for me is "... looks to..." A decade or so ago I thought it was good use of verbalization shorthand. Now starting to grind on me. BTW, it seems to me that phrase traveled from UK to US.

As to Micahman's culpability for the 'down-homey' It is what it is .. he's off the hook.
{However, I would ask why the oldest guy here has to do the simple search that takes five seconds }

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/05/magazine/305wwln_safire.1.html?pagewanted=print&_r=0

I knew it couldnt be him, anyway, because my brother used it in the early nineties. I had always thought it was Terry Bradshaw that used it first.
And it's 'Supper' if it's in the evening but NOT the main meal of the day. As in 'Sunday Dinner' always being early afternoon. And that makes sense, historically. Farmers have dinner at Noon IF eaten at the table. Factory and office workers would obviously 'Lunch' If the noon meal was eaten in the field.. eg on the tailgate, it was lunch. But STILL supper in the evening.

 

I've never liked the term "flush" for a dunk shot in hoops. The one that bothers me most as it pertains to soccer is the Brits' affinity for a side dominating a game to be "asking questions" or "asking all the questions." But my all time worst is the baseball announcer or analyst who describes a player as a "contact hitter."

 

Lol... doesn't bother me but I see your point: As opposed to a 'non-contact hitter' or maybe 'strikeout swinger vs strikeout non-swinger'
also:
"and he looks at the first strike" ... but it wasnt the phrase that irritated, it was the player who did it. Talking about Pete Rose way back in the day.