“There’s boxing and then there’s heavyweight boxing” (boxing adage)
"There's boxing and then there's heavyweight boxing" is a boxing adage meaning that boxing purists will watch boxing at any level, but that the general public is only interested…
“There’s no ‘I’ in ‘team,’ but there is a ‘me’”
"There's no 'I' in 'team'" is a popular saying about teamwork, first cited in 1960. The variation "There's no 'I' in team, but there is a…
“There’s no ‘I’ in ‘team’”
"There's no 'I' in 'team'" is a sports saying to encourage teamwork. Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Vern Law listed "There is no 'I' in team" as…
“There’s no ‘I’ in team, but there are two in schizophrenia”
“There’s no ‘I’ in ‘team’” is a popular saying about teamwork, first cited in 1960. "There's no 'I' in team, but there are two in schizophrenia" is a jocular…
“There’s no crying in baseball!” (“There’s no sentiment in baseball”)
It has long been said that baseball is a business and "there is no sentiment in baseball." Players get bought and sold and traded. The Players' League of 1890 tested the…
“There’s no quit in him”
'There's no quit in him" (also said with "her") means that an athlete is relentless and doesn't stop competing, despite the great odds. An injured athlete who still…
“There’s no excuse for anyone to work harder than you do”
New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter played from 1995 until 2014. His uniform number (#2) was retired in May 2017. Jeter told Yankees Magazine in May 1996: "My folks taught me at a very…
“They call it fishing, not catching”
Many people who go fishing do not catch fish; however, the sport of fishing can still be enjoyed. "Amos and Andy Taking Fishing, Not Catching, Trip" was a headline in a 1930 newspaper.…
“They call it golf because all the other four-letter words were taken”
Golfers sometimes curse when the ball doesn't roll their way. A "Golf Joke of the Week," was printed in the Star-Gazette (Elmira, NY) on June 16, 1989: "Why does golf have the…
“They don’t get big by being dumb” (hunting and fishing adage)
"They don't get big by being dumb/stupid" is a hunting and fishing adage, meaning that a big animal/fish has some survival smarts. "There are some big (deer) over here but…
“They need to build golf courses for people who aren’t that into golf but just want to drink and drive”
A golf joke was posted on X/Twitter by Dan Carney on June 17, 2023, and received about 10,000 likes: "They need to build golf courses for people who aren’t that into golf but just want to…
“They’re not saying ‘boo,’ they’re saying ‘Lou’ (Piniella)” (sports cheer)
Lou Piniella was a New York Yankee baseball player from 1974-1984 and Yankee manager from 1986-1987 and in 1988. When he'd come up to the plate, the baseball announcers would explain about…
“They’re off!” (horse racing starting call)
"They're off! (also "And they're off!" or "Now they are off!") is the common call at the start of a horse racing, stating that the horses are "off and…
“This morning I coughed up a pawn, a knight and a bishop. I must have a chess infection”
A "chest infection" is not a "chess infection" and has nothing to do with the game of chess, but there are jokes. "It must be cold in Russia, I hope Garry Kasparov…
“Those who stay will be champions”
"Those who stay will be champions" is a sports slogan at the University of Michigan. University of Michigan football coach Bo Schembechler (1929-2006) led the Wolverines from 1969 to…
“Three things you can do in a baseball game: You can win, you can lose or it can rain”
New York Mets manager Casey Stengel (1890-1975) was quoted by sportswriter Jim Murray in May 1962: "Now there's three things you can do: you can win or you can lose. Or it can rain."…
“Three umpires are sitting in a bar…” (baseball joke)
Professor Harvey Cantril's story about three umpires talking about how they call balls and strikes has been cited in print since at least 1957. The first umpire calls them as he sees them, and…
“Three weeks now, I’ve been practicing resistance training. I’m avoiding anything to do with sports”
"Resistance training" doesn't mean resisting going to the exercise, but that's the popular joke. "Three weeks now I've been practising resistance training. I'm…
“Three yards and a cloud of dust” (football saying)
A run-oriented football offense has been described as "three/four/five yards and a cloud of dust." The term is usually credited to The Ohio State University football team that was coached…
“To be a successful fisherman you should get there yesterday when the fish were biting”
Fishermen often find that the fish were biting -- yesterday. "'You Ought to Have Been Here Yesterday' is the Fisherman's Advice" was printed in the Buffalo (NY) Commercial…