What is an "Olympic hopeful"? It can be someone who competes in events with the goal of making the Olympics, but an "Olympic hopeful" can also be a young child, who is full of…
"You can never have too much pitching" is an old baseball adage of unknown authorship. "You never have enough pitching" was cited in print in 1940; "You can't have…
New York Yankees catcher Yogi Berra (1925-2015) was named the team's manager in October 1963, replacing Ralph Houk (1919-2010). Berra told reporters that he'd learned from coaches Houk…
Sports sometimes makes a distinction between "playing hurt" and "playing injured." Many players are not 100% when they enter a game and suffer cuts or sprains. A player must…
"Snow" (for snowboarding) is not a verb like "skate" (for skateboarding) and "surf" (for surfboarding). "You surf on a surfboard, but you don't snow on a…
"You can throw the records out the window when these two teams play" is a sports cliché that means that the teams' records on the season shouldn't matter -- a rivalry game is…
"You can't beat what you can't catch" is a saying that has been used in horse racing since at least 1943. The saying has also been used in auto racing -- there is a popular…
"You can't catch/defend/defense a walk" means that a pitcher shouldn't give up a walk (a free pass to first base) and should let the batter hit the ball, where a catch (or…
"You can't coach speed" and "You can't coach height" are popular sayings in football and basketball, respectively. A football coach can't make his running back…
"You can't cook with cold grease" means that one should (usually proverbially) turn up the heat, or make things more intense. The Chicago (IL) Tribune cited in 1982: "Aaron…
"You can't fake desperation" (or "You can't fake desperate") is a sports adage that was popularized by ESPN Radio sports host Ryen Russillo. If a team or a player is…
What's a losing sports team to do? "You can't fire 25 players, so you fire the manager," a popular theory holds. "But when a club isn't winning it is always easy to…
The phrase "you can't fire/shoot a cannon from a canoe" seemingly dates to naval warfare from the 1800s, but there's no evidence of the phrase until the late 20th century. The…
"You can't fire the owner" is an old sports adage. The coach can get fired, the players can get traded or released, but the owner runs the show. "You can't fire the…
"You can't get much done in life if you only work on the days when you feel good" is a saying that has been printed on posters. The saying has been attributed to basketball star…
"You can't give a major league team four outs (in an inning and expect to win)" is an old baseball adage. There are three outs in an inning. However, sometimes a player makes an…
"You can't hit a two/three/four-run homer with nobody on base" is a baseball adage. Often, a team is behind by a number of runs and has its power hitter at the plate; however, the…
A story was told in the June 12, 1947 New York (NY) Times about Yankees baseball player Yogi Berra (1925-2015) that manager Bucky Harris (who first managed the Yankees in 1947) told Berra to think…
"You can't hit what you can't catch" is a saying that has been used in boxing since at least 1938. The saying has also been used in hockey since at least 1968. "You…
"You can't hit what you can't see" is what a frustrated baseball batter says after facing a blazing fastball pitch. "Can't hit them when you can't see them"…