“Islander goal!” (hockey catchphrase)
American sportscaster John Sterling did radio broadcasts of New York Islanders hockey games on WMCA from 1975-1978. Sterling is best known for being the New York Yankees' radio play-by-play…
“It ain’t over ‘til it’s over” (“It’s not over until it’s over”)
Baseball is not played against a clock; there are nine innings and 27 outs before a game is over. Until those 27 outs are recorded, no lead is insurmountable. "There is an old adage that says…
“It doesn’t matter if you win or lose. What matters is if I win or lose”
“It matters not whether you win or lose; what matters is whether I win or lose," a modern sports adage says. The saying was credited to "Darrin Weinberg" in 1985 and to "Darin…
“It doesn’t matter whether you win or lose—until you lose”
Entry in progress -- B.P. 20 February 1977, Dallas (TX) Morning News, "County political parties positioning for future battles" by Dotty Griffith, pg. 37A, col. 5:Getting away from…
“It is high! It is far! It is gone!” (baseball home run call)
American sportscaster John Sterling began as New York Yankees play-by-play announcer in 1989. Sterling developed a catchphrase home run call (that he also attempted to trademark): "It is…
“It isn’t sex that wrecks these players, it’s staying up all night looking for it”
New York Yankees and New York Mets baseball manager Casey Stengel (1890-1975) was supposedly asked by a reporter if he allowed his players to have sex before a ball game, responding: "It…
“It just takes one team to draft you” (player draft adage)
"It just takes one team to draft you" (or "it just takes one team to fall in love with you") is a popular draft adage, especially in the NFL college draft. Most teams might not…
“It makes more sense to dump Gatorade on the losing head coach”
A "Gatorade shower" is often given to a winning coach by the team's players. Some people believe that a losing coach should suffer through this unusual sports ritual. "It makes…
“It never rains on a golf course”
"It never rains on a/the golf course" is an old golfers' saying. meaning that it's always a fine day to play golf. The saying has been cited in print since at least 1943 and is…
“It rains on both sides of the field” (football adage)
"It rains on both sides of the field" (or, "it rains on both sides of the line of scrimmage") is an old football adage that's been applied to many other disciplines. The…
“It takes a lot of balls to golf the way I do”
"It takes a lot of balls to golf the way I do" is a jocular saying that has been printed on many images. The golf saying has been cited in print since at least 1993. Google Books1001 Ways…
“It takes good hitters to be a good hitting coach” (baseball adage)
Entry in progress -- B.P. Halos Heaven (Los Angeles Angels)Fire Hatcher? Five Myths About MLB Hitting CoachesBy Suboptimal on Aug 20, 2010, 2:31p (...)Myth #1: Only good hitters can be good hitting…
“It’s a good day when you’re looking down at the grass instead of up at the roots”
"It's a good day when you're looking down at the grass instead of up at the roots" is a common saying, meaning that it's better to be alive than to be dead and buried.…
“It’s a great day for a baseball game—let’s play two!”
"We got the setting -- sunshine, fresh air, the team behind us," Chicago Cubs baseball star Ernie Banks (1931-2015) said on his induction into the baseball Hall of Fame in 1977.…
“It’s a great game, but a crappy business”
"It's a great game, but it's a crappy/terrible/tough business" has been said about many sports. "It's a great game, but it's a tough business" was said about…
“It’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward” (boxing adage)
Entry in progress -- B.P. Wikiquote: Rocky Balboa (film)Rocky Balboa is a 2006 film from written and directed by and starring Sylvester Stallone as underdog boxer Rocky Balboa. It is the sixth and…
“It’s all about the rings” (winning championships over money)
Professional athletes often accept less money to be on successful teams, where playoff money is likely and there is a good chance of winning a championship. A championship team usually awards its…
“It’s all fun and games until someone loses a tooth. Then it’s hockey”
"It's all fun and games until someone loses an eye" is a typical saying mothers make to children before they go out to play. "It's all fun and games until someone loses a…
“It’s always better to sacrifice your opponent’s pieces” (chess adage)
"It's always better to sacrifice your opponent's pieces/men" is a chess adage that is usually credited to the chess grandmaster and journalist Savielly Tartakower (1887-1956).…
“It’s called pickleball because it’s just a tennis ball that’s soaked in brine”
The game of "pickleball" isn't played with pickles, but there are jokes. "The name of the game is certainly odd — there are no cucumbers soaked in brine and vinegar involved…