University of Southern California head basketball coach Bob Boyd wrote in March 1970 that he had this sign in his office: "Recruiting is Like Shaving. If You Don't Do It Every Day,…
"Red equals green" (or "red means green") is a professional wrestling adage meaning that blood ("red") attracts professional wrestling fans and makes money…
"Relievers are relievers for a reason" is a baseball adage. A pitcher with great command of several pitches is a starting pitcher. A reliever has some flaws, but can be strong in one or…
A popular sports philosophy is to "respect everybody but fear nobody." "We'll respect everyone, but fear no one" was said by a football coach in 1949. "Respect…
"Right down Broadway" was a baseball expression of announcer Arch McDonald (1901-1960), meaning a strike pitch right down the middle of the plate. Broadway, from the foot of Manhattan to…
"Role players play better at home" is a sports adage of unknown origin. Role players are picked up by the cheering fans of the home crowd, and the players are familiar with the home…
The Yankees always win. U.S. Steel (or General Motors) - in the 1950s and not today, of course - represented big business. Who could root for that. Ben Zimmer pulled up the 1966 citation that…
"Rowing is oarsome" (oar + awesome) is a saying that has been printed on several gift items. "Oarsome twosome" was cited in 1971 newspapers and "oarsome foursome" was…
“Rowing is the only sport that originated as a form of capital punishment" refers to the history of galley slaves. The popular rowing aphorism has been cited in print since at least 2002.…
"Rowing is the only sport you can win sitting on your butt going backwards" is a jocular saying about rowing; one can also "win by going backwards" in backstroke swimming and…
"Rubbing is racing" is an auto racing saying that has been printed on many images. Authorship is uncertain. NASCAR Winston Cup director Dick Beaty (1924-1998) said in the Atlanta (GA)…
"Run at spaces, not faces" is a popular saying in tag rugby. The saying is for the offense; on defense, the defenders should run at faces (the players, especially the one with the ball).…
A coach receives total loyalty from his players if they would "run through a brick wall" for him -- that is, accept any command, no matter how difficult. "I'd run through a…
A Christmas joke of the song "The Twelve Days of Christmas" changes the line "partridge in a pear tree" to a golfing version of "a partridge on a par 3." "A…
Not everyone understands sarcasm. "Sarcasm is like a good game of chess. Most people don’t know how to play chess" is a jocular saying that has been printed on several images. The…
"Draft/Evaluate/Scout traits, not production" is a professional football adage in evaluating a player for the NFL draft. A player might have had very good or very poor production in…
"Scrabble: It’s all fun and games until someone loses an ‘I’" -- a pun on "loses an eye" -- is a jocular saying about the Scrabble word game that has been printed on many…
"Seat 'em and feed 'em" was once a popular adage of how a sports facility can make money. "The evolution of arenas over the last decade from 'seat 'em and feed…
"Second place is the first loser" is a popular sports saying that has been printed in many T-shirts. The saying has been cited in print since at least April 1994 and is of unknown…
"Seems like if you're good at gambling, you're a professional. If you're bad at it, it's an addiction" was posted on Twitter by Thomas Lennon on February 1, 2010.…