“Sprint to the podium” (player draft expression)
Professional sports clubs hold a player draft; they select players by submitting a draft card to the podium when it's their turn to draft. It often happens that when a team's draft time…
“Statistics are for losers”
"Statistics are for losers" means that the only statistic that matters is if a team won or lost -- not individual statistics, such as how many yards a player gained or how many points a…
“Statistics are like bikinis—what they reveal is interesting, but what they conceal is vital”
"Statistics are like a Bikini bathing suit. What they reveal is suggestive, but what they conceal is vital" was said by economist (and later Baruch College professor) Aaron Levenstein,…
“Statistics are to baseball what a flaky crust is to Mom’s apple pie”
Statistics are important in baseball. American television journalist Harry Reasoner (1923-1991) is credited with saying: "Statistics are to baseball what a flaky crust is to Mom's apple…
“Stay on the ice and pay the price” (hockey adage)
"Stay on the ice and pay the price" is an ice hockey adage. Hockey is a tiring game; players who stay on the ice and refuse to be substituted for ultimately "pay the price."…
“Steel sharpens steel” (wrestling adage)
"Steel sharpens steel" is an old saying; in sports, the saying means that the best get sharper (or better) by playing against the best. A wrestling article in the Cedar Rapids (IA)…
“Streaks follow streaks” (sports adage)
Entry in progress -- B.P. TwitterJoe@Joe_YinzerStreaks follow streaks and the #Pens are a perfect example.3:32 AM - 30 Mar 12 TwitterLayne Alexander@LJ1600Streaks follow streaks and the reds…
“Strike for show and spare for dough” (bowling adage)
"Strike for show and spare for dough" is a popular bowling adage, cited in print from at least 1987 and 1996. The saying means that most people don't always bowl all strikes and have…
“String tight for control, loose for power” (racket adage)
"Tight for control, loose for power" is an adage for stringing a tennis racket or racquetball racquet, cited in print since at least 1983. The theory is that looser strings result in…
“Study long, study wrong” (dominoes adage)
"Study long, study wrong" has been used in many sports and games, such as dominoes, cards, checkers, golf, billiards and horse racing. "If you study long, you study wrong" has…
“Styles make fights” (boxing adage)
"Styles make fights" is a boxing adage that dates to at least a March 1938 newspaper story by syndicated sportswriter Grantland Rice, describing the styles of heavyweights Joe Louis and…
“Succeed and proceed”
"One and done" means that a star high school basketball player plays one year in college, and then announces that he is turning professional. There often is little incentive to do well at…
“Summer league can’t tell you who can play, only who can’t” (basketball adage)
The NBA holds summer leagues for rookies and free agents who are trying to prove themselves and get a spot on a professional basketball roster. The saying about summer league is that it…
“Summer nights and ballpark lights”
"Summer nights and ballpark lights" is a summer saying that has been printed on many images. "Summer nights and ballpark lights" was posted on Twitter by nīck® on May 14,…
“Summer wrestlers make winter champions” (wrestling adage)
"Summer wrestlers make winter champions" (or "Summer wrestling makes winter champions") is a popular wrestling adage. "Summer wrestling makes winter champions" was…
“Super Bowl implies the existence of a Super Plate”
The Super Bowl (NFL football's championship game) has nothing to do with a bowl for consuming food, but there are jokes. "They have a Super Bowl but why dont they have a Super…
“Super Bowl implies the existence of a Super Spoon”
The Super Bowl (NFL football's championship game) has nothing to do with a bowl for consuming food, but there are jokes. "Yo mama so stupid when she went to the Super Bowl she brought a…
“Surely, not everybody was kung-fu fighting”
"Surely, not everybody was kung-fu fighting" is a jocular saying that has been printed on many images. The joke is on the song "Kung Fu Fighting" (1974) by Carl Douglas, which…
“Survive and advance” (in a single elimination tournament)
North Carolina State won the NCAA Division 1 Basketball Tournament (a single elimination tournament) in 1983 with a memorable upset victory on a last-second shot. Queens, New York-born N.C. State…
“Swallow the whistle” (not call a penalty)
Sports referees do, on occasion, swallow their whistles, but the term "swallowed his/her whistle" is an idiom that means a referee is not going to blow the whistle to call infractions.…