"The hockey/soccer goalkeeper invited my son and me to a party. It was the father, son and the goalie host" -- a spoonerism of "father, son and the holy ghost" -- began as a…
"The Stanley Cup is the toughest championship to win in team sports" was cited in print in 1993. The Stanley Cup (hockey's championship trophy series) is said to be more difficult…
"The team in first place on July 4th will win the pennant" is a baseball adage that dates to at least 1921. The baseball season is about half over by the July 4th holiday. The adage…
"The team that gets the best player wins the trade" is a sports adage meaning that trading for quality ("the best player") is better than trading for quantity (several good…
Entry in progress -- B.P. Wikipedia: Mike Murphy (trainer and coach)Michael Charles "Mike" Murphy (February 26, 1860 – June 4, 1913) was an athletic trainer and coach at Yale University…
Many coaches stress the team concept, but this was especially important to University of Michigan football coach Bo Schembechler (1929-2006). Schembechler said to his 1983 team: "We want the…
A popular golf saying is: "The trees taunt you; the sand mocks you; the water calls your name...and they say golf is a quiet game." The saying has been cited in print since at least 2001…
A person who accepts a loss without whining (such as complaining about the officials) is said to be "a good sport." A good sport says nice and gracious comments about the winner.…
"The tug is the drug" (also "The tug is my drug" or "The tug is a drug") is a fishing saying that has been printed on many images. The "tug" is the tug of a…
American boxer Muhammad Ali (1942-2016) said in his autobiography The Greatest: My Own Story (1975): "Champions aren't made in gyms. Champions are made from something they have deep…
Athletes from Scandinavian countries (where the weather is cold) usually dominate at the Winter Olympic Games. African countries are not well represented at the Winter Olympics. The winter sports…
"The woods are full of long hitters/drivers" is a golf saying; golfers who can hit long often can't hit straight and send the ball off the course and into the woods. The saying has…
A two-goal lead has been called the most dangerous lead in ice hockey. The team with the lead often relaxes and lets the other team back into the game with just one goal. Does the team with the…
"There are a thousand ways to lose a horse race and only one way to win" is an old horse racing adage. "Jim Fitzsimmons has contended for many years that there are 1,500 ways to lose…
A popular ice fishing joke has been cited in print since at least 1990. A person is ice fishing when he (or she) hears a booming voice, "THERE ARE NO FISH UNDER THE ICE!" The person then…
Basketball is not a complicated game. "There are only two great plays -- South Pacific and put the ball in the basket" is a famous quote. The musical South Pacific opened on Broadway and…
New York Mets pitcher Tom Seaver (1944-2020) was committed to winning. The New York (NY) Times quoted him on April 6, 1971: "There are only two places in this league: first place and no…
A "drop pass" in ice hockey is when a player passes the puck directly behind him to a teammate. Many believe that it's a very dangerous pass. "There are only two places you…
Pro football quarterback Johnny Unitas (1933-2002) was named the athlete of the decade by the Associated Press in February 1970. Unitas was quoted as saying: "There's a great difference…
“There’s no ‘I’ in ‘team’” is a popular saying about teamwork, first cited in 1960. "There is no 'I' in team, but there is in win" is a sports saying that has been…