Inhistoric.com: The Sports History Blog

There are millions of in-game sports cliches that you hear every day, like "he's got the hot hand" or "he's really seeing the ball well" or "they've got them on the ropes." But they've become so common that hearing them isn't that big a deal, they just slip past us (or me at least).

The cliches that I can't stand are the ones used in pre/post-game analysis -- the ones used to summarize a game by saying that one team gave up, or one team tried harder, or one team quit on their coach. The cliches that the pundits use to generalize something, so they can get away with not watching the game. These are the cliches that shouldn't be said once, yet they're repeated day after day. These are the eight worst sports cliches heard on ESPN everyday:

8. "This kid is going to be one hell of a player."
Most analysts are quick to pronounce prodigies like Greg Oden or LeBron James as future greats, which is understandable. However if you ever go back and watch any old sports game, you'll notice how prevalent this cliche really is. Harold Miner, Christian Laettner, Ryan Leaf, Brian Bosworth, and J.D. Drew were billed as rising stars. Oops. That's why I don't take draft experts seriously; apparently everyone from Pervis Ellison to the janitor sweeping garbage off the floor has a bright future.

7. "He has been re-energized since the trade."
You want to tell me Randy Moss was "re-energized" after his trade to New England? Fine, I'll buy it. Just don't use the phrase for every successful trade. LeBron James was apparently "re-energized" following the Ben Wallace/Larry Hughes trade, which was b.s., because LeBron had back-to-back triple-doubles in the two games leading up to the trade. Kobe Bryant wasn't re-energized by the Pau Gasol trade either. Just because a team is losing, it doesn't mean that the players are half-assing and deprived of energy (most of the time). If a trade is good, it's makes the team better -- it doesn't energize them.

6. "What was going through your mind?"
Every postgame interview following a game-winning play or missed game-winner includes the question, "What was going through your mind?" Why even ask -- what insightful answer is the player going to give? Let's say Adam Vinatieri kicks a potential game-winning field goal. As the ball approaches the goal post, do you think he's thinking, "I wonder if I left the oven on, maybe I should call my wife and tell her to take the roast out." No, he's thinking, "Go in, go in, go in, go in..." and the other team is thinking, "Miss, miss, miss, miss..." Do we really need to hear that repeated in an answer?

5. "He's the most underrated player in the league."
I'm not saying that there isn't a "most underrated" player in each sports league, but this title has been placed to hundreds of athletes. Fred Taylor, Marvin Harrison, Manu Ginobili, David West, Placido Polanco, and Roy Oswalt have all been labeled the most underrated. Who is rating these people badly? Harrison is a future Hall of Famer, how is he being under-appreciated? Same thing with Ginobili and West, they can't be that underrated if they continue to make the All-Star team. There is a difference between unheralded and underrated. Besides, a player can't be that underrated if you know about him enough to say he is.

4. "He out-coached the other manager."
It's possible that a coach can do a better job drawing up plays or rallying his team than his coaching counterpart. That being said, the winning team doesn't always win because of the brilliance of the coach: it's because of the players! Don't tell me the Giants won the Super Bowl because Tom Coughlin out-coach Bill Belichick, or that the Pats lost because Belichick did a bad job of coaching. Also, this sentiment should never be said of a baseball manager. They are completely hands-off and sit in the dugout while the players are out winning and losing the game. The Red Sox didn't sweep the Rockies because Terry Francona's coaching brilliance was too much for Clint Hurdle. They won because they spent $143 million on pitching and hitting.

3. "They've really gotten inside their heads."
This beauty isn't heard all that often, but when it is, it's wrong 1000% of the time. This is one of the best examples of pundits just assuming something and rolling with it, even though it's entirely nonsensical. There are reasonable explanations why the Colts consistently lose to the Patriots, or why the Cavaliers have done well against the Celtics. Getting inside their opponents' minds isn't one of them. I heard a ton of this during the Warriors upset of the Mavericks. Don Nelson wasn't just using the experience he gained when he coached the Mavs, he was using his Jedi mind powers to get inside Avery Johnson's head and intimidate him. Earth to Jon Barry, failure does not equate to being psyched out. Sports is simple, but it isn't that simple.

2. "They just wanted it more."
After spending three hours watching college football or Major League Baseball, there's nothing more infuriating than hearing the game summarized in one line. They just wanted it more? Really, it's that simple? I guess that's why Patrick Ewing never won a title, he just didn't want it bad enough. Maybe if he put some sweat into it he would have won something.

1. "They lost because they're mentally weak."
Taking the number one spot is a gem that is both ubiquitous and inane. In the sports world, you can't fail repeatedly without being labeled "mentally weak." Phil Mickelson, Peyton Manning, Alex Rodriguez, and Donovan McNabb are just some of the athletes to be labeled "mentally weak." How incredibly pompous is it to assume that because an athlete fails he is either afraid of the spotlight or stupid? Oddly enough, Lefty and Manning stopped being mentally weak once they won it all. And yet the experts said they couldn't win because they were mentally weak (quite a paradox isn't it).

It's bad enough that the mental competence of one athlete is called into question, but now you hear entire teams being labeled as mentally weak. That's right, everyone on the Dallas Mavericks is an idiot. This phrase is used so often that it's made the word choke obsolete. I can handle bad analysis and inaccurate predictions, but don't tell me that my team keeps losing because they're mentally weak. Anyone who uses this phrase should have their head on a pike.

So there you have it, the eight worst cliches in all of sports (yeah I know, ten is a rounder number). Now you can play the Inhistoric drinking game when you watch ESPN! Except when someone uses one of these cliches, instead of taking a swig, you angrily throw the entire bottle at the TV screen.

Oh, and an honorable mention to Spygate, which itself has become cliche thanks to its endless coverage on ESPN. Seriously, stop showing Spygate coverage and let the story die.