After hearing non-stop stories about Rush Limbaugh for the past few weeks, I got to thinking about lots of things that annoy me with a certain amount of frequency. When it comes to sports, I find it very annoying when announcers in the booth or anchors in the studio constantly
say things incorrectly or consistenly use cliches. It seems not many of them do any sort of personal research or commit anything to memory. Moreover, many just copy what others do, lacking originality and lessening the product of the broadcast, detracting from the game you're watching to the point of not being able to pay attention to the action.
I have compiled a list of sayings I would like to do without for the upcoming season. Frankly, I'd like to see them gone forever.
Phrase: "Manny being Manny"
Status: Annoying, played out
Reason:
Manny Ramirez is both annoying and played out. In an age of steroids and performance-enhancing drugs, this player actually chooses to be the laziest athlete in the game. He demands more money than he's worth and only plays when he feels like it. His fielding is terrible, but he hits a fair amount of home runs a year, so he's apparently worth more than $20 million per season.
Suggestion: Replace with, "Oh look, he's living up to his potential!"
Phrase: "Matriculate the ball down the field"
Status: Improper, pompous
Reason: The definition of the word "matriculate," per the dictionary, is "to enroll at a college or university as a candidate for a degree." Can anyone explain how teams are expected to "enroll in college down the field?" Overall, this phrase is used more by analysts than color commentators, meaning it is mostly said by former players and coaches. My gut tells me an intern thought he knew a big word, but was mistaken, and told the analyst to say it on the air to sound smart. Unfortunately, the word became popular and was never researched. It has now been adopted into the uneducated expert's football lexicon.
Suggestion: Buy a dictionary and understand the words coming out of your mouth.
Phrase: "Literally"
Status: Improper, unnecessary
Reason: The actual word "literally" is not the issue here, but rather how it is used, which is usually incorrectly. When applying "literally" to a statement, you are saying that whatever it is actually happened that way, or that you are not exaggerating in any way, meaning no hyperbole or metaphor. My absolute favorite has to be ESPN analyst
Rod Gilmore's take on Wisconsin's young offensive line, composed mainly of freshmen at the time, referring to them as, "literally infants out there."
Suggestion: Take a grammar course, maybe go back to middle school altogether.
Phrase: "Paydirt"
Status: Overused, played out
Reason: I have heard this used for some time, but it has recently caught fire, used at every turn. The word "paydirt" has effectively taken the place of the word "touchdown" in the NFL. This phrase, championed by
Greg Gumbel, has now spread to the likes of
James Brown,
Curt Menefee, and even
Joe Buck. Sometimes you just want to hear the actual term, "touchdown."
Suggestion: While this phrase hasn't become totally annoying yet, it is widely overused. It needs to be scaled back, only sprinkled into broadcasts. This phrase should be equated to the hunting of an endangered species, halted immediately, only to return when the status is healthy and able to be dealt with in a responsible manner.
Phrase: "Adversity"
Status: Cliche, played out
Reason: No one has thought of a replacement for the word "adversity" in decades. In fact, the term "adversity" has spread into all facets of analysis when referring to any sport. This has put a damper on intelligent conversation and decreased the credibility of former players who become analysts. Adversity is commonly used during preseason, when teams are mostly healthy. A broadcaster might ask an analyst on a talk show, "What does this team need to be successful this season?" The analysts' response will often not deviate from something along the lines of, "Well, it's all about how this team handles adversity."
Suggestion: Find a new word, it's called a thesaurus. In two seconds, I found synonyms such as: catastrophe, distress, ill fortune, tough luck, trial and affliction. Feel free to use any of those or go find your own.
Phrase: "Where we're at"
Status: Improper, wildly popular
Reason: This phrase has become so broadly accepted, I'm not sure if people know this is incorrect anymore. It's not just athletes, it's pop culture and the youth who are influenced by it. I constantly hear things like, "Where you at?" or "Where is he at?" In sports, I now hear coaches and players say on a regular basis that they need to, "see where we're at" when they lose a tough game and need to watch the tape. I wonder if people know it's actually easier and shorter to say, "Where we are" or "Where is he?"
Suggestion: Actually listen to the comments you make when they playback on television, I think you'll notice how bad you sound as soon as you hear it.
All I want to see is some originality on television, someone please break the mold. It's not difficult, all you have to do is a little research, maybe even log onto the internet once or twice. Please, if anyone is listening, tell these announcers and analysts to put some effort into what they are doing and to do some fact checking as well. Here's to a prosperous and knowledgeable football season!
Since the passing of Sean Taylor, I have been wildly fascinated by the University of Miami teams put together at the turn of the century. With so many first-round draft picks, they were absolutely loaded and lost many players early to the NFL draft. Taking a full, four-year sample of recruits, I love looking at what this team could have been if everyone played together. Taking the players compiled from 2000-2003, this is easily the greatest grouping of talent college football has ever seen.
Your 2000-2003 roster:
DE:
