Famous Sports Quotes

I love what prominent baseball people have to say about the great ballplayers. They seem to eloquently capture what we are thinking. “It was his solemn duty to catch a ball that wasn’t in the stands.” - Monte Irvin (Newark Eagles OF, May 6, 1981), on Willie Mays

“Maybe they should see if his body is corked.” - Howard ‘Hojo’ Johnson (NY Mets), on Bo Jackson, from Sports Illustrated, October 19, 1986

“When he took BP everybody would kind of stop what they were doing and watch.” - Jim Kaat, former pitcher, on Mickey Mantle

“I played with him for nine years and marveled at how hard he hit and how fast he ran. How can anyone ever forget the catch he made on Gil Hodges’ line drive to save Don Larsen’s perfect game?” - Tony Kubek, former shortstop, on Mickey Mantle

“A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives.” - Jackie Robinson

“Having Willie Stargell on your ball club is like having a diamond ring on your finger.” Chuck Tanner

“Ted Williams was the greatest hitter I ever saw, but (Joe) DiMaggio was the greatest all around player.” Bob Feller

“No one hit home runs the way Babe (Ruth) did. They were something special. They were like homing pigeons. The ball would leave the bat, pause briefly, suddenly gain its bearings, then take off for the stands.” Lefty Gomez

“When Neil Armstong first set foot on the moon, he and all the space scientists were puzzled by an unidentifiable white object. I knew immediately what it was. That was a home run ball hit off me in 1933 by Jimmie Foxx.” Lefty Gomez

“Every time Johnny Bench throws, everybody in baseball drools.” - Harry Dalton

“He (Babe Ruth) hits a ball harder and further than any man I ever saw.” - Bill Dickey
“He (Lou Gehrig) just went out and did his job every day.” Bill Dickey

“He gets better every year, that’s what’s remarkable about him. Some guys are good and stay good. Some guys are good and get better. He reminds me of Kareem. Hubie Brown said that Kareem worked at the beginning of every season to improve some facet of his game. It’s that way with the best, whatever the profession. That’s the way this kid is.”
Ed Bradley on 60 Minutes - Talking about Derek Jeter

“I think he was one of the greatest third basemen of all time. He had one of the sweetest swings I ever saw.” - Teammate Johnny Logan - Referring to Eddie Mathews

“How good was Stan Musial? He was good enough to take your breath away.” - (1989)Vin Scully

“When he (Maury Wills) runs, it’s all downhill.” Vin Scully

Seeing what these writers, ballplayers and managers has to say about these players lights up the page for me. I can visualize these players on the field hitting home runs, running with arms outstretched to catch a ball or throwing out a would be base runner trying to steal a base.

This is my baseball memorabilia.

Feel Free to pass this article on to anyone you think would enjoy reading it.

College football’s annual bowl season is full of surprises and spectacular moments. Famous coaches have had some memorable remarks about American’s most popular sport, and here are some of them by Lou Holtz, who some consider to be the best of the best college coaches and for good reason.

It is true that Knute Rockne won 5 more national championships at Norte Dame than Lou Holtz did at Notre Dame (Holtz led the Fighting Irish to 1 national title in 1988).

It is also true that Knute Rockne has a regular season won-loss percentage of 90% (105-12-5) at Notre Dame, and that Lou Holtz has a regular season won-loss percentage of 77% (100-30-2) at Notre Dame.

However, Lou Holtz is the only coach in NCAA history to lead 6 different programs to bowl games (William & Mary, North Carolina State, Arkansas, Minnesota, Notre Dame and South Carolina), and the only coach to guide 4 different programs to final top 20 rankings (North Carolina State, South Carolina twice, Arkansas 5 times and Notre Dame 7 times).

Lou Holtz became known for his quick wit and ability to inspire players. Both Knute Rockne and Green Bay Packer coach Vince Lombardi became legendary for their ability to inspire players.

In addition to his coaching career, Holtz has gone on to author 5 books and become both a motivational speaker and television commentator.

Here are some of Lou Holtz’s best known quotes:

“Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you respond to it.”

“Motivation is simple. You eliminate those who are not motivated.”

“The man who complains about the way the ball bounces is likely the one who dropped it.”

“When all is said and done, more is said than done.”

“It’s not the load that breaks you down, it’s the way you carry it.”

“No one has ever drowned in sweat.”

“On this team, we’re all united in a common goal: to keep my job.”

“Show me someone who has done something worthwhile, and I’ll show you someone who has overcome adversity.”

“The problem with having a sense of humor is often (the) people you use it on aren’t in a very good mood.”

“In the successful organization, no detail is too small to escape close attention.”

“It is a fine thing to have ability, but the ability to discover ability in others is the true test.”

“If you’re bored with life-you don’t get up every morning with a burning desire to do things-you don’t have enough goals.”

“If you burn your neighbor’s house down, it doesn’t make your house look any better.”

“You’ll never get ahead of anyone as long as you try to get even with him.”

“I think everyone should experience defeat at least once during their career. You learn a lot from it.”

“I never learn anything talking. I only learn things when I ask questions.”

“If he’s got golf clubs in his truck or a camper in his driveway, I don’t hire him.”

“How you respond to the challenge in the second half will determine what you become after the game, whether you are a winner or a loser.”

“Coaching is nothing more than eliminating mistakes before you get fired.”

“A lifetime contract for a coach means if you’re ahead in the third quarter and moving the ball, they can’t fire you.”

“A bird doesn’t sing because it has an answer, it sings because it has a song.”

“You’re never as good as everyone tells you when you win, and you’re never as bad as they say when you lose.”

Copyright © 2008 Ed Bagley

Every day when I read the hockey section in the newspaper I am looking for funny ice hockey quotes that are worth remembering. There actually are not anything funnier for a NHL fan than to tell his friends the latest hockey quotes.

One day the sayings you told your friends might become one of the most famous hockey quotes in history of the game.

I know that people sometimes consider me to be quite odd in some areas of life (maybe because I love hockey so much), but when it comes to me liking famous ice hockey quotes I know that I am not odd.

Thousand of other hockey fans are enjoying sayings as well. My buddies love them and many newspaper actually list the most weird and famous quotes on the pages.

The fact that others are enjoying quotes too is proof enough for me that this is not a weird habit of mine. I am just a simple and ordinary ice hockey fan.

So, what is it that makes hockey quotes so great and why do we love them so much?

I think that the reason ice hockey fans love famous quotes is because all sayings somehow have a lot of truth in them. They also help us understand the game and often include some small kind of wisdom as well.

Many hockey quotes are quite stupid as well, I know, but they also tell us a lot of things about the spirit of hockey. They tell us what hockey is all about.

One of my favourite famous ice hockey quotes has to be Gretzky saying:

”I skate to where the puck is going to be, not to where it has been.”

This one tells so much about Gretzky. Everyone else whish they could play and think like The Great One, but nobody ever could. He made the game simply because he was the best.

College football’s annual bowl season is full of surprises and spectacular moments. Famous coaches have had some memorable remarks about American’s most popular sport, and here are some of them by legendary Notre Dame coach Knute Rockne, who many consider to be the best of the best.

Knute Rockne’s head coaching record in college football was second to none, and his won-loss percentage is better than any other college or pro coach ever.

In 13 years with the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, Rockne’s regular season won-loss percentage was 90% (105-12-5), his winning percentage among all games was 86%, and he led Notre Dame to 6 national championships, winning titles in 1919 (9-0), 1920 (9-0), 1924 (10-0), 1927 (7-1-1), 1929 (9-0) and 1930 (10-0). Five of his 6 national championships came from undefeated teams.

Along the way he coached the immortal George “Gipper” Gipp, whose multiple skills lifted Notre Dame to national fame, and the “Four Horsemen” backfield of Harry Stuhldreher, Don Miller, Jim Crowley and Elmer Layden that led the Fighting Irish to a 28-2 record.

While covering a Notre Dame football game, sportswriter Grantland Rice penned the famous opening story line-”Outlined against a blue-gray October sky, the Four Horsemen rode again”-that has become legend in sports history.

Rockne’s influence on the game of football was immense. He is credited with helping popularize the forward pass, initiating intersectional rivalries, building a national schedule, and instituting the “Rockne Shift”, a backfield T formation that quickly shifted into a box formation to the right or left as the ball was snapped.

He was also the first coach to realize the market potential of football as an entertainment medium and openly promoted Notre Dame football by courting the media for free advertising so Notre Dame’s football program would be financially successful.

Knute Rockne was a Norwegian immigrant who graduated magna cum laude from Notre Dame in 1914, played end for the Fighting Irish that defeated the highly-ranked Army team for the first time in 1913, and was a graduate assistant in chemistry before eventually becoming Notre Dame’s head coach in 1918. A Protestant, he converted to Catholicism later in life.

Following his undefeated, 6th national championship team in 1930, Rockne died at age 43 as a passenger in a tragic Fokker airplane accident that would help revolutionize the transportation business and lead to the all-metal Boeing 247 aircraft. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1951 as a charter member.

Here are some of Knute Rockne’s best known quotes:

“Four years of football are calculated to breed in the average man more of the ingredients of success in life than almost any academic course he takes.”

“At home we’re the hosts, and I never liked the idea of being embarrassed in front of our friends.”

“On the road we’re somebody else’s guests - and we play in a way that they’re not going to forget we visited them.”

“We count on winning. And if we lose, don’t beef. And the best way to prevent beefing is - don’t lose.”

“Let’s win one for the Gipper.”

“I’ve found that prayers work best when you have big players.”

“It isn’t necessary to see a good tackle. You can hear it.”

“One loss is good for the soul, too many losses is not good for the coach.”

“Show me a good and gracious loser and I’ll show you a failure.”

“Yes, I know that you feel you are not strong enough. That’s what the enemy thinks too. But we’re gonna fool them.”

“The secret is to work less as individuals and more as a team. As a coach, I play not my eleven best, but my best eleven.”

“One man practicing sportsmanship is better than a hundred teaching it.”

“Most men, when they think they are thinking, are merely rearranging their prejudices.”

Copyright © 2008 Ed Bagley

Great coaches win games when it counts. Some coaches also make great interviews for the media writers by never shying away in victory or defeat, and giving great quotes. Even fewer have great personalities to go with their victories, and quotes that are insightful, memorable and sometimes so funny we cannot help but smile.

And then there are the select few, legends in their own time that will never be forgotten, such as Knute Rockne and Vince Lombardi. Add Lou Holtz to the same list, not in the same class as Rockne and Lombardi, but because of his quick wit and quality comments. Successful coaches did not become so by being stupid, arcane and bovine. Holtz is sharp as a tack.

Rockne (the Notre Dame Fighting Irish), Lombardi (the Green Bay Packers), and Holtz (the only coach to lead 6 college programs to bowl-game appearances) are all football coaches.

Enter basketball’s John Wooden, who ranks in the same class as Rockne and Lombardi.

Known as the “Wizard of Westwood”, Wooden won 665 games in 27 seasons at UCLA and 10 NCAA titles during this last 12 years, including 7 straight from 1967 to 1973. He also had an 88-game winning streak and two undefeated, back-to-back national championship teams.

Wooden’s UCLA record during his 10 National Championship years was 291-10 (not a misprint); it rounds to a 97% winning percentage and includes no less than 4 perfect 30-0 seasons.

Here are some of John Wooden’s most famous quotes:

“If you don’t have time to do it right, when will you have time to do it over?”

“Never mistake activity for achievement.”

“If you’re not making mistakes, then you’re not doing anything. I’m positive that a doer makes mistakes.”

“Adversity is the state in which man most easily becomes acquainted with himself, being especially free of admirers then.”

“Failure is not fatal, but failure to change might be.”

“I’d rather have a lot of talent and a little experience than a lot of experience and a little talent.”

“Do not let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do.”

“Talent is God-given. Be humble. Fame is man-given. Be grateful. Conceit is self-given. Be careful.”

“Ability is a poor man’s wealth.”

“Winning takes talent, to repeat takes character.”

“Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are.”

“Things turn out best for the people who make the best of the way things turn out.”

“You can’t let praise or criticism get to you. It’s a weakness to get caught up in either one.”

“It’s not so important who starts the game but who finishes it.”

“It’s the little details that are vital. Little things make big things happen.”

“It’s what you learn after you know it all that counts.”

“Consider the rights of others before your own feelings, and the feelings of others before your own rights.”

“What you are as a person is far more important than what you are as a basketball player.”

“There are many things that are essential to arriving at true peace of mind, and one of the most important is faith, which cannot be acquired without prayer.”

“You can’t live a perfect day without doing something for someone who will never be able to repay you.”

Copyright © 2008 Ed Bagley

News writing style is just as important for sports reporting as it is for general news, business stories or any other journalistic work.

The advantage of sports writing is that you are allowed a little it more leeway in your choice of words. In crime or business writing, you are restricted in your use of adjectives and adverbs and are encouraged to focus more on nouns and verbs.

Sports writing, however, allows you to go to town in describing plays, the atmosphere, fans and other colorful aspects of a sporting event.

For this article, we will go through, step by step, how to write a straightforward sports report using quotes.

Ideally, any sports story would have quotes from the winners and losers. Indeed, many sports articles are written around what athletes say rather than what they have achieved on the field of play.

However, you also have sports articles written without quotes. When rookies learn how to write like a journalist, especially in sport, they are likely to come across the structure that we will show you here.

We will adapt the NBA game between Boston Celtics and Cleveland Cavaliers on April 1 as our example article.

1. Intro – the most important news aspect of a sports game is the score. Who won? How did they win and what effect did the victory have? Also important is whether we are writing from a Boston perspective or Cleveland. In this case, we will go with Cleveland.

“Cleveland Cavaliers lost 98-96 to the Boston Celtics after Delonte West’s sank two free throws in the final seconds, dropping three and a half games behind the Pistons for the best record in the Eastern Conference.”

2. More info – The above is enough for those who have a passing interest in the sport. However, NBA fans would want more information and you could give it to them in one or two paragraphs.

“The Cavaliers were without star player LeBron James, suffering from a knee injury, while the Celtics were minus Paul Pierce. Gerald Green led the way for Celtics with 25 points while Kendrick Perkins had 12 points and nine rebounds.

The Cavaliers, for whom Larry Hughes scored 24 with Sasha Pavlovic scoring 17, have already qualified for the play-offs while Boston are out of the running.”

3. Quote – This is where you can provide a quote from the coach or a key player from both teams. You can precede each saying with a lead-in paragraph or go straight into the quote.

“Celtic forward Al Jefferson, said: ‘They were missing their best player and we were missing our best play. We just stuck in there.’

Cavs coach Mike Brown said James’ absence was a key factor in their loss.

‘We miss LeBron. We miss LeBron every time he doesn’t play. He’s our guy,’ said Brown.”

4. The rest – Once you got the main information and key quotes out of the way, you can go on to describe the game. Even better would be to describe just one or two plays and include more quotes.

The thinking behind sports articles is that people would have watched the game on TV anyway and would not want boring game description. Therefore, quotes from the people who matter, such as athletes and coaches, would offer better reading value.

There are many types of sports news writing that is offered around the world everyday. We have merely showed you its simplest form. Certainly, it is a rewarding form of news writing for journalists who love their sport. And the structure they use allow them to adapt their skills to any type of journalism writing.

“This week a 100-year-old Tennessee man got married for the third time; this time to a 68-year-old woman. When asked why he was marrying a woman 32 years his junior, the man said: ‘Yes, I would love a sandwich.’” - Amy Poehler, of Weekend Update, on Saturday Night Live

“I really believe in infrastructure spending… I amortize my shoes over 20 years.” - Canada’s BC Provincial Finance Minister Carole Taylor explaining why she wore $600 new Gucci shoes when presenting the annual budget.

“We wanted to keep him off the bases.” - manager Charlie Manuel (Phillies) explains Jose Reyes’ (Mets) three home runs in one game.

Q: “You’re the player. We like to hear it from the horse’s mouth.” A: (Roddick): “Go buy a horse.”

“Well, I really think he shatters the myth of white supremacy once and for all!” - Rep. Charlie Rangel, after being asked his opinion of President George W. Bush

“I got to party and socialize at an Olympic level.” - Bode Miller, the U.S. Olympic skier who went zero for five on Olympic gold.

“Should I go and get a ruler?” - LOST’’s Kate [Evangeline Lilly], editorializes about a testosterone contest between Jack [Matthew Fox] and Sawyer [Josh Holloway].

“My No. 1 goal is to not go to jail.” - Congresswoman-elect Michele Bachmann (R, MN)

“If you are not electing Christians, then in essence you are going to legislate sin.” - Representative Katherine Harris (R, FL)

“Paddy was in the wrong place at the wrong time; by the look of the photographs he was also with someone who was hungrier than he was.” - Neil Warnock discusses (Sheffield United goalkeeper) Paddy Kenny’s biting loss of one eyebrow in a restaurant.

“I have noticed a marked difference in the way that people respond to me when I am wearing my colours.” - testimony of Hells Angels member Ricky Ciarniello in a legan action against an Ontario, Canada court decision that the Angels constitute a criminal organization, saying this unfairly exposing him to fear, loathing and ridicule. The ruling stood. (The original Canadian spelling of “colours” here is not a mistake - or at least, a very old one by now.)

“Drowning has always been my biggest fear.” - Janina Peters, lifeguard.

“Russian women are not very good for figure skating. They are good for building rail tracks in Siberia, for example.” - Alexei Mishin, champion Evgeni Plushenko’s coach.

“I believe in my heart that if Jesus were alive today he would be doing the same thing.” - Madonna justifies including mock crucifixion in her stage performances.

“Cheney’s defense is that he was aiming at a quail when he shot the guy: which means that Cheney now has the worst aim of anyone in the White House since Bill Clinton.” - Jay Leno

Tennis star Roddick about playing the retiring Agassi: Q: “Do you feel relief that [it] is not going to happen?” A: (Roddick): “Obviously you want to play against your idols, but then again you don’t want to be the guy who shot Bambi.”

“A big-city feel, but redneck-friendly.” - tourism slogan suggested by President Tim Newman of the Regional Visitors Authority of Charlotte, N.C., U.S.

“He scares our German shepherd to death when we are at home; so we come here.” - Sue Mihalyi, explaining why she and her husband Mark watch Steeler games at a local Pittsburgh restaurant. The Steelers won the Superbowl in 2006 without her rug suffering.

“Your child, at birth, already has a deeply complicated relationship with his mother, so for the first year you are only a curiosity. As the years go by you will become an amusement-park ride. Then, a referee. And finally, a bank.” - Things a Man Should Know About Fatherhood, Esquire magazine

“[African-American Maryland Lt. Gov. Michael Steele has made] a career of slavishly supporting the Republican Party.” - Steny Hoyer, (D, MD)

“Keep away from the Australian women or else you will end up in prisons.” - advice to his athletes from the Ugandan sports director

“She’s pretty aggressive in our cars. Especially if you catch her at the right time of the month; she might be trading plenty of paint out there.” - Ed Carpenter, IRL racing driver describes Danica Patrick.

“I’m glad he’s showing some personality.”

- Danica Patrick about Ed Carpenter, later that same day.

Madonna about her rep for being difficult: “What’s the difference between a pop star and a terrorist? You can negotiate with a terrorist.”

“I told the producers I’d give my left nut to host this thing.” - Lance Armstrong, opening the 2006 ESPY Awards

“Activities which are not compatible with western standards.” - ABC news being politically correct while describing Hamas suicide bombings.

“He a very wise man and very strong - although perhaps not so strong as his father Barbara.” - Borat describes the President

“I don’t support our troops….When you volunteer for the U.S. military, you pretty much know you’re not going to be fending off invasions from Mexico and Canada.” - Joel Stein, Los Angeles Times columnist

“I said a little prayer before I actually did the fingerprint thing, and the picture; and my prayer was basically, ‘Let people see Christ through me, and let me smile.’” - (Former Republican House Majority Leader) Tom DeLay gets his mug shot.

“Something else I’ve learned about Secretary Rice is she loves the cool Atlantic breezes here in Nova Scotia, and she left the window open last night.” - Canada’s Conservative Foreign Minister Peter MacKay, amidst rumors that the two had a little something goin’ on.

“When you’re inviting people, you don’t have to tell them this is a cold place.” - Canada’s BC Premier Gordon Campbell, trying to tone down 2010 Olympic promotions.

“Of course, some of it could be cops just watching the game and not responding.” - Geoffrey Alpert, University of South Carolina criminologist, about (his) research showing a decline in crimes during the Super Bowl.

“We ship to all correctional institutions.” - A US bookstore sign, in the age of the Internet.

“The public doesn’t have a right to know anything.” - RCMP spokesperson Staff Sargent John Ward responds to reporters’ queries about Ian Bush’s death in custody.

Q: “How different was it holding up that plate today than in Australia?” Amelie Mauresmo: “It’s a different trophy. It’s round; it’s smaller.”

“Thanks to all the perverts who voted for me.” - Jessica Alba, accepting MTV’s award for the Sexiest Performance in a Movie (Sin City.)

“For some people, playing a bipolar nymphomaniac may have been a challenge, but for me, I think I just played myself.” - Isla Fisher, accepting MTV’s award for the year’s Breakthrough Performance (Wedding Crashers.)

“The publication of these cartoons will cause the world to tremble. Fire will be throughout the world if they don’t stop.” - English Islamic leader Dr Azam Tamimi

“1f u c4n r34d th1s u r34lly n33d t0 g37 l41d!” - tee shirt

“I think a relationship with a partner is intensely personal and I prefer to keep it that way.” - Paul McCartney (early in the divorce.)

“We’ve gone through more hardships than the Jews and Charlie Brown put together.” - Homer to Marge, re marriage counseling, on The Simpsons

“To the vice president’s credit, he did own up to it: on FOX News he said the fault was his; he can’t blame anybody else. Boy it’s amazing the only time you get accountability out of this administration is when they are actually holding a smoking gun.” - Bill Maher

“Any important Republican who comes out and says they didn’t know me is almost certainly lying.” - convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff

“It’s hard to forget the day you give up your Independence.” - Greg Zamlule, a US citizen, explains why he chose to get married on July 4, the same day he entered a 5k race. “There’s always the chance that he’ll just keep on running.” - his fiance, Leslie Evans.

“We want to make it clear that if the Pope does not appear on TV and apologize for his comments we will blow up all of Gaza’s churches.” - a reply from the Sword of Islam terrorists, distressed by the Pope’s speech which seemed to associate Islam and violence centuries ago.

“You can always get new teeth.” - Teemu Selanne, a Finnish hockey player who sacrificed three whites during a quarterfinal with the US.

“McDreamy is doing the McNasty with McHottie? That McBastard!” - George on Grey’s Anatomy

“It’s just basketball. They’re not the Big Bad Wolf and we’re not the Three Little Pigs. We’re all grown men.” - Cavaliers forward LeBron James, re Detroit

“Here we have an organization supposedly dedicated to preventing cruelty actually inflicting cruelty to an animal to raise money to supposedly prevent cruelty to animals.” - Paul Watson, founder of the Sea Shepherd Society on the Prince Rupert, BC, Canada’s SPCA’s plan to host a crab boil as a fund-raiser for the animal shelter.

“In the West Bank a group calling itself the Lions of Monotheism firebombed four churches, telling the Associated Press, ‘The attacks … were carried out to protest the Pope’s remarks linking Islam and violence.’ The irony - and this is often the case, we find - was completely lost on them.” - The Daily Show’s Jon Stewart

“Yeah, he looked sorry when he was out there doing doughnuts.” - Matt Kenseth declines an apology from Jeff Gordon, who bumped Kenseth out of the way on the Chicagoland Speedway.

“Years ago, you used to get out and fight and run around and chase each other with a jackhammer and stuff like that. Those were the good old days.” - Dale Earnhardt Jr., on track etiquette in the days before NASCAR’s sponsors began to fuss about driver conduct.

“You’d like it. Puppies get killed.” - The LOST character Sawyer [Josh Holloway] summarizes “Of Mice and Men” for Henry Gale [Michael Emerson] (a killer-of-bunnies.)

“After 45 years of this crap I’ve just started to enjoy it.” - Pete Townshend, the WHO summarizes a career.

“Football’s a difficult business; and aren’t they prima donnas?” - Queen Elizabeth II

And that’s the FunnyPoetry.com funny quote summary for 2006 - the year that Britain finally paid back the last of the money it borrowed from the U.S. and Canada during WW II, according to CNN. And why did that take so long? The interest rate was 2%, that’s why. (By the way, Britain’s WW I debts were never fully repaid.) On to 2007, which looks ripe to produce many more fine quotes: if for no other reason than that 25% of Americans expect the return of Jesus in the coming year according to an Associated Press-AOL News poll.