General Glossary

General
General Glossary

Highlight

Generally a highlight is the best thing that happened in a game, match, tournament, etc. The “Highlight of the Night” is usually a play that is absolutely incredible, jaw-dropping, something you want to watch again and again.

.500

This means that you are winning half of your games. As a team, you definitely want to be winning more than half of your games which would be “above .500”.

Series

Think of your favorite Netflix series made up of consecutive episodes. In sports, a series is made up of consecutive games against the same team. You hear this most often during the playoffs when teams play a ‘best-of-five’ or ‘best-of-seven’ series against one other team.

Sweep

When one team wins a series without the other team winning a single game. GET OUT THE BROOMS!

Rookie

A player’s first year in the pros. Similar to being a freshman in college.

MVP

Most valuable player. That’s it!

GOAT

Stands for ‘Greatest Of All Time’ *inserts goat emoji and picture of Tom Brady*

Trade

When an athlete is playing for one team, but gets moved to another team in return for another player, draft picks, money, etc. Similar to trading Pokemon cards.

UFA

Unrestricted free agent. When players join a professional team, they are provided a contract outlining years, salary, caveats, etc. When that contract is over, they usually become an unrestricted free agent, unless other factors and restrictions come into play. Then they become a restricted free agent.

Draft/Draft Pick

Professional leagues hold a draft at the beginning of each season. The draft is where teams try to suss out the next big superstar. The players usually come from college or the highest level of amateur leagues. Generally, there is a lottery to see which team gets to pick first. The teams with the worst records the previous season are provided a better chance to get top pick to try and even things out. Getting the No. 1 draft pick can seriously change your franchise's future.

Shut out

When the goalie/team doesn’t allow a single goal the entire game. Super impressive.

Injured Reserve

Stands for injured reserve. When players get hurt, they can go onto what’s called the “IR”. When they get put on this list it “frees up” a spot on the roster so that another player can be called up.

ACC

Atlantic Coast Conference. One of the NCAA's Power Five conferences, mostly composed of East Coast schools.

ATP

Association of Tennis Professionals. The governing body of the men's professional tennis circuits.

AU

Athlete's Unlimited. A network of professional women's sports leagues made up of basketball, lacrosse, softball, and volleyball.

Big Ten

One of the NCAA's Power Five conferences, mostly composed of Midwest schools.

Big 12

One of the NCAA's Power Five conferences, mostly composed of schools from the Mid-Southern region of the US.

Bundesliga

The top men's professional football league in Germany.

CANMNT

Canada men’s soccer national team.

CANWNT

Canada women’s soccer national team

CFL

Canadian Football League

COC

Canadian Olympic Committee

CONCACAF

Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football. One of FIFA's six continental governing bodies for association football.

CPL

Canadian Premier League. A professional men's soccer league in Canada.

D1F

Division 1 Féminine. The top women's professional football league in France.

EPL

English Premier League. The top men's professional football league in England.

F1

Formula One. The highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars.

FIFA

International Federation of Association Football. The international governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal.

FIS

International Ski and Snowboard Federation

IOC

International Olympic Committee. A non-governmental sports organisation that supervises, supports and monitors the organisation of the Olympic Games.

ITF

International Tennis Federation. The governing body of world tennis, wheelchair tennis, and beach tennis.

LaLiga

The top men's professional football league in Spain.

Liga F

The top women's professional football league in Spain.

LIV Golf

A professional golf tour financed by a wealth fund in Saudi Arabia. The name "LIV" refers to the Roman numerals for 54, the number of holes to be played at LIV events.

LPGA

Ladies Professional Golf Association

MLB

Major League Baseball

MLS

Major League Soccer

MMA

Mixed Martial Arts

NASCAR

National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing

NBA

National Basketball Association

NCAA

National Collegiate Athletic Association

NFL

National Football League

NHL

National Hockey League

NLL

National Lacrosse League

NWSL

National Women's Soccer League

PAC-12

One of the NCAA's Power Five conferences, mostly composed of West Coast schools.

PGA GOLF

Professional Golf Association

PHF

Premier Hockey Federation, formerly the National Women's Hockey League

PTPA

Professional Tennis Players Association. An association of male and female tennis players founded by Vasek Pospisil and Novak Djokovic.

PWHPA

Professional Women's Hockey Players Association. A nonprofit organisation dedicated to advocating for the promotion of professional women's ice hockey.

SEC

Southeastern Conference. One of the NCAA's Power Five conferences, mostly composed of schools from the Southeast.

U Sports

The national sport governing body of university sport in Canada.

UCI

Union Cycliste Internationale. The world governing body for sports cycling and oversees international competitive cycling events.

UEFA

Union of European Football Associations. The governing body of football in Europe.

UFC

Ultimate Fighting Champion

USMNT

US men’s soccer national team

USOC

United States Olympic Committee

USWNT

US women’s soccer national team

USTA

United States Tennis Association. The national governing body for tennis in the United States.

UWCL

UEFA Women’s Champions League. It involves the top club teams from countries affiliated with UEFA.

WFA

Women's Football Alliance. A professional full-contact Women's American football tackle minor league.

WNBA

Women's National Basketball Association

WPF

Women's Professional Fastpitch

WPL

Women's Premier League. A professional women's Twenty20 cricket franchise league in India.

WPL Rugby

Women's Premier League Rugby. The top annual American women's rugby union competition.

WSL

The top women's professional football league in England.

WTA

Women's Tennis Association. The principal organising body of women's professional tennis.

XFL

Xtreme Football League. A professional American football minor league.