General Glossary

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.

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”.

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.

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

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

Most valuable player. That’s it!

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

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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

The top men's professional football league in Germany.

Canada men’s soccer national team.

Canada women’s soccer national team

Canadian Football League

Canadian Olympic Committee

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

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

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

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

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

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

International Ski and Snowboard Federation

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

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

The top men's professional football league in Spain.

The top women's professional football league in Spain.

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.

Ladies Professional Golf Association

Major League Baseball

Major League Soccer

Mixed Martial Arts

National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing

National Basketball Association

National Collegiate Athletic Association

National Football League

National Hockey League

National Lacrosse League

National Women's Soccer League

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

Professional Golf Association

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

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

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

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

The national sport governing body of university sport in Canada.

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

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

Ultimate Fighting Champion

US men’s soccer national team

United States Olympic Committee

US women’s soccer national team

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

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

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

Women's National Basketball Association

Women's Professional Fastpitch

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

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

The top women's professional football league in England.

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

Xtreme Football League. A professional American football minor league.