As updated on Twitter not too long ago, I have an increasing issue with sports commentators describing specific in-game events by way of relating them to specific in-game events in other sports. The most recent example happened earlier tonight during the Olympic ice hockey game between Canada and Russia. There were multiple references to a goal-scoring play as a "slam dunk." While watching a college basketball game a couple weeks ago, I endured a commentator's description of Michigan State point guard Kalin Lucas as a "quarterback."
In my mind, such references constitute not only a failure of creativity but also a lack of understanding the true nature of a particular sport. It shouldn't be that difficult to describe in-game actions on their own terms and to do so within that sport's established discourse. Sure, all sports have a certain degree of familiarity and/or similarity among them, but that's not enough of a reason to describe a point guard as a quarterback or to simplify a scoring play in hockey as a slam dunk. Such descriptions cheapen what makes each sport unique and promote misunderstanding among novice viewers as to what happened on the court, field or rink.
Of course, these instances probably aren't as common as I worry that they are. At least Rod and Mario of Fox Sports Detroit have enough decency and intelligence to never refer to a homerun by Miguel Cabrera as a "slapshot."