Great Two-Word Sports Terms

Game 7.  Tonight we had one in the Stanley Cup Finals (even if the wrong team won).  When put together, "Game 7" is one of the greatest single expressions any sports fan can hear.  You intstantly know what it means.  It doesn't matter the sport.  But it's not the only great two-word sports term out there.  Here are a few others:

• "Home Run"-Ever since Babe Ruth changed the game of baseball in the 1920s, there's always been something magical about the home run.  Almost 100 years later that still hasn't changed.
• "Perfect Game"-Any no-hitter is special, but a perfect game is something different entirely.  27 up, 27 down.  The hardest thing to do in baseball.  There have only been 20 in Major League history.  And each one has defined the pitcher's career.  Just ask Don Larsen.
• "Opening Day"-The birth of a new season when hope springs eternal.  Everyone is tied for first place at 0-0 and everyone (in theory at least) has an equal opportunity to win a championship.  Maybe this will be the year.
• "Major Leaguer"-It's the dream of every boy who grows up playing baseball in America.  It takes years to get there (if at all), but once you do, you're a Major League ballplayer forever.
• "World Series"-Baseball is the National Pastime.  It's obviously lost some of its luster over the years, but those two words "World Series" (or the alternate, "Fall Classic") will always mean something special to the true baseball fan.
• "Stanley Cup"-Not only is it the most beautiful championship trophy among the "Big Four," it's also the hardest to win.  Then there's the historical element.  It's the same trophy that they've used since 1893, and you get your name on it if your team wins it.
• "Super Bowl"-Only in football can one game become a national event.  Who doesn't watch the Super Bowl, whether they care about football or not?
• "Derby Day"-Along with the aforementioned football game, the Kentucky Derby is one of the greatest single-day events in sports.  All the tradition is part of it, but there's so much more.  It's pretty incredible, seeing as the race itself lasts barely two minutes.
• "Triple Crown"-We also go into the Kentucky Derby with 20 horses having a chance to finally become the next "Triple Crown" winner, but leave with only one.  Only 11 horses have won the Triple Crown (Kentucky Derby, Preakness, Belmont Stakes), and none since Affirmed in 1978.  Yeah, it's pretty rare.  And pretty special.  (Baseball also has a "Triple Crown," which hasn't been won since Carl Yastrzemski in 1967.)
• "Grand Slam"-Yes, it's a home run with the bases loaded, but I'm referring to "Grand Slam" as it applies to tennis.  Winning the Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon and U.S. Open all in the same year.  Winning one is special.  Four in a row is virtually impossible.  Just five have done it (Rod Laver somehow did it TWICE!).
• "Number 1"-This refers to a world ranking.  The sport doesn't matter.  If you're Number 1, it means you're the best, even if it's only for a short period of time.
• "Final Four"-College basketball's ultimate stage.  Perhaps rivals the Super Bowl as the most well-known sports championship in the U.S.  The Final Four is what every college basketball player hopes to play in.  And where every Cinderella mid-major team wants to go before the clock strikes midnight.
• "National Champion"-Once again, it doesn't matter the sport.  Just like it doesn't matter the year.  If you win a national championship, that means you're the best.  For athletes in individual sports, it's one of the greatest feats you can achieve.
• "World Champion"-Ditto on the sport and the year not making a difference.  World Champion trumps National Champion because it means you're not only the best in your country.  It means you went up against the best the rest of the world had to offer and came out on top.
• "Olympic Gold"-It's every athlete's dream.  Winning one is the realization of life's ultimate goal and a reward for the sacrifice and dedication that goes into that pursuit.  The best part?  Unless you take it away from yourself, they can NEVER take it away from you.  For the rest of your life, you'll be an Olympic Champion.
• "National Anthem"-Yes, you hear it at the beginning of every game.  But there's something completely different about it when it's being played for an athlete that just had an Olympic gold medal put around their neck.

"Game 7" has so much meaning, but so do all of these.  And this is just a sampling of 15.  There are so many more two-word sports expressions that could've been on this list.  All of them are great.