Sports Athletes

There are two redundant terms from the wide world of sports that I have always had issues with. And now is the time to get these issues off my chest. Why? Because I heard on the radio earlier today how one of the Minnesota Timberwolves may have "re-aggravated" his ankle injury. And that brings me to my first complaint. So away we go.

1. Re-aggravate. How the hell do you re-aggravate something? You might as well say the guy "re-re-injured his ankle again for the third time". See for yourself. The Merriam-Webster definition of aggravate is "to make worse, more serious, or more severe : intensify unpleasantly."

2. Frozen Tundra of Lambeau Field. By definition, tundra is frozen. I guess the "frozen" is added for dramatic effect. But I don't here anyone saying, "That snow is so ice cold!"

Sports reporting does more to change the face of acceptable English, I think, than any other form of communication, outside of music. Was "athelticism" even a word 20 years ago?