ANNOUNCER LINGO

[ssteve]

On the ESPN Thursday night college game, Adam Amin (who I think is outstanding) said a player "records the t.f.l." instead of simply saying he recorded the tackle for loss. I knew what he meant, most all of us reading this do, but does every viewer? I doubt it. I cringe a little when announcers use football speak that may go above the average fan. Another one is when they refer to linebackers as the "mike", "sam", or "will". Again, does everybody know what those mean? It's, to me, much smarter and safer to go ahead and call those terms by their real name and not leave anyone wondering what you just referenced.
On a side note, if anyone can explain to me what "catching the ball at it's highest point", or "high pointing" means, I am in year 10 or so of still not knowing what that means as the phrase is worded. I realize what has happened when they use it, but am clueless as to how those words describe it.

[pbpisfun]

High-pointing a ball is catching a high throw at the highest point of your jump. Timing is crucial in doing so.

[Ssteve1969]

What I hear, unless I’m missing something, is “he catches the ball at IT’s highest point.” That’s what I haven’t understood.

[pbpisfun]

What I hear, unless I’m missing something, is “he catches the ball at IT’s highest point.” That’s what I haven’t understood.

No, they say he high pointed the ball, meaning he caught the ball at the highest point of his jump. Obviously, it would be impossible to catch the ball at its highest point on almost every pass a QB throws. So, you've misunderstood what they're saying.

[Ssteve1969]

Thanks. I feel like I’ve heard “catches it at it’s highest point” too over the years.

[Jon Chelesnik]

One thing that made John Madden great was not using football lingo. Instead, he used layman's terms so the masses could understand what he was observing.