I had a math teacher in high school who was from Sweden, I believe. She spoke with that thick accent and loved Trigonometry. And one of her favorite phrases was "curve ball." And I have no idea why she picked it up. I'm fairly certain she wasn't a baseball fan. But I remember noting how many times she'd say of an upcoming test, "I'm not going to throw you any curve balls." And "curve balls" would always be enunciated individually and carefully. Yeah, we get it, lady.
Anyway, the point is, this kind of overuse of sports metaphors has pervaded every part of our lives. There are the annoying terms everybody uses at work that aren't sports-related, but are completely meaningless:
"Let't table that."
"Segue"
"30,000 feet level..."
"Reach out to..."
"Valule proposition"
"I'll be out of pocket that day..." (What??)
And so forth. I have dozens written down in a notepad, trying to come up with the most ridiculous. Two favorites are plane-related: "This project is circling to land," and "We're building the plane as we fly it." Gosh, those make me laugh.
Anyway, Bob Katz has written an article about the overuse of sports metaphors in business and how lame it really is. If you're looking for some reading material and want to feel smart because you're reading Forbes, go for it.