I was a naturally aggressive left-back, a cut-throat tackler.

In all my years of baseball, I have always expected to be traded. I never liked the idea.

I will fight in many weight divisions.

Never put your money against Cassius Clay, for you will never have a lucky day.

I used to play a lot of different sports. Now when I look back, I understand that it really helped with my hand-eye coordination.

Boxing is a lot of white men watching two black men beat each other up.

The old Dodgers were something special, but of my teammates overall, there was nobody like Pee Wee Reese for me.

Team sports aren’t my thing. I find it easier to pick something up if I can do it at my own speed. And you don’t need a partner to go running, you don’t need a particular place, like in tennis, just a pair of trainers.

Nothing surprises me anymore in the NFL.

When I was playing, there were always lots of teams in contention for the league – Arsenal, Manchester City, Liverpool, Leeds. Every week was a big game and a big battle.

Men like a ref decision because they just want to get back to the game.

The worst thing is for a player to come to a club and not be able to play.

I was a huge Mike Tyson fan growing up; his fights were always on in my house.

My uncle played rugby, and my dad played football, and they used to argue which game was the roughest – and everybody agreed rugby was. It’s a great team sport, and to be successful, every person has to play in the same level.

I look at athletes in all sports and try to picture what kind of football player they’d be, what position they’d play and so on.

My priority is cricket. Everything that I get apart from it is a result of the effort on the field. Everything else follows. I am pretty aware of my priorities, and I don’t really focus on things that are not as important to me as cricket.

I hate all sports as rabidly as a person who likes sports hates common sense.

If Tiger Woods had played football, he would have been a quarterback.

We knew sports was important to us and our family, but there are priorities in life.Obviously, faith is foremost; how we did in school is important. If we didn’t handle that business then there were no privileges.

They used to call me ‚Touchdown T.‘ I remember in high school, we had homecoming, and I got in front of the pep rally, and I told them, ‚I’m going to run for three touchdowns.‘ I ran for three touchdowns, kicked the extra point, and took myself out the game.

Be a player; don’t play yourself. And don’t play basketball. That’s not your sport, Jeb Bush.

I don’t know anything that builds the will to win better than competitive sports.

It all went wrong with football, the thing I loved most of all, and from there, my life slowly fell apart.

The bat is not a toy, it’s a weapon. It gives me everything in life, which helps me to do everything on the field.

Cleveland fans are awesome.

‚Rocky‘ and ‚Rocky III‘ were the best.

I’m proud to play for Real Madrid because I have fun; when you no longer have fun it’s a sign that it’s time to leave. For now though, I’m happy here at the greatest club in the world.

My main focus is always to do well on the field for the Indian cricket team. When people say good things about me off the field, I am more than happy to accept them.

At the end of 2003, my game was complete. Shooting, defense, using the dribble, transition, midrange stuff was all there. Then it was about fine-tuning and trying to improve in each area.

I have learned, in my life and work as a sportswriter, that big-time Sports and big-time Politics are not so far apart in America. They are both a means to the same end, which is victory… And why not? Victory is good for you, and don’t let anybody tell you different.

Duke is an ugly word in Kentucky. Nothing in the world compares to the joy of beating those hateful swine from Duke.

I swim like a fish and I have an amazing kick.

I want kids. I want a soccer team, and I want a husband.

I am fortunate to have played 15 years for my country.

I don’t really care how the Patriots are perceived, truthfully. I really don’t. I really don’t. Look, if you’re a fan of our team, you root for us, you believe in our team, and you believe in what we’re trying to accomplish. If you’re not a fan of us, you have a different opinion.

I was so used to going out and winning state championships and playing in the postseason.

In golf, the player, coach and official are rolled into one, and they overlap completely. Golf really is the best microcosm of life – or at least the way life should be.

I am very happy to be signing for the best team in the world and especially proud to be the first Portuguese player to join United.

If a man watches three football games in a row, he should be declared legally dead.

If I said I would knock out Sonny Liston in 1 minute and 49 seconds of the first round, that would hurt the gate.

I had a good time boxing. I enjoyed it – and I may come back.

I have always thought I was the best ever player.

Lots of young players have triumphed at United, so why can’t it happen to me? I’m not worried I’m young – it’s an incentive to do the best I can.

All an agent is going to do is buy things for a player, damage his eligibility, and make the player dependent on them.

You want me to own a team and deal with these rich, spoiled stubborn athletes, and try to get them to perform? No thank you.

I don’t think there is anything wrong in earning money from the sport you love. If you work hard and get benefits from it, there is no harm. The day you feel that you are not working hard and are only looking at the benefits, that’s where the problem is.

I have really been disillusioned with soccer in England.

Taking in a baseball game on TV is also a big treat.

I love soccer, love tennis… Roger Federer has been a favourite for a long, long time. The kind of consistency he has shown, 16 Grand Slam titles… The way he handles himself in pressure situations is admirable… He is so calm… In soccer, I’m a huge fan of Barcelona… I like watching Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and David Villa.

In India, people are really glued to the Premier League and La Liga.

When I won the Golden Gloves in 1960, that made me realize I had a chance. And when I won at the Olympics, that sealed it: I was the champ.

The way I figured it, I was even with baseball and baseball with me. The game had done much for me, and I had done much for it.

I hit a grand slam off Ron Herbel and when his manager Herman Franks came out to get him, he was bringing Herbel’s suitcase.

Some of the stuff I do on the court is what most people think they can do.

Joe Frazier got hit more than me – and he doesn’t have Parkinson’s.

A lifetime contract for a coach means if you’re ahead in the third quarter and moving the ball, they can’t fire you.

Football is a game you cannot play without making mistakes.

Players who are not from the U.K. have to get used to the winds. I have to adapt my style as a result as well. Often, you are forced to keep things simple.

Shooting the ball is a part of the game. Everybody can shoot in their own way. Not everybody can make. But everybody can shoot.

Talking to a player helps, but in our sport the majority of learning happens from watching another player. You pick up things like being punctual, being nice to everyone, making sure you give your 100 per cent even in training.

I had practiced with the team, and the first scheduled game was with the University of Missouri. They made it quite clear to the Army that they would not play a team with a black player on it. Instead of telling me the truth, the Army gave me leave to go home.