You may remember my husband as “the cable guy,” but we have hardly any physical cables anymore so I might have to refer to him as “flash-drive guy” or “Bluetooth guy.”

He used to watch sports. All sports. While he did jigsaw puzzles, while he read his newspapers, while he listened to music. In his younger days, he played a few sports; now he mostly watches. I’ve walked by his screen and observed scenes of football, baseball, basketball, hockey, tennis, volley ball, golf, racing, and of course Olympic sports, all in no particular order. He wasn’t a huge fan in the sense of cheering for one team. In general, he simply liked to watch.

What if we no longer have sports as we knew them — with stadiums full of people and athletes as pop heroes all over tv? What sports fans will do with their time is one thing. But What happens to our language, that is so dependent on sports terminology? Will anyone remember what the terms mean?

• step up to the plate

• go to the mat

• out of the gate

• down to the wire

• drop the ball

• hit it out of the park

• par for the course

• get the ball rolling

• take off the gloves

• eye on the ball

• below the belt

• low blow

• on the ropes

That’s a baker’s dozen (I hope we’ll get our bakeries back!)

What are your favorites?