Best Better Player Quotes & Sayings

My bench never heard me mention winning. My whole emphasis was for each one of my players to try to learn to execute the fundamentals to the best of their ability. Not to try to be better than somebody else, but to learn from others, and never cease trying to be the best they could be; that's what I emphasized more than anything else. — John Wooden

It's a huge, huge pressure that so many people depend on you. The type of player I am and people look at me to come out and perform a certain way. Not being able to play on the biggest stage of the season, it's frustrating. One thing I wanted to do was not be frustrated about it and figure out what I can do to change and better myself on the court. — Jermaine O'Neal

I can't believe that Babe Ruth was a better player than Willie Mays. (Babe) Ruth is to baseball what Arnold Palmer is to golf. He got the game moving. But I can't believe he could run as well as (Willie) Mays, and I can't believe he was any better an outfielder. — Sandy Koufax

I took in all of the stuff I could absorb about how to be a better husband, how to be a better father. As I did, I was struck by something. As men, we will study how to be the best architect, the best football player, the best actor. We'll spend all the time we can find on our careers. But we need to be spending more time studying how to be a great husband, how to be a great father, how to be a great man. — Terry Crews

I just really just try to get better as a player every week, just focusing on the team we have to play this week, and just trying to do whatever is best for the team that week. — Rob Gronkowski

When one player is better than you, at this moment, the only thing you can do is work, try to find solutions and try to wait a little bit for your time. I'm going to wait and I'm going to try a sixth time. And if the sixth doesn't happen, a seventh. It's going to be like this. That's the spirit of sport. — Rafael Nadal

A thorough understanding of game theory, should dim these greedy hopes. Knowledge of game theory does not make one a better card player, businessman or military strategist. — Anatol Rapoport

The best player ever? Pele. Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are both great players with specific qualities, but Pele was better. — Osvaldo Ardiles

He (Buck Showaleter) never even smelled a jock in the big leagues. Mr. Baseball never even got a hit in Triple-A. I was a better player than him, I have more money than him and I'm better looking than him. — Ozzie Guillen

Scholes was playing tiki-taka football when nobody in England knew what it was. He was another of those players, like Denis Law or Bobby Moore, who at 15 probably looked as if he wouldn't make it. Too small, you would think - can't run, dumpy little ginger nut - but then the ball would come to him and he would dazzle you. He was the best footballer in that Manchester United midfield, better than Ryan Giggs and Roy Keane. — Harry Redknapp

Playing other sports - and believe me, I played every sport I could - made me a better hockey player. — Tie Domi

I had twelve years as a Tottenham player under Bill Nicholson and could not have wished to have played for a better manager. I can still hear his wise words in my head when I am out on the training ground as a manager myself. — Joe Kinnear

It is more satisfying to be a bad player at golf. The worse you play, the better you remember the occasional good shot. — Nubar Gulbenkian

I put the blinders on and just work as hard as I can, and hopefully I'll just continue to be a better player. — Dustin Pedroia

In my mind, I'm always the best. If I walk out on the court (and) I think the next person is better, I've already lost. — Venus Williams

At the apex of Prince's career, I listened almost exclusively to metal. My sister actually purchased 'Purple Rain' on cassette, which I write about in my anthology ["Chuck Klosterman IV: A Decade of Curious People and Dangerous Ideas"]. And I felt ashamed that I liked Prince so much. A typical rock fan would be embarrassed that they liked Warrant or Ratt at the time, but I had the exact opposite experience. And I had this overwhelming fear that Prince was actually a better guitar player than any of the metal gods. — Chuck Klosterman

When you get punched, you have to get up. You have no other choice. If you don't, you're not going to grow, you're not going to get better as a player. — Scott Brooks

Russell ... I love you. I thank you so much man. You made me better. You know, Your work ethic. I always wanted to compete with you. I always wanted to pull up into the parking lot of the practice facility, And if you beat me there, I was always upset. I always wanted to outwork you. And you set the bar. You set the tone. And thank you so much man. Thank you. You had a big piece of this MVP trophy. You're an MVP caliber player It's a blessing to play with you man. — Kevin Durant

The reason I became a better player was because I came to Philly. — Michael Vick

Messi is the best player of all time. Better than Pele, better than Maradona and better than anyone else. — Adriano Galliani

It's the one thing that the Devils have always prided themselves on. That comes from recruiting. We try and pick out the players who not only have the on-ice skills, but the off-ice skills too. I think in any job, if you have good people and you work together, you work better. — Gerad Adams

I think that my IQ level grew as a player. I think that I [run] the game a little bit better. I'm waiting for the game to come to me, and I'm picking and choosing my spots instead of just going out there and just doing whatever because I don't have to do that with this team. — Derrick Rose

Fear can be conquered. I became a better person and a better football player when I learned that lesson. — Roger Craig

I'm a point guard, I've always been a point guard, I've played point guard all my life. Personally, I feel the best point guards make other players look better and create their own shot. I fit in that category. — Chauncey Billups

Each player should make every effort to bring a variety of the best-sounding gear he can, because it will not only make the recording sound better, but will also make the music a lot more interesting. — Bobby Owsinski

I have read that the Builders made toys that could play chess. Toys, as small as the silver bishop in my hand, that could defeat any player, taking no time to select moves that undid even the best minds amongst their makers. The bishop made a satisfying click when tapped to the board. I beat out a little rhythm, wondering if any point remained in playing a game that toys could own. If we couldn't find a better game then perhaps the mechanical minds the Builders left behind would always win. — Mark Lawrence

I'm just trying to get as good as I can get, I am still young but there is always room to learn so I spend a lot of time watching players in other leagues to get better. — Steve Purdy

No player in baseball history worked harder, suffered more, or did it better than Andre Dawson. He's the best I've ever seen. — Ryne Sandberg

I knew when I got to play with Al Jackson I would be a better bass player because he was the best drummer in the world. I worshipped him. — Donald Dunn

Ronaldo is better than George Best and Denis Law, who were two brilliant and great players in the history of United. — Johan Cruijff

Leo [Messi] is the best player of all time - better than Pele, Maradona or Cruyff. There have been some great teams in history - Pele's Brazil, Cruyff's Ajax, Sacchi's Milan - but in the past 20 years this Barcelona team is the best. — Xavi

I always had wished somebody else would sing my songs, but there wasn't anybody who knew them, so I sang them myself and eventually became a better singer and guitar player. — Buffy Sainte-Marie

When I gave up me, I became more. I became a captain, a leader, a better person and I came to understand that life is a team game ... And you know what? ... I've found most people aren't team players. They don't realize that life is the only game in town. Someone should tell them. It has made all the difference in the world to me. — Don Mattingly

It's better to have a good player with the basketball in late game situations than to have plays. — Rick Pitino

Cristiano is unlucky to be playing in the same era as Messi. Ronaldo is a very good player, but Messi is even better. — Henrik Larsson

A guitar player goes on the road, and he misses his girlfriend for a while, but he manages to get along. A horn player gets out on the road, plays two or three towns, and then he'll get lonely, and next thing you know, he's packed up and left. It's better not to hire him in the first place. — Albert King

Cristiano is better than Messi, without a doubt. He's more of an all-round player — Usain Bolt

There was a lot of other young players around at that time when I was coming, but there was older people like Blind Lemon, which was one of my favorites. I don't know, just seemed like everybody I heard could play better than me. — B.B. King

It is easy being a manager when you are one of 25,000 sitting in the stand or if you are an ex-player who is now working for the media who will never manage anything better than an under-10 team, thinking he knows best - and you know what I'm talking about, and I will deal with that, trust me. I'm a nice bloke, but not always. — Glenn Roeder

We are professionals. We are going to finish that way. In reality, how we conduct ourselves in this period and how well our players play will be as good an interview as you can do - better than anything you could say. — Mike Hankwitz

A cricketer who hits a century in one match may score zero in the next, if he does not have the same outfit, shoes and bat that he used in the first match. In fact, many sportsmen keep some kind of talisman in their pocket that acts as a lucky charm for their game. Here the talisman or the outfit doesn't possess any magical power that helps the player to perform better. But it is their own subconscious reliance on the charm, that makes them give their best. — Abhijit Naskar

The only players that are having fun are those having a good year, feasting on pitching or blowing down hitters and garnering all the adulation that goes with it. But, if you're not hitting or not throwing well, or are injured, you better look for fun someplace else. — Dave Winfield

I wanted to be a soccer player, and I became the best of the best, the number one, better than Maradona, better than Pele, and even better than Messi - but only at night, nighttime, during my dreams. When I wake up, I realized that I have wooden legs and that I'm doomed to be a writer. — Eduardo Galeano

My goal was just to try and be the best player on my high school team, and look where I am now. And that was still my goal as a young kid, just to try and be a little better than my brother was. — Larry Bird

Jeremy, Perry, Andre, Steve and Reggie, Grant, You guys make me so much better without you even knowing man. 'Cause I know I set the example for y'all. I know there's days where I have my bad days, And I say some words I'm not supposed to say sometimes, But when I need an extra push, You guys are there man. And I appreciate that. I appreciate that because I'm not always the best leader, I'm not always the best player, I don't always shoot the best in the games, But, Our little handshakes that we do before the game, That gets me going. — Kevin Durant

A lot of amateurs are terrified of going up against a player who is clearly better than they are. They never play their best, because they aren't comfortable. There's one surefire way to get over that, and it's to ask yourself, 'What if I beat him?' Imagine the possibility. — Fuzzy Zoeller

Ronaldo was my hero. I loved watching players like Zidane, Ronaldinho and Rivaldo, but Ronaldo was the best striker I've ever seen. He was so fast he could score from nothing and could shoot the ball better than anyone I've ever seen. — Lionel Messi

[In hockey] I was a goon, just protecting the better players. I've always been a better baseball player. — Eric Gagne

When you look back you talk about legends of the game, he's certainly up there. Twenty trophies since 1994. He just seems to get better and better. I've had the honour of playing alongside him. The four years I've played alongside him, he is the best player, one of the first names on the manager's teamsheet. He is just a complete legend. There are not enough players like Paul Scholes around any more for my liking. 'Legend' is over-used but this guy is right up there with the very best. — Dwight Yorke

All of us at Juventus agreed Manchester United were the best side we met in the Champions League. They have so many talented young players and can only get better and better. Giggs is truly world class — Zinedine Zidane

When I bought the [WNBA] team, I saw that no one really cared about them. Like the locker facilities that these young women have to work in-they weren't right. I want to give them the best locker room facilities and show them they're valued-because if you show them value, they're going to perform better. And this goes for all women, not just basketball players. — Sheila Johnson

You have ten minutes," he told me. "Ten minutes to think about what you did wrong and how bad you feel right now. Are you ready?"

He'd actually clicked a button on his watch and timed me, and for those ten minutes I brooded and sulked and wallowed in humiliation. I remembered the errors I'd made on the field and corrected them in my head. I imagined punching every player on the opposing team square in the mouth. And then Dad told me my time was up.

"There. It's over now," he said. "Now you look forward and figure out how you're going to get better. — Elle Kennedy

I'm trying to be the best baseball player I can, to learn from what I see and get better every day. — Giancarlo Stanton

It's not important for me to be a star, but it is important for me to be one of the better players. I won't feel comfortable with not living up to my potential. I don't want to be spoken of as the player who had potential who never reached it, so I am going to work extra hard to try to be the best I can be. — Julius Peppers

The one of us who lies the best will get the better of the bargain. It's a game. A very exciting game that's played all over the world. Good players got rich, and bad players don't. — David Eddings

Nelson's first thought is that Father Hennessey looks as bad as he does. The priest is still an intimidating presence, with his rugby player's shoulders and boxer's nose, but his eyes are shadowed and he looks as if he hasn't slept. He puts his hat on the floor and accepts a cup of coffee. 'I'm giving up coffee for Lent,' he says. 'Better make the most of it.'

'This stuff's enough to make you give up coffee for life,' says Nelson. 'I should know. I've drunk about a gallon of it.'

Father Hennessey smiles and drinks his coffee in silence for a few minutes. — Elly Griffiths

I'm not chasing championships. Championship's chasing us. I'm not doing that. I want my players to be better people once they leave campus because this is a life lesson. This is more than basketball. This is life lessons that we're trying to teach. — Kevin Ollie

I just read 'The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work.' To be married 25 years, you have to put as much energy as I put into being an actor or being a great football player into being a better husband and a better father. — Terry Crews

In England, footballers are respected more, the game is more noble, there's less cheating. Every Spaniard who goes loves it - and comes back a better player. If I had ever left, it would have been to England. — Xavi

We were 6-4 and everybody doubted us. We lost to the Kansas City Chiefs and that week we had a players meeting and really talked about where we really want to go. It's not about the record. At the end of the day it comes down to are we going to keep focusing on each other and are we going to keep getting better day by day? We ignored the noise, we ignored all the talk from the outside. — Russell Wilson

After a play in the field Casey would turn (to the players on the bench) and say 'What did he do wrong?' or 'You're better than that guy.' Either way, he'd keep them from getting stale. — Mickey Mantle

Thankfully I'm a better actor than football player, or at least I hope so. — Ryan McPartlin

Some day, I suppose it's possible for someone to be a better No Limit Hold'em player than me. I doubt it, but it could happen. But, I swear to you, I don't see how anyone could ever play gin better than me. — Stu Ungar

We don't want our players to be monks. We want them to be better football players because a monk doesn't play football at this level. — Bobby Robson

Everywhere I've been, I've been the best player. I love being a leader, and I love being the best. I just want to get better. It's not about being cocky or selfish or anything like that. It's just how I am. — LeBron James

Having been in football all my life as a player and a coach and having been on the sideline, I think the closer we can get to bringing people what it's like standing and watching the game on the sideline, with a better view, would be the perfect situation for television football. — John Madden

The only thing I pay attention to with free throws is what a guy does in the final four minutes of a game. If you can improve players' self-esteem and confidence, get them to relax, teach visualization and routine, they will shoot as well, or better, with the pressure on. — John Calipari

That concerns me. You're either getting better or you're getting worse. I don't think you stay the same in sports. If we want to achieve something special in the game, then these players have to recognize that they're responsible every day for getting better. — Russ Rose

Actually I feel I'm a better player; more mentally. I guess you get better with age people say. You have a lot more wisdom. — Darrelle Revis

Milt was one of the men who discovered Bobby Orr. He once said that if a player comes along who is better then Bobby Orr, may the Good Lord let me be alive to see him because he is going to be one hell of a player to watch. Enough said. — Milt Schmidt

I want to see if the player communicates with his teammates and how he responds to coaching. Another thing to remember is players' bodies can develop better than their skills. — Isaiah Thomas

I don't care what you do - baseball or politics - George W. Bush is always going to be compared to his father. I just want it to be an easy answer in 50 years - Who was the better player, me, or my kids? I want it to be my kids. — Andy Van Slyke

I'm never going to walk away because I'll always have belief that I can improve players and make things better. — Brendan Rodgers

You will win with either color if you are the better player, but it takes longer with Black. — Isaac Kashdan

You know over 20 years I played for a number of managers and dozens of coaches. I don't know any of them that I didn't learn something from to help make me a better player. — Robin Yount

You may have the bishop pair but I have the ultimate advantage; I am the better player! — John Adams

I've become better at the net. I've got a 135 mph serve so I'd be stupid not to follow that in. Overall I'm a better player than I was last year. — Andy Roddick

It is nice to have the fans recognize you, not because it makes you feel like a big-time player, but because they enjoy watching baseball and they like watching us play. It's going to get even better being here. Pretty soon, the city could be one of the best places to play. — Ryan Zimmerman

Continual improvement involves an appreciation that there is always a better way to do things irrespective of how much you have achieved or how comfortable you might be with where you currently are in life. As a young international rugby player I learnt a valuable lesson about sacrifice. The bottom line was the phrase 'long after the price is forgotten the quality remains'. Undertaking JOLT Challenge involves sacrifice but it is well worth it as you explore creative and innovative ways of challenging yourself for constant improvement in many areas of life. — Nick Farr-Jones

I remember every player - every single one - who wore the Tennessee orange, a shade that our rivals hate, a bold, aggravating color that you can usually find on a roadside crew, "or in a correctional institution," as my friend Wendy Larry jokes. But to us the color is a flag of pride, because it identifies us as Lady Vols and therefore as women of an unmistakable type. Fighters. I remember how many of them fought for a better life for themselves. I just met them halfway. — Pat Summitt

I think it would have been a lot better for him to say, I did it and I'm sorry, McGwire was never one to show a lot of emotion on the field, not a player who sought attention and craved to be thought of as a nice guy. — Fay Vincent

As you keep shooting the ball, you become a better basketball player. — Raekwon

My grandma did opera singing for the better part of her life; she used to sing all over the place. My grandpa was a sax player, and he used to travel all over the place, too. — Mac DeMarco

I think the game has gotten better. (The two-ref system) keeps players from taking cheap shots behind the play. I never thought I'd like it, considering the way I like to hack. — Brian Skrudland

In your career you have a lot of good moments and bad ones. The important thing is to have enough motivation to keep working all the days with humility and trying to be a better player than before. I am going to try to continue doing this. — Rafael Nadal

I want the players to play that way, so I'd better manage that way. The philosophy has been thrown out there. We've been talking about it. We've been working on it, so let's see how it works. Let's see if theory and reality can come together. — Joe Maddon

Italian-Americans in New York had not been in much of a flag-waving mood prior to DiMaggio's arrival. By the All-Star break, the rookie had established himself as a wonderful player (.358, 10HR, 60 RBIs), fully justifying the acclaim. But Gehrig was even better (.399, 20 HR, 61 RBIs). He was leading the league in nearly every category, including invisibility. — Jonathan Eig

The speed will increase and the players will be better, but also the players around you will be a lot better. It all cancels itself out. — Robert Griffin III