In this post I provide examples of sports terms capitalized according to the guidelines of MLA style. There are three general principles to keep in mind when writing about sports terms in MLA style:
- Rules and parts of the game are lowercased, unless they contain proper nouns. For instance, “a lateral pass” and “a Hail Mary pass.”
- The names of major events are capitalized, but generic descriptions of them are lowercased. For instance, “the NBA Finals” and “the finals”; “the Stanley Cup Playoffs” and “the playoffs.”
- The names of teams, leagues, and conferences are capitalized. Team names are capitalized even when they do not include the city or school associated with the team. For instance, “the Cleveland Browns” or “the Browns,” and “the Stanford Cardinal” or “the Cardinal.”
In the examples that follow, I consulted Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary for spelling and punctuation.
Rules and Parts of the Game
double play
home run
traveling
layup
holding
touchdown
Statue of Liberty (or a Statue of Liberty play)
hat trick
corner kick
offside
serve
volley
birdie
hole in one
Major Events
the World Series
the Little League Baseball World Series
the Sweet Sixteen
the NCAA Championship
the SEC Championship
the Sugar Bowl
the AFC Championship
the Super Bowl
the World Cup
the Wimbledon Championships (or Wimbledon)
the Open Championship (or the British Open)
Team Names and Leagues
the Dodgers (or the Los Angeles Dodgers)
the National League (or NL)
Major League Baseball (or MLB)
the Suns (or the Phoenix Suns)
the Storm (or the Seattle Storm)
the National Basketball Association (or NBA)
the Women’s National Basketball Association (or WNBA)
the Browns (or the Cleveland Browns)
the Crimson Tide (or the Alabama Crimson Tide)
the American Football Conference (or AFC)
the National Football League (or NFL)
the Southeastern Conference (or SEC)
Liverpool FC
the Premier League
Fédération Internationale de Football (or FIFA)
the Lawn Tennis Association (or LTA)
the Professional Golfers’ Association (or PGA)
the Ladies Professional Golf Association (or LPGA)
1 Comment
Will O'Toole 02 November 2023 AT 04:11 PM
In the proper noun Los Angeles Dodgers can Los Angeles be considered an adjective or is it just a proper noun in the following. " The Los Angeles Dodgers is a baseball team that plays in Dodger Stadium."? TY
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