Sports is a breeding ground for cliches.

If sports cliches were the swine flu, we would REALLY have a major pandemic on our hands.

Some of them are less offensive than others.

But the one that has been bandied about the most recently may be the worst of them all.

"Must win."

Baseball analysts had the gaul to suggest that the New York Yankees were facing a “must win” tonight against the Boston Red Sox.

It’s not even close to a must win. No baseball game in June is a must win, even when it is the Yanks vs. the Sox.

In fact, the only true must wins in sports are the Super Bowl, any Game 5 or Game 7, any championship game in any sport and anyone against the hated and loathed New England Patriots.

That’s about it.

The Pittsburgh Penguins are facing a must win Friday night in Detroit. That’s a real must-win situation.

The Allies vs. the Axis Powers in World War II — that was a must win.

Not a baseball game in June.