The most memorable Wisconsin sports quotes of the year in 2022

There wasn't a mantra like "Bucks in 6" or a singular story-generating line like "Yeah, I've been immunized" to define the year 2022 in Wisconsin sports, but there were still plenty of memorable lines — some good and some bad.

These are some of the most memorable.

This mix of present major-league talent and high-level prospects furthers our aim to get as many bites of the apple as possible …

— David Stearns. The Brewers president of baseball operations used the line to explain the Josh Hader trade in early August, a maneuver that backfired when the Brewers missed the playoffs in the aftermath. Stearns, who later stepped down from leading the Brewers' player personnel department, admitted it was a misfire. His use of "bites of the apple" became an oft-used idiom among Brewers fans on social media.

A lot of things that don't really make sense. I don't know. I want to win. That's the biggest thing to me. I don't really have much to say about it.

— Brewers all-star reliever Devin Williams when asked about the trade that sent Josh Hader to San Diego.

When you play for the Green Bay Packers, a lot of doors open up. When you win a Super Bowl, all doors open up. But when you make the Hall of Fame, football heaven opens up.

— LeRoy Butler, former Packers safety, speaking during his Canton, Ohio induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

More:'Bucks in 6,' 'I've been immunized,' 'Drink a beer for me!': The 20 best quotes of the year in Wisconsin sports

More:These are 20 of the best quotes of the year from Wisconsin sports

I can't wait for all the memes that look like cheeseburgers or hot dogs floating in front of me, running.

— Rowdy Tellez, burly Milwaukee Brewers first baseman, when he stole his first base of the season in a game against the Cincinnati Reds.

At that point, I felt it was time to protect myself.

— Juwan Howard, Michigan men's basketball coach, describing why he felt he needed to take a swing at a Badgers assistant after talking with head coach Greg Gard in the postgame handshake line.

I'm not going to lie. That was some bull****, but it went in.

— Wisconsin Badgers forward Johnny Davis after Chucky Hepburn's bank shot lifted the Badgers past Purdue at the Kohl Center on March 1 and guaranteed a share of the Big Ten title.

Expensive, expensive. This city's not for me.

— Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo, when asked about his thoughts on Los Angeles after emerging from a restaurant.

I think he’s a bad guy, and I don’t think a bad guy can be the most valuable guy at the same time.

— Veteran Chicago sports writer Hub Arkush, opining on Aaron Rodgers when asked if he'd voted for the Packers quarterback to win the MVP award. The comment drew backlash, including from Rodgers, who responded with his own sharp-cutting barb. "I think he’s a bum. I think he’s an absolute bum. He doesn’t know me. I don’t know who he is. No one knows who he was, probably, until yesterday’s comments."

I prefer crumbs like Brett Favre shuffle off into the abyss, shamed by greed and selfishness.

— Biographer Jeff Pearlman, who went as far as to advise readers not to buy his Brett Favre bestseller because of revelations around Favre's involvement in a Mississippi welfare fraud scandal.

The expectations at Wisconsin are to win championships and I felt it was the right time to make a change to pursue those.

— University of Wisconsin athletic director Chris McIntosh after the shocking decision in early October to fire Paul Chryst as head football coach after a 2-3 start to the season. Upon hiring Luke Fickell as head football coach, McIntosh had another good one. "This program is the lifeblood, is the financial engine that underwrites the cost of opportunity for 800 kids. And it needs to be operating at a championship level."

Hi guys!

— Dodgers television reporter David Vassegh in a cheerful and perfect bit of comic timing, lifting his broken arm for all to see as a postscript to his mishap with Bernie Brewer's slide at American Family Field. "Hey, I do my own stunts, Tom Cruise style. I try to play it up 'Shaqtin' the Fool' style, and you're looking at the fool."

I’ve had a great career. I can’t really be upset about anything. But, yeah, it’s time.

— Lorenzo Cain after the Brewers designated the outfielder for assignment in June, effectively ending his baseball career.

Mark - your friendship means the world to me - let's not wreck it.

— A message on the Brewers scoreboard between innings that went viral, seeming to indicate that Mark had been "friendzoned."

Oh wow, is that a pancreas?

— Packers coach Matt LaFleur in a wild advertisement for Bellin Health.

The Jaire Alexander interview

Here's a late addition: Packers cornerback Jaire Alexander describes a key interception against the Miami Dolphins on Christmas.

JR Radcliffe can be reached at (262) 361-9141 or jradcliffe@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @JRRadcliffe.

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin sports quotes of the year for 2022