Words or phrases that annoy you (even if you can't explain why) . . .

[VulchR]

When I was in high school, there was a debate between hackers and other nerds about which is right: Warez (wears) versus WAR-ez. To this day I don't know which is right, but I'm glad that word went away.

'wares', obviously.

 

[polyphenol]

The way you are rendering it is the traditional British way. Growing up in the United States, I always heard the choice of "are" or "is" being determined by the word used, not by what the word refers to. Thus, in the case of sports teams, most are rendered as plurals, so American English has always used "are". However, in recent decades, many professional sports teams have adopted singular names, and these seem to have captured the majority of franchises in MLS and the WNBA. The British way is gaining momentum in the US however. I hear it used by TV news people all the time now. It still sounds strange to my ears.

I look at what I am saying.

The team is playing at Wembley next week. - Meaning the team as a unit is playing at Wembley next week.
The team are playing well. - Meaning the members of the team are playing well.

I tend towards "is" but where "team" is used a sort of collective noun, veer off towards "are".

The murmuration (of starlings) is visible. - Because murmuration is only even a concept when it is a large collection.
The gaggle of geese are waddling around. - Because each member of the gaggle is doing their own waddle.

Happy to say, I am probably extremely inconsistent, especially in speech, but if I have written something relatively formal, I will check these things as I review and revise.