Bokeh is a term to describe the Out-Of-Focus (OOF) qualities of a lens with (generally) shallow Depth-Of-Field (DOF). More information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bokeh
see the blurred lights in the background of this picture? That is bokeh. Helps to isolate teh subjects with blurred background. The 85mm 1.4 is dubbed the cream machine for the smoothness of it's bokeh.
The 85mm 1.4 has marginally better optics then the the 1.8 all around and of course lower f stop. What puts it over the edge for most people (who use it primarily for portraits) is the lovely bokeh that the 85mm 1.8 can not reproduce. For sports..no biggie.