Celebrating Ali's 65th

Today, friends, is Muhammad Ali's 65th birthday, a figure that, according to our calculations, makes him the oldest boxer who ever lived. The gang over at honoring him with a day's full of posts, and if anybody knows Ali — and that he had nothing to do with the invention of rap — it's those guys.

Expect all kinds of Ali worship in Bristol today, though we, as always, remain suspicious. Ali is exactly the type of athlete ESPN (and most of the mainstream folks) would constantly be pillorying if he were active today. He'd be too different, too extreme, too unclassifiable. Plus, he doesn't get pulled over for cocaine possession or bite enough children to break through the morass anymore.

Ali's Birthday [No Mas] Why You Shouldn't Buy This Ali Rap Nonsense [Deadspin]