Originally published at The Classical.

I wrote about Richard Ben Cramer's Esquire story on Ted Williams for the latest e-magazine from The Classical:

The Books Issue is the eighth issue of The Classical Magazine. In addition to the piece below, it features writing by Alex Belth, Holly M. Wendt, and many more writing about such subjects as North Dallas Forty, the making of "What Do You Think of Ted Williams Now?," Harry Crews, The Pogues, and bike lit.

From my man Eric Nusbaum:

The Same Old Game is the third issue of The Classical Magazine. In addition to this piece, it features writing by Carson Cistulli, Eric Freeman and more, as well as nine artists including Craig Robinson, Dmitry Samarov, and Amelie Mancini.

Republished with permission from The Classical, which just launched a fancy new web magazine. The magazine is available via monthly or yearly subscriptions, as well as single-issue purchases, on the Apple iOS newstand. It’s $2.99 if you pay monthly, $29.99 if you sign up for a year in advance, and $3.99 to buy…

During his 10-plus year career, Nigel McGuinness, the former Ring of Honor World Champion, wasn't recognized much away from wrestling. There was that one time on the New York City subway, but he was commuting to a match and there were wrestling fans on the train. Being spotted in the Tampa delicatessen where he…

Nick Bond, writing for our friends at The Classical, recently went through the training program at Bleacher Report, a sort of orc pit out of which all B/R writers must climb before they write for the site. Bond's entire piece is well worth your time, but the best artifact is this horrifying paragraph, part of a…

This post was originally published on The Classical, one day before the 49ers and Ravens advanced to the Super Bowl.

Republished from The Classical, which is currently in the midst of Kenny Lofton Week.

Our pals at The Classical are running a three-part oral history of the late and beloved blog, Fire Joe Morgan. It includes gems such as this:

On my flight to Busan, South Korea I sat next to an older Korean woman sporting a Detroit Tiger hat. It seemed serendipitous that I'd be seated next to a fellow Tigers fan on a vacation planned entirely around seeing baseball games. The issue, which was a big issue, was expressing this.

Finished in 2010 and funded by a $41.7 million gift from Phil Knight, the John E. Jaqua Academic Center rises from a reflecting pool like the pyramid of the Louvre, a monument to student-athletes gilding a busy Eugene, Ore. thoroughfare. This past August, the unveiling of the University of Oregon's latest uniform…

There is a YouTube video of synchronized swimmer Mary Killman performing what is called a Rocket maneuver to the song "Johnny B. Goode" as part of her final solo at the 2011 synchronized swimming world championships in Shanghai. Killman, who will compete in this summer's Olympics, says it is one of her favorite…

"Erv was a professional 6 day bike racer who competed at Madison Square Garden, Chicago Coliseum, Montreal and Toronto, Canada. During WWII, he parachuted into Normandy Beach on D Day."

Last week, we treated you to a lovely photo essay from the Brooklyn Cyclones' "Williamsburg Night."

Teófilo Stevenson won his first Olympic gold medal in 1972 and his last world amateur championship in 1986. He won 302 fights and once went an unbelievable 11 years without a loss. Had Cuba not boycotted the 1984 Summer Olympics, many think Stevenson would have won an unmatched four gold medals in boxing. Stevenson…

Republished from The Classical.