Did you know that the very first game of basketball took place 125 years ago today, played by a group of “incorrigibles”? Learn about the history of the first game and team at the Library and Archives Canada blog.

“In the end, the curse is broken. One hundred and eight years of bad luck have ended at my bidding.” The Chicago Cubs won their first World Series in over a century, so Murphy the goat decided to chime in on the historic event.

“The great baseball writer Roger Angell said that traditional baseball people didn’t want anyone to shine any light in the darkness of baseball. But the sports analytics guys did and, today, every MLB team and, indeed, every major professional sports team uses analytics.” An epically long read on baseball analytics.

Melissa Geschwind wrote to all 30 teams in the NHL to demand accountability for domestic violence and misogyny in the league. Read the clubs’ responses.

“When it came to dreaming big, he told me I could be the best in the world if I did it the right way.” Olympic cyclist Gracie Elvin and other athletes reflect on their long road to Rio 2016.

“They’ve made a robot that moves like a dog, and another that can run sort of like a cat.
 
But they haven’t built one like Simone Biles.”

“As an alternate you’re like a maybe. You’re not going to be part of it but you are. You’re there with the team but not really part of the team. It’s such a weird thing.”

Josh Rozbruch from Getty Images compiles unforgettable moments and iconic photographs from Summer Olympics past.

“Because we are doing this for you, after all. We are American, and we are going to Rio to represent you in this potentially flawed and imperfect setting that you are trying so desperately to get the public to love to hate.” Rower and US Olympian Megan Kalmoe is tired of the negativity around the Rio Olympics.

From buns to glitter and perms to bouffants, get ready for this summer’s Olympic gymnastic competition by taking a stroll through the history of gymnast hairdos.

“No slamming doors, no blaming anyone. Just a mature grown up telling the other party that he is no longer willing to bend over backwards for the shirt that weighs so much on his shoulders, yet gives him so little in return.” Lionel Messi walks away from soccer.

“30 days.
800 stickers.
27 stickers a day.
15 minutes per sticker.
200 hours of drawing.
Zero talent.”
 
In this fun project, Sian and Alex are drawing every Euro 2016 Panini sticker.

“Was this the journey they’d imagined in the days after Jenny’s miscarriage? Were they getting away from pain and grief?” At Backpacker, Steve Friedman chronicles ultrarunner Scott Jurek’s challenging journey to break the speed record on the Appalachian Trail.

Is doping that doesn’t conclusively enhance athletic performance or affords a mainly psychological benefit really doping, or an excuse to punish athletes we don’t like?

James McWilliams on running’s greatest test: “When the Boston Marathon ends, there will be tens of thousands of runners marked by a shared experience, even if each runner will ultimately be alone, a novella unto himself.”