This is the Classical

December 5, 2011 7:50 AM

Kickstarter-funded sports site The Classical launched over the weekend.

Just in time for the NBA's return, FreeDarko founder (and all-around great name haver) Bethlehem Shoals discusses the state of the NBA and soccer blogger Linda Hui expands on New Zealand's Rugby World Cup victory.

posted by troika (14 comments total)

How could they not reference their namesake?
posted by Burhanistan at 7:56 AM on December 5, 2011 [1 favorite]

I'm really not a fan of the site design. Why is there so much empty black space on both sides?
posted by Cloud King at 8:03 AM on December 5, 2011

I'm with Cloud King, the site design is so disorganized I don't even know what to look at.
posted by pwally at 8:20 AM on December 5, 2011 [1 favorite]

I will read any blog who has a feature called "This Week in Mario Balotelli."
posted by robocop is bleeding at 8:26 AM on December 5, 2011 [3 favorites]

Oh oh, aren't kickstarter links a no-go area?
posted by knapah at 9:07 AM on December 5, 2011

Wait, the NBA is coming back? Bummer.
posted by gern at 9:13 AM on December 5, 2011

knapah: "Oh oh, aren't kickstarter links a no-go area?"

I don't think they are when pointing out that it's already over and successfully funded, which is pretty fucking impressive by any measure.

1. Start beloved site
2. Get followers to follow by going pro.
3. Profit

is a recipe I can get behind.
posted by MCMikeNamara at 9:24 AM on December 5, 2011 [2 favorites]

I read every word of that NBA article and had absolutely no idea what it was about. Seemed well-written, though, e.g.:

It’s all too easy to cast the owners as Powell, their false moralization serving as the road to their own undoing. Hate is never vanquished, but Powell’s arrest—like the owners being forced to slow their roll and compromise—allows love to occupy the upper register. Hate buoys every Kevin Durant three-pointer from somewhere back in the next time zone, and we’re all the stronger for it.

Where's the website that explains what that means? Honestly, I think I'm not smart enough for this one.
posted by albrecht at 9:47 AM on December 5, 2011

Wait, the NBA is coming back? Bummer.

Thanks for your contribution.

For anyone who wasn't exposed to Free Darko when it was around, it was basically NBA analysis as written by over-educated/under-employed liberal arts grad students. I loved it.

I haven't read much from The Classical yet, but my impression has been that it's going to be what you get if you take Grantland and replace the pop culture references with critical theory. I have high hopes.
posted by auto-correct at 9:59 AM on December 5, 2011 [2 favorites]

I haven't read much from The Classical yet, but my impression has been that it's going to be what you get if you take Grantland and replace the pop culture references with critical theory. I have high hopes.

Also, it has 100% less Klosterman than Grantland, so that's a bonus.
posted by ndfine at 10:41 AM on December 5, 2011 [3 favorites]

From the ABOUT US page:

We are a never-ending, wide-ranging conversation between writers and readers about baseball, basketball, soccer, football, fighting, and anything else

A certain sport comes to mind that really should be NAMED here. Starts with an "H", rhymes with jockey.
posted by philip-random at 10:59 AM on December 5, 2011 [1 favorite]

I'm afraid that if the sport you're mentioning did get an article it would be about why habberwockey can't be counted as the fourth most important American professional sport anymore.
posted by MCMikeNamara at 2:22 PM on December 5, 2011

I've been waiting for this. Grantland is surprisingly good at times, but I need my Shoals. He's been all over the place (Sporting News, Fanhouse), hopefully he'll be able to stay put for a while.

Damn shame about the site design. The masthead seems to be covering large chunks of text at the top of the page.
posted by Ghidorah at 3:40 PM on December 5, 2011

I didn't want to post this, partly because MetaFilter has already had its share of football concussion discussions and partly to avoid a repeat of the weeks where every other Grantland article made its way here, but Sean Conboy wrote a really good article about James Harrison, Troy Polamalu, Razer Ramon, and head trauma in sports.
posted by Copronymus at 8:48 AM on December 20, 2011