This week on Only A Game, we endeavor to answer a most vexing question regarding the sexes: Why aren’t there more sports that pit women against men? Also, the New Jersey Devils rise from hockey purgatory, plus SI’s Peter King on the NFL, and a story of a sports hero who disappeared.

The Olympics are over and that means we’ve got more time to think about baseball. The sport loves its lingo, from the hot corner to hot stove to Texas leaguers. And if you’ve ever wondered where the term “bullpen” came from, Bill Littlefield has an answer.

When it comes to U.S. basketball in the Olympics, it’s easy to focus on the glory days of the past two decades. But where did it all begin, and how did it get to this point? In turning back the clock in his new book, American Hoops: U.S. Men’s Olympic Basketball From Berlin to Beijing, Carson Cunningham reveals that Team USA hasn’t always been a “dream team,” and that in its extensive history, the program has certainly come a long way.

As the Yankees settle into their new stadium, nearby schools have lamented the loss of their old sports digs. This week on Only A Game, broken promises over replacement parks on the site of old Yankee stadium. Also, a cricket tour of Eastern Europe.

In 1821 the president of Williams College left to found Amherst College. A great rivalry began and in 1859 the two western Massachusetts schools played the first intercollegiate baseball game, on neutral ground in Pittsfield, MA. Only A Game’s Doug Tribou attended a vintage game honoring the 150th anniversary and brought back some photos.

This week on “Only A Game,” Mixed Martial Arts as a high school discipline, and a conversation with Marshall Jon Fisher, author of “A Terrible Splendor: Three Extraordinary Men, a World Poised for War, and the Greatest Tennis Match Ever Played.”

They were made out to be radical outcasts during their time, but today are known as pioneers; athletes like Bill Russell, Paul Robeson, Tommie Smith, John Carlos, among many others took public stands against policies they disagreed with at the sake of their careers. “Reconstructing Fame” examines the controversial positions these athletes took and how culture followed. Bill Littlefield reviews “Reconstructing Fame.”

In his new book, Going Deep: 20 Classic Sports Stories, author Gary Smith brings us a personal collection of his favorite sports stories originally featured in Sports Illustrated magazine. From stories on soccer star Mia Hamm to fiery pitcher Mark Fidrych, Smith’s energetic and memorable writing makes Going Deep worth the read. Bill Littlefield comments.

In his new book, War As They Knew It: Woody Hayes, Bo Schembechler, and America in a Time of Unrest, Michael Rosenberg describes how the intense rivalry between Ohio State football coach Woody Hayes and Michigan coach Bo Schembechler during the sixties and seventies reached far beyond the football field. Only A Game’s Karen Given [...]

Last Thursday Bill Littlefield visited with former Olympian Jo Warren Madden and others as they shared their Olympic experiences during a panel discussion at the Spellman Museum of Stamps and Postal History in Weston, MA. Take a look at some photos from the event.