SB Nation Featured Blogs: November 18, 2013

It's almost time for Thanksgiving, so SB Nation is taking a little time to say thanks to four blogs that have been outstanding over the last couple of weeks. One of them, as you'll soon read about, has been outstanding over 10 years and has a very interesting story to tell.

We Ain't Got No History

Our Chelsea blog, We Ain't Got No History, has pretty much set the standard for excellence, but recently they outdid themselves with their feature "Fortifying the Empire." Contributor Jake Cohen took a deep dive into the partnership between Chelsea and Dutch team Vitesse, who the Blues have been using as a de facto farm team for the past three years. Not only is the story well researched and written, but Graham MacAree also made it all visually accessible.

State of the U

Whether they're breaking the latest recruiting news, welcoming an ex-Hurricane athlete to the fold, or giving you the latest on Miami, SB Nation's Hurricanes site, State of the U, is always one to wear their fanhood on their sleeves. By bringing the fan's perspective with a professional edge, there's no better place to get the latest on all things Canes sports than SOTU. For their troubles, site manager Jerry Steinberg and his loaded team of rock star analysts were recently recognized by Miami alternative publication New Times as the winners of the Miami Web Awards 2013 Best Sport Blog. Just don't think this will be the last time the State of the U team is recognized for their great work.

Pensburgh

Pensburgh has re-emerged as a top hockey blog in our network thanks to a bit of refocusing this year. Jimmy and his crew have done a great job covering all things Penguins so far in 2013, but in particular have done a great job with video breakdown pieces, such as this one on the team's loss in New York. The Pens are one of the most-covered teams in the NHL (south of the border, at least) and Pensburgh has done a great job writing stories that aren't being covered elsewhere, such as this piece on Chris Kunitz. They're also getting a head start on 2014 Olympic coverage with country-by-country previews.

Athletics Nation

Finally, the one that started it all: Athletics Nation. Ten years old this month, AN is our Oakland Athletics community and was the very first blog of our entire network. Founded by Tyler Bleszinski and currently managed by Nico Pemantle, AN represents the core of what we do at SB Nation -- community-driven fan blogs with wall-to-wall coverage and conversation. Whether they're teaching each other about sabermetric application, discussing the latest A's acquisition on a podcast, or answering questions via mailbag, AN exemplifies exactly what we're about: community.

Read the tale of how it all began from Tyler himself (with cameos on video from A's General Manager Billy Beane and numerous AN readers), or see it through the eyes of the community. Happy 10th Birthday, Athletics Nation!

-- Congrats to these four blogs with a special shoutout to Tyler Bleszinski and Athletics Nation, the one that started SB Nation a decade ago.