Hang Up And Listen

Stefan Fatsis, Josh Levin, and Slate’s Ben Mathis-Lilley talk about COVID running rampant through every sports league, again. Next, they discuss the end of Urban Meyer’s very brief career as an NFL coach. Finally, Joshua Neuman joins Stefan and Josh for a conversation about Kenny Washington, who broke the NFL’s color barrier a year before Jackie Robinson broke Major League Baseball’s.   COVID (3:13): How should leagues and teams respond to the next wave of the pandemic?   Urban Meyer (22:37): Why did the successful college coach flame out of the pros?   Kenny Washington (41:25): Why isn’t the pioneering Black football player an American icon?   Afterball (1:02:30): Stefan on the state of Scorigami. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Stefan Fatsis, Josh Levin, and Slate’s Alex Kirshner talk about the controversial ending to the Formula 1 season. Next, they examine the opening months of college sports’ name, image, and likeness era. Finally, Stefan and Josh are joined by author and chess champion Jennifer Shahade to assess Magnus Carlsen’s latest world title.   Formula 1 (2:46): Who should’ve won the duel between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen?   NIL (22:55): How college athletes are capitalizing, and how it’s changing the game.   Chess (44:28): How Carlsen won, and what’s next for him and for the game.   Afterball (1:04:10): Josh on basketball on the Marshall Islands. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hi Hang Up and Listen listeners, we thought you'd be interested in this episode of What Next, Slate's daily news podcast. Enjoy! When Chinese tennis player Peng Shuai accused a former Chinese Vice Premier of rape, what came next was darkly predictable: the athlete disappeared from public view while the government scrubbed all mentions of her allegations and censored searches for her name. But few expected the Women’s Tennis Association to strike back, suspending all future tournaments in China and Hong Kong. As the WTA stands up to China - leaving millions of dollars on the table - will other sports organizations follow suit and hold the government to account over its human rights abuses? Guest: Ben Rothenberg, senior editor of Racquet Magazine and host of the tennis podcast No Challenges Remaining. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Joel Anderson, Stefan Fatsis, and Josh Levin break down college football’s playoff match-ups and Brian Kelly’s move to LSU. Insider’s Bradford William Davis joins to discuss the baseball lockout and his piece on the sport using two different balls. Finally, a conversation about sports blowouts. College football (5:29): Does outsider Cincinnati have a chance against Alabama, Michigan, and Georgia?   Baseball (27:22): Will the sport cancel games? And why did MLB have two different balls in circulation?   Blowouts (47:36): What makes some lopsided victories great and others unwatchable?   Afterball (1:04:30): Stefan with more sports musicals. If you enjoy Hang Up and Listen, consider giving the gift of Slate Plus to a fellow Slate fan and they’ll receive all the benefits of membership: unlimited reading, ad-free listening, bonus content, and so much more: Give Slate Plus Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Joel Anderson, Stefan Fatsis, and Josh Levin talk with Slate’s Ben Mathis-Lilley about the Michigan football team’s big win over Ohio State. They also discuss Oklahoma head football coach Lincoln Riley’s surprising departure for USC and the state of LeBron James and the Lakers. Michigan (2:25): How Jim Harbaugh and the Wolverines exorcised their demons against the Buckeyes.   Lincoln Riley (24:05): Explaining an unprecedented college football move. Lakers (47:00): Are LeBron and his team off to a slow start, or are they just bad? Afterball (1:05:04): Stefan on Stephen Sondheim and the dearth of sports musicals. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Stefan Fatsis and Josh Levin are joined by the New Yorker’s Vinson Cunningham to talk about Peng Shuai and the future of sports in China. Next, they discuss the resurgent Golden State Warriors. Finally, they review the movie King Richard. Peng Shuai (2:03): Will the Peng case lead the WTA to pull out of China?   Warriors (24:35): How Steph Curry’s squad got its mojo back. King Richard (42:42): Is the new movie about the Williams sisters’ upbringing any good? Afterball (1:02:00): Josh on watching (or not watching) the 1980 Summer Olympics on American TV. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Stefan Fatsis and Josh Levin are joined by Grant Wahl to talk about the U.S. men’s national team’s dominant win over Mexico. Stefan, Josh, and Joel Anderson then discuss how ESPN’s Adam Schefter covered a domestic abuse allegation against Vikings running back Dalvin Cook. Finally, they look into the war of words between the NBA’s Morris twins and Jokic brothers.   USA-Mexico (3:36): Is the USMNT’s big win a sign that the rivalry has shifted?   Schefter (22:20): The journalistic sins of ESPN’s lead NFL insider.   Morris vs. Jokic (48:10): What makes a good sibling Twitter basketball beef?   Afterball (1:06:20): The groundbreaking 1960 documentary on NFL linebacker Sam Huff. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Joel Anderson, Stefan Fatsis, and Josh Levin discuss Aaron Rodgers’ claims about vaccination and how the Packers and the NFL should deal with him. They also talk about ESPN’s investigation into Phoenix Suns owner Robert Sarver. Finally, the Washington Post’s Candace Buckner joins for a conversation about the fashion choices of NBA coaches.   Rodgers (2:52): What his interview about COVID and vaccines revealed about the Packers quarterback.   Sarver (26:26): How will the NBA handle allegations of racism and misogyny against one of its owners?   NBA coach fashion (48:22): Should we lament the rise of the quarter-zip and the demise of the suit?   Afterball (1:08:37): Josh on Jameis Winston, Drew Brees, and the athletes we support, tolerate, and disdain. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Joel, Anderson, Stefan Fatsis, and Josh Levin discuss the ouster of Joel’s old football coach, TCU’s Gary Patterson. They also talk about how the NBA’s new rules are changing pro basketball. Finally, the New York Times’ Kevin Draper joins for a conversation about the Chicago Blackhawks’ cover-up of an alleged sexual assault. TCU (3:06): Why was it time for Gary Patterson to go? Who does Joel want to see replace him?   NBA rules (30:11): Draymond Green is delighted. Trae Young and James Harden aren’t. Blackhawks (44:42): What the team’s investigation revealed about the culture of hockey and sexual assault. Afterball (1:04:30): Stefan on the surprising origins of the “tomahawk chop” music. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Stefan Fatsis, Josh Levin, and Defector’s Drew Magary talk about the seeming decline of the Kansas City Chiefs. They also discuss who to root for in the World Series, the Houston Astros or the Atlanta Braves. Finally, they speak with Drew about his book The Night the Lights Went Out: A Memoir of Life After Brain Damage.   Chiefs (3:54): What’s wrong with Patrick Mahomes and the former champs?   World Series (25:47): Is the case against the Astros stronger than the case against the Braves?   The Night the Lights Went Out (46:29): Drew on his traumatic brain injury and what came after.   Afterball (1:07:00): Stefan on the history of the Atlanta Braves’ nickname. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Joel Anderson and Josh Levin talk with Slate’s Alex Kirshner about the split between LSU and its coach Ed Orgeron. They’re also joined by Vincent Goodwill of Yahoo Sports for a preview of the 2021-22 NBA season. Finally, Stefan Fatsis speaks with Dave Zirin about his book The Kaepernick Effect.   Orgeron (4:20): Why did LSU part ways with a championship-winning coach?   NBA (29:53): What to expect from the Kyrie-less Nets and the LeBron/AD/Russ Lakers.   The Kaepernick Effect (50:52): Looking back on five years’ worth of athlete protests.   Afterball (1:12:00): Josh on erasing Derrius Guice’s records. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Stefan Fatsis and Josh Levin talk with Slate’s Alex Kirshner about the racist, sexist, and homophobic emails written by now-former NFL head coach Jon Gruden. Writer Roberto José Andrade Franco joins to discuss Mexican-American soccer star Ricardo Pepi. Finally, Chantel Jennings of the Athletic breaks down the WNBA playoffs. Gruden (4:07): What his emails reveal about the culture of the NFL?   Pepi (209:07): The on-field and off-field significance of the USMNT’s new star.   WNBA (51:47): What you need to know about the Chicago Sky and Phoenix Mercury.   Afterball (1:13:62): Josh on a women’s sports equivalent for “the Jimmys and the Joes.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Joel Anderson, Stefan Fatsis, and Josh Levin talk about Tom Brady’s win over the Patriots. Meg Rowley of FanGraphs also joins to discuss the end of baseball’s regular season and the start of the playoffs. Finally, the Athletic’s Steph Yang helps assess the present and future of the National Women’s Soccer League. Brady vs. the Pats (03:09): Did the game live up to the hype? Was there too much hype?   Baseball (28:23): Should we be sad about the lack of chaos or happy about the possibility of chaos to come? NWSL (49:42): What are the allegations, and what happens next? Afterball (1:07:30): Stefan on the oldest players in NFL history. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Joel Anderson, Stefan Fatsis, and Josh Levin talk about anti-vaxxers in the NBA. The Washington Post’s Molly Hensley-Clancy discusses allegations that the NWSL’s Washington Sprit have a misogynistic work culture, and Will Bardenwerper joins for a conversation about his Harper’s piece on the potential death of minor league baseball in small towns.   NBA anti-vaxxers (4:36): How should the league deal with Kyrie Irving?   Washington Spirit (26:33): What to do about alleged bad behavior in the National Women’s Soccer League.   Minor leagues (47:27): The consequences of Major League Baseball’s plan to make the minors more efficient.   Afterball (1;08): Josh on the College of Faith football program Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Joel Anderson, Stefan Fatsis, and Josh Levin are joined by USA Today’s Marisa Kwiatkowski to discuss the Senate hearing on the FBI’s failures in the Larry Nassar case. They also assess Eli and Peyton Manning’s Monday Night Football debut and discuss whether the 2021 UConn Huskies are the worst college football team of all time.   Nassar case (3:14): What stood out in the Senate hearings, and what will it take for the gymnasts to get closure?   Mannings (23:18): How’d Peyton and Eli do on their first broadcast? Will their show have staying power?   UConn (43:05): How the Huskies became historically bad.   Afterball (59:00): Stefan on the U.S. women’s soccer team’s uncompetitive friendly matches. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Stefan Fatsis, Josh Levin, and the New Yorker’s Louisa Thomas talk about Daniil Medvedev’s upset over Novak Djokovic and Emma Raducanu’s shocking U.S. Open title. They also discuss Jameis Winston, the Jacksonville Jaguars, and Cam Newton’s interview with his dad. Finally, they assess the U.S. men’s national soccer team’s rocky opening to World Cup qualifying. U.S. Open (2:25): What to make of Djokovic’s loss, and his response to it. Plus, where did Raducanu and Leylah Fernandez come from?   NFL (31:12): Making sense of pro football’s opening weekend.   U.S. soccer (48:19): How concerning are the USMNT’s on-field struggles?   Afterball (1:06;30): Stefan on Sheriff Tiraspol, the Moldovan soccer underdog that you maybe shouldn’t root for Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Josh Levin and Joel Anderson are joined by Spencer Hall to talk about the opening weekend of the college football season. They also discuss Bishop Sycamore, the fake high school that made its way into an ESPN football showcase. Finally, the CBC’s Morgan Campbell joins to assess Canada’s series of sporting triumphs.   College football (1:48): Alabama looks like its old self. But what’s up with Clemson?   Bishop Sycamore (24:37): Where did it come from? Is it unique or a sign of a larger phenomenon?   Canada (40:44): Soccer, track, tennis. What’s behind Canada’s run of athletic success?   Afterball (56:35): Josh on Dutch tennis player Botic van de Zandschulp. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Josh Levin interviews Ben Rothenberg about his reporting on domestic abuse allegations against tennis player Alexander Zverev. Josh, Stefan Fatsis, and Joel Anderson are then joined by Grant Wahl to discuss Cristiano Ronaldo’s move to Manchester United. Finally, assessing Rachel Nichols’ fall and Stephen A. Smith’s rise at ESPN.   Zverev (3:50): What are the accusations and how has the tennis world responded? Ronaldo (19:19): Why he’s returning to the club where he became an international superstar.   ESPN (41:57): What we know about personnel moves at the Worldwide Leader.   Afterball (1:06:15): Josh on what might be the longest down and distance in NFL history. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Joel Anderson and Stefan Fatsis talk with track writer Jojo Gretschel about sprinter Sha’Carri Richardson’s last-place finish in her return from a suspension. Former pro basketball player Rod Benson discusses Draymond Green’s revealing conversation with Kevin Durant and the future of athlete-driven sports media. Finally, an interview with Claire McNear of the Ringer about her blockbuster reporting that brought down the new host of Jeopardy! Sha’Carri (5:23): Track writer Jojo Gretschel on Sha’Carri Richardson’s 100-meter flop.   Dray and KD (22:31): Ex-basketball pro Rod Benson on Draymond Green’s revealing interview with Kevin Durant. Jeopardy! (40:57): Claire McNear of the Ringer on the comments that brought down Alex Trebek’s successor. Afterball (1:04:54): Stefan on pro ultimate frisbee.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Joel Anderson, Stefan Fatsis, and Josh Levin talk about Major League Baseball’s Field of Dreams game. Writer Jessica Luther also joins to discuss the Deshaun Watson and Trevor Bauer cases. Finally, they review the documentary Malice at the Palace.   Field of Dreams (4:42): Is this kind of nostalgia good or bad for baseball?   Watson and Bauer (26:02): How should leagues handle allegations of sexual misconduct?   Malice at the Palace (46:35): What the Netflix documentary leaves out.   Afterball (1:07:16): Stefan on hockey players fighting fans in 1979. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices