Hang Up and Listen

Josh Levin, Stefan Fatsis, and the Atlantic’s Vann Newkirk talk about ESPN’s embrace of gambling. They also discuss the alleged suspension of Baltimore Orioles announcer Kevin Brown for alluding to the team’s recent losing seasons. Finally, Rebecca Schuman joins to assess Simone Biles’ return to competitive gymnastics.

ESPN and gambling (3:30): The Worldwide Leader makes a big bet. Is it too late?

Orioles (23:53): What are announcers allowed to say on team-owned networks?

Biles (42:49): How did she keep her comeback secret? And what should we expect from her?

Afterball (1:06:30): Stefan on Greek second-division soccer club Athens Kallithea FC, fashion, and hooliganism.

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Josh Levin and Stefan Fatsis talk about the U.S. national soccer team’s early exit from the Women’s World Cup. Slate’s Ben Mathis-Lilley also joins to discuss the huge shakeups in the Big Ten, Big 12, and Pac-12 conferences and ESPN’s Jeff Passan assesses the fallout from the Major League Baseball trade deadline. Finally, Josh interviews Wimbledon quarterfinalist Chris Eubanks.

Women’s World Cup (2:47): What went wrong for the U.S. women’s national team.

NCAA (26:01): Assessing the most significant week ever in conference realignment.

MLB (49:37): Did the Mets and Angels make the right calls at the trade deadline?

Chris Eubanks (01:07:51): A conversation with one of the most fascinating men in tennis.

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Josh Levin and Stefan Fatsis are joined by the Washington Post’s Chuck Culpepper to talk about big wins for Colombia and Australia at the Women’s World Cup. Alex Kirshner of Slate and the Split Zone Duo podcast also joins to discuss whether NFL running backs should go on strike and the Celtics’ Jaylen Brown getting the biggest NBA deal ever.

Women’s World Cup (2:40): The scene in the stadium when Australia thrashed Canada.

NFL running backs (21:34): What can they do to get more respect and more cash?

Big-money deals (42:47): Is there any amount of money that’s too much for a pro athlete to make?

Afterball (1:02:22): Stefan on the world Scrabble championships in Las Vegas.

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Josh Levin is joined by the Athletic’s Steph Yang to talk about the opening days of the Women’s World Cup. Author Jonathan Clegg also joins to discuss Lionel Messi’s MLS debut. And the Wall Street Journal’s Jason Gay assesses the 2023 Tour de France and the Netflix documentary Tour de France: Unchained.

Women’s World Cup (3:32): What are the main takeaways from the U.S. win over Vietnam?

Messi (20:31): What does success look like for Messi, his club, and Major League Soccer?

Tour de France (40:01): How a close race turned into a rout for Jonas Vingegaard.

Afterball (58:20): Josh on the Kolbe Conative Index.

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Josh Levin is joined by Joel Anderson and Ben Mathis-Lilley to talk about Northwestern firing football coach Pat Fitzgerald in the midst of a hazing scandal. Sports Illustrated’s Jon Wertheim then comes on to discuss Carlos Alcaraz’s win over Novak Djokovic at Wimbledon. Finally, Josh and Stefan Fatsis speak with the Washington Post’s Sally Jenkins about her piece on Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova.

Northwestern (5:44): Why Fitzgerald got axed.

Wimbledon (28:30): Is this a changing of the guard in men’s tennis?

Evert and Navratilova (51:03): How cancer diagnoses brought the rivals and friends closer together.

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Josh Levin and Stefan Fatsis are joined by the Washington Post’s Ben Golliver to discuss Victor Wembanyama’s NBA Summer League debut. The Athletic’s C. Trent Rosecrans also joins to talk about baseball stars Elly de la Cruz, Ronald Acuña Jr., and Shohei Ohtani. Finally, legendary New York Times sports columnist Robert Lipsyte comes on to talk about the demise of the Times sports department.

Wembanyama (5:45): What happened with Britney Spears? And what about his iffy debut?

MLB (29:46): A look at the game’s most exciting players.

New York Times (51:06): A Times legend on what comes next for the paper’s sports section.

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Josh Levin and Stefan Fatsis are joined by TV producer Mike Schur for a special episode: a debate on which sports have generated the best art and made the greatest contributions to culture. Topics discussed include Schur’s Field of Dreams adaptation, whether basketball or football has a greater canon, and if boxing will lose its cultural footprint. 

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Josh Levin and Stefan Fatsis are joined by the Ringer’s Ben Lindbergh to talk about Luis Arraez’s run at a .400 batting average. The Athletic’s Steph Yang also joins to discuss the U.S. women’s national team’s World Cup roster. Finally, college golfers Maycee Kay Aycock and Sarah Marshall come on to explain why they stuck with the sport despite shooting some of the worst scores of all time.

.400 (3:14): Why it’s still a magic number in baseball.

USWNT (21:57): Will injuries doom them at the World Cup?

Bad golfers (42:26): How two women from Meredith College became sports heroes.

Afterball (1:02:08): Josh on meat judging.

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Josh Levin, Stefan Fatsis, and Joel Anderson talk about whether the Pelicans should trade Zion Williamson. Josh and Stefan are also joined by the Athletic’s Paul Tenorio to discuss the U.S. men’s national soccer team's wins over Mexico and Canada and the rehiring of Gregg Berhalter. Finally, Mick Akers of the Las Vegas Review-Journal joins for a conversation about how Vegas became America’s No. 1 sports town.

Zion (4:47): The Pelicans are in a very tough spot.

U.S. soccer (27:35): Why Gregg Berhalter got his old job back.

Las Vegas (56:14): How it went from a sports desert to every league’s favorite destination.

Afterball (01:11:36): Stefan on the World Football League’s very colorful pants.

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Josh Levin and the New Yorker’s Louisa Thomas are joined by the Washington Post’s Ben Golliver to discuss how the Denver Nuggets took a commanding lead in the NBA Finals. Next, Slate’s Henry Grabar comes on to talk about Novak Djokovic’s record-setting French Open title. Finally, Josh is joined by Slate’s Alex Kirshner and the Fried Egg’s Brendan Porath to sort through the PGA Tour’s new deal with the Saudis.

NBA Finals (2:16): What makes Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray a historically great duo?

French Open (26:55): How Djokovic keeps winning.

Golf (49:37): Why the PGA Tour reversed its big moral stand.

Afterball (1:13:34): Josh and Louisa discuss her feature story on how pitcher Daniel Bard lost control, regained it, and lost it again.

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