Hang Up and Listen

Joel Anderson and Josh Levin are joined by Bomani Jones to discuss the Cowboys’ blowout win over the Bucs and other storylines from the opening weekend of the NFL playoffs. They also talk about all the high-scoring games in the NBA this season. Finally, Joel and Josh interview pool legend Jeanette Lee, aka the Black Widow, who’s featured in the new documentary Jeanette Lee Vs.

NFL (4:23): Is Tom Brady going to retire? Should he?

NBA (25:42): Why are so many players putting up 50-point games? And is all that scoring good for the sport?

Jeanette Lee (46:47): The Black Widow speaks about her life and career.

Afterball (1:02:33): Joel on the sad decline of Georgetown basketball.

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Joel Anderson, Stefan Fatsis, and Josh Levin talk about Georgia’s win over TCU in the college football title game. They also discuss Damar Hamlin’s remarkable recovery and how the NFL has tried to move on. Finally, they assess the Berhalter-Reyna rift that’s tearing apart U.S. men’s soccer.

Georgia-TCU (2:26): What it’s like to be on the wrong side of one of the biggest blowouts in sports history.

Hamlin (25:10): Watching pro football a week after the Bills safety’s near-death on the field.

U.S. soccer (48:59): The pettiness and sadness of a family dispute that’s gone public.

Afterball (1:07:20): Josh on a college basketball replay controversy.

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Joel Anderson, Stefan Fatsis, and Josh Levin talk about Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin collapsing on the field during Monday Night Football and what came after. Slate’s Ben Mathis-Lilley also joins to discuss TCU and Georgia’s thrilling wins in the College Football Playoff semifinals. Finally, author Alex Bellos discusses the Brazilian soccer legend Pelé, who died last week at age 82.

Hamlin (3:26): Is it fair to criticize the NFL’s response to Monday’s on-field crisis?

College Football Playoff (25:52): How TCU and Georgia took down Michigan and Ohio State.

Pelé (46:23): Remembering the greatest soccer player of all time.

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Joel Anderson, Stefan Fatsis, and Josh Levin are joined by the Athletic’s Kalyn Kahler to discuss her story on Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers’ array of hand signals. They also discuss New York Mets owner Steve Cohen’s $800 million offseason spending spree and look back at 1972’s “Immaculate Reception” by Pittsburgh Steelers running back Franco Harris.

Rodgers (3:00): The Packers QB bristled over Kahler’s well-sourced story on why rookie receivers struggle in Green Bay.

Mets (26:33): Cohen’s lavish spending hit a speed bump after medical concerns over free agent Carlos Correa.

Immaculate Reception (45:08): Why it’s considered the greatest play in NFL history.

Afterball (1:01:42): Stefan on how the New York Cosmos wooed Pele in the 1970s.

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Joel Anderson, Stefan Fatsis, and Josh Levin are joined by Argentinian journalist Marcela Mora y Araujo to talk about Lionel Messi’s coronation on soccer’s biggest stage and then continue their conversation about the greatest World Cup final ever. They also discuss a bizarre weekend in the NFL and assess the life and career of college football coach Mike Leach.

World Cup final (3:36): What it means to Argentina and how it felt to watch it.

NFL (28:55): The Vikings came back from how far? The Patriots did what?

Leach (44:08): Why there will never be another coach like him.

Afterball (1:05:12): Joel on Brittney Griner, high school phenom.

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Joel Anderson, Stefan Fatsis, and Josh Levin are joined by Sports Illustrated’s Jon Wertheim to talk about journalist Grant Wahl, who died suddenly over the weekend at the age of 49. They’re also joined by the Atlantic’s Franklin Foer for a conversation about Morocco’s thrilling run to the World Cup semifinals. Finally, they discuss Brittney Griner’s long-awaited return to the United States after a prisoner swap with Russia.

Grant Wahl (6:26): The life and legacy of a great journalist, mentor, and friend.

Morocco (32:01): What their success means for soccer, Africa, and the Arab world.

Griner (49:08): How she got released and what comes next.

Afterball (1:04:31): Josh on Grant Wahl’s Sports Illustrated cover story on LeBron James.

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Stefan Fatsis and Josh Levin are joined by Grant Wahl to discuss the U.S. loss to the Netherlands at the World Cup. Josh and Joel Anderson are then joined by Slate’s Alex Kirshner to talk about the College Football Playoff pairings and Deion Sanders’ move to Colorado.

World Cup (3:43): The positives and negatives of the USMNT’s run to the round of 16.

College Football Playoff (27:50): Who’s in, who’s out, and what to expect in the semifinals.

Deion Sanders (49:25): Was he wrong to leave Jackson State?

Afterball (1:08:47): Stefan on soccer vs. football.

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Joel Anderson, Stefan Fatsis, and Josh Levin are joined by journalist Meg Swanick to preview the U.S. men’s soccer team’s matchup against Iran. Ben Mathis-Lilley, the author of The Hot Seat, also joins to discuss Michigan’s win over Ohio State. Finally, they talk about the Washington Post’s feature on Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones.

USA-Iran (4:09): The on-field and off-field implications of the USMNT’s big game.

Michigan-Ohio State (25:53): How the Wolverines took down the Buckeyes again.

Jerry Jones (46:30): How much responsibility does he bear for the NFL’s diversity problems?

Afterball (1:07:46): Joel on the resignation of Stanford football coach David Shaw.

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Joel Anderson, Stefan Fatsis, and Josh Levin are joined by Slate’s Eric Betts to discuss the U.S. men’s national team’s 1-1 draw against Wales. They also discuss the controversial opening days of the World Cup. Finally, they assess the Warriors’ and Lakers' early-season woes and Kyrie Irving’s return to the Brooklyn Nets.

USA-Wales (4:24): How the USMNT fizzled after a promising start.

FIFA (35:06): What’s happening in Qatar, and what the media is (and isn’t) saying about it.

NBA (47:21): What’s wrong with the league’s most star-laden teams?

Afterball (1:07;12): Josh on the next big star in American tennis.

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Joel Anderson, Stefan Fatsis, and Josh Levin are joined by Grant Wahl to talk about the World Cup in Qatar. They also discuss the NFL head coaching debut of the Colts’ Jeff Saturday and examine how women athletes are benefitting from the new name, image, and likeness rules in college sports.

Qatar (3:08): Bribery, authoritarianism, and soccer.

Jeff Saturday (24:07): He has no college or pro coaching experience. He’s running an NFL team now.

NIL (43:49): Women athletes are getting paid, but is there a potential problem lurking?

Afterball (59:26): Stefan on the pointed commentary about race in A Wife’s Guide to Baseball.

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