Hang Up and Listen

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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.”

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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.

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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

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