Hang Up and Listen

Joel Anderson and Josh Levin are joined by the New Yorker’s Vinson Cunningham to discuss the rise of the New York Knicks and the start of the NBA playoffs. The Athletic’s Chantel Jennings also joins to talk about the start of the WNBA season. Finally, Joe Drape of the New York Times assesses the case against racehorse trainer Bob Baffert.

NBA (3:42): Does the Knicks’ return to non-terribleness matter? And what are the big storylines going into the playoffs?

WNBA (24:42): The return of Sabrina Ionescu and other big news from the league’s opening weekend.

Horse racing (42:58): Is the sport turning on Bob Baffert after yet another doping scandal?

Afterball (58:39): Joel on Sam Houston State’s football championship.

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Podcast production by Margaret Kelley.

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Joel Anderson, Stefan Fatsis, and Josh Levin talk about the upcoming NBA play-in tournament. They also discuss the latest brouhaha over violence in the National Hockey League and they assess NFL wide receiver DK Metcalf’s performance against pro sprinters.

NBA (2:49): Why LeBron James hates the play-in games and most everyone else loves them.

NHL (21:21): Does hockey have a cultural problem or a Tom Wilson problem?

DK Metcalf (43:03): He didn’t come close to winning. He still proved something.

Afterball (61:37): Josh on Armando Galarraga’s almost-perfect game, 10 years later.

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Podcast production by Margaret Kelley

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Joel Anderson, Stefan Fatsis, and Josh Levin welcome a trio of guests. Master Tesfatsion of Bleacher Report discusses the NFL draft. Ben Lindbergh of the Ringer explains why moving back the pitcher’s mound could boost Major League Baseball’s anemic offenses. And Rebecca Schuman talks about the leotard, the unitard, and the sexualization of female gymnasts.

NFL draft (3:06): Five quarterbacks got picked in the first round. No one really knows if they’ll succeed.

Baseball (26:09): A minor league is moving the mound back one foot. Will the majors try it next?

Gymnastics (48:48): Why it’s revolutionary that a trio of German women have ditched the leotard.

Afterball (01:06:26): Joel on why high school sports matter, especially for transgender athletes.

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Stefan Fatsis and Josh Levin are joined by Tariq Panja of the New York Times to discuss European soccer’s Super League fiasco. Stefan, Josh, and Joel Anderson then talk about Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry’s absurd month. Plus, an interview with researcher Joanna Harper about transgender athletes in girls’ and women’s sports.

Super League (2:11): Why did it implode? What comes next?

Stephen Curry (26:04): Assessing one of the most incredible months in the history of the NBA.

Joanna Harper (43:45): An interview with the transgender runner and researcher about the science, politics, and culture war around trans girls and women in sports.

Afterball (63:34): Josh on the many grudges of new LSU women’s basketball coach Kim Mulkey.

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Podcast production by Margaret Kelley

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Joel Anderson, Stefan Fatsis, and Josh Levin are joined by Ken Early of the Irish Times to talk about European soccer’s proposed Super League. They also discuss the NFL’s top quarterback prospects and they debate whether Triller Fight Club is the future of boxing.

Super League (2:10): What is this new soccer proposal? Why is it making everyone so mad? Is there any way to stop it?

Quarterbacks (21:40): What we know about Trevor Lawrence and crew, and why so many QBs will likely get picked at the top of the first round.

Boxing (38:52): Are Jake Paul, Snoop Dogg, Justin Bieber, Evander Holyfield the salvation for a dying sport?

Afterball (52:19): Stefan on the San Diego Sockers music video “One for the Thumb.”

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Joel Anderson, Stefan Fatsis, and Josh Levin talk about the sports world’s pandemic purgatory. They also ponder what sports feats have still yet to be achieved. Finally, Luke Epplin joins to discuss his book Our Team and the story of Larry Doby, the second player to break baseball’s modern color barrier.

Pandemic purgatory (3:11): What to make of the Texas Rangers’ full stadium and the Vancouver Canucks’ 20-plus positive COVID tests.

Rare sports feats (20:30): The Padres have, at last, thrown a no-hitter. What achievement can we cross of the list next?

Larry Doby (35:37): The first Black player in the American League was a pioneer in his own right.

Afterball (54:30): Joel on North Carolina’s JV men’s basketball team.

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Joel Anderson, Stefan Fatsis, and Josh Levin talk about the men’s and women’s NCAA finals and Jalen Suggs’ Final Four buzzer beater. They also discuss Major League Baseball’s decision to move this year’s All-Star Game in response to Georgia’s new voting law, and Arizona State professor Victoria Jackson joins to assess the athlete compensation case NCAA v. Alston.

NCAA (2:57): How Baylor and Stanford won it all, and assessing Jalen Suggs’ remarkable shot.

MLB and voting rights (26:54): What went into baseball’s boycott decision.

Alston v. NCAA (48:18): What we learned in Supreme Court oral arguments, and what comes next for the NCAA and college athletes.

Afterball (68:19): Josh on the transfer portal.

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Joel Anderson, Stefan Fatsis, and Josh Levin talk about Gonzaga’s greatness and the Sweet 16 match-up between Paige Bueckers and Caitlin Clark. Stefan and Josh then try to convince Joel to become a fan of the U.S. men’s national soccer team. Finally, Defector’s Dave McKenna joins for a conversation about basketball legend Elgin Baylor, who died last week at 86.

NCAA tournaments (2:18): What’s the secret to Gonzaga’s success? What stood out in UConn’s win over Iowa?

U.S. soccer (22:57): What’s not to love about this generation of American men’s soccer talent?

Elgin Baylor (45:03): What you need to know about the Washington D.C., College Idaho, Seattle University, and Los Angeles Lakers icon.

Afterball (65:27)

Podcast production by Margaret Kelley.

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Joel Anderson, Stefan Fatsis, and Josh Levin talk about the opening weekend of March Madness. They also discuss the inequalities between the men’s and women’s tournaments, and author Jessica Luther joins for a conversation about the assault lawsuits against Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson.

NCAA Tournament (3:03): A bunch of fun games or just a whole lot of bad basketball?

March Madness inequality (20:38): How a viral TikTok video brought attention to NCAA disparities.

Deshaun Watson (37:14): How to think about the allegations, and what comes next.

Afterball (54:17): Josh on “you don’t need a 3 here.”

Podcast production by Margaret Kelley.

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Joel Anderson, Stefan Fatsis, and Josh Levin discuss the lead-up to March Madness. They also talk about the controversy surrounding “The Eyes of Texas,” the song the University of Texas plays before and after football games. Finally, they assess the life and career of Marvelous Marvin Hagler.

March Madness (01:09): Should the NCAA Tournament be played?

“The Eyes of Texas” (21:35): What we know about the song and what the conversation about it leaves out.

Hagler (41:00): What made him and his fights so memorable.

Afterballs (60:25): Stefan on the etymology of packed and stuffed.

Podcast production and edit by Margaret Kelley.

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