Hang Up and Listen: The Virginal Vessels of Virtue Edition
Slate’s sports podcast on Andy Murray’s Wimbledon win, new NBA homes for Dwight Howard and Brad Stevens, and ESPN’s Let Them Wear Towels.
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In this week’s episode of Slate’s sports podcast Hang Up and Listen, Josh Levin, Mike Pesca, and special guest Johnette Howard discuss first-time Wimbledon champions Andy Murray and Marion Bartoli and whether professional tennis is slowing down. They also consider the likelihood of success for Dwight Howard in Houston and Brad Stevens in Boston. Finally, they talk about the new ESPN documentary Let Them Wear Towels and how women sportswriters fought to get access to locker rooms in the 1970s and 1980s.
Here are links to some of the articles and other items mentioned on the show:
- Andy Murray is the men’s Wimbledon singles champion.
- The semifinal match between Novak Djokovic and Juan Martin del Potro was “sublime,” writes Steve Tignor of Tennis.com.
- ESPN’s Greg Garber writes about how Murray overcame pressure to become the first British men’s singles champion at Wimbledon in 77 years.
- Garber describes women’s Wimbledon champion Marion Bartoli as “the quirky, colorful Frenchwoman.”
- Bartoli’s father, Walter, was her longtime coach.
- After her Wimbledon victory, a BBC commentator said that Bartoli was “never going to be … a looker.”
- On Grantland, Brian Phillips writes that technology is changing the playing surfaces and playing styles in professional tennis.
- Adrian Wojnarowski reports Dwight Howard agreed to a four-year, $88 million contract with the Houston Rockets.
- Alex Kennedy of hoopsworld.com documents how Howard chose Houston and interviewed Howard about his decision.
- Brad Stevens is leaving Butler and heading to Boston.
- Baxter Holmes of the Boston Globe reports on Danny Ainge’s pursuit of Stevens.
- Sports Illustrated’s Chris Mannix writes that Stevens will have “every opportunity to succeed” in Boston.
- Pete Thamel of Sports Illustrated reports on Drew Cannon, who assisted Stevens with advanced analytics at Butler.
- ESPN will air Let Them Wear Towels, part of the Nine for IX series, on July 16.
- A 1990 New York Times story on the history of women in the locker room.
- That year, Boston Herald reporter Lisa Olson was "degraded and humiliated" by several New England Patriots players while conducting an interview; the team and three players were fined by the NFL.
- And Patriots owner Victor Kiam called Olson a “classic bitch.”
Hang Up and Listen’s weekly Ludtkes:
- Mike’s Ludtke: For the first time in a decade, the Yankees are giving away bobblehead dolls at Monday night’s game. The first bobblehead figure is Derek Jeter. (Here is the Grant Balfour gnome.)
- Johnette’s Ludtke: Jonathan Papelbon is not a fan of Yasiel Puig’s bid to become an All-Star. Is this a case of unwritten rules in sports colliding with the sped-up story arcs of the Twitter era?
- Josh’s Ludtke: The greatest moments in NBA Summer League fouling, starring DeMarcus Cousins, Greg Oden, and Jan Vesely.
Podcast production and edit by Mike Vuolo. Our intern is Michael Gerber.