Hang Up and Listen: The White Elephant in Manaus Edition
Slate’s sports podcast on the World Cup and Tony Gwynn’s legacy.
Listen to Hang Up and Listen with Stefan Fatsis, Mike Pesca, and Bryan Curtis by clicking the arrow on the audio player below:
Become a fan of Hang Up and Listen on Facebook here:
In this week’s episode of Slate’s sports podcast Hang Up and Listen, Stefan Fatsis, Mike Pesca, and special guest Bryan Curtis of Grantland discuss American soccer’s emotional rollercoaster in Brazil and what it means for the rest of the World Cup and for the future of soccer in the U.S. They also talk to Slate contributor Luke O’Brien about what it was like to be in Manaus for the U.S.-Portugal game and what locals think about the World Cup. Finally, they discuss Tony Gwynn’s life and legacy on and off the field after his untimely death from salivary cancer.
Here are links to some of the articles and other items mentioned on the show:
- After the U.S. drew with Portugal, Slate’s Jeremy Stahl reminded us that soccer is a cruel game.*
- There was plenty of criticism of Michael Bradley’s play to go around.
- After the game, U.S. coach Jürgen Klinsmann suggested that Germany has had an easier path out of the group stage.
- ESPN’s Men in Blazers said that the U.S. became a soccer country on Sunday.
- In Grantland, Bryan Curtis described George Vecsey’s journey to cover the 1982 World Cup in Spain.
- NPR’s Tom Goldman talked to residents of Manaus about the new stadium.
- In Slate, Jesse Hyde described the scene in Manaus and how Brazilians are reacting to U.S. soccer fans.
- Read Luke O’Brien’s World Cup coverage on Slate.
- Tony Gwynn hit .324 at age 41 and finished with a lifetime .338 average.
- All of San Diego mourned Gwynn, the hometown hero.
- Everyone, including his former batboy, remembered Gwynn as a truly nice guy.
- Listen to Gwynn’s famous conversation with fellow student of hitting, Ted Williams.
- Gwynn believed the salivary cancer that killed him was linked to his chewing tobacco addiction
- Later this year, Major League Baseball will release an anti-smokeless tobacco video featuring Gwynn, and his death has some players and managers rethinking their use of chewing tobacco.
Hang Up and Listen’s weekly Jackrabbits:
Mike’s Jackrabbit: Uncovering the poetry of Pedro Martinez.
Bryan’s Jackrabbit: The evolution of the American soccer troll in four easy steps.
Stefan’s Jackrabbit: Exploring the world of competitive Wiffle ball and learning that everyone will get really creative and/or overpay for a competitive advantage.
On this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment, Stefan Fatsis, Mike Pesca, and Grantland’s Bryan Curtis talked about the acceptance of tanking in the NBA and recent developments that may impact the draft. Slate Plus members get an ad-free version of this podcast with bonus segments. Visit slate.com/hangupplus and try it free for two weeks.
Podcast production and edit by Alexis Diao. Links compiled by Chris Laskowski.
You can email us at hangup@slate.com.
Correction, June 23, 2014: This post originally misstated that the U.S. lost to Portugal at the World Cup. The game was a draw.