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In this week’s episode of Slate’s sports podcast Hang Up and Listen, Stefan Fatsis and Josh Levin interview ESPN football analyst and radio host Paul Finebaum about why everyone hates the SEC, whether ESPN has a pro-SEC bias, and what the college football playoff committee is up to. They are joined by Slate writer Amanda Hess to discuss Lauren Hill’s dream of playing in a college basketball game and how the media covers inspirational sports stories. Finally, they talk to Seth Stevenson of Slate about his experience playing League of Legends and why e-sports have become a worldwide phenomenon.

Here are links to some of the articles and other items mentioned on the show:

• You can listen to Paul Finebaum’s radio show on ESPN, buy his book, and follow him on Twitter.
• In Rolling Stone, Jordan Burchette wondered whether ESPN, which owns the SEC Network, has a pro-SEC bias.
• ESPN’s Chris Fowler got defensive about claims of SEC bias.
• Georgia’s unexpected loss to Florida may have derailed the chances of two SEC teams making the four-team college football playoff.
• A Wall Street Journal roundtable predicted the Iron Bowl—the annual Alabama-Auburn rivalry game—would be the best game of the year.
• Bill Hancock called the Bowl Championship Series the perfect system, but changed his tune when the new playoff was announced.
• The Alabama-LSU rematch in 2012 did not score impressive TV ratings.
• USA Today described how Jeff Long, University of Arkansas athletic director and chair of the College Football Playoff selection committee, is preparing for the selection process.
• ESPN ran a SportsCenter feature on Lauren Hill, a freshman basketball player at Mount St. Joseph University battling an inoperable brain tumor.
• ESPN’s Chris Connelly told the story of Jack Hoffman scoring a touchdown during the University of Nebraska football team’s spring game.
• Villanova and the Big East Conference allowed University of Connecticut star Nykesha Sales to make an uncontested layup and break Kerry Bascom’s career school scoring record after Sales ruptured her Achilles’ tendon.
• Hill is raising money for the Cure Starts Now, and the game brought in $40,000.
• Boston College baseball player Pete Frates and his friend Pat Quinn are credited with making the ALS ice bucket challenge a viral success story.
• CBS covered the story of Jason McElwain, the autistic high school basketball team manager who scored 20 points in a game.
• Central Washington University softball players carried Western Oregon University’s Sara Tucholsky around the bases when she hit a home run and then injured her knee rounding first base.
• Seth Stevenson’s Slate piece on League of Legends.
• The Samsung White team won the 2014 League of Legends world championship.
• The streaming service Twitch has helped make e-sports a spectator sport.
• Last year’s League of Legends world championship sold out the Staples Center in Los Angeles.
• In South Korea, gamers are big stars.
• PC World showed how import policy helps explain why South Korea is an e-sports hotbed.
• Trash talk is prevalent in online gaming and sometimes crosses the line, and professional teams have suspended some players for comments.
• Golden Girls star Bea Arthur has her own video game now.

Hang Up and Listen’s weekly Fiddlesticks the Harbinger of Doom:

Stefan’s Fiddlesticks the Harbinger of Doom: a sign that maybe you’ve taken that mascot prank a bit too far: the death of a live animal.

Josh’s Fiddlesticks the Harbinger of Doom: checking in on video-game champion Thor Aackerlund, once the envy of 13-year-olds around the world.

On this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment, Stefan Fatsis and Josh Levin are joined by Seth Stevenson to discuss the latest round in the Brady vs. Manning battle. 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 Mike Vuolo. Links compiled by Chris Laskowski.

You can email us at hangup@slate.com.