Listen to Hang Up and Listen with Stefan Fatsis, Josh Levin, and Mike Pesca by clicking the arrow on the audio player below:

Subscribe in iTunes ∙ RSS feed ∙ Download ∙ Play in another tab

Become a fan of Hang Up and Listen and join the discussion of this episode on Facebook here:

In this week’s episode of Slate’s sports podcast Hang Up and Listen, Stefan Fatsis, Josh Levin, and Mike Pesca discuss Kobe Bryant’s legacy and comparisons to Michael Jordan, plus how the NBA can address conference imbalance. They talk to Baseball Prospectus editor-in-chief Sam Miller about what baseball teams are doing this off-season—the Chicago Cubs, Oakland A’s, Miami Marlins, and Los Angeles Dodgers in particular. Finally, they interview attorney Sharon Vinick about the ongoing lawsuits involving NFL cheerleaders and why teams treat these women so poorly.

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

• On Sunday, Kobe Bryant passed Michael Jordan for third place on the NBA’s all-time scoring list.
• Earlier this season Bryant went 1 on 5 against the Sacramento Kings.
• Last week, Bryant was caught on tape berating his teammates.
• Bryant and Arianna Huffington talked fashion in the New York Times.
• On FiveThirtyEight, Neil Payne says Michael Jordan is better than Kobe, even if Bryant finishes his career with more points.
• On Slate, Josh wrote about comparing LeBron James to Jordan.
• In 2006 Sam Anderson wrote on Slate about the pleasure of hating Kobe Bryant.
• On Grantland, Zach Lowe wrote about the NBA’s problem with conference imbalance.
• Lots of people have suggested the NBA should follow European soccer’s relegation model.
• Sam Miller is the editor in chief of Baseball Prospectus and the co-host of the Effectively Wild podcast.
• This year’s baseball winter meetings were especially active.
• The Chicago Cubs made a number of deals, including signing pitcher Jon Lester.
• On Grantland, Ben Lindbergh, Miller’s podcast co-host, wrote about the Cubs’ ongoing re-building plan.
• On Baseball Prospectus, Miller wrote about the frustrating moves made by the Oakland A’s.
• The Miami Marlins recently signed Giancarlo Stanton to a complex long-term contract and then traded for pitcher Mat Latos.
• In the L.A. Times, Bill Shaikin examined the Los Angeles Dodgers’ new front office.
• Sharon Vinick is representing the Oakland Raiders’ and New York Jets’ cheerleaders in lawsuits challenging wages the team pays.
• The Raiderettes’ class-action suit settled for $1.25 million.
• Michael Powell wrote about the Buffalo Jills’ lawsuit for the New York Times.
• Deadspin wrote about the Jills’ lawsuit when it was first filed and is still outraged.  
• GQ followed the Philadelphia Eagles’ rookie cheerleaders.

Hang Up and Listen’s weekly Embraceable Ewes:

Mike’s Embraceable Ewe: Why Robbie Gould’s parents should be thankful for Al Michaels’ professionalism.

Stefan’s Embraceable Ewe: Remembering when Mr. Hockey, who is now battling for his life, got in an enormous on-ice brawl.

Josh’s Embraceable Ewe: A Wait Wait … Don’t Tell Me-style quiz about Tyler Kepner’s fanciful lede.

On this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment, Stefan Fatsis, Josh Levin, and Mike Pesca discuss the latest example of the NFL’s embarrassing incompetence. 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.