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In this week’s episode of Slate’s sports podcast Hang Up and Listen, Stefan Fatsis, Josh Levin, and Mike Pesca discuss the Basketball Tournament, an open, single-elimination contest for a winners-take-all prize of $1 million. Then, they are joined by Nancy Lieberman, the former head coach of the NBA D-League’s Texas Legends, to talk about Becky Hammon’s success with the San Antonio Spurs and what it means for the future of female coaches in the NBA. Finally, they interview Brad Balukjian about his attempt to track down 14 baseball players from a pack of 1986 Topps baseball cards.
Here are links to some of the articles and other items mentioned on the show:
- Ninety-seven teams in the Basketball Tournament are fighting for a single reward—$1 million in prize money.
- Although the Dirty South team is not stacked with former pros, the team members have played together for many years in money tournaments.
- Tommy Smith and Smush Parker are among the players who showed up for the Korean Basketball League’s invite-only tryouts in Las Vegas.
- Ants Alumni will face off against Team 23 in one semifinal, while Overseas Elite will play City of Gods in the other.
- City of Gods coach Joe Connelly compared his own players to the 1992 Olympic Dream Team.
- Becky Hammon led the San Antonio Spurs to the title in the NBA’s Las Vegas Summer League.
- Spurs coach Gregg Popovich says he hired Hammon because “She’s a coach, and she’s good at it.”
- The New Yorker’s Ben McGrath profiled Nancy Lieberman, the then-head coach of the NBA D-League Texas Legends.
- CBS Sports’ Ken Berger writes that Hammon could some day be a head coach.
- There are no female head coaches in Division 1 men’s basketball, and coaching positions for women in women’s basketball have declined since the implementation of Title IX.
- Vice on why the NBA should have more female coaches.
- In 2014, Lieberman offered advice to Hammon about coaching men in Time magazine.
- Follow Brad Balukjian on his blog and Twitter as he travels the country in search of 14 baseball players from a pack of 1986 Topps baseball cards.
- Vince Coleman has been particularly hard for Balukjian to track down.
- In 2006, 15 years after he sent a letter to former MLB player Don Carman, Bryan Curtis heard back from the pitcher.
Hang Up and Listen’s weekly Tim Stoddards:
Mike’s Tim Stoddard: Nate Karns hit the first home run by an American League pitcher since 2011. In the case of the New York Mets, the hitters can learn something from the team’s pitchers.
Stefan’s Tim Stoddard: Chris Froome is not the only Tour de France rider who has had urine thrown in his face. Turns out, there is a strong tradition of spraying cyclists.
Josh’s Tim Stoddard: The University of North Dakota has proposed five new nicknames. We shouldn’t forget the ideas on the nonconsideration list.
Emma’s Tim Stoddard: Ethiopian runner Genzebe Dibaba just broke the 22-year-old world record in the 1,500 meters. How much faster can we go?
On this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment, Josh Levin, Mike Pesca, and Stefan Fatsis discuss whether Junior Seau’s family should be allowed to speak at his induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Visit slate.com/hangupplus and try it free for two weeks.
Podcast production and edit by Mike Vuolo. Our intern is Emma Zehner.
You can email us at hangup@slate.com.