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In this week’s episode of Slate’s sports podcast Hang Up and Listen, Stefan Fatsis, Mike Pesca, and guest panelist Emma Span talk about the start of the Major League Baseball playoffs. Author Robert Andrew Powell joins them to scrutinize the U.S. men’s national soccer team’s 3–2 loss to Mexico and the future of head coach Jürgen Klinsmann. Finally, they discuss the sadly routine deaths of high-school football players and whether anything can be done about it.

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

• Emma Span is a Sports Illustrated senior editor and the author of 90% of the Game Is Half Mental: And Other Tales From the Edge of Baseball Fandom.
• Follow Emma on Twitter.
• The week in NFL whimsy: Buffalo’s “Yes, Sir” bracelets, impersonating Clay Matthews, the Earth’s rotation helped the Bengals.
• The Dodgers’ Chase Utley was suspended two games for a slide that fractured Mets shortstop Ruben Tejada’s fibula.
• The Washington Post’s Thomas Boswell called the takeout slide “one of the dumbest and most unnecessary vestiges of the 19^th century that [has] clung to baseball.”
• Ex-player C.J. Nitkowski thought the slide was fine.
• Emma’s Rangers-Blue Jays Game 2 story for SI.
• Fox Sports’ Ken Rosenthal on why Toronto ace David Price pitched in relief in a 7–1 game.
• Writing on the Players’ Tribune, Royals first baseman Eric Hosmer says “no one” believes in his team.
• Robert Andrew Powell’s book This Love Is Not for Cowards: Salvation and Soccer in Ciudad Juárez.
• Follow Robert on Twitter.
• Robert’s Grantland piece on the U.S. men’s soccer team’s 3–2 loss to Mexico Saturday.
• Robert road-tripped cross-country to the game with George Quraishi, the editor of Howler magazine.
• On SI, Grant Wahl asked whether Jürgen Klinsmann is suited to coach the team.
• Landon Donovan implied that Klinsmann should be fired.
• The U.S. Under-23 team missed a chance to qualify for the 2016 Olympics.
• The U.S. Under-20 team—with Klinsmann’s son in goal—was torched by Germany, 8-1.
• Klinsmann sent defender Fabian Johnson back to Germany because he asked to be taken out of the Mexico game.
• Four high-school football players have died this season from direct injuries on the field.
• Charles P. Pierce’s Grantland essay about the deaths.
• One example of local media valorizing high-school players who die on the field.

Hang Up and Listen’s weekly Albanian drones:

Mike’s Albanian drone: Analyzing Turner baseball analyst Cal Ripken Jr.

Emma’s Albanian drone: The 1989 Astros-related movie Night Game.

Stefan’s Albanian drone: Football’s historic use of the special helmet.

On this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment, Stefan Fatsis, Mike Pesca, and Emma Span discuss Jessica Mendoza’s debut as ESPN baseball color commentator and the misogynistic response it triggered. Visit slate.com/hangupplus and try it free for two weeks.

Podcast production and edit by Zack Dinerstein.

You can email us at hangup@slate.com.