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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 collapse of the Washington Nationals and the start of the baseball playoffs. Soccer writer Ken Early then joins the show to assess the chaos at English soccer club Chelsea, where the defending Premier League champions are off to a terrible start to the new season. Finally, they talk about the extraordinary feats of Louisiana State University running back Leonard Fournette and whether he should challenge the NFL’s early-entry rules.

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

• The week in whimsy: using a football as a pillow, comparing Jay Cutler to Jesus, a surfeit of 13s, and a bare belly on a field goal attempt.
• Barry Svrluga’s Washington Post series on the Washington Nationals’ season: Read part one, part two, and part three.
• The Nationals fired manager Matt Williams.
• The Nats’ Max Scherzer pitched one of the best games ever.
• Dan Steinberg’s winners and losers from the fight between Jonathan Papelbon and Bryce Harper.
• Jeff Passan reports that Bryce Harper hustles a lot.
• Deadspin on why you should root for the Cubs and the Blue Jays.
• The Blue Jays went “all in on 2015” by making the David Price trade.
• Canadian fans have Blue Jays fever.
• Marin Cogan’s ESPN the magazine feature on the Ricketts family and the Cubs’ revival.
• Follow Ken Early on Twitter, read his columns in the Irish Times, and listen to his podcast Second Captains.
• The soccer club Chelsea is off to its worst start since the 1970s.
• Jose Mourinho’s monologue after Chelsea’s 3–1 loss to Southampton.
• Early writes that “Mourinho may already have lost the Chelsea dressing room.”
• Three more Early columns on Chelsea and Mourinho from back in August.
• Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich is worth $9.1 billion.
• Leonard Fournette is the first Southeastern Conference running back to run for 200 yards in three straight games.
• Fournette’s highlights against Auburn.
• ProFootballTalk’s Mike Florio says Fournette should sit out the 2016 season.
• Johnette Howard says it’s unfair to keep Fournette out of the NFL.
• Christine Brennan argues that Fournette isn’t ready to play pro football.
• In Slate in 2012, Robert Weintraub argued that running backs should be allowed to enter the draft early.
• The 2^nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in 2004 that the NFL’s early-entry restrictions are legitimate.

Hang Up and Listen’s weekly Chelsea pensioners:

Mike’s Chelsea pensioner: A Green Bay Packers tight end who shares a name with an American composer.

Stefan’s Chelsea pensioner: The evolution of the New York Mets theme tune “Meet the Mets.”

Josh’s Chelsea pensioner: The sad tale of superstar prison athlete Alabama Pitts.

On this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment, Stefan Fatsis, Josh Levin, and Mike Pesca discuss the worst plays in NFL history. 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.