Listen to Hang Up and Listen with Bryan Curtis, Josh Levin, and Mike Pesca by clicking the arrow on the audio player below:
Subscribe in iTunes ∙ RSS feed ∙ Download ∙ Play in another tab
Slate Plus members: Get your ad-free podcast feed
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, Josh Levin and Mike Pesca are joined by Bryan Curtis of the Ringer to discuss the college football playoffs, the alleged meaninglessness of other bowl games, and the decisions by Leonard Fournette and Christian McCaffrey to sit out the postseason. They also discuss the quarterback crisis in the NFL playoffs and the firing of San Francisco 49ers coach Chip Kelly, and they’re joined by ESPN’s Kevin Pelton to examine the NBA’s sudden surge in triple-doubles.
Here are links to some of the articles and other items mentioned on the show:
- The Rose Bowl and Orange Bowl were college football classics. The semifinal games? Not so much.
- Alabama head coach Nick Saban dumped offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin in advance of the title game.
- LSU’s Leonard Fournette and Stanford’s Christian McCaffrey both sat out their team’s bowl games.
- There are going to be some very bad quarterbacks in the AFC playoffs.
- AJ McCarron and Brian Hoyer started playoff games last year.
- ESPN’s Seth Wickersham writes, “Chip Kelly the Coach couldn’t live up to Chip Kelly the idea.”
- Buffalo Bills general manager Doug Whaley says he didn’t know Bills coach Rex Ryan was going to be fired.
- Follow Kevin Pelton on Twitter.
- Pelton on the odds that Russell Westbrook will average a triple-double.
- Westbrook got a triple-double in the first half of the Thunder’s Dec. 31 game against the Clippers.
- ESPN’s Westbrook triple-double tracker.
- James Harden had the first 50-15-15 game in NBA history.
- Stephen Jay Gould’s argument about why there aren’t .400 hitters in baseball.
Hang Up and Listen’s weekly Jerek Dieters:
Mike’s Jerek Dieter: On Jason Chaffetz’s tenure as a college football kicker.
Bryan’s Jerek Dieter: Lane Kiffin is an incompetent scoundrel.
Josh’s Jerek Dieter: College football players love this recliner.
On this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment Josh, Mike, and Bryan talk about Brent Musburger’s execrable comments about Oklahoma running back Joe Mixon. Visit slate.com/hangupplus and try it free for two weeks.
Podcast production and edit by Efim Shapiro.
You can email us at hangup@slate.com.
