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In this week’s episode of Slate’s sports podcast Hang Up and Listen, Josh Levin, Stefan Fatsis, and special guest Kevin Arnovitz of ESPN discuss the Sacramento Kings’ decision to trade their star player DeMarcus Cousins and whether there’s any hope for the moribund franchise. They also talk about the Salt Lake Screaming Eagles, the indoor football team that let its fans call the plays using a smartphone app. Finally, LaVar Ball, the father of basketball phenoms Lonzo, LiAngelo, and LaMelo Ball, joins to explain his parenting strategies and brazen predictions for his sons’ basketball careers.
Here are links to some of the articles and other items mentioned on the show:
- Kevin’s feature on DeMarcus Cousins and the dysfunctional Kings in ESPN the Magazine.
- Adrian Wojnarowski’s report on the Cousins trade for the Vertical.
- “The time for excuses is over,” writes Tim Bontemps of the Kings and Cousins.
- FiveThirtyEight examines a big loss for Sacramento and a big win for New Orleans.
- The Kings’ minority owners are looking to “seize controlling interest” of the team from Vivek Ranadivé.
- The Ringer predicts how the Pelicans might pair two of the NBA’s best big men in Anthony Davis and DeMarcus Cousins.
- Seth Stevenson’s Slate story on the Salt Lake Screaming Eagles and their crowdsourced play calling.
- Read more about the Screaming Eagles in the New York Times and Sports Illustrated.
- USA Today explains how the Screaming Eagles hope to avoid trolls on their play-calling app.
- The Only Rule Is It Has To Work chronicles Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller’s attempt to overhaul a minor-league baseball team.
- The Tennessee Titans auctioned off two play calls to their fans in a preseason game in August.
- In a 1951 game between the St. Louis Browns and the Philadelphia Athletics, Bill Veeck called on Browns fans to vote on their team’s decisions.
- LaVar Ball made headlines last week when he claimed that his son Lonzo is already better than Steph Curry.
- LaMelo Ball, the youngest of the Ball brothers, scored 92 points in a high school game earlier this month.
- Charles Barkley was not impressed with LaMelo’s big game.
- Danny Chau examined the Ball family’s plans to revolutionize basketball for the Ringer last summer.
Hang Up and Listen’s weekly Santa Cuzes:
Kevin’s Santa Cuz: Vote for Gregg Popovich for president in 2020. No, seriously.
Stefan’s Santa Cuz: Let’s graft the FA Cup model onto North American baseball.
Josh’s Santa Cuz: Jimmy Carter beat the media in a 1976 softball game, but (according to the media) the president did not play fair and square.
On this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment Josh, Stefan, and Kevin discuss why more gay athletes haven’t come out since Jason Collins’ big 2013 announcement.
Podcast production and edit by Patrick Fort.
Our intern is Adam Willis.
You can email us at hangup@slate.com.
