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In this week’s episode of Slate’s sports podcast Hang Up and Listen, Nick Greene and Josh Levin are joined by Sports Illustrated’s Grant Wahl to discuss the semifinals of the men’s World Cup in Russia, including Belgium’s impressive front three and England’s set piece–heavy offense. The New Yorker’s Vinson Cunningham joins the show to talk about Stephen A. Smith’s approach to his job, what he’s like in person, and his close friendships with top athletes. Finally, Jon Wertheim of Sports Illustrated talks about the documentary Strokes of Genius, on the classic 2008 Wimbledon final between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.
Here are links to some of the articles and other items mentioned on the show:
- Follow Grant Wahl on Twitter and buy his book Masters of Modern Soccer: How the World’s Best Play the Twenty-First-Century Game.
- Wahl says this year’s England team is a lot more likable than previous versions of the Three Lions and Eric Betts writes about England’s “sterile dominance.”
- In Slate, Nick Greene wrote about Belgium’s powerhouse trio of Eden Hazard, Kevin De Bruyne, and Romelu Lukaku.
- France’s all-time leading goal scorer, Thierry Henry, is now an assistant coach for Belgium.
- Follow Vinson Cunningham on Twitter.
- In the New Yorker, Cunningham wrote about how Stephen A. Smith became the face of ESPN.
- Karl Taro Greenfeld’s 2005 Sports Illustrated profile of Smith.
- In 2010, Smith was correct in predicting that LeBron James would go to the Miami Heat.
- A timeline of the beef between Smith and Kevin Durant.
- Smith has consistently defended Floyd Mayweather against domestic abuse allegations.
- Follow Jon Wertheim on Twitter and buy his book Strokes of Genius: Federer, Nadal, and the Greatest Match Ever Played.
- The Guardian’s review of the new documentary Strokes of Genius.
- Read an excerpt from Wertheim’s book.
Hang Up and Listen’s weekly Lightning Seeds:
Nick’s Lightning Seed: Down 1–0 in a qualifying match for the 1990 World Cup, Chile goalie Roberto Rojas cut his head with a razor in a failed attempt to sabotage Brazil.
Josh’s Lightning Seed: Getting rid of extra time is a bad idea. A good idea: Dario Perkins’ proposal to switch the order of extra time and penalty kicks.
On this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment, Nick, Josh, and Christina Cauterucci talk about how to maximize the length of “gooooooooooooal” calls.
Podcast production and edit by Patrick Fort. Our intern is Meredith Ellison.
You can email us at hangup@slate.com.
