Jan. 25, 2010

Listen to "Hang Up and Listen" with Stefan Fatsis, Josh Levin, and Mike Pesca by clicking the arrow on the audio player below:

You can also download the podcast, or you can subscribe to the weekly Hang Up and Listen podcast feed in iTunes. (If you'd prefer to subscribe to the podcast in a program other than iTunes, here's the direct link to the Hang Up and Listen RSS feed.)

Become a fan of Hang Up and Listen on Facebook. Leave us a note, answer Mike's trivia question, and see what other listeners have to say about the latest podcast.

In this week's episode of Slate's sports podcast Hang Up and Listen, Stefan Fatsis, Josh Levin, and Mike Pesca talk about the NFL conference championship games, NASCAR's latest attempts to attract fans,  and Stephen Colbert's embrace of the U.S. Olympic speedskating team.

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

Who dat writing about his hometown team's first Super Bowl appearance? It's Josh!
Football Outsiders breaks down the conference championship games.
NASCAR responded to its drivers and fans with new rules to make races more competitive and exciting.
Here's what the changes might mean for the sport.
Stephen Colbert comes to the rescue of cash-strapped U.S. speedskating.
After a bizarre feud, Colbert made up with and "raced" against gold medalist Shani Davis.

With sponsorships down, Winter Olympic athletes have been forced to get creative to find funding to train.

Hang Up and Listen's weekly "Dempseys":

Mike's "Dempsey":  A top major-league prospect quits baseball to pursue the priesthood.
Josh's "Dempsey":  Why former Saints quarterback Bobby Hebert will wear a dress at the Super Bowl.
Stefan's "Dempsey": The arbitrary scoring and outcomes in figure skating and other winter Olympic sports.

Podcast production and edit by Abdullah Rufus.

You can e-mail us at hangup@slate.com.

Posted on Jan. 19, 2010, by Josh Levin at 4:25 p.m.

Jan. 19, 2010

Listen to "Hang Up and Listen" with Stefan Fatsis, Josh Levin, and Mike Pesca by clicking the arrow on the audio player below:

You can also download the podcast, or you can subscribe to the weekly Hang Up and Listen podcast feed in iTunes. (If you'd prefer to subscribe to the podcast in a program other than iTunes, here's the direct link to the Hang Up and Listen RSS feed.)

Become a fan of Hang Up and Listen on Facebook. Leave us a note, answer Mike's trivia question, and see what other listeners have to say about the latest podcast.

In this week's episode of Slate's sports podcast, Hang Up and Listen, Stefan Fatsis, Josh Levin, and Mike Pesca talk about the NFL's final four, nepotism in coaching, the Marvin Harrison shooting case, American soccer players abroad, and figure skater Johnny Weir.

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

Sports Illustrated's Peter King on New York Jets cornerback Darrelle Revis' "perfect game" against the Chargers.
USA Today story on college football coaches with relatives on staff.
Spencer Hall of the Sporting Blog argues that nepotism, not racism, is the biggest problem in college coaching.
Sports Illustrated profile of Rex and Rob Ryan and their father, Buddy.
Jason Fagone's GQ story on the Marvin Harrison shooting case.
Fagone offers some "deleted scenes" from his story on Deadspin.
The FBI and the new Philadelphia district attorney are re-examining the Harrison case in light of Fagone's story.
Harrison was accused of putting an autograph-seeker in a choke hold during the 2005 Pro Bowl.
A 2007 Sports Illustrated feature on Harrison.
Shaun Assael and Peter Keating covered the shooting case for ESPN the Magazine.
Landon Donovan might stay in England longer than expected due to his early success.
The U.K. press loves Donovan.
Injuries to Charlie Davies, Oguchi Onyewu, and now Clint Dempsey have hurt the United States' World Cup chances.
Johnny Weir came in third behind Jeremy Abbott and Evan Lysacek at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships.
Jim Caple's ESPN story on Weir.
The Deadspin feature "Today in Euphemizing Johnny Weir's Gayness."
Weir is the subject of the documentary Pop Star on Ice.

Hang Up and Listen's weekly salchows:

Mike's salchow: the Pittsburgh Penguins' broadcaster intentionally withholding an instant replay of a questionable goal.
Stefan's salchow: the basketball career of Secretary of Education Arne Duncan.
Josh's salchow: Stephon Marbury signing to play in China, a move that probably won't end well.

Podcast production and edit by Abdullah Rufus.

You can e-mail us at hangup@slate.com.

Posted on Jan. 19, 2010, by Josh Levin at 5:01 p.m.

Jan. 11, 2010

Listen to Hang Up and Listen with Stefan Fatsis, Josh Levin, and Mike Pesca by clicking the arrow on the audio player below:

You can also download the podcast, or you can subscribe to the weekly Hang Up and Listen podcast feed in iTunes. (If you'd prefer to subscribe to the podcast in a program other than iTunes, here's the direct link to the Hang Up and Listen RSS feed.)

Become a fan of Hang Up and Listen on Facebook. Leave us a note, answer Mike's trivia question, and see what other listeners have to say about the latest podcast.

In this week's episode of Slate's sports podcast, Hang Up and Listen, Stefan Fatsis, Josh Levin, and Mike Pesca talk about the NFL playoffs, the American Needle v. NFL antitrust case, the cancellation of the Pacquiao-Mayweather fight, the economics of the three-point shot, and the world's youngest top-ranked chess player, 19-year-old Norwegian Magnus Carlsen.

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

Fanhouse's explanation of the face mask non-call at the end of the Packers-Cardinals game.
ESPN.com's Letser Munson and the New York Times' Ken Belson and Alan Schwarz on the American Needle v. NFL case.
Mike Florio's coverage of American Needle v. NFLon Pro Football Talk.
Drew Brees' Washington Post op-ed on the case.
The scheduled fight between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. has been cancelled due to a dispute over drug testing.
Floyd Mayweather Sr. accuses Pacquiao of using performance-enhancing drugs.
SI.com's roundtable on the fight getting called off.
It's the 30th anniversary of the NBA's adoption of the three-pointer.
The Wall Street Journal's Dan Biderman argues that threes are on the rise for economic reasons.
Matthew Yglesias argues that teams should be shooting even more three-pointers.
Chess prodigy Magnus Carlsen's blog.
Carlsen's father's blog.
A New York Times profile of Carlsen from 2008, a Telegraph profile from 2009, and a Time profile from this month.
The history of computer vs. human chess matches.

Hang Up and Listen's weekly discovered checks:

Mike's discovered check: Why do we care less about steroids in football than baseball?
Stefan's discovered check: Kicking, kicking, kicking!
Josh's discovered check: Was there a piece of gum stuck on the backboard  during the Hornets-Heat game?

Podcast production and edit by Abdullah Rufus.

You can e-mail us at hangup@slate.com.

Posted on Jan. 11, 2010, by Josh Levin at 3:25 p.m.

Jan. 4, 2010

Listen to "Hang Up and Listen" with Stefan Fatsis, Josh Levin, and Mike Pesca by clicking the arrow on the audio player below:

You can also download the podcast, or you can subscribe to the weekly Hang Up and Listen podcast feed in iTunes. (If you'd prefer to subscribe to the podcast in a program other than iTunes, here's the direct link to the Hang Up and Listen RSS feed.)

Become a fan of Hang Up and Listen on Facebook. Leave us a note, answer Mike's trivia question, and see what other listeners have to say about the latest podcast.

In this week's episode of Slate's sports podcast, Hang Up and Listen, Stefan Fatsis, Josh Levin, and Mike Pesca talk about NFL teams resting their starters, the firing of Texas Tech football coach Mike Leach, the alleged gunplay of Washington Wizards guard Gilbert Arenas, and the NHL's Winter Classic.

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

Wes Welker tore his ACL and MCL in Sunday's Patriots-Texans game.
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell is mad about teams resting their starters.
The league might offer teams draft picks to play their starters in meaningless games.
ESPN.com's Kevin Seifert on the value of momentum in the NFL playoffs.
Josh Fyman of Advanced NFL Stats on how records don't predict playoff performance.
Mike Leach was fired as Texas Tech's football coach.
Leach's post-firing interview with ESPN.
E-mails from staffers and former players in support of Leach.
E-mails between a Texas Tech booster and administrators regarding Leach's contract negotiations.
Michael Lewis' 2005 New York Times Magazine feature on Leach.
Lewis' Times Magazine feature on a high-school coach's trouble dealing with entitled students and parents.
CBSSports.com's Ken Berger on what really happened during the Arenas-Crittenton incident.
Gilbert Arenas takes on DeShawn Stevenson in a shooting contest.
Yahoo's Adrian Wojnarowski on Arenas' high-stakes PlayStation habit.
The New York Times' Jonathan Abrams on how the Arenas gun kerfuffle will affect the NBA's image.
Gilbert Arenas' Twitter page.
The NHL's Winter Classic between the Bruins and Flyers at Fenway Park.
The New York Times' Jeff Z. Klein on the best and worst seats in Fenway for watching hockey.
Hockey Day in Canada falls on Jan. 30 this year.
Phil Birnbaum on the statistical evidence that NHL teams are playing for overtime.
Gabriel Desjardins on hockey teams "learning to love the tie" in the Wall Street Journal.

Hang Up and Listen's weekly Poisson toolboxes:

Mike's Poisson toolbox: Nate Robinson's 41-point game after getting benched for 14 games.
Stefan's Poisson toolbox: his first Premier League match, between Chelsea and Fulham.
Josh's Poisson toolbox: bourré, the preferred card game of NBA players. (You can read the rules here.)

Podcast production and edit by Abdullah Rufus.

You can e-mail us at hangup@slate.com.

Posted on Jan. 4, 2010, by Josh Levin at 4:18 p.m.