Slate's sports podcast, Hang Up and Listen, for the week of March 8, 2010.

Slate's sports podcast, Hang Up and Listen, for the week of March 8, 2010.

Slate's sports podcast, Hang Up and Listen, for the week of March 8, 2010.

Hang Up and Listen has moved! You can find new episodes here.
Slate's sports podcast.
March 8 2010 3:31 PM

Hang Up and Listen: The Ultimate Zone Rating Edition

Listen to Slate's podcast about the week in sports.

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

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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 talk one-and-done players in college basketball; the UConn women's hoops team's 70-game winning streak; the search for baseball's next statistical revolution; and athletes, such as the Washington Redskins' Chris Samuels, who play on despite health risks.

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

According to draftexpress.com, three of the top four NBA prospects in college basketball are freshmen.
Michael McCann's research on the NBA success of high-school players relative to college stars.
The USC basketball program is on probation due to the recruitment of O.J. Mayo.
The Connecticut women's basketball just tied a record by winning its 70th consecutive game.
The North Carolina women's soccer team won yet another national title in 2009.
The Washington Post's Mike Wise on blowouts in girls' high-school basketball.
Malcolm Gladwell's New Yorker article on how underdogs can win by using the press.
The gambling site Bodog.com has the Seattle Mariners as the third-best team in the American League.
Albert Chen's Sports Illustrated piece on the Mariners' quest to win with defense.
The New York Times is also touting the Mariners' chances.
Chris Samuels retired after playing in the NFL for 10 years with spinal stenosis.
Fanhouse's Clay Travis visits with Hank Gathers' family 20 years after the college basketball star's death.
Sports Illustrated's David Epstein on why enlarged hearts are hard to diagnose.
Deadspin's Barry Petchesky on why we don't have mandatory heart screenings for athletes.
The San Francisco Chronicle reports on a Stanford study showing that mandatory EKGs for young athletes would not be prohibitively expensive.

Hang Up and Listen's weekly bracket busters:

Mike's bracket buster: in praise (mostly) of Sandra Bullock's performance in The Blind Side. (Here's Josh's negative review of the movie.)
Stefan's bracket buster: Kentucky basketball coach John Calipari's Maker's Mark endorsement. (Here's the NCAA's policy on alcohol advertising.)
Josh's bracket buster: the 1990 college basketball game between LSU and Loyola Marymount: (Here are the box score and the full game replay.)

Podcast production and edit by Abdullah Rufus.

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

Posted on March 8, by Josh Levin at 3:31 p.m.

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