Hang Up and Listen: The Spending the Right Way Edition
Slate’s sports podcast on the Red Sox and Cardinals, Arian Foster’s football IPO, and the Grambling football crisis.

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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 about the World Series matchup between the Red Sox and Cardinals and whether each team is “playing the game the right way.” They also investigate the initial public offering on Texans running back Arian Foster, and whether it will ever be a good idea to trade athletes like they’re stocks. Finally, they’re joined by writer and former Florida A&M sports information director Alvin Hollins Jr. to discuss the decision by Grambling State University football players to boycott their game this past weekend and what that says about the state of black college football.
Here are links to some of the articles and other items mentioned on the show:
- For the first time since 1999, the teams with the best records in each league—the Red Sox and Cardinals—will meet in the World Series.
- The Red Sox had a huge number of injuries in 2012.
- General manager Ben Cherington rebuilt the Red Sox very quickly.
- Two seasons ago, the Red Sox had a historic September collapse supposedly fueled by chicken and beer.
- The New York Times examines the Cardinals’ legacy of success bolstered by innovation.
- Sports Illustrated explained the “Cardinal Way” earlier this season.
- St. Louis’ Carlos Beltran did not approve Yasiel Puig’s behavior in the NLCS.
- SI’s S.L. Price takes a shot at explaining the “still-mysterious” Yasiel Puig.
- The New York Times reports that you’ll soon be able to buy shares in Houston Texans running back Arian Foster.
- The Securities and Exchange Commision documents for Foster’s IPO.
- Slate’s Matt Yglesias explains that the IPO is actually more akin to a loan to Arian Foster and probably a poor investment.
- Deadspin is skeptical about the Foster IPO.
- Michael Lewis’ 2007 Portfolio article about the potential for a jock stock exchange.
- Josh’s Slate story on minor league baseball player Randy Newsom’s plan to sell shares of his future.
- Newsom’s venture got shut down by MLB and the SEC.The publicly owned Green Bay Packers sell shares to fans, though stockholders don’t have any say in how the franchise gets run.
- David Bowie’s “Bowie Bonds,” explained.
- Sports Illustrated’s George Dohrmann with the “inside story of what caused Grambling football players to revolt.”
- Alvin Hollins Jr. writes that Grambling is the canary in the coal mine for historically black colleges.
- Deadspin goes behind the Grambling football team’s protest.
- USA Today reports on the reaction from student body and alumni.
- Hollins on how black colleges have struggled with the NCAA’s Academic Progress Report.
- The New York Times on Florida A&M’s failed attempt to become the first HBCU to jump to Division I-A.
Hang Up and Listen’s weekly Druid City Classics:
Mike’s Druid City Classic: The state of Connecticut’s ill-advised purchase of the New Haven tennis tournament.
Stefan’s Druid City Classic: A review of some of the longest sporting contests of all time, including a recent penalty shootout between English soccer clubs Brockenhurst and Andover.
Josh’s Druid City Classic: On the “Failure in Torrance,” the United States men’s soccer team’s failure to qualify for the 1986 World Cup.
Podcast production and edit by Mike Vuolo. Our intern is Casey Butterly.
You can email us at hangup@slate.com.