HOME / hang up and listen: Slate's sports podcast.

Hang Up and Listen, the Gum on the Backboard EditionListen to Slate's podcast about the week in sports.

By Stefan Fatsis, Josh Levin, and Mike PescaUpdated Monday, Jan. 11, 2010, at 3:26 PM ET

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

Related on the Web

Become a fan of Slate on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter.

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.

RSS

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. NFL on 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 .

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:

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 .

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

Dec. 28, 2009

Listen to "Hang Up and Listen" with Josh Levin, Mike Pesca, and special guest Tom Scocca 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, Josh Levin, Mike Pesca, and special guest Tom Scocca discuss NFL tiebreakers, sad-sack franchises, the retirement and unretirement of Florida's Urban Meyer, and the NBA's economic woes.

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

The NFL's tiebreaking procedures.
The AFC playoff scenarios explained.
The definition of "strength of victory."
The Chicago Blackhawks have become more successful since their long-time chairman Bill Wirtz died in 2007.
Yahoo's Dan Wetzel on Urban Meyer's indecision.
A long profile of Meyer by Sports Illustrated's S.L. Price.
The New York Times' Pete Thamel on Meyer's decision to take a leave of absence.
CBSSports.com's Ken Berger on the NBA's decline in gate receipts.
Bill Simmons games out the consequences of the league's declining revenues.
The NBA's 2009 attendance figures.
The NHL's Ottawa Senators give away 3,000 free tickets per game.

Hang Up and Listen's weekly club seats:

Mike's club seat: Chris Johnson and Shane Lechler, both in pursuit of NFL records.
Tom's club seat: The 1948 horse-racing book How I Pick Winners by Ken Kling.
Josh's club seat: The sad decline of Bernie Kosar.

Podcast production and edit by Abdullah Rufus.

You can e-mail us at .

Posted on Dec. 28 by Josh Levin at 3:39 p.m.

Dec. 21, 2009

Listen to Hang Up and Listen with Josh Levin, Mike Pesca, and special guest Dan Steinberg by clicking the arrow on the audio player below:

You can also download the podcast here, 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, Josh Levin, Mike Pesca, and special guest Dan Steinberg discuss the Washington Redskins' turbulent season, the potential expansion of college basketball's March Madness to 96 teams, and a pair of controversial college coaches: Notre Dame's Brian Kelly and Kentucky's John Calipari.

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

Rumors that Mike Shanahan will be the Redskins' next coach.
Dan's memories of former Redskins general manager Vinny Cerrato.
The Washington Post's Mike Wise on Cerrato's special relationship with Redskins owner Daniel Snyder.
Get your "Offseason Champs" T-shirt.
Dan's "Scenes From the Burgundy Revolution."
Malcolm Gladwell compares Jason Campbell to Peyton Manning.
The NCAA is looking into expanding the college basketball tournament.
The Wall Street Journal's Darren Everson argues that March Madness needs 96 teams.
The Sporting News' Mike DeCourcy says the tournament is already plenty big.
George Mason made a run to the Final Four as one of the last teams into the NCAA Tournament.
Cincinnati's Brian Kelly left his team to become the coach at Notre Dame.
Bearcats receiver Mardy Gilyard didn't appreciate Kelly's decision.
SI.com's Andy Staples says Kelly had no choice but to leave.
Ex-Indiana basketball coach Bobby Knight calls out Kentucky's John Calipari.
Calipari shrugs off Knight's criticism.
Calipari's 1996 UMass team had its record vacated due to Marcus Camby's dealings with an agent.
The Memphis basketball program is under investigation due to allegations of "knowing fraudulence or misconduct" relating to Derrick Rose's SAT exam.
Calipari hired Tyreke Evans' strength coach for his staff at Memphis.
CBS Sportsline's Gregg Doyel runs down the 10 sleaziest coach-player package deals in college hoops history, including Calipari's hiring of Dajuan Wagner's father Milt.

Hang Up and Listen's weekly five holes:

Mike's five hole: The All-America Football Conference's final game, the 1949 Shamrock Bowl.
Dan's five hole: In praise of the EagleBank Bowl.
Josh's five hole: Is it sacrilegious to call the New Orleans Saints quarterback "Breesus"?

Podcast production and edit by Abdullah Rufus.

You can e-mail us at .

Posted on Dec. 21 by Josh Levin at 3:27 p.m.

E-MAIL

RECOMMEND... Get Slate RSS Feeds

Stefan Fatsis is a sports commentator on NPR's All Things Considered and the author of Word Freak and A Few Seconds of Panic. Josh Levin is a Slate senior editor. You can e-mail him at and follow him on Twitter. Mike Pesca is a correspondent for National Public Radio who covers mostly sports.

Illustration by Robert Neubecker.

What did you think of this article?

Join The Fray: Our Reader Discussion Forum

POST A MESSAGE | READ MESSAGES