FiveThirtyEight
Welcome to the latest episode of Hot Takedown, FiveThirtyEight’s sports podcast. On this week’s show (March 14, 2017), we’re in full-fledged March madness after the release of NCAA Tournament match-ups, breaking down the women’s and men’s brackets and pondering whether the men’s East region is the death bracket it seems to be. Next, we’re joined by ESPN The Magazine’s Mina Kimes, who explains the latest offseason movement in the NFL as free agency gets underway. Plus, a significant digit on hockey.
VIDEO: Our picks for bracket success
Links to what we discussed:
- Filling out a bracket? FiveThirtyEight’s 2017 March Madness predictions are live.
- The road to the NCAA championship is tougher for the UConn women’s basketball team than it has been in the past few years, writes FiveThirtyEight’s Benjamin Morris.
- FiveThirtyEight’s staff previewed all regions in the men’s competition.
- The Ringer’s Mark Titus takes a look at the reasons for optimism, excitement and uncontrollable anger at the beginning of the tournament.
- Join Hot Takedown’s bracket challenge over at ESPN.
- SB Nation takes a look at the top stories of the NFL offseason.
- ESPN’s Dan Graziano breaks down the best NFL free-agent deals.
- Significant Digit: 217, the number of minutes that a game of hockey lasted in Norway this week, setting a new record for longest-ever match. The game had eight overtimes and took more than eight hours to play.