Welcome to this week’s episode of Hot Takedown, our podcast where the hot sports takes of the week meet the numbers that prove them right or tear them down. On this week’s show (for March 31, 2015), we discuss the Final Four field in the men’s tournament; what role the NCAA has in taking a stand in cases like Indiana’s religious freedom law; a preview of the baseball season and why the Cubs are benching their best prospect, Kris Bryant; and the math behind the proposed extra point changes in the NFL.
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Links to what we discuss in this week’s show:
- FiveThirtyEight’s continually updated March Madness predictions and ongoing March Madness reporting.
- Ken Pomeroy’s piece in Slate about whether Notre Dame should have fouled Kentucky at the end of their game.
- The legend of Tom Izzo, by the numbers.
- Kate’s article about Indiana’s religious freedom law.
- Fangraphs on Kris Bryant’s insane spring training, and the Cubs decision to not call him up.
- Peter King on the NFL point after changes. Extra point kicks may be moved back to the 15 yard line.
- Benjamin Morris’s opus on how kickers have gotten better and better over the decades.
- Our significant digit of the week: 227, the average number of hits to the head in a season for male and female hockey players. A recent study found many hockey helmets to be unsafe.
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