This week, the team takes a look at the ESPN documentary series “The Last Dance,” now that all 10 parts of it have aired. It was a hugely entertaining series, perhaps most notably for younger fans or anyone else who doesn’t remember the 1997-98 Chicago Bulls season. But we can’t help but think about how little new information we actually learned about Michael Jordan — and how little the series actually had to say.
Then we turn to the NFL, where owners on Tuesday debated proposals meant to help increase the number of minority coaches. The Hot Takedown crew thinks the since-tabled plan to improve a team’s draft position in exchange for hiring a minority coach seems wrongheaded in the extreme, particularly in light of the many more fruitful steps that could be taken: Make it easier for former players to transition into coaching roles, focus on giving minority head coaches a second chance, and maybe don’t hire college coaches with losing records over qualified coordinators. Just a thought.
Finally, we welcome FiveThirtyEight copy editor Santul Nerkar to the Rabbit Hole to discuss what it means that storied Indian cricket captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni may have played his final match because of the COVID-19 sports shutdown. While not acknowledged as an all-time great player, Dhoni is undeniably an all-time great captain; and, unlike baseball captains **cough, Derek Jeter, cough** cricket captains actually do things. Dhoni’s strength may well be the diversity of his skill set and the high quality of his leadership, rather than the perfection of his form.
What we’re looking at this week:
- The Los Angeles Times on whether “The Last Dances” was overrated.
- FiveThirtyEight’s five-part plan to address diversity among NFL coaches.
- Santul on whether cricket’s greatest captain has played his last match.