The Opening Draw for the USMNT Edition

Joel Anderson, Stefan Fatsis, and Josh Levin are joined by Slate’s Eric Betts to discuss the U.S. men’s national team’s 1-1 draw against Wales. They also discuss the controversial opening days of the World Cup. Finally, they assess the Warriors’ and Lakers’ early-season woes and Kyrie Irving’s return to the Brooklyn Nets.

• Support Hang Up and Listen by subscribing to Slate Plus.

• Follow Eric Betts on Twitter.

• The U.S. men’s national team couldn’t hold on against Wales, having to settle for a 1-1 draw.

• Read Betts’ optimist’s and pessimist’s takes for the USMNT. He also wrote about football stars selling out to promote the tournament.

• At the last minute, FIFA and Qatar barred World Cup sponsor Budweiser from selling beer at stadiums and banned the captains of seven European teams from wearing armbands reading “One Love.”

• Ben Strauss of the Washington Post wrote about Fox Sports’ decision not to cover human rights and other World Cup news stories.

• FIFA President Gianni Infantino held a bizarre news conference in which he said he felt like migrant worker and a gay person.

• In the Athletic, James Montague wrote about how the Iranian national team has responded to anti-government protests in Iran.

• Marcus Thompson in the Athletic on how Klay Thompson is key to the Warriors’ success.

• The Warriors’ defense has not been up to par.

• The Ringer’s Justin Verrier: “Is the NBA’s Superteam Era Already Over?”

• Sopan Deb in the New York Times on Kyrie Irving’s return.

Hang Up and Listen’s weekly Otito Ogbonnia:

Josh’s Otito Ogbonnia: Ben Shelton might just be the next male American tennis star.

On this week’s bonus segment, Joel, Stefan, and Josh discuss the glories of snow football.

Podcast production and edit by Kevin Bendis.

You can email us at hangup@slate.com.