House of Strauss

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.houseofstrauss.comBuyer beware, this might be the sports-iest HoS yet. Tim Kawakami, greatest Bay Area sports writer of the last two decades and my former boss, stops by to talk San Francisco 49ers. That’s right, I’m a football guy now, and I need TK to refine my takes. We also get into some Niners-Warriors parallels, Andre Iguodala’s new assessment of Jordan Poole, and where the San Francisco Chronicle erred in its Warriors coverage. Topics on this podcast include are not limited to…* Former Warriors GM Bob Myers is a Niners nut* What positions really matter in football? * Is Left Tackle or Pass Rusher more valuable?* The Brock Purdy Conversation: Why so continuously doubted?* What is Purdy good at? What is he not so good at? * What do we make of Purdy’s Thursday night football performance? * Andre Iguodala gave an interesting recent appraisal of Jordan Poole* Poole and TK had some friction* Why the San Francisco Chronicle messed up the Warriors’ rise

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.houseofstrauss.comI needed a talking to by the HoS Podbudsman, otherwise known as Spike Eskin of Rights to Ricky Sanchez and WFAN fame. Boy, did I get one in an appearance where Spike explains how I’m being a whiner and what I must do to fix it. Despite whatever emotional injury I withstood, I always value Spike’s advice because he’s an astute radio/pod professional and well intentioned friend. Podcast discussions include but aren’t limited to the following topics…* The aftermath of Aaron Rodgers’ disaster on the New York talk radio scene* What it sounded like when a host was dangerously optimistic about the Jets* Why Spike thinks I’m being a “whiny baby” about Elon Musk suppressing links on X* What I must do stop being a whiner and thrive* Is Spike jealous that I got to (briefly) meet the ladies of Red Scare? * A beef that Spike has with a commentator of mine about politics* Deion Sanders’ popular college football ascent and its search for opposing forces* Adam Silver both sidesing players not honoring their contracts

Comedy writer and Internet prophet, Matt Klinman, joins the podcast to discuss the impending destruction of Funny or Die due to Mark Zuckerberg's strategy. They also touch on topics such as the consequences of Elon Musk and Substack's divorce, the live narration of 9/11 by Regis and Kelly, the writers/actors strike, the outcome of Charter vs. Disney dispute, and the existence of female degenerate sports gamblers. Matt also shares a story of saving the podcast host's life from a gang beating in Irvine, CA.

Investigative reporter Lee Fang discusses his experience getting stranded at Burning Man, the dehumanization on social media, the dislike of Burning Man by the left, the role of radical groups in the Bay Area, the fear of admitting when the bad guy is right, and what would happen if the left and right swapped places.

If you’re a baseball fan, you’ve probably heard of Driveline founder Kyle Boddy. If not, here’s your intro to one of the most revolutionary figures in sports, and a great podcast guest to boot. Kyle’s revolution is taking the Moneyball hunt for market inefficiency to the realm of improving players. After demonstrating an impressive proof of concept with pitching and hitting, he’s taking his storied abilities into the other major sports. Outline from the astute Sam Schuette… * Revolutionary changes in sports* Manu Ginobili’s Eurostep* How much is tradition worth following?* Can AI find new strategies that haven’t been tapped into?* Making sports less enjoyable by optimizing it* It pays for batters to play “boring”* How to look for the glitch and exploit it* What teams miss when they solely focus on big-name prospects and not undrafted players* If you’re great, throw it right down the middle* Why it’s un-American to ignore the under-the-radar players with untapped potential* What variables separate good organizations from bad organizations?* The importance of purpose and direction* Why Heat Culture is so prominent* How they hold their players accountable while other teams do not* Does the player-driven league limit accountability?* What constitutes good hitting?* Bat speed vs. smash factor vs. swing decision* What people misunderstand about the key to good hitting* Applying baseball sports science concepts to basketball* What Hawkeye player tracking can reveal that Second Spectrum cannot* Why basketball is harder to analyze than baseball and football* Secrets to pitching improvements* The role of overload-underload training in increasing pitch speed* Should you really keep your eye on the ball?* What recent research shows about how hitters make contact without looking at the ball* What kids’ love for video games reveals about players’ love for their sport* The importance of immediate feedback in video games and sports training* Making a player’s improvement into a quantifiable video game* Telling someone they’re getting better isn’t enough unless there’s data to support it* The importance of having a coach who wants it as bad as the player* Proving your worth through work ethic* What Kyle learned from Reds pitcher Michael Lorenzen This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.houseofstrauss.com/subscribe

We had to have Ryan Glasspiegel of the New York Post on to discuss Disney/ESPN vs. Charter, the face off that might kill sports viewership as we know it. Or get resolved soon. Ryan has a take on his initial take and many other takes. We get into it. Topics include but aren’t limited to:* Why Charter has leverage over ESPN* Why Ryan thinks this gets resolved* Is there an ideological component to the position Disney finds itself in?* The re-bundle could be upon us. * What does it mean for the NBA? If cable dies, are they in trouble as an inventory sport?* Reader JF (JK!) is doing the Big Short on sports TV rights. Is he going to be correct?* Skip Bayless’ new Undisputed lineup vs. ESPN’s First Take* How streaming dilutes audience from an advertiser perspective This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.houseofstrauss.com/subscribe

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.houseofstrauss.comOur favorite guest is here (don’t tell the others), prompted by a certain Substacker’s contention that there’s negative demand for sports writers to engage in conventional political commentary. Wos is the ideal guy for this topic because he somehow does both sports and political talk while retaining the goodwill of most reasonable people. What’s his secret? Is there a secret? This podcast includes but is not limited to the following topics: * How Wos avoids the “sardine in the vending machine” issue* Is the problem talking politics when you’re in sports? Or is the problem that the sports talker adopts an annoyingly predictable politics? * The Trump-based litmus test for whether you’re too ideological* Can Wos become an NFL pundit? * Wos is fully in love with the New York Jets* Aaron Rodgers: Where’s the media at on this guy now?* The NFL’s comeback* Wos had takes on this controversial article about Obama’s past and present

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.houseofstrauss.comAnd now for a man who needs no introduction, but we will be re-introducing on account of technical difficulties last time. It’s the great Bob Costas, legendary broadcaster of all things, and current baseball announcer for TBS and the MLB Network. In this episode, we’ve sent over friend of pod and big time WFAN muckety muck Spike Eskin to Bob’s place to deal with any tech issues. The result? A quality podcast wherein we discuss, among many topics, learn that HoS is a fine product!Pod outline written by the astute Sam Schuette: * Why are so many New Yorkers prominent broadcasters?* The lineage of Costas, Cosell, Breen, Albert, Tirico, and more* The law of averages and New York as the mecca* Talking Shohei Ohtani* How Ohtani resembles Michael Jordan (but LeBron does not)* The one thing he’s missing* Should Ohtani get surgery now or later?* The trajectory of the MLB* The association between a team and its stars* The imbalance between teams like the Rays and the Dodgers* Informed commentary vs. hot take commentary* Avoiding egregiously hot takes and personal blows* How exclusively positive commentary can make you seem less authentic* Why Costas regrets speaking to ESPN about leaving NBC* Clickbaity titles and the distortion machine made his Super Bowl removal a bigger deal than it was* How it created a false “Bob vs. NBC” storyline* “Your prerogative vs. their prerogative”* Trying to be honest vs. making trouble for your bosses* The bar for controversial commentary has gotten so low that anything can cause a fallout* Bob’s Pat Riley story* How a botched teleprompter let Bob save Pat during a broadcast* How David Stern and Roger Goodell differed as commissioners* Goodell ducked an interview with Bob* Stern enjoyed the fight and accepted contentious interviews* The gambling tsunami taking over pro sports* The moral issues behind it* Legalization and convenience enlarging the scope of its damage* Does it take away the authenticity of being a fan?* The Pete Rose Hall of Fame controversy* If steroid users are on the ballot, should Rose deserve a spot?* Does the influx of gambling in the MLB make the Rose lifetime ban unwarranted?* Bob appearing on Bill Maher* Not having to prepare for it* The difference between Real Time and Club Random* Aggregators mistranscribing podcast words* How the internet misrepresents everyone’s words* Bob’s defense of network TV* The edginess and intelligence it offered to the average viewer despite its timidness

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.houseofstrauss.comA House of Strauss favorite is here for our Second Substack Anniversary (Subscribe today!). Amin Elhassan of Meadowlark stops by to, among other things, give me a lot of shit. Podcast topics include by are not limited to…* Amin examines whether the Toronto Raptors really stole secrets from the New York Knicks?* Is cheating the final boss of analytics?* Amin loves how baseball is the cheatingest sport by far* Amin roasts my 2nd anniversary post* In the sports doc boom following The Last Dance , only Quarterback is an undeniable hit. Is Patrick Mahomes our era’s MJ? * Tom Brady: Tim Duncan if he had 7 rings?* I have a new, unwelcome neighbor* Amin felt validated by Lizzo’s fall from grace* Would a Woj vs. Shams movie actually be good?* Years later, I finally reveal the real reason my stoned interview with Don Nelson went south

Saagar Enjeti, co-host of Breaking Points, discusses the importance of creators not selling out, the clash between old and new media, and the potential collapse of Fox News. They explore the challenges faced by cable news networks, the rise of newer platforms, and the diminishing cultural power of celebrities.