House of Strauss

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.houseofstrauss.comMy old friend Tom Haberstroh stops by to break an NBA omerta or two. We get into his viral thread on how he ranked NBA referees and get deeper into one of the more protected subjects in sports. Podcast discussion includes, but is not limited to:* I saved my dog’s life, right before we started recording* Clearly I’m a hero* How did Tom figure out which referees the NBA favors most? * The NBA says they want half the refs to be female, but doesn’t appear to trust anyone in this cohort with big games* What’s up with players going after the refs in public?* Why did the refs submit a cringe apology to LeBron?* A lot more is known about the the Tim Donaghy scandal than is typically discussed* How Donaghy fixed games and how he helped the NBA by being an unreliable narrator* The scale of all the money that was chasing Donaghy’s picks around the world

Nick stops by for another round of unvarnished opinions about the industry and yes, on sports. This one went in many different directions and I enjoyed all of them. The podcast includes mention of, but is not limited to:* “Nick Wright has a shockingly attractive wife”* Why is local media now softer than ever on the teams it covers?* Should there be public funding of the media? * Are former athletes over indexed on sports television?* Nick takes issue with JJ Redick’s approach in his argument with Kendrick Perkins* Is there racial bias in MVP voting?* The original sin of Russell Westbrook winning MVP* With voting public, do NBA awards voters tail Zach Lowe’s opinions?* Nick and Ethan argue LeBron vs. Michael Jordan 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.comBig Wos is back and he did not disappoint. We spent a good deal on Ja Morant aspects that have been undercovered and we riffed on a variety of topics that include, but aren’t limited to: * A check in on Wos’ popularity + ability to polarize * Has the money gotten too big in the NBA? * On why it’s impossible for Ja Morant to fumble the bag* A civilian vs. soldier dichotomy that isn’t related to the military * On the perils of Morant renouncing life as a “civilian” * NBA commissioner Adam Silver is only about business, and why that’s suboptimal* Adam Silver forces teams be the bad guy with punishments, which they resent * Has American basketball lost a step? * The NBA’s challenge in marketing the Europeans* Takes on Jon Stewart’s new gambit of interrogating extremely small time, small state politicians

I’ve long admired Adam Mares, a force behind DNVR Sports. What is DNVR, you ask? I’d say it’s a local sports site empire that’s spun its popularity off into, among other things, a Sports Bar. Not many in media have the vision or hustle to pull off what Adam’s done, let alone in a smaller market, replete with transplants. The guy just manifests. Among other big projects, Adam recently trekked out to Serbia to film an excellent documentary on the complicated origins of Nuggets superstar Nikola Jokic. We discuss all this and much more. The pod talk includes, but is not limited to:* How did Adam find this burgeoning niche? * What was it like to discover that you’re a bigger deal in Serbia than in Denver? * There’s a Serbian word that’s difficult to translate and it’s the skeleton key to understanding Jokic and their sports culture in general* What’s going on with all the allegations of racial bias within the critique of Jokic’s third straight bid for MVP?* Is the media biased towards Jokic? If not, was it biased towards Steve Nash for a different reason?* Did the media apply a different standard to Giannis Antetokounmpo’s bid for a 3rd MVP? Is that wrong? 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.comAudio version of this article is up.

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.houseofstrauss.comThis time Ryan and I start off on the conventional topics before spinning off into strange directions. His tweet nicely summarizes the docket but I’d add that we touch on the Deion Sanders controversy as well. Enjoy.

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.houseofstrauss.comBeyond being co-host of the successful Rights to Ricky Sanchez podcast and Vice President of Programming at storied WFAN, Spike Eskin is a keen observer of what works in the audio format. Given that, I wanted his NBA takes, but also his insights into what makes a sports talk personality succeed. In this episode, we looked at the NBA’s disastrous All-Sta…

Shadi Hamid is an author, Atlantic writer, and Brookings fellow with a particular skill for pointing out the flaws in comforting popular assumptions. I’m a fan of Hamid’s work, including his latest book, The Problem of Democracy: America, the Middle East, and the Rise and Fall of an Idea.Three weeks ago, Shadi had a stray tweet about football fandom that drummed up some outrage at sports media sites. That’s not exactly why we’re talking, even if it is, in a roundabout way, how we came into contact. The anti NFL fan sentiment is a good jumping off point, though, to a broader discussion about sports, culture and whether it’s a force for good in society. Our conversation touches on, but is not limited to:* Football: Good for America?* Is football uniquely American?* How football in America is like hookah in the Middle East* The allure of nervous crowd energy* Shadi’s book on how liberalism and democracy are not synonymous* The difficulty of accepting a system in which you can lose, big time * The Cathedral, Yarvin, and the democracy-skeptical rightists 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 returning champ Ryan is back from Arizona, to discuss sports media goings on in the Super Bowl aftermath. We get into his experience of doing a Colin Cowherd profile, whether Brett Favre has a case in his suing of Pat McAfee and Shannon Sharpe, plus some LeBron James takes. This conversation broaches, but is not limited to:* Super Bowl viewership. A disappointment? * What’s Skip Bayless like in person?* The aforementioned Brett Favre: Why he’s not charged for a crime, why he’s suing Pat McAfee and Shannon Sharpe* Ryan’s annoyance at how Celtics-Bucks became a load management game* Can the NFL make women’s flag football a thing?* Bill Simmons and Spotify. Ryan gives some expository there* I oh so bravely stand up for Michael Jordan’s legacy vs. LeBron James

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.houseofstrauss.comMy old boss, Athletic superstar and overall King of Bay Area Media stops by to talk Warriors and Niners. Obviously, the Warriors’ end to the Wiseman era gets some play here, but the conversation goes in a variety of directions. This podcast discussion includes, but is not limited to:* On how we should aspire to be like Steph Curry in terms of delegation* What happened with James Wiseman? When was it really over? * Can Joe Lacob be cajoled?* Tim’s Mailbag columns at The Athletic are incredible and he’s dropping news bombs within them* Why’d it end ugly between Kyle Shanahan and Jimmy Garoppolo?* How Brock Purdy seemed for real before getting thrown into action* Warriors GM Bob Myers: Is he leaving? Tim makes a bold prediction* Which team is bigger in the Bay, Warriors or Niners?* A theory or two on why Myers might be antsy to go* What does it mean that I declined to ask about the San Francisco Giants?* As a guy who serves readers expertly, but is often fighting with them, how does Tim feel about sports fans?