House of Strauss

Your guy Big Wos is back, with candid takes on the state of NBA media. This was a great conversation wherein we discussed the following: * A variety of ESPN NBA moves (Woj leaving, Lowe ousted, Shams hired) * Shams on First Take shows why we didn’t really need Woj anymore * Why does ESPN value news breaking so much! * I can now freely say that Brian Windhorst is great * The friendly fire of an ESP...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.houseofstrauss.com When Tim Kawakami and I get together, we’re going to talk sports media. Considering that Tim just recently left the Athletic, where used to be my boss, and joined the ambitious SF Standard , we’ve got much to discuss. Also, for those who like Niners talk, we’ve got a whole lot of it in the back half of this pod. M...

Nate Jones, NBA agent and footwear entrepreneur at Move Insoles, is here to discuss a shocking corporate ouster at Nike. We get into how Nike modernized at its own expense, lost core customers, and ultimately fired a CEO they were just recently so enamored with. What lessons can be learned from the shoe apparel giant’s issues? What parallels do we see to recent problems at Disney and overall enter...

Big content Friday at HoS! Today we’ve got YouTube superstar Saagar Enjeti on to discuss content trends. Saagar has been steadfast about not doing ads to support his business . What’s behind that philosophy? And why is he thrilled about the prospect of legacy media’s demise? Also, Saagar asks me some questions about what’s going on in the sports media space. Enjoy! House of Strauss is a reader-sup...

Had a fantastic time catching up with our friend Moynihan, co-host of The Fifth Column and all around podcasting force at The Free Press . This podcast is roughly two hours, one of which we’re making free. For whatever reason, we found the World War 2 revisionism controversy of Daryl Cooper on Tucker Carlson to be a fruitful subject. Why did the political horseshoe arrive at trashing Winston Churc...

Sports Analytics King Neil Paine is on to address some of the questions on our mutual minds. Am I correct that people are less into politics this election ? Is Kamala Harris a classic backup QB promotion? Is baseball back in American culture (Thanks to Judge and Ohtani)? Is Ohtani paradoxically more fun now that he’s not pitching? Is Aaron Rodgers too old to be good? Is a “system quarterback” even...

Ryan Glasspiegel is back, and we’ve got many a media topic to discuss. Did politics influence the Samantha Ponder ouster at ESPN ( I say ‘no’ )? What do we make of the presidential betting odds? How do we feel about how politics is all “vibes” and no substance these days? Topics include but aren’t limited to… * Sam Ponder: Was there any politics aspect to the ESPN firing? * Defending Pat McAfee ag...

Warning: This is a very football-heavy podcast. The NFL is back, and so is Warren Sharp with his massive 2024 Football Preview . Given that Warren is so well versed on NFL data and trends, I wanted to pick his brain on what America’s most analyzed league is currently missing. Obviously NFL coaches are highly informed, but is there something they’re doing wrong? Is football in its early stages Mone...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.houseofstrauss.com Kat Rosenfield is an author and Free Press columnist who often boldly covers matters of cultural controversy. I was fascinated by her “ What the Childless Among Us Leave Behind ” essay, which anchors a lot of the pod. We also got into Nike’s new direction and a range of other subjects related to the modern gender...

Big Wos and I were interviewed for The Spoils documentary, which examines how the AAU business is changing as the money in the NBA and NCAA explode. Director Mike Nicoll sat down with us to discuss that plus so many related topics of mutual interest. For instance, in recent years, American youth basketball has become something between a sport and exercise in social media brand building. Team USA j...

I believe you’ve heard of Nate Silver, whose fame is well earned. Sometimes, it’s almost too bad that his reputation as a data/politics guy precedes him. Nate, the writer , is highly underrated. I was reminded of this once again while reading his new book, On the Edge: The Art of Risking Everything . It’s an engrossing exploration of risk and probability, as applied to those who live with making d...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.houseofstrauss.com OK, I’m back from vacation, leaping out of cold Lake Tahoe and into this particular hot water. The women’s Olympic boxing controversy is an absolute mess from a media perspective. When Angela Carini of Italy quickly tapped out against Imane Khelif of Algeria, it kicked off a cultural firestorm. Initially, some of...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.houseofstrauss.com Nate Jones, current NBA agent and insole entrepreneur , has a lot of smart thoughts on our favorite topics. Today we discuss the big news in NBA media : Warner Bros (Turner Sports) is insisting it has the right to match a TV rights deal and the NBA says it doesn’t. Is this about to get ugly? Why must fans be depri...

I saw NBA Youtube tycoon Jason Timpf out at Vegas Summer League and we got to talking about this exact topic: Do you need to truly love basketball to be a winner at its highest levels? That conversation led to this podcast, which includes Jason’s keen observations on Team USA. Enjoy.. House of Strauss is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.houseofstrauss.com Glass man alert! Our favorite sports media expert has broken news , and so we discuss his stories, plus a range of other topics. To copy Ryan’s notes , here’s our loaded topic docket: * Skip Bayless leaving FS1 * Success after ESPN * Shannon Sharpe’s ascension and impact as a megastar * NBA TV deal scuttlebutt wit...

Cowherd alert! Colin and I did our yearly summer conversation, which I thoroughly enjoyed. We started by discussing the sports media mogul era and of course got into a range of interesting topics. Subjects include but aren’t limited to… * Colin on being not just a businessman, but a business, man * Colin reflects on Barstool’s success * How does Colin know who’ll work out as a podcaster? * Twitter...

I’m a fan of Neil Paine’s data driven sports Substack and you should be too. Neil’s got a gift for finding sports mysteries and probing deeper. This conversation went so many places and I could have kept it going hours longer but for the hard out. Topics include but aren’t limited to… * The data driven case for Caitlin Clark getting left off Team USA * If Clark’s teammates are consistently droppin...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.houseofstrauss.com Freddie’s back, after writing a glorious rant titled Fuck the Modern NBA . For once I get to be the guy defending the league (and some of my friends). We also discuss the current potential Biden succession chaos. Topics include but aren’t limited to… * Why fuck the modern NBA? * Why has criticism of the NBA sharpe...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.houseofstrauss.com This month, Jesse Singal’s beloved Boston Celtics won the NBA championship, and he was made happy forever. In between discussing the 2024 title and his widely hated Boston fan base, we of course talked about The Media. Topics include but aren’t limited to… * Jesse was at the Game 5 Finals clincha (This is how Bost...

Thrilled to have Chris on for the first time. Like me, he’s a former NBA beat writer. Unlike me, he’s the co-host of a successful sports debate show. Chris is a very grounded guy who resisted the life as newsbreaker for his current role as commentator. We get into why he made that choice, his call on LeBron’s 2010 Decision, what it’s like to be repped by Klutch, the Harrison Butker controversy and...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.houseofstrauss.com In this visit from our favorite sports media critic, we stop worrying and learn to follow the WNBA. Or Ryan does. I, like many a casual, mostly track the Caitlin Clark aspect. Seems like she’s…really good? Topics on this pod include but aren’t limited to… * A nerd could have predicted that Caitlin Clark was better...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.houseofstrauss.com When there’s an ESPN + Adrian Wojnarowski driven controversy, Amin Elhassan and I delight in our ability to discuss the issue unfettered. And so we addressed this whole Woj + Danny Hurley + Lakers mess, while also talking about, what else? A Bay Area meetup that included many brilliant rationalists, featuring some...

Again we’ve got Andrew Sharp of the GOAT podcast , Sharp Tech , Sharp China , and perhaps some other podcasts I’m not listing. Needless to say, the man wears many hats, though covering the NBA is his main background (Yes, I can relate to this). Today we’re obviously discussing the Mavs-Celtics NBA Finals, exploding NBA rights fees as a business story and this bizarre Adrian Wojnarowski vs. Shams C...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.houseofstrauss.com We can hardly keep track of all the sports media controversies pouring forth from Caitlin Clark’s debut WNBA season, so we enlisted WNBA fan and certified #GirlDad Ryan Glasspiegel. What the hell is happening here? Why is Stephen A. Smith doing battle with ESPN personality Monica McNutt? Why is Pat McAfee apologiz...

Our resident announcer Guy Haberman is back, and sounding much better since the last time we chatted . We went as deep as we could go on the profession of sports broadcasting. What’s the greatest call of all time? What’s Joe Buck’s style, distilled? Also discussed: Guy’s time with the great Bill Walton, my thoughts on how writing is different from podcasting, and how you should prepare for anythin...