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..

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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 with some informed speculation on big news

* New York Knicks owner James Dolan's warnings about modern NBA

* Trump assassination conspiracy theories

* The right weaponizing cancel culture (as the left once did) to cost ordinary people their jobs

* Shams Charania free agency bonanza

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/X is easy; Making content is hard

* When is OK to talk politics in sports broadcasting?

* Colin on Nike and LeBron/Klutch both misusing their power

* The difference (and similarity) between how Steph and LeBron handled their careers

* The difference between Kevin Durant and Steph Curry

* Is KD like Aaron Rodgers?

* Klay Thompson’s grumpy end with the Warriors

* People are more likely to admit reality on sports than in politics

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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 dropping the passes, are the turnovers her fault?

* Differences between the WNBA and NBA

* Was Tim Duncan underrated?

* Should NFL player stats be more respected by NFL analysts?

* A sneaky reason for why Tom Brady is the GOAT

* Will announcer Brady teach us about his greatness?

* Why can’t teams beat the NFL Draft?

* Do we actually know beforehand when an NBA Draft is a “weak draft”?

* Does MLB showing us “catch probability” undermine our enjoyment?

* Why can’t Canadian teams win a Stanley Cup?

* Are some great players actually chokers?

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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

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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 sharpened after the announcement of its big TV deal? Does the money mean the league is on the right track?

* I defend what the champion Boston Celtics represent

* Freddie and I disagree on whether the “fans as GMs” phenomenon is bad

* ESPN’s coverage of LeBron/Bronny is weird

* Dismissing Michael Jordan = Being angry at your dad

* Freddie hates Nick Wright and I do not

* Freddie on The Kamala Conundrum

* Why are we here, right now, we these two presidential candidates?

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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 Boston people talk, right?)

* We saw Game 2 together at a Boston sports bar. Does the guilty liberal side of Jesse feel bad about joining in on anti Kyrie chants?

* Is the journalism industry doomed mostly by structural or ideological issues? (woke vs. broke)

* What’s with Jayson Tatum copying other peoples’ famous memes?

* Audience capture is like James Harden

* Is my Criticism Capture concept more explanatory than Audience Capture?

* Should Jesse have tried to talk to Bill Simmons at Game 5?

* I recommend a little place called the Grand Canyon

* Is the Grand Canyon more elite than Yosemite?!

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 baseball’s current status in America.

Topics include but aren’t limited to…

* Broussard was early to report that LeBron was going to Miami in 2010

* The pressure to be a newsbreaker following The Decision

* Chris is repped by Klutch but believes that Michael Jordan is the GOAT

* What did NBA beat reporting used to be like?

* What are we losing now that beat reporting is on the way out?

* Does the media make the NBA big time?

* The Harrison Butker controversy: Is faith in conflict with corporate/modern culture?

* Why I think Butker made his speech too political

* Has baseball lost out in our modern era?

House of Strauss is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

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

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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 than the initial numbers

* The decision to keep Clark off the Olympic team is starting to look worse.

* Ryan sees the Fever media situation up close

* Do we dare discuss how the WNBA has shifted its marketing to advertise, uh, image?

* WNBAer Natasha Cloud speaks out on Gaza, but few athletes join in on that topic

* Why aren’t athletes backing Joe Biden in ways Dems have usually gotten support in the past?

* Why aren’t athletes criticizing Donald Trump as used to happen?

* JJ Redick gets hired by the Lakers. Shocker!

* Speaking of politics, the Lakers under Jeanine Buss = one of the major political parties

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 of their peculiarities. Oh ya, and also the Boston Celtics.

Topics include but aren’t limited to…

* Manifest Festival in Berkeley was such a unique setting. I run it all by a skeptical Amin

* What’s with the Effective Altruists and polyamory?

* Nate Silver as questions-besieged Nerd King

* Do I love the Boston Celtics? I explain my affection for this much maligned now heavy NBA Finals favorite

* Amin and I get into the absolutely bizarre Adrian Wojnarowski driven story where the Lakers seemed about to hire Danny Hurley (45 Minute Mark)

* Was this a leverage play for Hurley? Or a different kind of Woj driven conquest?

* How my being fired shaped Amin’s perception of the leading news breaker

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 Charania proxy war over whether the next Laker coach will be Dan Hurley or JJ Redick. Oh, and we get into the following Sharp quote:

Everything this Celtics team stands for represents everything I don’t want basketball to be

Enjoy!

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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