House of Strauss

This audio article is up. Happy Friday, folks. 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

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.houseofstrauss.comAuthor, filmmaker and ardent basketball fan Sherman Alexie joins me to discuss one of my favorite topics: The 1990s. Though, to be honest, we stray from that subject and get into others subjects of interest. Such as! * Rob Mahoney thinks “Smells Like Teen Spirit” is bad. Fair?* Smells Like Teen Spirit changed everything* What was the last great movie?* Why, exactly, Toby Keith’s “Courtesy of the Red White and Blue” became a hit again two decades later* The cognitive dissonance for White Liberals seeing people who look and talk like them having different politics* McDonald’s as blue collar space* Sherman could plausibly be from half the world* I’m mesmerized by how different the Canadians are* Sports media’s been socially pressured into softness* The laudable grandiosity of Timothée Chalamet* The theory behind YouTube athletic stars * Is more fictional content political or are we just more sensitive to political messages?* Who are the ALL TIME “Pretendian” actors

Mike Pesca wrote a fine piece for the Free Press on how oddly not controversial the supposedly very controversial Eileen Gu is. She’s from the United States, but competes for China, and yet receives…mostly glowing mainstream American coverage? What’s with that? And beyond Gu, what’s the elite American consensus on China? But before the topics are introduced…Per the new Substack/Polymarket partnership, I’m posting an Eileen Gu involved competition. As someone incapable of accurately pricing Winter Olympics events, I’m interested in whether bettors reflect Gu’s true odds for winning the Ski Halfpipe. As of this writing, Polymarket has her favored to triumph. Fame halo effect, or accurate probability? And onto the Pesca pod topics…* Would we bet that Chuck Klosterman has a secret North Dakota accent?* Eileen Gu is certainly beautiful, but does she also look a little terrifying? * Is the lack of elite anger towards China rooted in corporate considerations?* America is less patriotic now, especially among the young. Bad thing?* Is the United States the best country?* Per the Jeremy Carl congressional dustup, is there such a thing as White American culture? * Stuffwhitepeoplelike was a great website* Is there such a thing as a “white guy basketball assist”? * Is it plausible that Spike Lee’s All-Star Game Palestine outfit had nothing to do with Deni Avdija? 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

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.houseofstrauss.comThis pod was so hot, so provocative, that our man Ryan Glasspiegel was worried about career consequences. Personally, I believe we were just being reasonable about potentially fraught topics, such as…* Not everyone loved Ryan’s reporting on the viewership drop during Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl halftime performance * Was the bigNBC viewership falloff another “Bud Light” style boycott, or simply lack of American median fan connection with the artist? * Who SHOULD the halftime show artist be next Super Bowl?* More people are criticizing Adam Silver these days* A solution to the NBA All-Star game* A solution to NBA tanking* Artists are dropping Casey Wasserman due to Epstein files revelations. But what’s the specific allegation against him? * I think there’s less to the Epstein story than Ryan thinks

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.houseofstrauss.comFirst of all, congratulations to our SportsPredict Super Bowl winners SFZevi, Nathan Shea and Peter V. I had fun competing against all of you this NFL season, even though I reliably fell short of prize territory. But before we completely say goodbye to football, I present this look back at the game/season with John Middlekauff, absolute contest BEAST for The Volume network. Of course, we got off topic into issues of interest, as tends to happen. Subjects include!* How much is Michael MacDonald worth on the open market?* Why are NFL coaches paid so low relative to impact? * Why does nepotism work better in the NFL than the NBA?* Should NBA GMs make more than NBA coaches? * James Pearce Jr., coming off a 10.5 sack rookie season for the Atlanta Falcons, has been arrested and the details are horrific. How would you assess the pick and process if you’re the new GM of the team?* NFL media seems happier than NBA media. Why?* Is the NBA past its peak? * John’s boss Colin Cowherd famously warned against hiring golfers. Does golf nut Middlekauff still find time to play rounds? * Can Scottie Scheffler reach a higher echelon of fame?* Why are pitchers better than hitters at golf?* Is there a big market to watch non golf athletes compete playing golf?

As I told Chuck Klosterman, I planned to do a pod on his Football book with non sports fan Rob Henderson. So what did our favorite sports agnostic intellectual think of such a deep dive into America’s favorite game? Topics! Include!* When one’s job is a bigger marker of identity than one’s race* Is the NFL a more positive racial story than what gets relayed in media?* Why did conservative media know football was coming back during Covid?* Most retired NFL players have painful daily injuries. Most of the injured have no regrets* How does NFL culture deal with certain positions being higher/lower Wonderlic?* Libs are fine with young women doing Only Fans; Cons are fine with young NFL players damaging their brains* Rob Henderson is fascinated by the gender implications of how the WNBA reacted to Caitlin Clark* Why are NBA teammates rarely friends?* Rob is interested in why soccer is an elite sport in America but working class sport elsewhere* Rob and I both loved one particular passage in Klosterman’s book about how his dad reacted to Doug Flutie’s miracle play 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

I highly recommend Football, Chuck Klosterman’s latest book. In this podcast, we discuss his trenchant and personal exploration of the sport, along with the following topics…* Are we primarily writers or podcasters?* Many believe that young people are correct about the future, but few think they were smarter as young people* Will opinions change less often now that we are publicly anchored to opinions?* Would Chuck lie if his privacy was violated to procure damning information?* Why do we want coaches to be scary assholes? * Chuck asks me if I scream at my kids* Why Mike Holmgren screamed at Andy Reid* The media driven ego battle between Bill Belichick and Tom Brady* Why television dominates our sports memories for games we saw in person* Do we want football to stay American?* Has history forgotten Roger Staubach?* Chuck has been a closeted Dallas Cowboys fanHouse 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

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.houseofstrauss.comGreat conversation with Mike Pesca in which I, unfortunately, regressed to my old ways of pronouncing Chuck Klosterman’s name incorrectly. This is possibly our most controversial and free associative podcast yet. * Was Alec Baldwin’s best Trump imitation actually Jack Donaghy?* “Seinfeld sucks and isn’t funny”?* Mike disagrees with certain Minnesota ICE takes from my podcast with Kat Rosenfield * Berkeley made me biased against protestors* We discuss Brian Phillips’ belief that Trump era chaos is all a devious strategy* The oddness of initially not knowing whether the 2nd Alex Pretti video was AI* Should the new Pretti vs. police video have any influence on how one feels about the possibly unrelated deadly encounter 11 days later? * We aren’t conquering Canada and also, adding Alberta would look so stupid on the map* Mike weighs in on whether the NFL should All 22 itself* Most people agree that a man’s morality shouldn’t influence his NFL Hall of Fame case, but nobody will make the Hall of Fame case for serial rapist Darren Sharper* Is Robert Saleh good or just good at playing the media game?

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.houseofstrauss.comKat Rosenfield has, as she often does, written brilliantly of late. I especially enjoyed her nuanced takes on the Minnesota shootings. We discussed intrusive thoughts on recent political events, millennials seeking meaning, the adultery based cancellation of Jay Asher, and whether James Franco was morally wrong to LARP as a college student so as to pick up college women. A great pod imo.

The House of Strauss SportsPredict playoff contest continues, so make some picks for this weekend. For the championship round, the prize is a $500 DICK’S gift certificate, plus, of course, bragging rights. So join in.In this episode our friend Tyler Dunne from Go Long is here to discuss NFL. We also get a Glasspiegel cameo at the start of this episode which is, admittedly, HEAVY FOOTBALL. Topics!* Why was the Sean McDermott firing controversial?* Why did Ryan Glasspiegel want Matt LeFleur FIRED?* Are young defensive coaches the next wave? * Tyler’s take on that whole Jaguars journalism controversy * Is football great because it’s hidden from us?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

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.houseofstrauss.comFirst, congratulations to Kevin Turner for winning NFL Playoffs Week 1 of our Sports Predict contest. He receives a $250 Ticketmaster prize, and I have it on good authority that there’s more money to be won (by Kevin or whoever) this week. I’d encourage all of you to join for the Divisional Round and beyond, given that the contest is free of charge and it’s a lot of fun. This podcast was initiated by our man Tom Haberstroh breaking a story on a drastic dive in NBA offense, attributed by many in the league to a sudden secret shift in referee practice. What’s going on with this? Why is it happening?Many a great topic in this discussion, such as: * Is Rich Paul correct to lobby for Austin Reaves getting traded? * Is it close minded to say an out of shape Luka can’t be the best player on a title team? * Is it crazy to consider dealing Luka instead of Reaves?* Is Deni Avdija getting unfairly accused of being a foul grifter?* My dislike of the great (and necessary) Victor Wembanyama* Is a substation is getting 49ers injured. Enjoy!

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.houseofstrauss.comI spent much of Monday listening to Spike on the WIP livestream as Philly digested the Eagles playoff loss to the 49ers. What I encountered did not necessarily fit Philadelphia’s reputation for brutality but it did validate its stereotype for sports passion. I was spellbound and needed to converse with Mr. Eskin. In this pod, Spike Eskin and I discuss the Eagles disaster, head coach Nick Sirianni as Tim Robinson character, the media controversy stemming from that nice Jacksonville reporter’s question of Liam Coen, and, of course, LeBron James’ commemorative 23 jersey patch. Enjoy!

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.houseofstrauss.comWARNING: This is an NFL heavy House of Strauss podcast.DOUBLE WARNING: You should really join the free of charge HoS Sports Predict NFL Playoffs Contest. You can win $1000 in prizes based on making NFL predictions with no money risked. So, Dieter and I believe the overachieving 49ers have finally arrived at an impasse. We discuss this, my fraught parasocial relationship with Kyle Shanahan, whether Robert Saleh is a FRAUD, plus sports uniforms aesthetics. Oh, and of course I defend Brock Purdy in advance of a game where he might not produce great results. Enjoy!

The NFL Playoffs, With a Scoreboard That Actually MattersIn this pod, I discuss an exciting reveal: The official NFL Playoffs House of Strauss contest! Beyond the contest, Sports Predict co-founder Steve Kuhn and I also get into our nerdy NFL strategy obsessions and whether the league is starting to mirror the “mixed strategy” approach that took the poker world by storm. But, once again, ladies and gentlemen, we’ve an NFL Playoffs SportsPredict.com contest for all of you. It’s all upside, no downside. We are doing sports prediction, not gambling addiction. Okay, it’s a little addictive. But I digress. The point is you just have to make picks, with no capital risked. Come one, come all, see if you can predict your way to some generous prizes. From Sports Predict: The NFL postseason strips things down. Fewer games, tighter decisions, less margin for error. If you want to know how good your reads actually are, this is the moment.HoS is running a dedicated NFL postseason prediction challenge. Each playoff game comes with ten prediction markets. You can answer as many or as few as you want. There’s no penalty for skipping, and scoring is based purely on accuracy.There are two ways to compete.Predictions across all rounds count toward an overall postseason leaderboard, while each playoff round also has its own standalone competition. You can jump in late and still win a round.The prize structure follows that format: a $1,000 prize for the overall postseason champion, plus additional prizes for Wild Card weekend, the Divisional round, the Conference Championships, and the Super Bowl.It’s a straightforward way to engage the playoffs without betting mechanics, just decision-making under pressure.Link to the Event: https://play.sportspredict.com/LobbyDetails?id=f067dad7-cff5-46c4-8680-92faea924561&eventId=95c1be3f-7927-4a9f-8f0b-2bdc6259caf2Thanks to everyone who joined in on the Sports Predict contests this season and look forward to playing you over these next few weeks. It salves my negativity over the hyper injured 49ers attempt at a playoff run. 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.comCongrats to ZigZag for again winning a SportsPredict NFL Week. The prize is a 30 minute phone conversation with yours truly, and I’m happy to re-up on that. In the spirit of NFL content, this week’s pod is with the ever granular Dieter Kurtenbach of the Dieter and Hutch YouTube channel. The overarching topic is an exploration of a) Why the 49ers went from analyzed to ignored by national media and b) How NFL national media arrives at its collective takes. Topics include but aren’t limited to…* National NFL games dictate a TON of NFL media takery * Football games should only be played in domes? * Jon Gruden’s big secret on what makes plays work* A smidge of Wemby slander* An insane aspect of a Brock Purdy interception the Monday Night Football TV broadcast didn’t show you* The suddenly surging 49ers are being ignored? * The Rams are the top team. One guy insists they have a fatal flaw?* Dieter tries and fails to sell me on getting into the San Jose Sharks* Interceptions are overrated* Is Jalen Hurts protecting his rep by avoiding INTs?

I was touched by your responses to this article and apologize if I’ve yet to get back to you. Here is the audio, in the meantime. 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 guy Spike has been at ground zero of the Great Jalen Hurts Debate, which might be coming to a head following an astounding Eagles collapse in Dallas. We discuss this, plus many other subjects. Topics include…* Dumb NFL narratives* Jalen Hurts’ teammates don’t like him* Remember when Rush Limbaugh got fired by ESPN for race-ing the Donovan McNabb debate?* Film geeks too often blame coaches* Jalen Hurts’ golden moment that immediately went away* Am I correct that Draymond Green has annoyed people into underrating him?* Twitter shows what country you’re in now. An aspect of this saddened Spike* Did Tom Brady really come close to dropping the n-bomb?* Spike reacts to my pod reacting to Pablo Torre’s pod

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.houseofstrauss.comThe Peach Fish is back, for a very special episode. The great Mike Pesca and I have a bunch of thoughts regarding a Pablo Torre podcast about the activist Riley Gaines that kicked up much dust online. We also discuss how Sally Jenkins might save college sports. Enjoy!

Here’s the audio for the YouTube show with Wos on, primarily, what we glean from Steph Curry’s DIVORCE…from Under Armour. Like, subscribe, listen…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

First of all, congrats to Tom P for winning our NFL picks contest for Week 10. His reward is what many would regard as a punishment: A 30 minute phone conversation with me. Hit me up at houseofstrauss@substack.com if you wish to collect. My conversational shortcomings aside, it’s been great speaking with subscribers who’ve won so far. Getting to know you through these weekly NFL competitions has been edifying. Starting this week, we’re making prizes more tangible by adding $100 Ticketmaster gift cards for weekly winners, and the prizes will grow as the crowd does. So if you’ve enjoyed playing, invite your friends to join the HoS NFL and NBA lobbies and let’s make this community even bigger.Perhaps Tom P and I will discuss this latest podcast with top level NBA reporter Yaron Weitzman, author of A Hollywood Ending. Yaron’s new book on the awkward/sordid LeBron Laker Era has my total recommendation. For a sense of how hot the material is, the Lakers preemptively threatened to sue over the contents, alleging that the author’s description of now former owner Jeanie Buss was “misogynistic.” My contention is that Magic Johnson comes off far worse in the book than Jeanie, a topic we get into in this episode. Enjoy…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