House of Strauss = Last Minute XMas Gift
Reasons to Give and a Year in Review
Greetings customers. Just wanted to thank you all and wish you a Happy Holidays. None of this is supposed to be a cynical pretext for suggesting you buy HoS subscriptions as a gift. But hey, if it happens, that’s cool too.
To establish the highly hypothetical gift as worthwhile, or, at the very least, dissimilar from what you’ll find elsewhere in media, I’ve compiled my favorites from 2022. Self indulgently, I’ve even ranked my own work from this year, in descending order. Here goes.
5. Maybe the Pedestal Was a Mistake
Congratulations to Kyrie Irving for being the lead HoS muse of 2022. You know, I thought Adrian Wojnarowski had this locked up, but Irving’s sheer knack for disagreeable newsmaking was impossible to deny. Here, we get into how the NBA’s social relevance marketing strategy accidentally tethered their reputation to Irving’s whims.
4. Work From Home is Good
Was I correct in extolling the virtues of WFH, or missing some massive downsides? I’d hazard “both,” but what I most appreciated about this essay was the smart commentary it prompted in response.
3. Pity the Zoomer Athlete
Generations are a theme at HoS. My overall theory is that none are good or bad, but the flaws of one are usually passed down from the other. Here, we arrive at the Gen Z moment. It’s a less than happy one, perhaps in part because it’s so focused on trying to find bliss.
2. Woj and ESPN, Burying a Story Again
I caught ESPN hiding the biggest NBA offseason bombshell for nearly a full day. Even after the reasons are explained, it’s still a mystifying situation. Strange company, that WWL, but good for business over here.
1. What if the Old Guys Were Right
I’m proud of this essay, and won’t bother feigning humility. It captured a cultural phase shift I lived through and observed without really understanding until I finally looked back. Plus Will Leitch and Buzz Bissinger were kind enough to do the interviews and allow me to use them as props in the broader Gen X vs. Boomer divide.
And that’s it. Those are my five. Perhaps you have a different grouping and I’d love to hear about that. In the meantime, have a wonderful Holiday, and thank you for subscribing.
Ethan, this is off-topic, but I find it unusual that ESPN doesn’t have a story about the Mets having concerns about Carlos Correa’s medical report as of 11 AM on Saturday. Is there anything to be read into that?
Kyrie and the Bartlbly - while I would not say it’s my favorite piece of yours, I find it the most compelling intersection of sports and good literature I have seen u or pretty much any sports writer, write. Unless u would classify Michael Lewis and the late great, David Halberstam as “sports writers”. But , either way - that is pretty rarified air.