Let’s go straight to the third rail. We are seeing athletes do more at a much older age. Surely a large piece of that is exercise science but their have always been rumors of trips to Germany or Miami after a players has had his last drug test of the year.
How rampant are the PEDs in the NBA and should we care other than for historical statistical comparisons?
That’s a great question. People touch on longevity for current players as if it’s just massive advances in medical science, self-care, etc. But come on. Suddenly basketball and tennis players are remaining dominant into their mid to late 30s? And it never comes up in sports journalism because it’s great for sports to keep having LeBron or Federer/Nadal around. Same way everyone enjoyed McGwire/Sosa so much (and got great ratings) that almost no one said anything in real time.
Jordan, Kareem were pretty great in their mid to late 30s tbf, think a lot of it is part self care but the money that’s there for them makes it worthwhile (lebron I think spends $1m on his recovery, so one more year on max-ish money and he makes a return), for lesser guys who get $10-20m they likely want to stay on that kind of money for the next contract so they’ll do the sacrifice as that’s the difference between $15m and $7m in a few years. Way too much money at the very top level to act like an idiot, and in American sports you don’t have the Saudi option where you can still get paid past your prime based on what you did years ago
And there is the whole apps thing now where you don’t need to go to the club to get laid on the road which probably helps a fair bit as you are getting a better nights sleep with no booze
Jordan and Kareem were great but also *looked* old. Same with Stockton and Jason Kidd and others who played many years. Robert Parish and James Edwards as backup centers looked 50 sitting at the end of the bench and playing 3 minutes a game. What's weird now is that peoples' bodies don't seem to age even as their faces and hairlines age. That's why people think Lebron and others are so suspect. When you have a better body at 40 than at 25...
Lebron tbf does look old now, saw nowitzki play in person in his penultimate season (think he was 39/40) and the man looked like he struggled walking at times
Do think the bodies are better in large part because they’re eating a lot less crap now, booze culture has largely died out amongst the top athletes and they watch what they eat a lot more (chris Paul’s vegan switch in his 30s) - sleep is one I think people focus more on now than 5 years ago and that’s a great natural PED
Thanks! But can we also please submit mailback questions via this forum? Reason:
a) Paid subscribers have an advantage, but more importantly
b) One can submit here anonymously. I sadly work for an organization so left-wing that I setup my Substack account to be anonymous, that's not true of my email account. So I'd rather not have to send a message to houseofstrauss@substack.com.
Serious question but what do you think your employer would do if they found out you're a paid subscriber to the HoS. No offense to Ethan but he's not really a household name. Plus, it's not like he's Ben Shapiro or Info Wars.
Heh well it's not just Ethan, it's also what I would say to Ethan.
For example: I liked his recent conversation with Wos about Obama (which was thoughtful and critical). They ran out of time and said maybe they would talk more about Obama in a future podcast.
I want to leave a note to say "more on this please, do the full Ethan/Wos Obama legacy podcast."
But as noted on the podcast, the you're not supposed to say anything critical out loud against "Barry" (how Was called him), "or else the bad guys have won."
Not PC to do critical takes on Barry no matter how thoughtful.
Check out Wos' latest political pod, Woke Bros. He goes in on Barry there.
I'm probably more Left leaning than most of Ethan's subscribers and am a big Obama fan but I found that convo interesting and compelling as well.
Wos also brought up a good point as to why Ethan doesn't criticize the Right/Trump as much - it's because Ethan, like Wos, is a liberal and it's much easier and interesting to criticize your people than those you don't have as much in common with/understand. They hand waive the Right while being much more critical of and disappointed in their "team."
Just as a general note, I really enjoy hearing about the world of “backstage” ESPN. What people are really like off the air, the turf battles, the corporate politicking of it all. Some of your best writing and endlessly fascinating.
* I'd like to hear from some of the old heads for NBA coverage, like Marc Stein and Ric Bucher.
* Curious about some of the "startup leagues" whether it be the Big 3 or Slamball or XFL again and what impact they're having if any (monetarily, ratings-wise)
* More about the transfer portal how it's impacting recruitment, esp in CFB and men's basketball. Something like Colorado just the beginning? Maybe hear from like an assistant coach even anonymously about how things have changed
How will the Boomer era end? Asteroid hitting earth, extreme chaos caused by numerous conspiracy theories colliding, more college football realignment, etc? I’ll hang up and listen.
Apologies if you’ve brought this up in one of the articles that I may have missed, but what is your read on American sports leagues being overvalued via the regional sports network bubble? Is there any chance, either in your perspective or from people you’ve talked to, that we would see revenue for any of the big leagues go down once regional sports networks can’t afford to pay for live rights anymore? Or do people think that tech companies are an adequate backup to this? Is ESPN the first domino to fall?
I think you should start getting into golf. Watching and playing. Your perspective would be interesting. Start with the Ryder Cup. Also Andy Johnson would be a good podcast guest. End of question.
Your oldest son is or about to be the age where he can start playing sports. If your son has no interest, is it something you gently force him to do or do you wait on him to show interest? If he does want to play, would you ever go down the path of AAU/travel teams?
What podcast would you most like to appear on? You've personally mentioned listening to the Commentary Magazine podcast and they've had on guest commentators nearly every day this summer. I think you'd be great on one of those days when sports and politics intermingle.
Mailbag needs to be in audio too! Although, I don't care that much about weather Ethan reads it or some voice actor does. Ethan = better than voice actor but voice actor = fine too.
What will the “now they tell us” podcasts and articles be like about Woj the person and pro, especially regarding the agents? Who would be the best at it? I’m rooting for Windhorst.
Let’s go straight to the third rail. We are seeing athletes do more at a much older age. Surely a large piece of that is exercise science but their have always been rumors of trips to Germany or Miami after a players has had his last drug test of the year.
How rampant are the PEDs in the NBA and should we care other than for historical statistical comparisons?
That’s a great question. People touch on longevity for current players as if it’s just massive advances in medical science, self-care, etc. But come on. Suddenly basketball and tennis players are remaining dominant into their mid to late 30s? And it never comes up in sports journalism because it’s great for sports to keep having LeBron or Federer/Nadal around. Same way everyone enjoyed McGwire/Sosa so much (and got great ratings) that almost no one said anything in real time.
Jordan, Kareem were pretty great in their mid to late 30s tbf, think a lot of it is part self care but the money that’s there for them makes it worthwhile (lebron I think spends $1m on his recovery, so one more year on max-ish money and he makes a return), for lesser guys who get $10-20m they likely want to stay on that kind of money for the next contract so they’ll do the sacrifice as that’s the difference between $15m and $7m in a few years. Way too much money at the very top level to act like an idiot, and in American sports you don’t have the Saudi option where you can still get paid past your prime based on what you did years ago
And there is the whole apps thing now where you don’t need to go to the club to get laid on the road which probably helps a fair bit as you are getting a better nights sleep with no booze
Jordan and Kareem were great but also *looked* old. Same with Stockton and Jason Kidd and others who played many years. Robert Parish and James Edwards as backup centers looked 50 sitting at the end of the bench and playing 3 minutes a game. What's weird now is that peoples' bodies don't seem to age even as their faces and hairlines age. That's why people think Lebron and others are so suspect. When you have a better body at 40 than at 25...
Lebron tbf does look old now, saw nowitzki play in person in his penultimate season (think he was 39/40) and the man looked like he struggled walking at times
Do think the bodies are better in large part because they’re eating a lot less crap now, booze culture has largely died out amongst the top athletes and they watch what they eat a lot more (chris Paul’s vegan switch in his 30s) - sleep is one I think people focus more on now than 5 years ago and that’s a great natural PED
I like this one lol
Thanks! But can we also please submit mailback questions via this forum? Reason:
a) Paid subscribers have an advantage, but more importantly
b) One can submit here anonymously. I sadly work for an organization so left-wing that I setup my Substack account to be anonymous, that's not true of my email account. So I'd rather not have to send a message to houseofstrauss@substack.com.
Yes, you can submit in this forum as well. I might even edit that into the post.
Great, much appreciated House of Strauss = 💯
Serious question but what do you think your employer would do if they found out you're a paid subscriber to the HoS. No offense to Ethan but he's not really a household name. Plus, it's not like he's Ben Shapiro or Info Wars.
Point taken, I just prefer some separation between substack and the rest of life.
"House of Strauss sponsored by NordVPN."
Hopefully you can cover your tracks effectively if you're ever tempted to read Ben Shapiro.
No worries. I was just genuinely curious.
Heh well it's not just Ethan, it's also what I would say to Ethan.
For example: I liked his recent conversation with Wos about Obama (which was thoughtful and critical). They ran out of time and said maybe they would talk more about Obama in a future podcast.
I want to leave a note to say "more on this please, do the full Ethan/Wos Obama legacy podcast."
But as noted on the podcast, the you're not supposed to say anything critical out loud against "Barry" (how Was called him), "or else the bad guys have won."
Not PC to do critical takes on Barry no matter how thoughtful.
Check out Wos' latest political pod, Woke Bros. He goes in on Barry there.
I'm probably more Left leaning than most of Ethan's subscribers and am a big Obama fan but I found that convo interesting and compelling as well.
Wos also brought up a good point as to why Ethan doesn't criticize the Right/Trump as much - it's because Ethan, like Wos, is a liberal and it's much easier and interesting to criticize your people than those you don't have as much in common with/understand. They hand waive the Right while being much more critical of and disappointed in their "team."
Just as a general note, I really enjoy hearing about the world of “backstage” ESPN. What people are really like off the air, the turf battles, the corporate politicking of it all. Some of your best writing and endlessly fascinating.
What’s the song at the beginning of your podcast?
Things I"m interested in:
* I'd like to hear from some of the old heads for NBA coverage, like Marc Stein and Ric Bucher.
* Curious about some of the "startup leagues" whether it be the Big 3 or Slamball or XFL again and what impact they're having if any (monetarily, ratings-wise)
* More about the transfer portal how it's impacting recruitment, esp in CFB and men's basketball. Something like Colorado just the beginning? Maybe hear from like an assistant coach even anonymously about how things have changed
Just don’t start a Trade Value column, lest Bill Simmons publicly wreck you like he did Jonah Keri.
Jonah Keri made quite the heel turn. Salt-of-the-earth Canadian turns out to be a serial wife beater. Yeesh.
Knock, knock!
Who's There?
Pandora's Box.
How will the Boomer era end? Asteroid hitting earth, extreme chaos caused by numerous conspiracy theories colliding, more college football realignment, etc? I’ll hang up and listen.
I’m Gen X, son.
Apologies if you’ve brought this up in one of the articles that I may have missed, but what is your read on American sports leagues being overvalued via the regional sports network bubble? Is there any chance, either in your perspective or from people you’ve talked to, that we would see revenue for any of the big leagues go down once regional sports networks can’t afford to pay for live rights anymore? Or do people think that tech companies are an adequate backup to this? Is ESPN the first domino to fall?
I think you should start getting into golf. Watching and playing. Your perspective would be interesting. Start with the Ryder Cup. Also Andy Johnson would be a good podcast guest. End of question.
Novak…quietly a top 20
Men’s Athlete all time any sport.
He is better at tennis than curry is at basketball.
He trolls. He has a big personality. How come he’s not a bigger deal?
Your oldest son is or about to be the age where he can start playing sports. If your son has no interest, is it something you gently force him to do or do you wait on him to show interest? If he does want to play, would you ever go down the path of AAU/travel teams?
Are you a tennis fan at all?
What podcast would you most like to appear on? You've personally mentioned listening to the Commentary Magazine podcast and they've had on guest commentators nearly every day this summer. I think you'd be great on one of those days when sports and politics intermingle.
Mailbag needs to be in audio too! Although, I don't care that much about weather Ethan reads it or some voice actor does. Ethan = better than voice actor but voice actor = fine too.
What will the “now they tell us” podcasts and articles be like about Woj the person and pro, especially regarding the agents? Who would be the best at it? I’m rooting for Windhorst.