Nate Duncan on the NBA Finals

Audio version of this article is up.

We did another video House of Glass, this time LIVE with Ryan Glasspiegel of Front Office Sports. What a great element you live viewers brought. We were heartened by the audience that arrived and encourage all of you to share word of this experiment if you can. I thought it was a great show, in my humble opinion. Topics! Discussed! * Why Sophie Cunningham’s politics have inspired calls for the Fever to get rid of her—and why we think that’s crazy. * The Atlanta Dream’s curious definition of a “sellout”—and what it says about the WNBA’s post-Caitlin Clark reality. * Braiden Bell was fired by the Blazers over tweets he wrote around age 15. Should teenage social-media posts really cost someone a job 15 years later? * Bell wants his Blazers job back—and the lawyer representing him has already helped another fired NBA announcer get reinstated. * Why I believe that the Blazers were not only morally wrong, but acting imprudently. * Is cancellation culture actually “back,” or does Bell’s willingness to fight his firing show how much the environment has changed since 2018? * The bizarre Dave Portnoy–Ryan Day feud, and how Ohio State reportedly helped push Portnoy off Fox’s Big Noon Kickoff. * How much power does Ohio State have over Fox and the Big Ten? Enough, perhaps, to dictate who appears on television. * What happened to Tony Romo? How an announcer went from revolutionary superstar to losing the very “superpower” that made him famous. * I express my LOUD SKEPTICISM that the Justin Herbert problem is downstream of Jim Harbaugh or Mike McDaniel incompetence. Once again, big thanks to Ryan for doing this and by all means, check out his great reporting at FOS. House of Strauss is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Hey good people! Our friends at Substack see potential in these cult classic House of Glass episodes and wanted to gauge the response from a more regular airing of them (in which we include video of our lovely faces). We’re going to be doing these shows biweekly at Tuesday 10 AM PST/1pm EST. Next time we’ll be doing a live version where we take some questions. But today, we’ve got a great one for you. The main anchoring topic: Have we reached the “top” for the NFL and sports league business? Ryan Glasspiegel and I discuss topics that include but aren’t limited to: * Is the NFL’s international expansion really about growing the game — or collecting billions in expansion fees? * Are American sports leagues taking their loyal domestic fans for granted while chasing the “undecided whale” overseas? * Why are ancient pocket passers suddenly walking off the couch and outperforming younger, more athletic quarterbacks? * What Case Keenum’s resurrection says about the current state of NFL quarterback play. * Did Ryan Glasspiegel actually predict the Patriots’ collapse because Drake Maye went on too many vacations? * Could Mike Vrabel’s very public offseason embarrassment actually be affecting the Patriots on the field? * The cable bundle is dying, local sports rights have collapsed — could national NFL and NBA TV money be next? * The Sacramento Kings hot-mic scandal: normal private workplace chatter, outrageous double standard, or both? * Mike Tomlin is doing something NFL coaches almost never do: publicly calling another coach’s game management “negligent.” If you’re a House of Glass fan, please spread the word. We appreciate any and all of you who’ve supported our episodes over the years. 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 free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.houseofstrauss.com

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.houseofstrauss.com