The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Colin Cowherd Podcast - Ethan Strauss on NBA Media Criticism, Locker Room Ban, Twitter Outrage, Ben Simmons Toxicity, Warriors Flaws Ja Morant

Episode Date: March 3, 2022

First, it's Fake Questions, Real Answers where Colin explains why Sean McVay is the NFL's "disruptor", why owners shouldn't in a rush to play April baseball, what Joe Biden's State of the Union address proves about Twitter, what Kyler Murray can learn from Baker Mayfield's missteps, and why Oklahoma fans latest claim about Lincoln Riley may be the most pathetic yet (3:00).Then, longtime NBA writer - and host of the House of Strauss Podcast - Ethan Strauss and Colin discuss why the Cavs are drawing huge local ratings when the Lakers and Nets aren't (14:00), Ethan's NBA media scouting report (26:00), the danger of paying too much attention to Twitter (31:00), the problem with the NBA's media locker room ban (35:00), why the media outrage industry is thriving (40:00), if Ben Simmons is destined to fail in Brooklyn (45:00), when he knew Draymond Green could change the Warriors culture (49:00), if this version of the Warriors can win the title (52:00),Make sure to Subscribe and follow Colin and The Volume on Twitter for the latest content and updates and check out FanDuel for the best wagering and daily fantasy action! Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The volume. This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed Human. Another podcast from some SNL, late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel help an a cappella band with their between songs banter.

Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to Humor Me with Robert Smigel and friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential.

Either way, the podcast's superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, this is Robert from the Stuff to Blow Your Mind podcast. Joe and I are both lifelong Star Wars fan, so we're celebrating May the 4th with a brand new week of fun, thought-provoking Star Wars-related episodes. Join us as we tackle science and culture topics from a galaxy far, far away, such as the biology of tontons and wampas on the ice planet hot, or the practicality and corporate business sense of the Sith rule of.

too. Listen to Stuff to Blow Your Mind on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. On the Look Back at it podcast. For 1979, that was a big moment for me. 84 was big to me. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a year, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. With our friends, fellow comedians, and favorite authors.

Like Mark Lamont Hill on the 80s. 84 was a wild year. I mean, it was a wild year. I don't think there's a more important year for black. people. Listen to look back at it on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. What grows in the forest, our imagination, and our family bonds? The forest is closer than you think.

Find a forest near you at Discovertheforest.org. Brought to you by the United States Forest Service and the ad council. We've all felt left out. And for people who move to this country, that feeling lasts more than a moment. We can change that. Learn how at belonging begins with us.org. Brought to you by the ad council. Look for your children's eyes,

and you will discover the true magic of a forest. Find a forest near you and start exploring at discovertheforest.org. Brought to you by the United States Forest Service and the ad council. The Colin Coward podcast presented by Fandulul's sportsbook, no better place to make every moment more than with Fandul. basketball, football. They have awesome new and existing user promotions. It's easy to use. It's safe and secure. You can get your winnings back in two hours. My favorite, the same game parlays. You can bet five or ten bucks in one 150 bucks or more. If you are new, just download the Fandul Sportsbook app. Get started now. Sign up promo code Colin so they know we and I sent you. The Colin Coward podcast presented. by the Fandul Sportsbook. Hi, everybody, and welcome in to the Thursday morning podcast.

I think you're going to love our guest, Ethan Strauss. I introduced you to Ethan, for those who don't know him, about a year ago. He's just terrific. He was one of my first guests. Thought-provoking, pushes back, left the NBA and the Warriors and covering the league to start his own business, and he is flourishing. But first, fake questions, real answers. Stuff I want to talk about, don't want to wait for you to ask me the question.

Dear Colin, Sean McVeigh's new contract will make him the second highest paid coach in the league. Do you think he deserves it? Yes, because he's not only a Super Bowl winning coach, he's not only a winning coach, he's an innovator, much like Belichick was, Sean Payton was, is that I'm never, ever bothered by a lot of high salaries if somebody is not only productive, but is creating new revenue streams, new ideas, and new businesses. I'll give you an example. Michael Rubin, he's the CEO of Fanatics.

It's an official merchandising store for Major League Baseball, NBA, NHL, NASCAR. So in the late 90s, when we didn't know what the heck to do with the Internet, right, nobody was selling anything online. and he created a company called GSI Commerce that helped other companies and older executives get into e-commerce. It was very risky at the time. I mean, you go back 30 years ago, there were not a lot of takers, right? Certainly no executives who knew at these massive companies what the online world was going to look like. It seemed risky.

Well, in 2011, 10 years ago, 11 years ago, he sold his company to eBay. for $2.4 billion. He's an innovator. And I root for people who are innovators. And that's why I love Sean McVeigh. Sean McVeigh said there's no reason to play any good starters in the preseason. People balked. You won't be ready in September.

He won his first eight games. Now the league copies him. He was a big believer in being collaborative as a coach. It's a players league, much like the NBA. strong player leadership on teams, listening to players, much less hitting in practice. People rolled their eyes. Look at their defensive rankings. He moved off Jared Goff, basically unheard of in the NFL, moving off a Super Bowl quarterback heading into his prime.

Unheard of. When you find a guy that not only wins at the highest level, but he is creating new cultures and ideas. Pay them, whatever the market bears. I think Michael Rubin, Sean McVeigh, both innovators and their universes. Dear Colin, we may not have baseball in April. What do you make of that? Well, if you own a baseball team, the worst month is actually April. Ever watched an April baseball game in a northern climate?

It's raining. There's no fan. You have to pay all the bills in April. You have to turn the lights on at your stadium. Pay all the employees, all your players. But it's your worst revenue month, especially for Northern Tier teams, Pittsburgh, New York, Seattle, Minnesota Twins, Cleveland, Chicago teams. So if you asked owners, what's their favorite month?

Well, it's July, it's September. if you're a playoff team, it's October. Those are additional revenue games you didn't even plan, right? But of course, owners are going to push back early because they get rid of their costliest month, April. We'll get it figured out. There's too much money at stake. We'll get it figured out. But April, pretty predictable.

The owners don't care if they lose those 15 to 20 games. Dear Colin, you don't talk politics much. What did you make of Joe Biden's state of the union? Well, here's what I made of it. The next day, 78% of Americans approved. What does that mean? 78% of people in America are also not on Twitter. I have warned you for years about this.

Joe Biden is too boring to be controversial. If you went to Twitter during the state of the union, It was a tire fire, outrage. The next day, for a majority of Americans, older Americans who are not on Twitter, 78% approval. This is not a political statement. It's a social media statement. Don't buy into what you read on social media.

Most adults who are busy are not on it regularly. Dear Colin, what can Kyler Murray learn from Baker Mayfield? Lots of missteps. Well, nothing really, but general managers can all learn something from Kyler Murray, Baker Mayfield, and Aaron Rogers. You can't change a player's personality. They are what they are, and money only amplifies it. There's a lot of egos in football and not just with the players. And many times we think we can solve, of a player. Let me have a chance with him. Kyler, there's been warning signs for three years. Baker Mayfield keeps having missteps. Aaron Rogers, he's been dramatic since his second, third year in the league. Remember when he first got the starting job and he was mad at the

Cow Bears where he went to college because he first went to a junior college and apparently he wasn't getting along with somebody at Cal. And on Monday night football, when they announce where you went to college, Aaron Rogers said, Butte Community College, Aaron's been kind of a pain in the ass and high maintenance for a lot of years. You're not going to change him. People don't change, especially when they get rich. It only amplifies their personality. Dear Colin, what's the dumbest thing you heard this week from Oklahoma Sooner fans? Great question. It's hard to choose, but here's the latest. Every year with Lincoln Riley, things got a little worse.

Oh, really? I looked at Bob Stoop's last five years at Oklahoma, and Lincoln Riley's five years at Oklahoma, Lincoln Riley had a better record. In fact, he lost two games exactly every year. He lost to Alabama once and Georgia once, and he also lost to the best college football team I've ever seen LSU.

He did lose one game to a rival. That's allowed, Texas. And he lost to Oklahoma State, too. You have a right to lose to Alabama, LSU, Georgia, an occasional rival. In one of Bob Stoop's final years, he went eight and five. Oklahoma, look at their history. Almost never loses five games. If you have to go to statistics,

To make arguments that Lincoln Riley is not a good coach? Well, the Dallas Cowboys have offered him a job. He is viewed by NFL GMs as the next Sean McVeigh. In an offensive-leaning culture of college and pro football, he's considered the best college offensive coach. Stop making pathetic argument sooner fans. You know it and I know it. The reason Brett Venables has a chance to win early

because of all those recruits, Lincoln, Riley, and his staff got to Norman. Well, my guest today is a fascinating guy, Ethan Strauss. You can subscribe to his substack at house of Strauss. com. I am a follower and a frequent listener. And so I used to be able to bring Ethan on all the time. Now he's his own industry and it's very difficult to find the time to bring Ethan on. But what Ethan did is something that I've always been fond of is that Ethan looked at his career.

He was very successful, worked at the athletic, covered the best basketball team initially and then the league as a whole and had battles and run-ins. He was somebody who did not take the company line. And then he decided, looking at the landscape, I'm going to do this on my own. I'm going to go out and take a chance. And that's a scary place to be. And Ethan, let's get an update on your subscriber total because it went better than you thought. You probably like any regular person had a little anxiety. How are your substack totals these days?

And how are you doing? Ooh, should I be honest about that, Colin? Because when somebody is playing music on the street, you don't want a bunch of money in the hat. You want to seem like they should save you. And you're desperate in theory. right. But it's going well. I do want to raise some money to be able to pay my editor in perpetuity. I'm nearing the $200,000 mark as far as revenue, which half a year in, I would say is pretty good. Over 1,800 paid subscribers, over 8,000 on the free list. So it has gone better

than I expected. And what's so great about it from my selfish perspective is that it doesn't just go back to zero after year one. In theory, if I continue to do a good job and serve the customer, then it's something that you can build on. So it goes from seeming so risky, Colin, to being a lot of security and not just security because people listening don't care about whatever my job security is. The great thing about it is when you have it, you can say what you want. That's what I'm into. That's what I'm in it for. So you had something very interesting the other day. And I thought it was fascinating.

It was NBA local ratings. And it told us a lot about the league. Okay. There was a, you know, you and I have talked about ratings before. And let me start by saying all these leagues make their money. Everybody's dying for content. Hockey has not only a huge Canadian television contract, but a massive. American TV contract and virtually nobody watches it in America at a national level.

So people need content. But what I found that was fascinating with, a golden state, the Warriors had by far and away the largest number. Second was Cleveland without LeBron. At the bottom of the list was Brooklyn full of stars, clippers full of stars, Lakers middle of the pack, though full of stars. Here is my takeaway on Cleveland, is that Milwaukee was also way up there and so was Philadelphia. So it wasn't a market thing necessarily. Cleveland's on a major market. Ethan, my

takeaway was, we team and us matters. Yes. That if you have Darius Garland and young players, Evan Mobley, you can bring on a Jared Allen. But the audience wants to feel connected to the players. and they don't when you bring in KD, Kyrie, Hardin, that they were next to last in ratings, and the Cavaliers without LeBron are a strong number two. That was my takeaway on the list. Teams Milwaukee, Philadelphia, M.B.'s been there a long time. Teams that feel cohesive, not only in the locker room,

but to their community, it's not as star-driven as we think. that was my interpretation, yours. That is also my interpretation. And it doesn't matter if the media has been lecturing so much of the public that they shouldn't care. And I'm going to get into a broader media theory of how the NBA went wrong here connected to this. But yes, I completely agree. People like familiarity. They like feeling that they saw somebody grow up before their eyes.

There's a connection. It matters. You can't just program people into loving teams. they never loved before either. If they never loved the clippers, it's going to, it's going to be hard for them to start loving the clippers or the Nets, if they love the Knicks. But I think where the NBA went wrong and how it promoted itself,

it's a funny quirk that I don't think anybody could have predicted. I think what happened, Colin, is that it became such a fixation as to who breaks the news. And it became a war, Wojj versus Shams. That became the focus. Well, the problem with that is this. You need agents in order to win that game. I'm not saying I could win that game, by the way. I'm not looking down my nose.

I couldn't be that guy. It's not in my skill set. But you need to do what agents want in order for them to feed you. And so the media members started talking from the perspective of agents. And that's a problem because the perspective of agents is at cross purposes with the perspective of fans. No fan ever watched Drew Rosenhouse behind a podium explaining why a star was in a a hold out and thought, that's my guy. He's speaking my language. So I think in addition to what you're saying, a lot of the promotion of the sport got out of whack because it started to be about

this guy's unhappy. You should be sensitive. You shouldn't be mad at him because he failed you. He wants out. Oh, he wants out again. And a lot of people just changed the channel. They didn't want a sport that featured a bunch of guys that really were advertising no concern about them. In the podcast business, I've been in this now for a year at the volume. And we had a really, really cool growth for us. We're a small company, but we're really proud of our growth. And one of the things that, not that it's a trade secret, but I have found with the volume, and I didn't know this initially. In fact, my instincts were the opposite of this. I call it buddies over Broadway. I initially.

thought bringing on big guests would get my highest downloads. They don't. What people want from my podcast is me talking to buddies, Ethan Strauss, Ryan Rissillo, Michael Silver.

They want my friends. Nick Wright. What we found is people love podcasting, not for the stars, but for this connection, you're listening to a conversation, between two friends and you feel like you're dropping in. And I would say this.

Nobody would deny that star power doesn't have influence. But I do think, remember the John Stockton, Carl Malone, Michael Jordan last final? That was predicted to be a dud. It's the highest rated finals ever. Remember the subway series met Yankees predicted to be a dramatic ratings. hit. It was at the time the lowest rated finals ever. Stars matter when the star has a compelling story, Michael Jordan's last game. Can LeBron finally bring a title to Cleveland? But the idea that stars alone move needles is completely overrated from my perspective now that I run a business.

Yeah, yeah. It's stories over stars. I found something similar with you where when I my friend Amin al-Hasson on and Amin is known in media but for whatever reason the chemistry just tends to get the most listens people want something organic they want something that feels real but to what you're saying it's story over stars almost you want stars plus story and the greatest story is often one of contrast that's the epic battle you mentioned that it's lebron it's uh michael jordan's last dance but it's also the big chicago bulls versus the small market Utah Jazz. Interestingly, what is the highest rated Western Conference Finals? It is Sacramento versus the Lakers. It's not the Lakers against the big market team. It's the glamorous

Hollywood Shaq and Kobe Lakers against scrappy underdog blue collar Sacramento. That is a story people are drawn to. So when David Stern said his preferred NBA finals would be the Lakers versus the Lakers, it's a funny joke, but I don't think it's true. And It's not true because there's something a little more complicated about why people resonate to a sports game. And that is they want to see something epic. They want to see something memorable. It's not just about one team is from a place with a lot of people and another team is from a place with a lot of people. Covington, Mosbidol, the rivalry will be renewed this Saturday night.

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Sign up. Fandall Sportsbook. Promocode Colin C-O-L. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year.

Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care which I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Cliver Taylor the 4th.

You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show.

This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment, and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast, it's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So, if you've ever supported me, or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be.

Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tap Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking.

What the hell does George Bush got to do with Little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam Jette. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick it here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill, waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84's big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack all day, but just so y'all know.

I mean, at this point, Mark, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack, so I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now, so. Thank you for finishing that sentence. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really? Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history.

Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hard Way with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking. Trip Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing. And we're still chasing it. And we don't know when we've done enough.

Because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross. Because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth. Are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust.

I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Kear Gaines, is we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, Learn the Hard Way. Open your free Our Heart Radio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. I am. Use it today. 21 plus and present in Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Indiana, and Louisiana. Permitted parishes only. Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Tennessee, Virginia, or West Virginia. your first online real money wager only refund issued as non-withrawable site credit that expires in 14 days.

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Shopify.com slash Colin for a free 14-day trial, full access at Shopify's entire suite of features. Shopify.com slash C-O-L-I-N. Look through your children's eyes to see the true magic of a forest. It's a storybook world for them. You look and see a tree. They see the wrinkled face of a wizard with arms outstretched to the sky. They see treasure and pebbles. They see a windy path that could lead to adventure. And they see you. Their fearless guide is this fascinating world.

Find a forest near you and start exploring at Discovertheforest.org. Brought to you by the United States Forest Service and the Ad Council. What grows in the forest? Trees? Sure. Know what else grows in the forest? Our imagination. Our sense of wonder.

And our family bonds grow too. because when we disconnect from this and connect with this, we reconnect with each other. The forest is closer than you think. Find a forest near you and start exploring at Discovertheforest.org. Brought to you by the United States Forest Service and the Ad Council. You know, through the years, you were an NBA reporter. Through the years, I have watched NFL reporters. They're all different.

Glazer, very connected to players. he's not a volume reporter. It's more of a big story guy. Schefter's a volume reporter. Peter King ignores the draft. He's more of a storyteller. Ian Rappaport, storybreaker. Schreger's kind of occasional storybreaker,

but a contextualizer and a personality. That all these NFL reporters have a lane. So in the NBA, I'm sure that's the same, but it does feel like Shams, woge, and a lot of them are storybreakers, not as much contextualizers. Now, correct me on this. Give me five or six NBA reporters that you would view similarly to my sort of labyrinth of NFL guys,

how each one fills a different tunnel. In your experience with the NBA, line them up. How did you view them? So I think Zach Lowe and Kevin Arnowitz are just incredible. at writing an article that explains the NBA to you. I think Zach Lowe, probably the most valuable media member on the NBA side because he can do so many things. He's got an incredible versatility. It's not just the writing.

It's also the granular observation. He's completely sourced up. He's also a good interviewer. He's a direct interviewer. And so he's filling a variety of roles as far as getting him with the players in that Jake Laser way. I would say Chris Haynes is really good with that. So I would view him in that capacity. You mentioned the newsbreakers.

And I'm probably offending a lot of other people, but that's how people are getting slotted in. And there are a lot of great storytellers to be sure, a lot of great writers. I just don't think that the sport and especially ESPN MBA has been emphasizing what they do over the last few years. Yeah. I mean, listen, the Woj thing is interesting because you spent some. time on this. And it got, I imagine, if you looked at your numbers, it got good feedback, right? Yeah. That he didn't think the Hardin Simmons trade would happen. Woege is not wrong often.

You know, my takeaway on Woege, I don't know him. I've talked to him a couple of times. You know, I had heard he could be kind of territorial. I heard that 10 years ago. He could be very territorial. So was Peter Vessy, you know, very combative. I don't think Woj is as combative. But when you, he could be. So you know him better than I do. But when you were critical of woge, what was the pushback? What did you hear that maybe wasn't public? You know what's funny, Colin, about what I do? And I've learned a lesson from it.

I don't get any kind of pushback anymore. And it's funny to me because back when I was at ESPN or The Athletic, I would get a lot of pushback. You know, I say something about the NBA, the NBA doesn't like. I'm getting lit up in a phone call. I say something about a player that the player's agent doesn't like or somebody else in the team. I'm getting lit up. And maybe some people are publicly critical now, but I've learned a lesson that there's no real leverage point when it comes to what I'm doing. And it's taught me that the amount of pushback you get isn't necessarily about how angry you make someone. It's about

how much they think their anger can influence the situation. And so that didn't really happen. I got more people coming to me and saying, hey, that's what I was thinking. I can't. say it. I would have gone further. And I don't even think the criticism, Colin, is all that much. I'm with you. I think that you're great understanding this, that people's strengths are indivisible from their weaknesses, right? I think in order to be what Woj has become, you need to have just a burning competition within you. You've got to be somewhat ruthless in the pursuit of your goals. And I'm just looking at a 30,000 foot view and describing what's going on with the league, how it's kind of messing with the espion's coverage in a way. And I'm just describing it as dryly as I can.

But as much as I would like to say, hey, there was some sort of criticism that came to me on it. It really has not happened. It really didn't go that way. And maybe I'm just not reading enough because, frankly, I'm not on Twitter a lot. Yeah, you know, Twitter's interesting. Social media as a whole, I think it evolves. I think when people are offended by Twitter, they don't understand quite what it is. I'll give you an example.

A toilet has water, but you can't yell at it because it doesn't quench your thirst. Right? Right. Yeah. So that's not the application for it. Twitter is not about honesty. Twitter is not about really reporting. Twitter is about brief, emotion-filled opinions.

What comes to you without great thought? and the inability to give it great detail. So I'm never overly offended by Twitter. Has your view on social media over the last five to ten years? Has it changed? Have you evolved looking at it and thinking, wow, I used to be offended. Now I'm not anymore. How do you view it?

Yeah. I have almost more respect for it and less respect for it. I have more respect for its ability to derange people and to screw up society, but I have less respect for the average opinion I see on it. right? And I try to hold true to one basic principle because it is a maelstrom. And you see all these media people and they're about whatever the fashionable thing to be mad about is. They're not even aware that they are just reacting to what is presented to them. And it's not even an organic feeling they have and whatever they're angry about. They're going to forget about because

there's going to be something new that's fashionable to be angry about a week from now. They're totally caught up in it. They're totally hooked. And it's something my mom said, me and I'm hoping that some other media people they're listening can take this lesson to heart and apply it to what they do because I have. She said to me, look, your job is to ask yourself, would a reasonable person find this reasonable, right? You know, forget about Twitter, forget about whatever the trend is, forget about whatever people are saying. If everybody's acting insane that day, they're all acting insane that day, just envision somebody who's not on Twitter, reading what you said, you know, maybe they disagree with it, but will they tell themselves,

that's reasonable, that's a reasonable take. That's the heuristic I'm operating under. That's what I'm shooting for. And it's hard because it's a distraction device. It's also a coercion device, Twitter is. You feel like you have to not say certain things. You feel like you have to say certain things. And so I just use it to pump out my articles to share the links. And I don't even try to participate because like like I said, I have more respect for it in terms of what it can do to people and I have less respect for it in terms of what is being discussed on there. Well, a great example. 78% of America is not on Twitter.

78% of America approved of Joe Biden's state of the union. If you were on Twitter, it was a shit show. You would have thought he was the most offensive person on face of the earth. Joe Biden is too boring to be consistently offensive. Yeah. He puts me to sleep. I don't in fact, I'd argue people didn't vote for him. They voted against Trump.

Yeah. They voted against anxiety. They voted against weaponizing social media. They didn't vote for Biden. He's a one-term president. So I thought this week when I watched the state of the union approval rating, I'm like, it lined up perfectly with most adults like you don't want anxiety. Like people don't seek anxiety.

I'm not an erotic person. I have other flaws, but I'm not overly neurotic. And so many people in the media are very neurotic. And they come to Twitter like it's the therapist couch. And it's a lot more than that. And, you know, it's also a place to compete over status because it's inherently competitive. It's all gamified. You see how many retweets you get.

You see how many likes you get. So that starts to become what you're competing over. And you can just lose the thread completely of what somebody would be interested in, whatever your target audience wants. And so it's enjoyable to just, again, have my own shop. And, you know, my readers might not be the average anything. I have no idea. But I just tend to do it according to what they want. And that just seems to be a healthier dynamic than the Twitter dynamic that's totally deranging.

So one of the things you touched on recently, Ethan, was the NBA looking to ban media from the locker room. So I was in locker rooms for years. I graduated from it. Maybe I'll go back for a master's course at some point because I do sort of miss the camaraderie after games with other reporters, going out for beers after a game and post game. I do miss that. It's one of the few things I miss that I was doing in my 20s and 30s. So for people that have not heard your podcast or your belief on this, take them and then we'll discuss. Yeah.

It's funny because I'm not in locker rooms anymore just like you. and I don't really need to go back in to help myself, but I'm just giving my take on it. So when Adam Silver is up there and he is saying that, hey, we don't really want media back in the locker room. It's an anachronism. It was funny because he almost caught himself, like he got tangled in his own web of rhetoric because he made it about how there was some digression he got on about how it was anachronism to ban women from the locker room. And that was ridiculous. And that was insane. But now we need to ban everybody in the locker room.

And it's an anachronism to have anybody in there. It's just wait a second. What? Like that, huh? And he was really laying on this idea that it's privacy and guys are changing. And because a lot of fans, I think, they take in the product and they don't see how the product is made. That sounds a little bit reasonable.

But generally, there aren't media members hovering around guys when they're changing. And the guys can actually change in a private way if they absolutely want to. You're supposed to wait for people to take. get changed these days before you approach them and ask questions. I think the real risk of the locker room and the thing players dislike the most, because I heard way more complaints about this than, you know, get away. I'm changing. It's the idea that somebody from the media is going to hear something they're saying and put

it out there. I think that's the big fear. And you'll hear them talk to one another, just stop, stop, stop, stop. You know, the police are here. You know, don't, you know, be careful. and sometimes they'll forget and they'll be in a loose conversation and we'll be talking about things that they wouldn't want said out in the world. And yes, locker room talk is a thing.

It does exist. Guys in there are discussing things that in no way the NBA would want out there in the world. And I think that's what they're afraid of and that's what they're trying to protect against and they can make everything a bit more controlled. Now, the downside is this, Colin. It's that you get a lot of great stories in the locker room. Oh, yes. No question.

Yeah. It's way easier. I mean, I can think of stories that I was able to construct after a huge playoff game because I could just go like, boom, bang, you know, go to Steph Curry, go to Clay Thompson, go to, you know, Kavana, Lune, whoever, and learn things that would have taken me months to learn about what just happened. And I think it's easy to say, I don't care about that. If you're a fan, I don't care. But ultimately, everything is derived. from story, we understand everything through story.

When the guys are announcing the games and Jeff Van Gundy, when he's not on some random tangent and doing his own podcast, he's usually talking about something that he read and that is informing what he's telling you on the broadcast. It's just going to make the media product worse, I think, to get the media out of the locker rooms. And if the NBA has concerns about people over hearing something they shouldn't hear, something offensive, something personal, guy cheating on his wife, whatever, then maybe approach that in a separate, more targeted way and don't just get rid of something that I think has served

you well for decades. You know, when you and I talk, we often do, and I don't do this very often, but you have interesting sort of takes on it on the media. And I don't use it on my radio show much or my television because I don't think it's as captivating. But I do talk a little bit more about it in podcast and because I'm in the business. And I do feel sometimes they're just interesting stuff. Troy Aikman leaves Fox, you know, have a take on it. People, you know, there's access. One of the things, and I don't know if it's a criticism, but it's something I see over and over that I joked about the other day on television. I saw my dad mad one time as a kid.

He went out to the sprinkler, asked me to fold the hose, and he got right next to the sprinkler and I unfolded it and it soaked him. and he was in his white medical jacket going to work, and he was really mad. And so I did not grow up in a household of outrage. My mom occasionally got mad at my dad. He'd come home with too many pops, and she'd yell at him. But something I see a lot of is outrage. And I see it much more in the political media. And it is something, I think it's such a disservice to fans,

because I do think it sort of ramps up fans, and it makes it look as though we're crazy people. Yeah. And I'm not somebody that believes that, you know, the media is any one thing. A hospital isn't anyone thing. There's chief of staff. There's doctors. There's nurses.

There's janitorial. There's a gift shop. There's a million things at a hospital. But the media outrage, I think, punctures the credibility long term of us. And I think we should be suppressing. outrage. Yeah. I have always felt I should be the judge. The audience can be the jury. The athletes can be the prosecuting attorney in the DA, right? Yeah. Or the people on trial. Am I overstating the outrage? Do you notice it? Because it just feels like more and more it's becoming sort of accepted that you can be regularly

outraged in the media. And in real life, I don't think people are. Yeah. Yeah. I think there is a cost to appearing unhinged and a lot of media people on social media compartmentalize and they hope other people compartmentalize but maybe the people watching you are not going to compartmentalize and it gets tricky here but I know media members where I want the fans to love them I think that they're incredible at what they do and I'll have a conversation and maybe I'm with my cousin I'm thinking about a specific conversation and he's just railing about this guy because of what he's like on Twitter and I say, you should love this guy. He covers your favorite teams. He does an incredible job. Nobody works harder. And my cousin goes, yeah, but I hate him. And imagine an Olympics where doping is

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it to be compartmentalized. You are in public. People can see you. And a lot of times it seems like the only people that you're assuming can see you are your peers whom you're trying to impress in a particular way that doesn't serve the interest of the customer who can feel your disrespect and sometimes antipathy. And it gets particularly bad when they're lecturing the fans and they're telling fans what they should be, what they should be mad at, how they shouldn't be outraged. You know, people saying, don't joke, you know, Ben Simmons, you shouldn't be critical of him because he might, you know, he has a legitimate issue and it's no joke. And it's almost a front lash. Like, they're not even reacting to anything anybody said. They're already lecturing the fans.

I think that's, that's where the dynamic gets, gets bad. That's where they often, I think, incur a lot of contempt. And it becomes mutual. And it becomes mutual on the other side of it, too, because it's got this other problem. I didn't expect us to talk so much about Twitter, but hey, the NBA went all in on it, which is a whole other topic. This was a deliberate strategy by the league

with Jack Dorsey, he used to run Twitter, and they tried to integrate one another. But the other issue with it is that it teaches the media to hate the fans because you don't remember the nice thing that said about you on social media.

That just rolls off you, like water off a duck's back. You remember the thing that's terrible. And so a lot of media people will see that those few mentions from fans that really hurt their feelings and then that taints how they view it because, you know, I, if, God, I'm trying to phrase this in a way that's not completely disgusting, but, you know, if you're drinking a cool glass of water, Colin and 90% is just fresh, wonderful water, but the other 10% is, let's say, something scatological, it's not a good taste.

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You still get information despite not being in locker rooms nightly. I am a believer that the one thing you can't change with an athlete is indifference. You love the sport or you love the sport. or you love what the sport provides for you. I don't buy Ben Simmons. I don't think he'll ever be solved. I don't think he's competitive. I don't think he loves the game.

They've often said this about NBA centers. The reason there are so many busts is because they were six feet 11 in seventh grade. And basketball was just the easiest thing for them to do. You know, Ben Simmons is almost 6th 11 and a guard. I don't think the Brooklyn Ben Simmons things going to work. Using your access, I've heard he's just not. I've heard he's odd, not a great guy, indifferent, doesn't love the game.

What do you make? I think Hardin and Philly is going to work magically and quickly because I think he's just one great player joining a very positive, optimistic, joyful locker room. What do you hear about Simmons that maybe I haven't heard? I just remember there was somebody in the league, a player who met him. and the first question Simmons asked him was, what's the first car you bought when you came to the NBA? And that caused this player to go, oh, oh, that's not a good sign that this rookie is coming. And this is the first topic of conversation.

It's not what I need to get better at, you know, how do I acclimate? Like, that's the focus. Now, you could accuse me of overreeding that or oversimplifying. I think we have swung way too far in this other direction. and you've called it safetyism of almost doubting our own instincts in media and trying not to be critical in that way and not insinuate that a guy has a lack of love for the game. But I think that is an anecdote that reveals something. And I agree with you.

And maybe there are criticisms of James Hardin that he could be checked out or parties too much or whatever. But the thing about James Hardin is he's a basketball genius. You know, he might not ingratiate himself to you as a fan. when he's flopping and figuring out new and creative ways to get a foul call. But you ask Quinn Snyder, coach of the Jazz, and he will speak reverently because he's had the game plan against James Hardin and figure out all kinds of ways to stop him. And the guy just always seems to solve the puzzle. He didn't solve the puzzle against those great warriors teams, but it's a hell of a problem

to solve. But Hardin's a basketball genius. He's MVP level. And if you want to talk about the intermediate game. game and how it influences the reporting. In the aftermath of that trade, it almost seemed like NBA media was saying, hey, it's pretty even. I like Ben Simmons as a fit. I think that has a lot to do with James Hardin, not having an agent, and Ben Simmons being

represented by one of the most powerful agencies, that that was even the ruling on that trade, I believe has something to do with it. Well, you know, you talked about initial instincts and agents. Eric Burkhart is Kyler Murray's agent. and he's well-liked and well-known. And I am a believer that first instincts matter. I remember Nick Saban saying Johnny Mansell is going to be great at the next level. And Nick Saban knows a lot more football than me.

But my initial instincts on the first two times I heard Johnny Mansell talk off a field, I said it to this day. I said total bust, undraftable. I thought he was selfish. He was into Johnny Manzell. He had no self-awareness. despite the fact he had small shoulders, small hips. He was a small person. My first instinct on Kyler Murray is that he was odd. He did an interview with Dan Patrick that was so bizarre.

And my takeaway was you would never see that from Russell Wilson, Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Eli Manning, Drew Brees. Patrick Mahomes, Justin Herbert. At the time, I didn't know Herbert would be a great NFL player. But I think it is interesting about that is there is this concern. that don't have a generalization based on an initial conversation. But with football, my initial feeling on Cam, Johnny Mansell, Aaron Rogers, 10 years ago, I said his body language is Jay Cutler. It's horrible. Did you ever have, go back to your NBA days.

Did you know instantly, Draymond's a fascinating player? Draymon, very much a grinder, chip on the shoulder, drop to the second round. Did you know instantly this guy is glue? He's great. He's going to fit with all these guys. Take me to your relationship with him early. Yeah, I didn't know instantly. I don't know how anybody could because Mark Jackson was playing him at the three.

But he was making plays. He was involved in that first playoff series. And even if he didn't really have it figured out offensively, there was. something to him. Good things happen when he was on the floor. I think I was pretty, I was pretty early to the idea of him as this all-world switchable defensive player. I don't, I don't attribute that to me being any kind of genius. I just think it's easier to hear a car alarm when you're near it, right? It's easier to see something if you're on the ground. I made a prediction in 2014 that the Warriors were going to win the championship. They won the championship and that's something that

people sometimes say in my favor. Obviously, I've gotten other predictions wrong, but I keep saying the same thing, which is that I was there at training camp. I was watching this team go from looking like, hey, staff, figure something out in the pick and roll play after play to, oh my God, look at this offense. This is unlike anything I've seen in my life. Okay, I'll predict them to win the championship. It's easier to hear a car alarm when you're close to it. A lot of media people are accused of Homer, biased. Okay, that can happen. But again, it's a lot easier to see a new trend to notice if somebody's good if you're actually there. And so, yes, I was early relative to other people in seeing what Draymond Green could become.

I wrote a lot of the early articles for it on ESPN. But I don't attribute that to my having any special kind of insight. I just attribute that to him being a revolutionary defensive player who just came along at the exact right time for that team and flourishing. And maybe I was just around that before it really hit critical mass. You know, I've said, Ethan, for years, I've said the one place where fans know more than media. Because in the NFL, I can watch every Charger game and every bingo game. There's just not that many games. But in a volume sport like baseball that even Peter Gammon's in his prime is not watching every mariner game.

where fans really have an advantage on the media is baseball bullpins. You can go to a box score and keep up with Ichiro if you live in Boston and look at his nightly, you know, you can go look at his stats. This is where fans have a big advantage. If you're a diehard baseball fan and you watch your team every night, I always say, what do you feel like when they go to the bullpen? And you'll have a feeling because when I was a seamhead back in like 16, 17, 18, 8,000. 19, 20 years old, really into baseball, you would have a feeling about every single member of the bullpen. And there's no way to know that as a national guy. There's no way to know that.

There's always the setup guy you love and the setup guy that makes you nervous. And I think going back to that, you can skim and cover the NFL, mostly the NBA, a lot of sports. You can't skim a bullpen. Yeah. And so your point is with the NBA, you're the first to see it. Now, now, but I could skim the Warriors and have a feeling. So I'm going to go back to the Warriors on this.

I think they're fascinating. I don't know if you can win a championship and be that small. I still don't know if James Wiseman fits. But the interesting players, Jonathan Coominga, 6-7, athletic, totally springy, and a willing defender. So when you look at this Warriors team, because you see them more than most, you're now interested, you have a now. You're kind of a fan because you've covered them and know the people and you're in a media space. So that's a nice intersection. What do you make, can they beat Phoenix? Do you trust them in the playoffs? Does the size worry you on the Warriors? It's funny. You did ask about the one team

that I can say reliably that I watch because now that I do what I do, it's different. I talk to a lot of GMs. I talk to a lot of people in the league, but I'm not watching all the time, right? I'm not. I am watching the Warriors on the exercise bike. I am doing that. They are the local team. I am, you know, among the many people who are helping the warriors get double the local ratings of the next most popular team. They're very easy to watch and I feel like I have an understanding because they have

that core. I feel the same way you do. It seems like too small. It seems like that's a lot to even hope for with Wiseman. At this age, especially when he had these instincts that looked rather shaky. when he did play before getting hurt last season. And they don't seem as complete as Phoenix does. They don't.

Maybe we'll see that heart of a champion stuff. Maybe we'll see them dig deeper. But I think it would be an incredible story of the Warriors won again. I can say because I'm not traditional media. You can't say what you're rooting for. No, I'm rooting for them. I would love the Warriors to make a run and win a championship. But it would surprise me if they did.

That's what I would say. So, Ethan, I'm going to give the floor to you because our conversations tend to be kind of substantive but not directed in any one place. We kind of just bounce around and talk about what interests us. What have I not addressed today that you're interested in? Yeah, I can't really, I can't really think about it. I take your lead. I would say that my website is substantive but not in any particular direction. and that's what people get from it when they come back to it if I would do a particular

a particular plug but yeah I can't really come up with anything I think you asked great questions and I answered them as they could I didn't come in with an agenda I thought your John Morant take was was interesting let's talk about John Morant yeah let's do that that's that's something to discuss okay because it was there was an irony to it is almost a paradox you were railing against the safetyism when being concerned, you were railing against the safetyism of assessments of players while being concerned about John Morant's safety. So I found it to be an intriguing take in that way. You were voicing your concern that he would get hurt. And it's funny. It's like you don't hear

that concern from media people a lot, even though injuries are a big factor. Everybody talks about how teams are going to do as though we're playing NBA 2K and turned injuries off. But it's something to discuss. And it's an important, important question, not just for the Grizzlies, not just for John Moran, but for the league, because that's the next guy. The league is in a precarious point, I think. They are. They need stars and and rootable. People that ingratiate themselves, fun, young people like them, older fans like them. Yeah. Yeah. And we talk about instincts. You know, my job is to describe things, but a lot of what matters is ineffable. You can't put words to it.

I watch John Morana go, that guy's got that thing. You know, I don't know what that thing is, but he's got that thing. Janus doesn't have that thing. Love Janus. Love watching him. Incredible player doesn't have that thing. Doesn't have that transcendent superstar in the United States of America. Kauai doesn't have it.

Oh, yeah. Kauai doesn't have that thing. You know, Steph Curry has that thing. LeBron James has angered a lot of people, but LeBron had that thing. John Morant has that thing. He has that thing that Derek Rose had before he got hurt. He has that thing that Alan Iverson had when he was at the peak of his powers. That is not only a superstar, but that's somebody who is potentially box office, somebody who could save your league. He is the most important player in basketball.

That might sound like an exaggeration because he plays in Memphis and because he's new on the scene. But this is a league right now that has post-examble. Jordan popularity while their versions of Jordan in LeBron and Steph are still playing and getting older. They need somebody to take the reins. So that's why I watched it with interest. And I think that people don't make the assessment you made, Colin, because they fear it will be taken the wrong way. They fear it will mean to a lot watching that you're rooting for an injury to happen. But I listened and I thought, yeah, that's a concern. He's flying in there. He's got a skinny frame, you know, it's a, it's a scary thing. I hope they take care of him and they're careful.

Yeah, he's 174 pounds. Derek Rose was 200. He is rail thin. And what's interesting, he really does compare to Rose, where he's beyond springy, super twitchy, wildly exciting, a highlight machine, struggles from three, forced to go to the rim. And Derek Rose and him both played in the NBA without the hand check. You can't stay in front of them. You simply can't stay in front of them. You know, I've argued this. I think I've told you. I think the NBA should bring the hand check back. You think it makes the league more physical. It doesn't. It keeps great guards out of the lane where they get hurt. You cannot defend. You can absolutely not stay in front of great guards. Translation, they go in, they're outweighed by 80 pounds, the floor is hard, the contact's brutal.

Look at the number of injuries to point guards over the last five years. It's brutal. Wall, Westbrook, Chris Paul, D. Rose, for the record, Morant's been dinged up a couple of times already. Yeah. And I also just think that. Donovan Mitchell. And I also just think that, you know, maybe the theme of this podcast is how sometimes you can just, outthink instincts by getting a little too into the numbers, thinking that you can just figure

out what's popular algorithmically as opposed to just being a person. Algorithmically, I think the NBA looked at the situation and said, people love points. People love when points are scored. More points good. More points equals viewers. Let's change the rules and make sure that guys are score in as many points as possible. And what does it lead to? A bunch of flopping. And it turns out that the fans actually don't want 142 to 141. That's not what they want.

It sounds good in theory. It's not what they want. They also don't want 75 to 72, as was happening in the early 2000s. There's a balance. There's a platonic ideal. They probably want it in that 100 to 110 range. And when it's the playoffs, they might want it a little bit lower because it's a grueling battle and every possession feels like life and death.

That's what they want. So I don't know if hand check is the solution, but it does seem like the NBA needs to do a few things to bring the game back to something that is recognizable to people who have watched it forever instead of being a flopping plus three point contest. Credit to them for starting to call some of those flops. But yes, sometimes you can outthink yourself and there are limitations. There are limitations. You can't just press turbo on the points.

and be, you know, rewarded with a ton of people watching. Ethan Strauss, please subscribe to a substack at House of Strauss. Dot substack. And that is House of S-T-R-A-U-S-S. He is Ethan Strauss. He's always interesting. My man, keep crushing. I'm not going to ask a lot because you're very busy.

I love it. I'm so proud of you. Yeah. I just love you called me fascinating. A suburban dad getting called fascinating, too, Colin. Anytime. Love to be here.

Appreciate the support. Thanks, man. Thank you. The volume. Look for your children's eyes, and you will discover the true magic of a forest. Find a forest near you, and start exploring at discovertheforest.org.

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I'm April Dinnwity host of the new podcast, Navigating Adoption, presented by Adopt U.S. Kids. Each episode brings you compelling real-life adoption stories told by the families that live them with commentary from experts. Visit adoptuskids.org slash podcast or subscribe to navigating adoption presented by Adopt U.S. Kids. Brought to you by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families and the Ad Council. Another podcast from some SNL late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman helped make you funnier. This week, my guest, S&L's

Mikey Day and head writer, Streeter Seidel help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever

you get your podcasts. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast, Superhuman, documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds.

I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, this is Robert from the Stuff to Blow Your Mind podcast. Joe and I are both lifelong Star Wars fan, so we're celebrating May the 4th with a brand new week of fun, thought-provoking Star Wars-related episodes. Join us as we tackle science and culture topics from a galaxy far, far away, such as the biology of taun tons and wampas

on the ice planet hot, or the practicality and corporate business sense of the Sith rule of two. Listen to stuff to bowl your mind on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what I'm saying.

Yep, that's me. Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, my basketball and college football journey or my career in sports media. Well, now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfilled conversations with athletes,

creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. So let's get to it. Listen to The Clifford show on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. This is an IHeart podcast.

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