Saam Esfandiari, Our Sports Renaissance Man

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.houseofstrauss.comI know many sports sickos but Saam Esfandiari might be the sickest. The Light Years co-host has in depth opinions on basketball (of course), soccer, football, and even baseball. Today we decided to explore some connection points between these fields, so we can get a 30K view of what’s happening across sports.Topics! Include!* The bizarre Matt Miller fantasy-football scandal and what it says about the industry.* Sam’s theory that LeBron won’t announce anything until he can completely own the media cycle.* A historic NBA Summer League class* Is American basketball about to reach a higher level of international dominance?* Team USA keeps producing great players—but not MVP-level American superstars.* The reason Spain and Argentina are soccer-dominant.* The real reason the U.S. struggles to become a true soccer power—and why it goes far beyond youth-sports costs or athleticism.* The emotional difference between watching a long touchdown run and a deep touchdown pass.* Ethan’s frustration with the NFL using primitive statistics despite being America’s most complicated sport.* Saam’s long held belief that quarterbacks are overrated* How gambling partnerships may have pushed useful sports analytics behind proprietary paywalls.* The hypothetical “James Harden of wide receivers” who could exploit pass-interference rules and make football unbearable.* Saam’s argument for why he wants LeBron James on the Warriors