Saam Esfandiari, Our Sports Renaissance Man

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I 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