a few weeks ago in Aspen, a convo with Olympic freeski halfpipe hopeful Svea Irving turned to her family. "Tell me about your mom, your dad ... Tell me about your grandparents ..." "Oh, my grandpa," Svea answered, "he's like, a kinda famous author." "Really? Who?" www.nytimes.com/athletic/705...

Here’s @TheAthletic’s story on Mike Macdonald and the Seahawks hiring his old colleague from their Ravens days NIU head coach Thomas Hammock as running backs coach. Reporting with @ralphdrussoath.bsky.social: www.nytimes.com/athletic/705...

SOURCE: Oklahoma is expected to hire Deland McCullough as its new running backs coach. He spent last season as the Raiders RB coach and previously coached at USC, Notre Dame, Indiana and with the Chiefs. Would be a good get for OU if the deal gets finalized. CBS first reported the situation.

SOURCE: NIU head coach Thomas Hammock is leaving to take a job on the staff with the Seattle Seahawks. Hammock and Mike Macdonald coached together for five seasons with the Ravens. @Brett_McMurphy first reported the move.

How did a former two-star recruit once ranked the 140th-best QB in the Class of 2022 blossom into a Heisman Trophy winner—and the projected first pick of the 2026 NFL Draft? Inside the amazing rise of Fernando Mendoza: www.nytimes.com/athletic/705...

SOURCE: Arkansas QB coach Clint Trickett is expected to become Maryland’s new OC. Pep Hamilton, who had been Maryland’s offensive coordinator, is moving into an off-field advisor/analyst role. Matt zenitz first reported the move.

There are a lot of great lessons here of how Fernando Mendoza grew into such an unflappable leader: www.nytimes.com/athletic/705...

How did a former two-star recruit once ranked the 140th-best QB in the Class of 2022 blossom into a Heisman Trophy winner—and the projected first pick of the 2026 NFL Draft? Inside the amazing rise of Fernando Mendoza: www.nytimes.com/athletic/705...

New Audible: @ralphdrussoath.bsky.social Stew & I dig into Trinidad Chambliss getting his 6th year; a seemingly robust 2027 NFL QB crop; potential CFP Expansion; and a very curious Group of 6 move: m.youtube.com/watch?v=z-Ji...

Source: The MAC will add Sacramento State as a football-only member for 2026, @TheAthletic.com has confirmed. A huge entrance fee and a cross-country league in the latest bit of conference realignment. Yahoo first reported. www.nytimes.com/athletic/704...

Donovan Hawkins, Isaiah Rivera & Instagram ruined the NBA dunk contest.

Marvin Gaye, Marlon Jackson, Sidney Poitier....some fun memories two of the best scorers in NBA history shared with me in this piece www.nytimes.com/athletic/704...

SOURCE: SMU defensive coordinator Scott Symons is expected to be the Dallas Cowboys new inside linebackers coach. The Hurst, Texas native had proven to be one of the best DCs in college football over the past few years. He was a Broyles Award semifinalist in 2024.

New Audible: Buy/Sell/Hold Revisited: @ralphdrussoath.bsky.social grades Stew & my predictions for the Big 12 + Notre Dame. Plus, we answer your mailbag questions: m.youtube.com/watch?v=6DYH...

She was one of our first female star athletes to grow up in the social media era — she has the receipts to prove it. At one point, she hated winning. After Beijing, she wasn't sure she'd be back. On Chloe Kim, chasing history with a dislocated shoulder: www.nytimes.com/athletic/703...

Every person serving in Congress — and every person running for the House and Senate — should be asked why Maxwell was moved to a minimum-security prison.

“We need to lead with love and compassion, and I’d love to see more of that." www.nytimes.com/athletic/703...

What do the last two Super Bowl winners have in common? Final Pick Six column of the season marks #seahawks SB win by tracing evolution of the modern GM Schneider & Roseman out front 👇👇👇 www.nytimes.com/athletic/699...

The day after the Super Bowl means one thing: Bears salary-cap analysis. Let the offseason begin

BREAKING: The Epstein survivors are releasing this ad on this Super Bowl Sunday to send the message that they will not “move on” from the largest sex trafficking scandal in the world. #standwithsurvivors

Sunday Read: On Arch Manning and how the rush to judgment when it comes to quarterbacks especially early in their careers has gotten out of control: www.nytimes.com/athletic/701...

Seeing the James Pearce story tonight and reminded of how leery NFL D-line coaches were of him heading into the draft: “That kid is a first-round talent, but the stuff you hear (about his maturity) scares me.” www.nytimes.com/athletic/627...

Seeing the James Pearce story tonight and reminded of how leery NFL D-line coaches were of him heading into the draft: “That kid is a first-round talent, but the stuff you hear (about his maturity) scares me.” www.nytimes.com/athletic/627...

Atlanta Falcons rookie James Pearce Jr. was arrested near Miami on charges of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, aggravated stalking and fleeing police after allegedly leading police on a chase before crashing his vehicle, according to arrest records. www.nytimes.com/athletic/703...

It's hard to know what's inside the narrowest of near-misses. That's why I'm pretty glad to have gotten the chance to get to talk to Ollie Martin not too long ago ... Tonight's story from Lovigno: www.nytimes.com/athletic/702...

That was nice work by Mary Carillo just now to humanize the horrors of what's happening in Ukraine. Also, the Ukrainian athletes got a MASSIVE cheer when they entered the San Siro.

New Audible: @ralphdrussoath.bsky.social grades Stew & my preseason ACC Buy/Sell/Hold predictions; plus is Miami primed to be a national title contender again? Is VaTech ready to make a big move up? Can FSU bounce back? www.youtube.com/watch?v=slNu...

New Audible: @ralphdrussoath.bsky.social grades Stew & my preseason ACC Buy/Sell/Hold predictions; plus is Miami primed to be a national title contender again? Is VaTech ready to make a big move up? Can FSU bounce back? www.youtube.com/watch?v=slNu...

The idea of starting the CFB season in "Week 0" is gaining traction, says Georgia's AD, who co-chairs an NCAA committee on the calendar. We go back to one-bye seasons this year, and schedule-makers tell me they much prefer 14 weeks to play 12 games. www.nytimes.com/athletic/702...

Civil rights activist Medgar Evers was shot in the back by a Klansman in 1963. The National Park Service has removed visitor brochures from Evers' museum and reportedly plans to remove references that call his murderer a “racist"

New Audible: @ralphdrussoath.bsky.social grades Stew & my SEC Buy/Sell/Hold picks and look ahead to next season as we dig into what went wrong at LSU, Tenn & Bama and more. Plus Cooper Manning joins me to talk abt Arch’s fascinating first season as Texas’ starting QB: m.youtube.com/watch?v=aIBm...

NEWS: The NCAA has denied Ole Miss’ appeal for a sixth year of eligibility for Trinidad Chambliss. The QB’s future now is in the hands of a Mississippi court. More details: www.nytimes.com/athletic/702...

SOURCES: USC defensive line coach Eric Henderson is expected to return to the NFL taking a job with the Commanders. A name to watch at USC is Texas Tech DL coach Zarnell Fitch who had coached for new Trojans DC Gary Patterson at TCU.

SOURCE: Shawn Howe who as DC helped lead Montana State to the FCS national title this year, is expected to join the Pittsburgh Steelers coaching staff. Previously, he’s coached at USC, Tennessee, Memphis and NC State among other places. Skyline Sports first reported the move.

my guy @bryancurtis.bsky.social nailed it here on the murder of the washington post sports section. www.theringer.com/2026/02/04/m...

A publisher who lays off a reporter whose pen is freezing because she's covering a frigid war zone while dodging missiles is not an editor you want to work for, in a more perfect world

LSU landed 3 of the top 10 most coveted players in the portal this winter. Indiana, Texas, Texas Tech and Miami also re-loaded very nicely too. @skhanjr.bsky.social on the top 25 portal classes: www.nytimes.com/athletic/701...

SOURCE: Indiana is expected to bring back Tino Sunseri as the Hoosiers QB coach/co-OC, replacing Chandler Whitmer who has left to join the Bucs staff as a co-OC/QB coach. Sunseri left IU last year to take a job as UCLA's OC. @michaelniziolek.bsky.social first reported the move.

SOURCE: The Cowboys are expected to hire Georgia’s Chidera Uzo-Diribe as outside linebackers coach. The 33-year-old who was a standout at Colorado, has been on the UGA staff since 2022. He’s also coached at SMU, TCU and Kansas. Matt Zenitz first reported the move.

The rush to judgment when it comes to quarterbacks especially early in their careers has gotten out of control: www.nytimes.com/athletic/701...

What did the Mannings learn from Arch’s first season as a starter at Texas? There’s a lot of good lessons in parenting in this—and good ones for the sports media too: www.nytimes.com/athletic/701...

New Audible: @ralphdrussoath.bsky.social grades Stew & my SEC Buy/Sell/Hold picks and look ahead to next season as we dig into what went wrong at LSU, Tenn & Bama and more. Plus Cooper Manning joins me to talk abt Arch’s fascinating first season as Texas’ starting QB: m.youtube.com/watch?v=aIBm...

The first specific inquiry into a school or its players by the CSC is complete. LSU says no disciplinary action was taken against the Tigers, and all deals that must be sent to NIL Go have been submitted. www.nytimes.com/athletic/701...

Worst case scenario Beastie Boys remix

Sources: Notre Dame is targeting Brian Jean-Mary as its linebackers coach. Jean-Mary spent the past two seasons at Michigan and has coached LBs at Tennessee, USF, Texas, Louisville and Georgia Tech. He had recently signed with GT, and both sides are working toward a buyout.

Lawyers can't reach clients in ICE detention. I've heard it anecdotally, but scale of issue is horrifying. Bloomberg Law is a legal trade pub so many may miss this. Screenshot from their CA newsletter summarizes "bleak" situation for justice and rule of law. news.bloomberglaw.com/litigation/l...

More than anyone in the NFL, owners need to be held accountable. Even 13 years after the fact.

In @nytopinion.nytimes.com Federal immigration agents detained a 5-year-old prekindergartner named Liam Ramos this month. His classmates miss him, so they decided to write letters to the agents who took him. “Dear ICE,” one student wrote, “You are scaring schools, people and the world.”

SOURCE: Bills assistant Ryan Nielsen is set to join the Vikings staff as defensive run game coordinator. Previously, he’d been the DC with the Falcons and Jags and had been the D-line coach with the Saints. NFL Network first reported the move.