Concerned about Randy Bennett’s age and the heavy lifting required at Arizona State? I talked with Todd Golden, Jock Landale and others about how Bennett will operate in Tempe. (Spoiler alert: They’re not.) 👇

Sunday Read: Who are the top 25 coaches in college football? Should Curt Cignetti have overtaken Kirby Smart for the top spot? Does Dabo belong in the top 10? Where do Lincoln Riley, Sark, Mario Cristobal & Lane Kiffin rank? www.nytimes.com/athletic/710...

Tommy Lloyd credits last year’s Houston for inspiring this year’s build of Arizona’s juggernaut. “They kicked our ass in the last five minutes of both games.” Story on the endurance of a champion & how Arizona turned the page from Friday’s epic semis (free to read): www.nytimes.com/athletic/711...

What’s it like covering Bobby Hurley? Probably not what you would expect. ⤵️

Bobby Hurley is out at Arizona State. His time in the desert had highs and lows. And it was always eventful. ⤵️ www.nytimes.com/athletic/710...

After missing in the final seconds of a bad loss to the Bulls, Jalen Green stayed up until 2 am watching film, wondering what went wrong. Since then the struggling Suns guard has started to show encouraging signs. ⤵️

Full story, with Mike LaFleur's impressions of Kyler Murray as an opposing coach in the NFC West www.nytimes.com/athletic/706...

Cardinals GM Monti Ossenfort said "all options are on the table," regarding the QB situation for 2026. "We've got (Murray), (Brissett) and (Slovis) all under contract. ... We're going to look at every avenue to improve, and we're going to continue to go through our process."

No other NBA head coach comes from a smaller place than the Phoenix Suns’ Jordan Ott. Locals like to say there are more cows living among them than people. I recently visited McConnellsburg, Pa., to learn about Ott’s roots, as well as the pride the community has in him. ⤵️

With March approaching, I talked with Arizona State's Bobby Hurley about his future, how he has changed as a coach and his 11 years at one of the country's tougher jobs. (gift link open) ⤵️

Nice story or serious contender? That remains to be seen with the Phoenix Suns. ⤵️

Representing one of the greatest ironies in league history, Mychal Thompson, father of one of the greatest 3-point shooters ever, is one of a handful of players to have played at least one full NBA season and made only one 3 www.nytimes.com/athletic/703...

LeBron James spoke about retirement as candidly as he ever has Wednesday night. Good luck trying to figure out which way he’s leaning www.nytimes.com/athletic/700...

Who taped Bob Knight? Really enjoyed this @doughaller.bsky.social story on the secret behind the famous Knight rant recording www.nytimes.com/athletic/696...

love a story where a treasure hunter pours everything into finding an answer to the most obscure item. here's a great one, courtesy of @doughaller.bsky.social: www.nytimes.com/athletic/696...

To this day, those within the IU community insist they don’t know how the 1991 rant got recorded and out into the public. @doughaller.bsky.social reached out to 40+ players, coaches, managers, staffers and others about the leaked audio. Here’s what they said: www.nytimes.com/athletic/696...

35 years ago, Bob Knight’s epic “I’m tired of losing to Purdue” rant was secretly recorded in the IU locker room. For years an NBA exec has been rumored as the leaker. He says that’s a lie. So who did it? Even those in the room say they aren’t sure. ⤵️

Updated head coaching carousel: Giants — John Harbaugh Falcons — Kevin Stefanski Dolphins — Jeff Hafley Titans — Robert Saleh Cardinals Ravens Bills Browns Raiders Steelers

NEWS: Warriors forward Jimmy Butler tore his right ACL against the Heat on Monday night and is expected to miss the rest of the season, The Athletic confirms. More from @samamick.bsky.social ⤵️ www.nytimes.com/athletic/698...

Had fun with this ⤵️

We asked over 100 people in sports which leaders they most admire. For this list, leaders had to be an active coach, player or executive in 2025.

The Cardinals have requested to interview Texans defensive coordinator Matt Burke, per source. Burke, the play caller for the league’s stingiest defense, previously coached Arizona’s defensive line in 2022.

New issue of is out! It has more than 125 job and internships listings in there for reporters, editors, social media gurus, and others. Also, 11 wonderful stories I loved — on Santa, the Taylor Ham dynasty, Franzia wines, and many more. Read: dub.sh/DfQyUsT Subscribe: t.co/tKOtcPQaI2

“I’m tired of the sleeping giant narrative. I’m tired of the concept of, ‘Man, they have so much potential.’ I want us to be the group — athletic department, coaching staff, fan base, community — that wakes it up once and for all.” ⤵️

Kenny Dillingham’s Michigan situation puts Arizona State back in familiar place ⤵️

“The way you handle things is who you are. It’s not about what you say when things aren’t serious. It’s about whenever the (expletive) hits the (expletive), who are you?” Good story from Oxford on Lane Kiffin by Joe Rexrode & Chris Kamrani: www.nytimes.com/athletic/687...

Arizona State, Kenny Dillingham discussing pay raise amid interest from other schools ⤵️

“Do Pete's statistics say that he should be in? Yeah. But I think character has a lot to do with it.” He’s 2 years away from his debut on the Hall of Fame ballot. So is baseball ready for Pete Rose, Hall of Famer? @TylerKepner.bluesky.social and I wrote about that! www.nytimes.com/athletic/688...

We polled 36 executives around the NBA, asking them to rank their top five front offices. Here are our findings: www.nytimes.com/athletic/686...

We are 28.8 percent of the way through the NBA regular season. So it’s time for our writer, Law Murray, to grade teams based on their progress so far.

A Trey McBride story you may not have heard. “He’d call me up, and we’d have this relationship, and it was like, ‘You know, this is silly. We should get to know each other.” One tight end from Fort Morgan, Colo., helping another. ⤵️

I wrote about Dillon Brooks and his old mates. ⤵️

Sam Leavitt’s possible transfer from Arizona State an all-too-familiar loyalty lesson for fans ⤵️

If you watch Holly Rowe’s work on ESPN, you know one thing: She exudes joy. So @rustindodd.bsky.social reached out to her with a simple question: What has she learned about joy? @sportsiren.bsky.social

I returned to Bloomington and covered an Indiana football game for the first time since I was a student there 30 years ago. I was amazed at what I found. ⤵️

I wrote about one possession last night that symbolizes this young Suns season — 10 passes, few dribbles. And, of course, it ended in a Grayson Allen 3-pointer. ⤵️

Kyler Murray’s uncertain present, and the Cardinals’ uncertain future at QB ⤵️

Emari Demercado made one of football’s most ‘boneheaded’ mistakes. Here’s how he got past it. Link: www.nytimes.com/athletic/678...

From @theathletic.com: Dallas Cowboys defensive lineman Marshawn Kneeland died Thursday morning, the team shared in a statement. Kneeland, 24, was in his second season with the team after being drafted in the second round of the 2024 NFL Draft.

I'm starting a weekly coaching carousel notebook on intel I'm hearing + interesting nuggets. This week: - Agents don't buy the Louisiana gov's bluster - Latest at Florida State - Some names at Colorado State - Another Cignetti raise? And a lot more: www.nytimes.com/athletic/677...

Suns coach Jordan Ott has taken over a rebuilding team in the desert, one that still isn’t sure what it can do and what it cannot. Sunday’s defense against Spurs star Victor Wembanyama was an encouraging sign. 🔗⤵️

The Suns this summer gave up one of the league’s best scorers but have yet to see the returns because of injuries. Until Jalen Green and Dillon Brooks are healthy, they’re doing all they can to improve. Friday was a positive step. 🔗⤵️

A Game 4 loss leaves the Dodgers no choice: As usual, they’ll have to clinch a title on the road www.nytimes.com/athletic/675...

At Arizona State, Kenny Dillingham has his dream job. Even so, outside interest in the young coach will rattle nerves in the desert, mostly for one reason: ⤵️

Arizona State’s loss to Houston shows how vulnerable mistake-prone Sun Devils have become ⤵️

Forty-one years after 1984 and 37 years after 1988, Kirk Gibson is in the midst of his biggest October yet. Here’s how Parkinson’s disease changed a World Series legend. And here’s how the new Kirk Gibson Center is helping change lives. www.nytimes.com/athletic/674...

On opening night in Phoenix, new head coach Jordan Ott didn’t want to make it about him. But the foundation he has worked to build was a big factor in the Suns’ comeback win. ⤵️

The Cardinals have lost five games by a combined 13 points, but the margin isn’t as important as the results. Losing is a habit. ⤵️

The Houston Rockets and star forward Kevin Durant have agreed to a two-year, $90 million extension. www.nytimes.com/athletic/668...

Teams that survive in college football have the ability to quickly self-correct. Arizona State showed as much in Saturday’s win over No. 7 Texas Tech. 🔗⤵️