Kim Hellberg's impact on Middlesbrough has been fast and impressive, as have a growing number of Boro's performances. Top of the Championship, tonight they go to Coventry in second. Hellberg's favourite player as a boy was Frank Lampard. Spent a few hours observing. www.nytimes.com/athletic/703...

'I was in a constant state of sedation' Football has a hidden problem with sleeping pills I spoke to a number of players who developed an addiction to them - and explored why footballers may be especially vulnerable www.nytimes.com/athletic/698...

Another frantic, compelling afternoon at Tynecastle. Hearts' lead is down to four points, as the doubters will note. But they go into February top of the Scottish Premiership and can still do it. Even if they don't, Hearts have made us look again. www.nytimes.com/athletic/699...

Derby Days: Hamburg. Ahead of tonight’s Stadtderby at the Millerntor, a piece on the rivalry between St.Pauli and HSV from a few years ago. @theathleticfc.bsky.social www.nytimes.com/athletic/443...

𝗧𝗛𝗨𝗥𝗦𝗗𝗔𝗬 𝗣𝗢𝗗! 🚨 @mattdaviesadams.bsky.social, @reallycerys.bsky.social & @liamtwomey.bsky.social discussing... 🇨🇾 Pafos (only just) dealt with 🦅 Palace's plight w/ @domfifield.bsky.social 🏆 #CFCW bloody love a cup final 🔟 Shocking 'top 10' recall #CFC pod.fo/e/37e6a0

Tottenham and West Ham are not what they were, nor, in terms of potential, what they could be. The Way the clubs played seems like a relic of history, yet a sense of it is still entwined in the current fanbase disaffection and disconnection. www.nytimes.com/athletic/692...

“Eventually, they will get you. “Sustained excellence, repeated over and over again. Pat Cummins is a freak and Nathan Lyon is a genius. You can swap those around as well if you really want.” Cameron Ponsonby, Paul Newman & Tim Spiers dissect the talking points from Adelaide Oval ⤵️ bit.ly/4akZGqu

The second day at the Gabba saw Brydon Carse carted to all parts. By the time England hobbled off for tea with Australia 228-3 and only 108 runs adrift, Carse had conceded the third fastest half century by an England bowler in Test history. It was a bruising second session.

Sunderland's December 2025 is daunting, but it's not December 2020. Spoke to three key decision-makers – Kyril Louis-Dreyfus, Kristjaan Speakman & Florent Ghisolfi – about where the club has been, is today and hopes to be next season and beyond. www.nytimes.com/athletic/685...

Not an exact comparison, but there is some stylistically and Robert Pires' career at Arsenal showed the benefit of patience, spectacularly so. Florian Wirtz deserves the same at Liverpool. www.nytimes.com/athletic/684...

It hasn't gone to plan for Christantus Uche at Palace since joining in the summer. Oliver Glasner clearly unimpressed with the No 10 and had a long pause before deflecting on whether he was at the level expected in training An uncertain future now looms #CPFC www.nytimes.com/athletic/683...

George Best died 20 years ago. His presence endures. He represented Manchester United in a way last night's team did not. www.nytimes.com/athletic/683...

It turns out Bazball is infectious. Even in Australia. The opening day of the Ashes in Perth was riddled with it. 🔗 theathletic.com/6819497/?sou...

It was a privilege to be involved in the production of this book and to have written one of the entries: www.nytimes.com/athletic/678...

Steve Smith, Monty Panesar, Mastermind. Weird ✍️ @nickmiller79.bsky.social www.nytimes.com/athletic/682...

Came up with this idea while still in England. So much fun digging into how you go from rugby & AFL, to a cricket oval at a glorious new stadium — all while trying to recreate an iconic pitch from the opposite bank of the Swan River... #Ashes @theathletic.com www.nytimes.com/athletic/680...

‘It gives me an even louder voice, so that’s my main delight with winning it’ I spoke to Will Vaulks, who won the FIFPRO Player Voice Award for his work in suicide prevention The cause is close to Vaulks’ heart - he lost both of his grandfathers to suicide www.nytimes.com/athletic/680...

𝙏𝙖𝙡𝙚𝙨 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝘼𝙨𝙝𝙚𝙨 Our writers have picked out the most memorable series from down the years to chart the history of one of sport's deepest rivalries. ▪️ The death of English cricket ▪️ Bodyline & The Don, the best the world has ever seen ▪️ Botham's Ashes & how Allan Border wrestled back control

EXCL - Thierno Barry on his tough start, overcoming adversity & that ovation from Everton fans "I’ve not had the career of the average player. Everything has happened really quickly & I've learnt from that adversity. It does inspire me" @theathleticfc.bsky.social www.nytimes.com/athletic/680...

Nasser Hussain has joined The Athletic as a columnist as part of our coverage of the Ashes, which begin on Friday in Perth. “This series usually defines England captains and coaches, and this one will.” Hussain will return to provide analysis for The Athletic after each Test.

A huge blow for Australia with less than a week to go before the Ashes. Josh Hazlewood has been ruled out of the first Test in Perth with a hamstring injury. Meanwhile, England have received a positive update on Mark Wood. More from @michaeljbailey.bsky.social ⤵️

“He was the greatest player I ever saw. It was not just his skill — he was a magician.” Ahead of a home Ashes without him, @paulfnewman66.bsky.social talks to Mark Waugh, Mike Hussey, Jason Gillespie, Rob Key and others about the brilliance of Shane Warne www.nytimes.com/athletic/678...

EXCL: @david-ornstein.bsky.social meets Crystal Palace midfielder Adam Wharton to discuss England and the World Cup, how he's so self-critical and why Oliver Glasner has told him to stop asking questions...

Norfolk cricket hits @theathletic.com! (Not something I imagined writing a few yrs ago.) Lovely stuff from @nickmiller79.bsky.social on Jake Weatherald — and a pocket of yellow & green in England hoping for at least a slither of Australian magic during the Ashes ... www.nytimes.com/athletic/678...

🔺 The positivity being stoked at Sunderland 🔺 The afternoon he was booed from the field at the Emirates 🔺 The chaos Mikel Arteta confronted at Arsenal Ahead of the visit of his former club Arsenal, Granit Xhaka talks exclusively to @mwalkerfoot.bsky.social. 🔗 www.nytimes.com/athletic/677...

Sunderland. Arsenal. Xhaka. An interview as they all come together. www.nytimes.com/athletic/677...

Brendan Rodgers resigned from his job at Celtic on Monday. This was followed by an unrestrained and public attack by Dermot Desmond. Amid criticism of Rodgers, the board, recruitment and more, Celtic have turned ‘toxic’. @mwalkerfoot.bsky.social 🔗 www.nytimes.com/athletic/675...

Ian Wright at #CPFC… that education in the Second Division, the goal against Brighton, Blackburn bedlam, Wembley, that shot from the halfway line at Plough Lane, third in the league, the partnership with Brighty… …and then the departure @mattwoosie.bsky.social ✍️ www.nytimes.com/athletic/673...

“I don’t just want to play two or three times for England. I want to play at least 50 Tests.” Tawanda Muyeye fled Zimbabwe at 17, seeking asylum in England. Now, at 24, he talks to @paulfnewman66.bsky.social about targeting a Test future with his adopted country www.nytimes.com/athletic/671...

Fantastic game at Selhurst Park. Maybe easy to pick holes in the defending, but was brilliant entertainment - two teams going hell for leather, guided by two of the Premier League’s managers of the moment (as @liamtharme.bsky.social wrote👇🏻) nytimes.com/athletic/67259…#CPFCF#AFCBCB

Andoni Iraola. Bournemouth. Frankenstein By @mwalkerfoot.bsky.social www.nytimes.com/athletic/614...

"19 games 19 games undefeated" A fantastic evening for Palace in Lublin. Great atmosphere & did the job on the pitch with a solid performance For many this European journey means so much & they're determined to live in the moment to enjoy it #CPFC www.nytimes.com/athletic/667...

“It’s fantastic we’re criticised. It means people care about what we’re doing. Five years ago, if someone drops a catch, they drop a catch. Now it’s, ‘They should be better than that’” Charlie Dean talks England, off-spin and monopoly with @samdalling.bsky.social www.nytimes.com/athletic/665...

Bill McCracken: the greatest Irish and Newcastle United player of them all? Probably. Delighted to get a copy of Paul Joannou’s new biography of the forgotten brilliant thinker, a man The Guardian called “the Irish Mephistopheles”.

“West Indies used to be the envy of the world but we expected our dominance to last forever and stopped doing what we were so good at. Now we seem to have given up.” Andy Roberts, and others, spoke to @paulfnewman66.bsky.social on the state of West Indian cricket www.nytimes.com/athletic/665...

Really sad news. A sharp and sound cricket writer and a comprehensively nice bloke cricketwriters.com/rob-steen-pa...

For NFL folk attending or watching Steelers-Vikings, some history ancient & modern of Croke Park in Dublin. www.nytimes.com/athletic/654...

Ahead of the NFL’s visit to Dublin, here’s @mwalkerfoot.bsky.social with a history of Croke Park www.nytimes.com/athletic/654...

Strasbourg are fifth in Ligue 1, in Europe for the first time in 20 years and enjoying the fruits of a €160m stadium renovation. And some of their fans are livid. Piece for @theathleticfc.bsky.social on the fall-out from Emanuel Emegha’s decision to sign for Chelsea www.nytimes.com/athletic/664...

Remembering Newcastle United 3-2 Barcelona on this day in 1997. Featuring among others Faustino Asprilla, Shay Given, Louis van Gaal, Durham City, Oasis and the sheer noise of it all. www.nytimes.com/athletic/663...

The #NUFC striker who moved to Liverpool for a huge fee, won the title and the admiration of The Beatles: in some ways Albert Stubbins was an early version of the Alexander Isak situation. In others, not. www.nytimes.com/athletic/657...

The Dukes cricket ball dates back to 1760. Dilip Jajodia bought the business in the 1980s and, now in his early 80s, is still running the company alongside his son. So how did they react to the furore around their ball during the England vs India series? And how many balls does one cow produce?

New Premier League season, new predictions feature on The Athletic FC Each week I’ll take on an Athletic subscriber, a data algorithm and… a six-year-old in predicting scores, exposing my stupidity as well as — importantly — my agenda against YOUR club #PremierLeague www.nytimes.com/athletic/648...

Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack — the world’s longest-running sports book — has been published every year from 1864; through war, disease and several enforced cancellations of cricket itself. Here's my look at its place in the sporting and collectibles' worlds: www.nytimes.com/athletic/649...

Joe Root is now the second highest runscorer in Tests thanks to another flawless century. He is the Peter Pan of cricket who just gets better and better. He is now closing on Sachin Tendulkar - surpass him and the record will surely be his forever. 🔗 theathletic.com/6515751/?sou...

Rishabh Pant passed 50 for the fifth time on the tour today - effectively batting on one leg. In 2022 his life and career was very different after a car accident left him with serious injuries. This is the story of his comeback. @anantaajith.bsky.social | bit.ly/44Pt6di

Is Zak Crawley untouchable opening the batting for England, or a man legitimately under pressure? The much-maligned England opener has struggled against India, with the clamour from the outside for him to be replaced growing ever louder. 🔗 theathletic.com/6485782/?sou...

Lord’s has never provided a level playing field for Test cricket, and England and India will have to contend with an unusual characteristic at the world’s most famous cricket ground. A slope. And not just any old slope. ✍️ Paul Newman theathletic.com/6482874/?sou...