Basically, Steph White had time today.

Brian Hamilton@brianchamilton.bsky.social · 3w ago

Today's Indiana Fever thunderclap: Stephanie White vigorously defends her relationship with players and rails against calls for her firing. "I stand by them, I will always stand by them. Everybody else can go to hell." Free to read @theathletic.com: www.nytimes.com/athletic/750...

Alternate headline: Sports are never just about sports.

Jesse Dougherty@jessedougherty.bsky.social · 4w ago

“Some strange, strange bedfellows with this bill ... That was always the risk of trying for something that’s really, really sweeping.” The Senate did not vote on the college sports bill before recess. A breakdown (and look ahead) for @notus.com: www.notus.org/sports/colle...

Let’s go to a #Fever game & talk basketball… just as Sophie Cunningham wants. But please avert your eyes from the protestor yelling about trans kids, the fans being escorted out and the fact that the #Fever waited two weeks to deny allegations abt sexual harassment www.nytimes.com/athletic/749...

The WNBA conversation is no longer about basketball, and Sophie Cunningham doesn’t get why (Gift Article)

The Fever and Aces played a highly entertaining basketball game Thursday night. Though other things happened around the basketball part.

nytimes.com

Yes, I believe a pro sports commissioner needs to be good at messaging. And WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert gets harshly judged bc she doesn’t talk enough w/ players. But the role of a commish is not just abt relationships. Ultimately it’s abt business: www.nytimes.com/athletic/747...

Cathy Engelbert may be unpopular with WNBA players, but she’s not paid to be their bestie (Gift Article)

Engelbert's failure to protect players might be her downfall, but she seems to be doing the one thing that she’s paid to do well.

nytimes.com

From @candacedbuckner.bsky.social, Monday night was a giant F--- you to Knicks fans, free to read.

Donald Trump, James Dolan tried to ruin NBA Finals vibe. The Knicks’ loss killed it (Gift Article)

Dolan should've known Trump's presence would hijack attention from the night and complicate logistics for the NBA and deeply invested fans.

nytimes.com

ST. LOUIS — The place that calls itself “Baseball Heaven” is now filled with a bunch of shirtless dudes. Visited my hometown recently to cover the Tarps Off craze, and sneak in a gooey butters reference, and a Nelly lyric. Free access to my column here: www.nytimes.com/athletic/732...

MLB Tarps Off craze has awakened 'Baseball Heaven' with the bare truth

nytimes.com

Jaxson Dart was “pleasured” to introduce Trump at a political rally, Abdul Carter had different words to describe that scene. A very public rebuke from one NFL teammate to another shed slight on how even unified locker rooms might be functioning in the Trump era. www.nytimes.com/athletic/730...

Political dissension in the workplace? NFL stars are just like the rest of us (Gift Article)

Abdul Carter and Jaxson Dart offered a peek behind the curtain of how locker rooms are functioning in the Trump era.

nytimes.com

In what feels like a state of emergency for the Black vote, the NAACP is trying to recruit junior foot soldiers to make a vow and save the day. They’re asking Black athletes to not play at certain Southern schools. It’s a big ask. And it’s unfair. www.nytimes.com/athletic/729...

NAACP’s big ask is admirable, impossible and mostly unfair (Gift Article)

The oldest civil rights organization in America wants athletes in their teens and 20s to send a message to Southern lawmakers. Good luck.

nytimes.com

“If u expose yourself to something that feels so scary, it just has an effect on u. It just reminds u that nothing really matters that much. Nobody’s thinking about u that much. No one cares about u that much. So don’t take urself too seriously.” Gosh this is good: www.nytimes.com/athletic/729...

A former NFL player did a disastrous open mic. He thinks everyone should try it (Gift Article)

“If you expose yourself to something that feels so scary,” former NFL player Jack Crawford said, “it just has an effect on you."

nytimes.com

Statistical records falling almost every game… Efficient shooting from deep… Caitlin Clark is saying hello once again to the game she’s ready to dominate This one’s open and free for all, take a look 👀 www.nytimes.com/athletic/728...

New-and-improved Caitlin Clark reintroducing herself to the game she’s ready to dominate (Gift Article)

Clark is politely saying hello again to the league and reestablishing her star trajectory that temporarily stalled a year ago.

nytimes.com

It’s up to WNBA fans to raise the roof (and the floor) of the conversation Open for all, so click and read. Interested in your thoughts: www.nytimes.com/athletic/724...

It’s up to WNBA fans to raise the roof (and the floor) of the conversation (Gift Article)

As WNBA fans on social media share their fervor, opinions and drivel, the discourse needs help. Right now, it sounds like NBA lite.

nytimes.com

Sprinter Allyson Felix and NFL player Drew Dalman. One athlete in her autumn, and another in his prime. Both have rejected the conventional wisdom of what is expected of their bodies. And I can’t decide who’s more impressive. www.nytimes.com/athletic/723...

For sprinter Allyson Felix and NFL player Drew Dalman, two equally courageous decisions

nytimes.com

Hey y’all! I’ve been at @theathletic.com for a little over a week now. New digs but same ol’ me :) Couldn’t shake thoughts about this random Pacers couple going viral and the reactions to them, so I wrote this. Hope you enjoy: www.nytimes.com/athletic/719...

What’s an Indiana Pacers couple to do when viral moment goes off the rails?

Social media found its fix. The "Inside" crew had its fun. Now, we can all move on, until the next moment breaks through our boredom.

nytimes.com

Just wanted to take a minute, for no particular reason whatsoever, and celebrate some of the brilliant work that my @postsports.bsky.social colleagues have done in recent weeks. These stories take time and resources. They're also what make The Post so great. All gift links/free to read...

I wrote about Audi Crooks bc she is special in her craft, & unlike any other star player. What makes her great at hoops & unique among her peers comes from her body. But in a world still too obsessed w/ judging the shape of a woman’s body, how should fans talk about female athletes & their size?

Post Sports @postsports.bsky.social · 8mo ago

Audi Crooks: The women’s basketball force fans struggle to discuss Column from @candacedbuckner.bsky.social

The conversation and backlash to the conversation re: the Jacksonville Jaguars news conference revealed one thing: Sports journalists have a problem. Free & open link for all: wapo.st/4sGqfgt

Column | News conferences exist to inform fans. It’s too bad so many don’t get that.

The debate over a reporter’s actions after a Jacksonville Jaguars game reveals a troubling misunderstanding.

wapo.st

With no one running the asylum, college basketball has gone full crazy. Column from @candacedbuckner.bsky.social

Column | With no one running the asylum, college hoops has gone full crazy

In the latest evidence that no one is in charge, James Nnaji, who was drafted by an NBA team two years ago, is somehow eligible to play at Baylor.

washingtonpost.com

Tackling is one of football's basic crafts. Few players in NFL history have mastered it like Bobby Wagner. www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2025/...

This week Puka Nacua appeared on a live stream — and we could stop right there to break down all the reasons this ranked as an epically dumb decision. Nothing quite makes a crisis manager groan when reading a headline that features the words “pro athletes” & “live streams.” wapo.st/4q5pbBj

Column | Advice to Puka Nacua: Hang out with people who have as much to lose as you

Evidently wanting more attention than one NFL game per week provides, the Rams’ star receiver appeared on a live stream that got him the wrong kind.

wapo.st

Stripped of his armor of maize and blue, Sherrone Moore looked small. At his arraignment Friday, Moore looked afraid, or maybe he was worried. Without the brim of his block “M” hat framing his face, Moore was exposed yet remained hard to read. He looked only like a criminal defendant.

Post Sports @postsports.bsky.social · 9mo ago

Sherrone Moore is no one’s victim, but he is a tragedy. From columnist @candacedbuckner.bsky.social:

Like a lot of us last Sunday, Philip Rivers was watching NFL football on his couch. But unlike the rest of us coach potatoes, Rivers got a surprise call to join the Indianapolis Colts’ practice squad. And nearly five years after his last NFL game, Rivers might start Sunday 🤯 wapo.st/4pBiuqj

Column | Could a 44-year-old grandpa start an NFL game Sunday? ‘Heck yeah.’

Philip Rivers, 44, hasn’t played in five years and watched this past Sunday’s games from his couch. That might not stop him from being in the Colts’ huddle.

wapo.st

Christmas in Cleveland just got more merrier because the quarterback who evokes so much emotion, such weirdness from people, will be the starter for the final four games of the season. It’s Shedeur SZN! www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2025/...

Hot takes by the lake: The Shedeur Sanders story

Don’t have an opinion on this fifth-round pick of a last-place NFL team? Then you’re seemingly the only one.

washingtonpost.com

Indiana's Fernando Mendoza can present himself as Mr. Nice Guy, he is a bad, bad man. On the Hoosiers and their standout quarterback from @candacedbuckner.bsky.social:

Column | Indiana swears by Fernando Mendoza, college football’s purest interview

The quarterback led the Hoosiers to their first Big Ten title since 1967, probably clinched the Heisman Trophy — and kept it clean afterward.

washingtonpost.com

All eyes on 5 today. Expecting word on his game availability from Dan Quinn in a few hours.

Happy college football signing day. Remembering the days when coaches huddled around fax machines to confirm players' commitments: www.wsj.com/articles/SB1...

Talked to Ryan Rollins on Monday and tried to sort through his departure from the Wizards. Why Washington cut him, how he feels about the team and what's propelled him to make a leap this season in my latest for @postsports.bsky.social 👇🏾. www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2025/...

The Wizards waived him after he shoplifted, and now he’s an emerging talent

Washington could use players like Ryan Rollins, who is enjoying a breakout season with the Bucks two years after his time in D.C. ended ignominiously.

washingtonpost.com

This is Lane Kiffin here: the legacy hire born in the red zone, the narcissist who quite skillfully can find the “I” in “Team.” More than anything else, he’s Football Coach, unbothered by the body count of jobs on his résumé, and the amount of bridges he’s incinerated along the way. wapo.st/44JGAXf

Column | This wasn’t a college football problem. This was a Lane Kiffin problem.

The messiness around the coach’s exit from Ole Miss to LSU was entirely of his own making.

wapo.st

From his small Indiana town, Myles McLaughlin made a memorable run at Derrick Henry’s national high school rushing record. Read @candacedbuckner.bsky.social’s full column:

Column | The small-town football player who took a run at an NFL star’s record

Myles McLaughlin brought the national spotlight to Knox, Indiana, as he approached Derrick Henry’s career rushing mark.

washingtonpost.com

The autumn when Knox, Indiana became one of football’s biggest stories. Thanks to Myles McLaughlin, a former no-star recruit who chased after history. wapo.st/48cQz8B

Column | The small-town football player who took a run at an NFL star’s record

Myles McLaughlin brought the national spotlight to Knox, Indiana, as he approached Derrick Henry’s career rushing mark.

wapo.st

After another weekend when the civilians of the SEC took this brand slogan (“It Just Means More”) cooked up by an advertising firm way too personally, however, football could stand to mean a wee bit less. Latest column & 🎁 link for y’all: wapo.st/4r9pR9A

Column | Hey, SEC, maybe it should mean just a bit less

Having a passion for football is cool, but it’s probably better to keep it away from your day job.

wapo.st