Doug Haller
@doughaller.bsky.social
Senior writer at The Athletic based in Arizona.
Amar'e Stoudemire will enter the Basketball Hall of Fame this weekend. Just about everyone saw the potential early on. @doughaller.bsky.social ✍️ nyti.ms/4z52bHg
Tales of Amar’e Stoudemire: A Basketball Hall of Famer so good the Suns once had to hide him
Jerry Colangelo had made up his mind. He wanted Stoudemire. But he doubted he'd be available at No. 9. Until he and an agent hatched a plan.
nyti.ms
"It's one of those situations where I don't think you can separate the basketball part of it from the off-court part of it" @doughaller.bsky.social and @geraldbourguet.bsky.social gave their thoughts on the Miles Bridges trade on the pod: LISTEN: bit.ly/4awGtkR WATCH: bit.ly/445GUit
Talked with a dozen HCs today about the Brendan Sorsby news. They're angry, confused and disillusioned. "Unbelievable." "F---ing crazy" "Egregious." "One of the worst things I’ve seen in 20 years of coaching.” Free story: www.nytimes.com/athletic/734...
College coaches react to Brendan Sorsby court ruling: ‘What are we doing?’ (Gift Article)
One Power 4 athletic director told The Athletic their school would no longer consider scheduling Texas Tech in any sport.
nytimes.com
Bob Horner and Jerry Maddox were Arizona State products. Both All-Americans. Both third basemen. Maddox was a rookie w/ the Braves when Horner made his straight-from-college MLB debut. His life changed. Horner’s did too. (Free access) ⤵️ www.nytimes.com/athletic/732...
The story of Bob Horner’s first MLB game, and the last for an Arizona State teammate (Gift Article)
Bob Horner and Jerry Maddox were connected in many ways. Both ASU products. Both third basemen. One game set them on different paths.
nytimes.com
Corbin Carroll is a triples machine. He has twice as many this season than any other MLB player. I asked former masters of the craft — George Brett, Lance Johnson, Brett Butler and others — about what makes this play, and Carroll, so special. ⤵️
Corbin Carroll and the art of the triple, one of baseball’s most exciting moments
The Diamondbacks outfielder, who tripled twice Sunday, has led the NL in triples the past three seasons and is on pace to do so again.
nytimes.com
From Oklahoma City: I wrote about Devin Booker’s frustration, which was aimed at the officiating, but probably goes deeper. ⤵️ www.nytimes.com/athletic/722...
Suns’ Devin Booker lashes out at refs after technical foul in Game 2 loss to Thunder (Gift Article)
Frustration has been building for the Suns star. Wednesday night, Booker finally let it out after Phoenix fell behind 2-0 in the series.
nytimes.com
Jordan Ott has impressed in his first season, but the playoffs are a stiffer test for the first year Phoenix head coach. ⤵️
Suns’ Jordan Ott has impressed in his first season, but the playoffs are another test
Ott has had a great first season in Phoenix. The playoffs are his next test. And this series will be incredibly difficult.
nytimes.com
Jalen Green has his signature Suns moment, but the road to get there wasn’t easy ⤵️ www.nytimes.com/athletic/720...
Jalen Green has his signature Suns moment, but the road to get there wasn’t easy
Green was the best player on the court, which is fascinating, because for so much of this season he has struggled to find his place.
nytimes.com
From No. 1 to Mr. Irrelevant, Dane Brugler predicted all seven rounds and 257 picks of the 2026 NFL Draft. ◽Cowboys move up ◽A whole bunch of Buckeyes ◽QB Ty Simpson a second-round pick Enjoy. www.nytimes.com/athletic/719...
Full 2026 NFL mock draft: Dane Brugler predicts all 7 rounds and 257 picks
How will this year's NFL Draft play out? Our expert takes his best shot at predicting every pick.
nytimes.com
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.) 👇
Why those close to Randy Bennett say the 63-year-old will thrive at Arizona State
Bennett took over a program coming off a two-win season. Over the next two decades, he turned the school into a mid-major power.
nytimes.com
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...
Power ranking college football’s top 25 coaches in 2026: Cristobal rises, Sarkisian stumbles
Many coaches debut, or re-emerge, on Feldman's rankings this year.
nytimes.com
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...
How Arizona became the most consistent team in college basketball — and a Big 12 champion (Gift Article)
After last season, Arizona built a roster designed to have depth and endurance. The final product never seems to have an off night.
nytimes.com
What’s it like covering Bobby Hurley? Probably not what you would expect. ⤵️
What’s it like covering Bobby Hurley, the coach? Probably much different than you’d think
A question I've gotten often over the years: Is Bobby Hurley as big an a-hole in person as he seems during games? The answer: not at all.
nytimes.com
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...
Bobby Hurley won’t return as Arizona State men’s basketball coach: Source
Arizona State suffered a huge loss in the second round of the Big 12 tournament on the heels of a disappointing season.
nytimes.com
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. ⤵️
Jalen Green’s first season with Suns hasn’t gone well, but that could be changing
As the playoffs inch closer, the Suns still work to find chemistry with Green and Green still works to find a rhythm. It’s not ideal.
nytimes.com
Full story, with Mike LaFleur's impressions of Kyler Murray as an opposing coach in the NFC West www.nytimes.com/athletic/706...
Cardinals' LaFleur has 'a lot of respect' for Kyler Murray, but QB's future is uncertain
nytimes.com
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. ⤵️
Suns’ Jordan Ott grew up in small-town Pennsylvania. But his dreams were always big
No other NBA head coach comes from a place so small, a fact not lost on the locals who have followed every step of Ott’s journey.
nytimes.com
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) ⤵️
‘I’m in my prime’: Bobby Hurley confronts uncertainty, reflects on 11 years at Arizona State
"Of course, I’m going to wonder, ‘When is that going to happen? What is this going to look like? What is my future going to look like?’’’
nytimes.com
Nice story or serious contender? That remains to be seen with the Phoenix Suns. ⤵️
Suns have work to do to go from ‘nice story’ to ‘serious threat’ in the West
Phoenix could be a team that needs to rest at the All-Star break, or it could be one that has started to reach its ceiling.
nytimes.com
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...
NBA Hall of Famers. A Splash Father. Inside the single 3-pointer club
Two-time NBA champion Mychal Thompson only attempted 12 3-pointers his entire career. He made one. His son Klay has made 2,836 and counting.
nytimes.com
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...
LeBron James addresses retirement after Cleveland return: ‘When is it over?’
After getting teary-eyed during a pregame tribute, LeBron sounded at times like he was close to hanging it up. But he hasn't decided yet.
nytimes.com
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...
Bob Knight’s epic Purdue rant is 35 years old. How it leaked remains a mystery
Knight's leaked 1991 locker-room rant has become part of college basketball lore. To this day, though, no one's quite sure who did it.
nytimes.com
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...
Bob Knight’s epic Purdue rant is 35 years old. How it leaked remains a mystery
Knight's leaked 1991 locker-room rant has become part of college basketball lore. To this day, though, no one's quite sure who did it.
nytimes.com
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...
Bob Knight’s epic Purdue rant is 35 years old. How it leaked remains a mystery
Knight's leaked 1991 locker-room rant has become part of college basketball lore. To this day, though, no one's quite sure who did it.
nytimes.com
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. ⤵️
Bob Knight’s epic Purdue rant is 35 years old. How it leaked remains a mystery
Knight's leaked 1991 locker-room rant has become part of college basketball lore. To this day, though, no one's quite sure who did it.
nytimes.com
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...
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.
