Zak Keefer
@zakkeefer.bsky.social
Senior writer at The Athletic, adjunct professor IU Media School
"How the hell does this keep happening?" Stephen Jones asks himself, sitting across from me. He's talking about the drought — 30 years without a Super Bowl. One day he'll run the Dallas Cowboys. And he'll run them different. A profile at @theathletic.com: www.nytimes.com/athletic/731...
The Cowboys remain Jerry’s world, but Stephen Jones will engineer ‘a different path’
The father relishes risk and the theater that comes with it. The son does not. Change is coming.
nytimes.com
"I'm not pushing Jerry out by any means," Troy Aikman says, "but when that day comes, it's gonna feel a lot different." Another Cowboys icon, Darren Woodson, was more blunt: "Stephen's going to chart a different path. He's got a little bit more motherf—er in him." www.nytimes.com/athletic/731...
It's Jerry's world, but Stephen Jones could engineer 'a different path' for the Cowboys
nytimes.com
"How the hell does this keep happening?" Stephen Jones asks himself, sitting across from me. He's talking about the drought — 30 years without a Super Bowl. One day he'll run the Dallas Cowboys. And he'll run them different. A profile at @theathletic.com: www.nytimes.com/athletic/731...
The Cowboys remain Jerry’s world, but Stephen Jones will engineer ‘a different path’
The father relishes risk and the theater that comes with it. The son does not. Change is coming.
nytimes.com
In college sports’ NIL era, ‘there’s no real rules’ for agents. And some like it that way www.nytimes.com/athletic/751...
In college sports’ NIL era, ‘there’s no real rules’ for agents. And some like it that way
Lamented by coaches and resented by their NFL peers, NIL agents operate with little-to-no oversight in an unfettered environment.
nytimes.com
"NFL agents have no f—ing clue how to do this." "You're getting your ass handed to you by somebody who wasn't in this f—ing world 5 years ago." Inside the chaotic world of NIL agents, college football's modern-day disruptors: www.nytimes.com/athletic/751...
In college sports’ NIL era, ‘there’s no real rules’ for agents. And some like it that way
Lamented by coaches and resented by their NFL peers, NIL agents operate with little-to-no oversight in an unfettered environment.
nytimes.com
Such a great job reporting and writing on the bizarre Mike Blatt by Katie Strang, @zakkeefer.bsky.social and Nathan Fenno. I dealt with Blatt in reporting days when he was an agent and I covered the Rams, then 49ers. He was full of shit even then. www.nytimes.com/athletic/748...
A playboy NFL agent was in line to run the Seahawks. Then came the crossbow killing
nytimes.com
Knew in advance this was going to unblinking and unbelievable. It somehow exceeded expectations. Madness, from Katie Strang, @zakkeefer.bsky.social and @nathanfenno.bsky.social www.nytimes.com/athletic/748...
A playboy NFL agent was in line to run the Seahawks. Then came the crossbow killing
Michael Blatt, one of the most feared agents in football, was on the verge of taking over an NFL team. Then a rival turned up dead.
nytimes.com
From @theathletic.com: A playboy NFL agent was on the verge of running the Seahawks when a longtime business associate was murdered with a crossbow, setting off a case that led to two trials, two hung juries and decades of questions.
A playboy NFL agent was in line to run the Seahawks. Then came the crossbow killing
Michael Blatt, one of the most feared agents in football, was on the verge of taking over an NFL team. Then a rival turned up dead.
nyti.ms
The wildest NFL story you've never heard 👇🏼 An agent-turned-exec on the brink of power A grisly murder by 2 ex-players — with a CROSSBOW A bizarre twist kept secret ... until now Year+ investigation with Katie Strang and @nathanfenno.bsky.social Free to read: www.nytimes.com/athletic/748...
A playboy NFL agent was in line to run the Seahawks. Then came the crossbow killing (Gift Article)
Michael Blatt, one of the most feared agents in football, was on the verge of taking over an NFL team. Then a rival turned up dead.
nytimes.com
— 4-12 on field goals his last year in college — Benched for a toe-bashing D-lineman (!) — Trained with a man in a wheelchair — 4 games in, Bill Parcells was ready to cut him My case for why Adam Vinatieri scripted the most preposterous road to the Hall of Fame ever: www.nytimes.com/athletic/744...
Why Adam Vinatieri may be the most unlikely player to ever make Hall of Fame
nytimes.com
A year ago, just as his podcast was blowing up — before he'd partner with @TheAthletic and win a Pulitzer — I profiled @PabloTorre, the Harvard grad who bombed the LSAT, couldn't quit journalism, then grew tired of ESPN's constraints. www.nytimes.com/athletic/632...
Jordon Hudson, Kash Patel and MJ’s fax machine: Pablo Torre’s ‘terminal content brain’ battles the algorithm
Torre had to leave ESPN to carve out a spot in the media landscape that fits him, mixing the silly — even the salacious — with the smart.
nytimes.com
Extra timeouts. Free challenges. Awful spots. Fuming coaches. One ref -- a diehard Saints fan -- fired hours before reffing a Saints game. Replacement refs could be on their way back. Was 2012 as bad as we remember? Hear it from the refs and coaches: www.nytimes.com/athletic/720...
It wasn’t just the Fail Mary: Looking back at the NFL’s 2012 replacement referee debacle
nytimes.com
Did the Bucs get the steal of the draft? Do we really believe Sean McVay? And a look at the Raiders' plan to sit Fernando Mendoza behind "a mature adult." What stood out from the 2026 draft: www.nytimes.com/athletic/723...
What we learned from the 2026 NFL Draft: Story on McVay’s face, Raiders’ Mendoza plan
In a league too often sanitized by coachspeak, facial expressions might be our last great truth serum.
nytimes.com
"Part of what was fun playing for you, BA, is you’d MF us in public." "It was awesome to have an OC who talks a lot of s— to the defense" “Don’t be a f—ing robot, Coby!" How'd Bruce Arians and Andrew Luck make it work? Insightful read from our Jayson Jenks www.nytimes.com/athletic/719...
Andrew Luck and Bruce Arians weren’t expected to win together. Here’s how they did anyway
nytimes.com
Jon Gruden's run with the Raiders was somehow worse than it looked, believe it or not. Great read today from @zakkeefer.bsky.social www.nytimes.com/athletic/715...
Inside Jon Gruden’s disastrous second run with the Raiders
Mark Davis thought it was a return to The Raider Way; in time, he would learn Gruden wasn't the football savant he played on TV.
nytimes.com
It wasn't that long ago the Raiders hired a head coach straight from TV, then did the same thing at GM. The result: 4 years of chaos. Inside Jon Gruden's second run with the Raiders from those inside the building — and why they're still trying to get it right: www.nytimes.com/athletic/715...
Inside Jon Gruden’s disastrous second run with the Raiders
Mark Davis thought it was a return to The Raider Way; in time, he would learn Gruden wasn't the football savant he played on TV.
nytimes.com
The Beast is here. Bravo, @danebrugler.bsky.social 402 profiles, 2,700 rankings, 45,000 verified measurements and almost 300,000 words !! Enjoy: www.nytimes.com/athletic/int...
NFL Draft 2026 ‘The Beast’ Guide: Dane Brugler’s definitive scouting reports and player rankings
Dane Brugler’s in-depth scouting reports and rankings for more than 2,700 prospects. Quarterbacks, wide receivers, edge rushers, the top 100 overall and more — all in one place.
nytimes.com
There's no guarantee skimo is back at the 2030 Olympics. I took it all in Thursday. The wild races. The history. The competitors — one of which tried to make the Olympics in **three** other sports before trying skimo. An ode to those who love the climb: www.nytimes.com/athletic/705...
Ski mountaineering’s Olympic debut: Beautiful races, beautiful place and a sport that belongs
Ski mountaineering made its Olympic debut on Thursday. For fans and competitors alike, it was a day to remember.
nytimes.com
What's it like when the President of the United States calls you a "loser" before you compete in your first Olympics? “Probably the hardest two weeks of my life," Hunter Hess says. Then he aced his run Friday and flashed an 'L' at the finish line: www.nytimes.com/athletic/705...
Hunter Hess says last two weeks 'probably hardest' of his life after President Trump remarks
nytimes.com
He paints his nails. He samba dances. And he retired three years ago, only to reinvent himself. A skier representing Brazil(!) just beat Marco Odermatt, the sport's reigning king, to win gold in super-G? Lucas Pinheiro Braathen is one of a kind. So is his story: www.nytimes.com/athletic/704...
Lucas Pinheiro Braathen makes Olympic history with gold for Brazil: ‘This was written for me’
Pinheiro Braathen's gold for Brazil is the country's first medal at a Winter Olympics.
nytimes.com
There's no media spotlight at the Olympics quite like what Eileen Gu faces. Two hours to get thru interviews? And with her success comes more scrutiny about her choice to ditch the US and represent China, how it's benefited her, and how she justifies it. www.nytimes.com/athletic/704...
Eileen Gu, amid Olympic cameras and controversy, is living in a unique reality
Gu is bigger than skiing, bigger than sport, and as ever, a lightning-rod for criticism.
nytimes.com
" I wanna go for it, because that's what I do." Chloe Kim had one run left, and a decision to make at the top of the hill: play it safe ... or drop the hammer. "Exciting but terrifying," her boyfriend, Myles Garrett, called it. Story from Livigno: www.nytimes.com/athletic/704...
Chloe Kim went after history and missed. She remained proud, unapologetic to the end
For Chloe Kim, her Olympic silver medal in Milan Cortina was just as sweet as the two golds that preceded it.
nytimes.com
“To have a call like that, at the Olympics, pretty much stripping it away from me, it’s hard to deal with." On a brutal ending, some he-said he-said dissent, and a difficult day for American Nathan Pare: www.nytimes.com/athletic/704...
American Nathan Pare celebrated victory. Then came controversy: ‘It’s hard to deal with’
Nathan Pare thought he had won his quarterfinal snowboard cross race, but the American was 'Ranked as Last' for making contact with a rival.
nytimes.com
The moral of Ryan Cochran-Seigle's story? Boot and rally. www.nytimes.com/athletic/703...
Ryan Cochran-Siegle has guts. Once again, it put him on an Olympic podium
Cochran-Siegle won silver in the men's super-G in Bormio to add to the silver he won in the same event in Beijing four years ago.
nytimes.com
Chloe Kim tore her labrum 34 days ago. She wasn’t back on a board until 2 weeks ago. She hasn’t competed in 10 months. No matter. “I might be better at snowboarding than I am at walking,” she said. But how’s she doing all this with a dislocated shoulder?? www.nytimes.com/athletic/703...
A brace, tape and an iron will: How Chloe Kim is competing with a dislocated shoulder
nytimes.com
Due to a recent injury — a torn labrum in January — Kim’s challenge looks as steep as Livigno’s 23-foot halfpipe walls. The risk is obvious, but so is the reward. “I think the Olympic gold medal is too enticing not to try.” ✍️ @zakkeefer.bsky.social
Chloe Kim: The stakes are high, but snowboard great is relaxed and confident
Kim is trying to become the first halfpipe snowboarder in Olympic history to win three consecutive gold medals.
nytimes.com
Chloe Kim is on the brink of Olympic history. She could become the first halfpipe snowboarder — male or female — to win three consecutive gold medals.
Can a silver medal mean more to an Olympian than a gold? Alex Hall says yes. Let him explain why: www.nytimes.com/athletic/703...
Alex Hall relinquishes Olympic freeski slopestyle title but silver makes him proud
Hall was the defending freeski slopestyle champion. He relinquished his title in northern Italy but still wore a smile afterwards
nytimes.com
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...
Chloe Kim: The stakes are high, but snowboard great is relaxed and confident
Kim is trying to become the first halfpipe snowboarder in Olympic history to win three consecutive gold medals.
nytimes.com
