I love this time of year. Draft. UFAs. Trades. So it was really fun to spend the last 3 years behind the scenes with GMs, owners & others in the NHL to get strategies on team building & leadership for this book. Oct. release. Preorder links below. Huge thanks to all who helped.

This week's "Did You Notice" is about Kyle Hamilton. And how the Ravens are using him to save their defense — again. https://t.co/HNy2HfKdSq

Tickets are officially on sale for our LIVE taping of The Athletic Football Show at Lincoln Hall in Chicago. January 7th, right before the playoffs kick off. Gonna be a great night. Come be a part of it. https://t.co/xJkQmYRXHN

Save up to 60 % OFF on Web3 Domains! + free .coms using code SAVEBIG. This is it. The biggest domain sale we’ve ever done.

The call sheet wasn’t out of the ordinary. The glasses, however, were a dead giveaway. On Dan Campbell The Playcaller, a look at the subtle-yet-effective changes and perhaps a season-defining move for the Detroit Lions ⤵️⤵️⤵️

Some exciting family news: My father has put years into understanding how a broken system wrongly convicted a 17-year-old of murder. It's an incredible story, and he's written a book about it that comes out in Feb. The first review is in from Kirkus:

Podcast friends: Fun news! We're doing our first LIVE show on January 7th at Lincoln Hall in Chicago. The pre-sale is happening right now, exclusively for members of the TAFS Discord. Join the Discord and check the Announcements channel for the code. https://t.co/zAEIYhB2KN

ECNL Phoenix Showcase Schedule: So excited to compete in the upcoming ECNL showcase! Here is my schedule below: @ImYouthSoccer @ECNLgirls @ImCollegeSoccer @TopDrawerSoccer @TheSoccerWire @PrepSoccer

We went even bigger this year for our @awfulannouncing Sports Podcast Power List. With insights from our Honorees and names from new corners of this ever-evolving space, it's a who's-who of sports audio and digital video from 2025.

NEW: How did Emmitt Finnie go from 0 goals in his rookie WHL season, to a top-line role with the Red Wings in four years time? On the seventh-round pick who has been the story of the young season in Detroit:

One high-ranking league source told me at the owners’ meetings that the rest of the league and its fans need to catch up to what the Lions already know: Jared Goff deserves more respect. https://t.co/6oUQniXGLK

📺 Episode 1 of “The Athletic Show” is out now! I interviewed John Brown, father of Lions WR Amon-Ra St. Brown, about raising his three sons and what it’s been like watching Amon-Ra’s success in Detroit

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. https://t.co/7xRLTcALwx

So...we're making a TV show at @TheAthletic. They let me be on it. https://t.co/LXT0GLQ2Xt

“I used to think it was cool to get away with not sleeping. That’s the dumbest sh*t I’ve ever heard. When your job is to deal with people, you need to establish health habits to sustain [yourself] when there’s a lot of external stressors.” - Sean McVay

In a memo to employees today, Ilitch Companies announce paid maternity leave effective Jan 2026, including 12 weeks for birthing parents and 2 weeks for secondary caregivers. The Athletic reported last month the Detroit Tigers were one of just 3 MLB teams without fully paid leave

IU previously directed the Indiana Daily Student to stop printing news coverage in our paper. Upon pushback, IU fully cut print, including our special editions. The IDS was not involved in the decision. Letter from the editors to come.

Lucas Raymond on the ice at Red Wings morning skate

This McLellan quote: “The players will say — they probably have already said to you — ‘we can fix this.' When? It’s time. Some of them have been doing it for years. It’s time.” Seems like the runway for passengers on this team is a lot shorter this season. #LGRW Full article⤵️

Going live on YouTube with @MarkLazerus and @DNBsports to talk about Connor McDavid's extension for @TheAthleticNHL https://t.co/VrcOhr2z0W

Did your team crush your spirit today? Not sure how to work through your feelings right now? Let us help. Leave us a message at 847-448-0701, and we'll talk through a couple of your voicemails tomorrow on The Athletic Football Show. Feel like today is a particularly rich text.

Michigan announces Pacioretty will be special assistant to head coach Brandon Naurato

...and, yes: we spent a year investigating why there isn't more tickling in MMA. (I love this episode.)