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Zak Keefer

@zakkeefer.bsky.social
1.4K followers 206 following 112 posts

Senior writer at The Athletic, adjunct professor IU Media School

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Zak Keefer @zakkeefer.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Some stories just stay with you. This is one of those stories. Make time for this today, from @bfquinn.bsky.social www.nytimes.com/athletic/761...
nytimes.com
An improbable NBA breakthrough, a descent into darkness: ‘We weren’t all that different’
Behind Duncan Robinson’s unlikely ascent was a hidden second life — a decade spent as his brother's quiet lifeline.
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Zak Keefer @zakkeefer.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
At first, Klint Kubiak wanted nothing to do with coaching. "I was gonna play in the NFL for 20 years." His brother Klay was even more defiant — content to run a high school English department. Dad watched closely as something pulled them back in: www.nytimes.com/athletic/735...
nytimes.com
Klint Kubiak and the growth of the NFL's most overlooked coaching tree
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Zak Keefer @zakkeefer.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
The NFL's most influential modern-day coaching tree was born in a broom closet. (Really.) And before two of its disciples became rising stars in the league, they fought their fate, in oil fields and English classrooms: www.nytimes.com/athletic/735...
nytimes.com
Klint Kubiak and the growth of the NFL’s most overlooked coaching tree (Gift Article)
The Kubiak boys didn't appreciate the finer points of their father's profession at first. The teaching pulled them back in.
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Zak Keefer @zakkeefer.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
The last time the Bucs negotiated with their quarterback: "Can we get this f—ing thing done?" Baker Mayfield texted his GM. Jason Licht called him. "Listen up, asshole, we just agreed to terms ..." www.nytimes.com/athletic/754...
nytimes.com
Baker Mayfield nearly got everything he wanted. Now he’s betting on himself — again (Gift Article)
On the verge of his ninth NFL season — and without a contract for his 10th — Mayfield has found his latest target: his own front office.
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Zak Keefer @zakkeefer.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
The last time the Bucs negotiated with their quarterback: "Can we get this f—ing thing done?" Baker Mayfield texted his GM. Jason Licht called him. "Listen up, asshole, we just agreed to terms ..." www.nytimes.com/athletic/754...
nytimes.com
Baker Mayfield nearly got everything he wanted. Now he’s betting on himself — again (Gift Article)
On the verge of his ninth NFL season — and without a contract for his 10th — Mayfield has found his latest target: his own front office.
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Zak Keefer @zakkeefer.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
The trash-talking stories stretch back to high school, when Baker Mayfield started writing names down. He found targets anywhere he could. Now he's out to prove his own front office wrong: For @theathletic.com, a profile of the Bucs QB: www.nytimes.com/athletic/754...
nytimes.com
Baker Mayfield nearly got everything he wanted. Now he's betting on himself — again
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Zak Keefer @zakkeefer.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
"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...
nytimes.com
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.
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Zak Keefer @zakkeefer.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
"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...
nytimes.com
It's Jerry's world, but Stephen Jones could engineer 'a different path' for the Cowboys
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Zak Keefer @zakkeefer.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
"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...
nytimes.com
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.
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Daniel Shirley @dmshirley.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
In college sports’ NIL era, ‘there’s no real rules’ for agents. And some like it that way www.nytimes.com/athletic/751...
nytimes.com
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.
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Zak Keefer @zakkeefer.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
"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...
nytimes.com
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.
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Jeff Schultz @jeffschultzatl.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
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...
nytimes.com
A playboy NFL agent was in line to run the Seahawks. Then came the crossbow killing
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Brendan Quinn @bfquinn.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
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...
nytimes.com
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.
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The New York Times @nytimes.com · 12/08/2026
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.
nyti.ms
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.
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Jon Becker @jonbecker.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
One of the wildest stories I have read in a long time:
nytimes.com
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.
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Zak Keefer @zakkeefer.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
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...
nytimes.com
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.
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Zak Keefer @zakkeefer.bsky.social · 06/08/2026
— 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...
nytimes.com
Why Adam Vinatieri may be the most unlikely player to ever make Hall of Fame
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Zak Keefer @zakkeefer.bsky.social · 05/05/2026
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...
nytimes.com
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.
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Zak Keefer @zakkeefer.bsky.social · 04/05/2026
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...
nytimes.com
It wasn’t just the Fail Mary: Looking back at the NFL’s 2012 replacement referee debacle
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Zak Keefer @zakkeefer.bsky.social · 27/04/2026
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...
nytimes.com
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.
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Zak Keefer @zakkeefer.bsky.social · 16/04/2026
"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...
nytimes.com
Andrew Luck and Bruce Arians weren’t expected to win together. Here’s how they did anyway
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Nick Baumgardner @nickbaumgardner.bsky.social · 09/04/2026
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...
nytimes.com
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.
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Zak Keefer @zakkeefer.bsky.social · 09/04/2026
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...
nytimes.com
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.
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Zak Keefer @zakkeefer.bsky.social · 08/04/2026
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...
nytimes.com
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.
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Zak Keefer @zakkeefer.bsky.social · 20/02/2026
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...
nytimes.com
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.
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Zak Keefer @zakkeefer.bsky.social · 20/02/2026
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...
nytimes.com
Hunter Hess says last two weeks 'probably hardest' of his life after President Trump remarks
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Zak Keefer @zakkeefer.bsky.social · 17/02/2026
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...
nytimes.com
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.
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Zak Keefer @zakkeefer.bsky.social · 17/02/2026
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...
nytimes.com
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.
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Zak Keefer @zakkeefer.bsky.social · 13/02/2026
" 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...
nytimes.com
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.
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Brendan Quinn @bfquinn.bsky.social · 13/02/2026
“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...
nytimes.com
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.
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Brendan Quinn @bfquinn.bsky.social · 12/02/2026
The moral of Ryan Cochran-Seigle's story? Boot and rally. www.nytimes.com/athletic/703...
nytimes.com
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.
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Zak Keefer @zakkeefer.bsky.social · 11/02/2026
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...
nytimes.com
A brace, tape and an iron will: How Chloe Kim is competing with a dislocated shoulder
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The Athletic @theathletic.com · 10/02/2026
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
nytimes.com
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.
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The Athletic @theathletic.com · 10/02/2026
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.
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Zak Keefer @zakkeefer.bsky.social · 10/02/2026
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...
nytimes.com
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
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Zak Keefer @zakkeefer.bsky.social · 10/02/2026
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...
nytimes.com
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.
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Zak Keefer @zakkeefer.bsky.social · 10/02/2026
One of America's most unique Olympians goes for back-to-back golds today. "Maybe the most successful ski bum on the planet" spends his winters in a van with his buddies, filming tricks. He loves Google earth. He keeps his gold medal in a sock drawer. www.nytimes.com/athletic/696...
nytimes.com
How Alex Hall, U.S. freeski Olympic star, found happiness and success in letting go
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Zak Keefer @zakkeefer.bsky.social · 10/02/2026
Morning walk through Bormio 🇮🇹
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Zak Keefer @zakkeefer.bsky.social · 10/02/2026
"It really runs contrary to everything the Olympics should be." "We need to lead with love and compassion ... I'd love to see more of that." Chloe Kim and Eileen Gu chime in on Donald Trump's criticisms of Hunter Hess. www.nytimes.com/athletic/703...
nytimes.com
Chloe Kim, Eileen Gu speak out after President Trump calls an Olympian ‘a loser’
Two of the biggest stars of these Olympics were asked for their thoughts on President Trump's comments on Hunter Hess.
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Zak Keefer @zakkeefer.bsky.social · 09/02/2026
On Sunday, President Trump called US snowboarder Hunter Hess "a real Loser." On Monday here in Livigno, snowboarding star Chloe —daughter to two immigrants — offered up her opinion on the matter: www.nytimes.com/athletic/703...
nytimes.com
Chloe Kim on President Trump’s criticism of Hunter Hess: ‘This one hits pretty close to home’
Kim and three of her Team USA snowboarding teammates were asked Monday about President Trump's comments on Hunter Hess.
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Zak Keefer @zakkeefer.bsky.social · 07/02/2026
"That haunted me for nine years. I just decided ... 'F— living with regret. I'm doing this, even if it all blows up in my face.'" She retired at 20, became a plumber, then nine years later gave her Olympic dream one last shot: www.nytimes.com/athletic/700...
nytimes.com
How Maddy Schaffrick went from pro at 14 to plumber at 21 — and an Olympic medal threat at 31
Chasing snowboarding glory cost Maddy Schaffrick her adolescence. But years later, she rediscovered her joy for the sport.
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Zak Keefer @zakkeefer.bsky.social · 07/02/2026
She won gold in 2022 — then felt empty, aimless and unmotivated. She could hear an angel on one shoulder, the devil on another. Mathilde Gremaud — who just qualed first in slopestyle skiing — peels back the curtain on the hidden side of Olympic success: www.nytimes.com/athletic/702...
nytimes.com
Mathilde Gremaud won Olympic gold and felt ’empty,’ but now she’s chasing history
Gremaud could become the first woman to win back-to-back slopestyle Olympic gold medals.
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Zak Keefer @zakkeefer.bsky.social · 06/02/2026
"That haunted me for nine years. I just decided ... 'F— living with regret. I'm doing this, even if it all blows up in my face.'" She retired at 20, became a plumber, then nine years later gave her Olympic dream one last shot: www.nytimes.com/athletic/700...
nytimes.com
How Maddy Schaffrick went from pro at 14 to plumber at 21 — and an Olympic medal threat at 31
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Zak Keefer @zakkeefer.bsky.social · 05/02/2026
She turned pro at 14. She quit at 20, never wanting to touch a snowboard again. She ended up in AA. She worked as a plumber. Now — at age 31 — she’s chasing an Olympic medal in Italy. Maddy Schaffrick’s remarkable story: www.nytimes.com/athletic/700...
nytimes.com
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Zak Keefer @zakkeefer.bsky.social · 06/02/2026
👋🏻 Greetings from Bormio, Italy
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Zak Keefer @zakkeefer.bsky.social · 05/02/2026
She turned pro at 14. She quit at 20, never wanting to touch a snowboard again. She ended up in AA. She worked as a plumber. Now — at age 31 — she’s chasing an Olympic medal in Italy. Maddy Schaffrick’s remarkable story: www.nytimes.com/athletic/700...
nytimes.com
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Kevin Fishbain @kfishbain.bsky.social · 03/02/2026
Good week to learn about how the voice of the Super Bowl and Olympics studio host Mike Tirico got his start in broadcasting (included: a great Lee Corso story!)
youtu.be
Mike Tirico on Calling NFL Games, First Jobs, Olympics and More
YouTube video by Breaking In With Kevin Fishbain
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Zak Keefer @zakkeefer.bsky.social · 02/02/2026
After three medals and three Olympics, Nick Goepper was finished. He retired at 28, ready to move on. Then he had a crazy idea. In a few weeks, he'll try to do something no male skier has ever done in Olympic history: www.nytimes.com/athletic/697...
nytimes.com
Nick Goepper was 'lost,' then the three-time Olympic medalist made a major change
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Zak Keefer @zakkeefer.bsky.social · 02/02/2026
At 22, he came the width of a nickel from never skiing again. At the top of the hill, he still battles those doubts — what might happen — if were to slip while soaring down the side of a mountain at 80 mph. The risks of Ryan Cochran-Sielge: www.nytimes.com/athletic/696...
nytimes.com
Ryan Cochran-Siegle was millimeters from never skiing again. Now he's ready for another Olympics
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Zak Keefer @zakkeefer.bsky.social · 02/02/2026
First of several Olympic stories from me — He spends a chunk of his winter driving around the country in a van with his buddies, filming tricks. He keeps his Olympic gold medal in his sock drawer. He might be the most successful ski bum on the planet: www.nytimes.com/athletic/696...
nytimes.com
How Alex Hall, U.S. freeski Olympic star, found happiness and success in letting go
Skiing his way has made Hall one of the United States' most accomplished pros. And he knows he can never stop experimenting.
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