Dan Bickley

Phoenix

Sports columnist at KMVP-FM (Phoenix, AZ)

Co-Host at Podcasts Bickley & Marotta

Journalist/columnist for over three decades. Scars to prove it. Radio host on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM. Author of three books. Guitarist for Whiskey's Quicker.

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Articles

Mat Ishbia broke 2 rules hiring new Suns GM

2 weeks ago | arizonasports.com | Dan Bickley

Mat Ishbia promised something new and exciting. He’s delivering something self-serving and stale. He’s pulling a page from the Jerry Jones/Robert Sarver playbook. It’s a movie we’ve seen far too often in Phoenix, and it doesn’t end well. Ishbia has promoted Brian Gregory as the team’s new GM. If you haven’t heard of him, you’re not alone. Gregory is a college basketball lifer who never had much success as a head coach.
Cardinals' rebuild has reached point of playoff expectations

2 weeks ago | arizonasports.com | Dan Bickley

The Arizona Cardinals are no longer on the clock. The offseason has been very successful. The renovation is just about complete, and results are just around the corner. No gray area here: The Cardinals are expected to make the playoffs in 2025. They have been rebuilding since Jan. 2023, from the moment they hired Monti Ossenfort, a man who promised accountability, stability and a long-term approach.
Cardinals follow Eagles with Walter Nolen pick

3 weeks ago | arizonasports.com | Dan Bickley

The NFL is a copycat league, and the Eagles are reigning Super Bowl champions. Their blueprint looms large over the NFL, from tush pushes to trench warfare. And after the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft, their DNA is clearly coursing through the Arizona Cardinals. With the selection of Mississippi’s Walter Nolen, the Cardinals continued their massive renovation of their defensive line. They’ve added edge rusher Josh Sweat and tackle Dalvin Tomlinson.
Mat Ishbia can learn from Ken Kendrick's front office

3 weeks ago | arizonasports.com | Dan Bickley

Mat Ishbia wants to win. We all know it. We deeply appreciate his financial commitment. But he needs some help. He needs a general manager that commands his wallet AND his respect. He needs to sign off on a vision and a philosophy, and then let his next GM do the rest. To wit:James Jones was perfect for the tight-fisted Robert Sarver. Jones eventually gained enough faith that he was allowed to hire Monty Williams, an experienced and expensive head coach and a big concession for the previous owner.
How do we measure Mat Ishbia's Suns ownership?

4 weeks ago | arizonasports.com | Dan Bickley

Mat Ishbia press conferences are so predictable they should come with bingo cards. He speaks extremely fast. Words run hotter than a NASCAR engine. He will promise multiple championships. He’ll claim full accountability for failures while speaking in tones of defensive defiance. He’ll give numerous shoutouts to the Phoenix Mercury, his WNBA franchise that has nothing to do with the occasion. By the end, his energy and bombast will be endearing and exhausting.
Masters tradition makes it 1 of sports' most unique events

1 month ago | arizonasports.com | Dan Bickley

AUGUSTA — Welcome to the Masters means waking before sunrise, in a rental home, in rural Georgia. Get up. Grab a coffee. Get on the road ASAP. Marvel at the pre-dawn traffic. Obey the local police or else. Park in the darkness and find your spot in a massive line that snakes through a gravel parking lot. Feel the chill and reverence in the air. You will hear very little idle chatter. At the Masters, everyone knows the price of admission and the cost of bad behavior. You have won the lottery.
Diana Taurasi embodies true meaning of 'GOAT'

2 months ago | arizonasports.com | Dan Bickley

GOATs are different. They not like us. It was true with Michael Jordan. It was true with Kobe Bryant. It is true with Diana Taurasi. All of them were great in the greatest of ways: Unapologetic. Unbeatable. Cold-blooded. Candid. Ruthless. Hardcore. Elite trash talkers. “You think I’m (bad)? You should see my older sister,” Taurasi told me during a sit-down interview in 2016. “Ninth-grade high school summer league. The ref tells her to tuck in her shirt. They had a beef. Tuck in her shirt?
Lessons learned from the 2024 NFL season

Feb 10, 2025 | arizonasports.com | Dan Bickley

Football season is over. The Eagles laugh last. The implications are stunning. Nick Sirianni outcoached Andy Reid on the biggest stage in football. Patrick Mahomes will be forever haunted for playing his worst game on the biggest stage at the worst time, for failing to become the NFL’s first three-peat champion. Both Mahomes and Reid are currently pursuing GOAT status at their respective positions. They know they will never get that opportunity again.
WM Phoenix Open delivering on promise of better not bigger

Feb 8, 2025 | arizonasports.com | Dan Bickley

Thwack. Nothing like the sound of a well-struck golf ball. It appears the Thunderbirds have hit the sweet spot once again. Three rounds into the 2025 WM Phoenix Open and the tournament is getting rave reviews. The PGA Tour is ecstatic. The players are happy. Walk the grounds and you can tell a noticeable difference. The crush of humanity has lessened. The Thunderbirds have delivered on their promise of better not bigger. “So far, we’re very pleased,” Tournament Chairman Matt Mooney said.
Doncic trade proves Lakers are luckiest franchise

Feb 2, 2025 | arizonasports.com | Dan Bickley

We have seen bad trades, lopsided trades and trades that work for both teams. Never have we seen a trade so shocking. Luka Doncic to the Lakers? For Anthony Davis and one valuable draft pick? Impossible. The news was so incredulous and so incomprehensible that everyone assumed the messenger (Shams Charania) had been hacked. Sports fans in Dallas are gutted. The Lakers have their next superstar in place. LeBron James might get another run at a championship, after all.