Jayson Jenks

Brad Childress was driving with Andy Reid at the Senior Bowl years ago when something caught Reid’s eye: a red neon light. Childress was confused. He had never heard of Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, and he definitely didn’t understand the significance of the red light. Reid filled him in. If the red light is on, it means Krispy Kreme is making fresh donuts. It also means a free donut with the purchase of a hot dozen. Reid and Childress pulled over; the dozen (plus the freebie) didn’t survive the drive…

“I think that’s what he loved about his job the most — the group of people he was able to bring together and all the stories.”

Stripped of every artificial incentive to play pro football, the little-knowns and has-beens of the WFL had the times of their lives.

Yes, The Athletic has already written three oral histories on Zack Greinke, but his Royals teammates say that’s not enough.

Buffalonians have always been innovative, and they have always known how to have a good time.

Brett Veach sold Andy Reid on Patrick Mahomes — now all John Dorsey had to do was strike a deal for a once-in-a-generation QB.

One time, was interviewed on NFL Network about Andy Reid. Smith explained, in a bit of an understatement, that Reid was a “big cheeseburger guy.” “So he’s always treating us to cheeseburgers,” Smith said, before being asked the natural follow-up: What does a player have to do in order to get treated to a cheeseburger? Advertisement Smith didn’t miss a beat: “Just be on the team.” In the world of professional football — hell, in the world of sports — there is no bigger cheeseburger enthusiast th…

Robert Turbin could not believe it. He had carried the ball 10 times in the first half of the first preseason game of his rookie year, and now here he was, sitting at his locker at halftime, with a giant bowl of bright citrus in front of his face. “I got really excited,” Turbin said. “I’m like, ‘I love orange slices. This is awesome. You guys have orange slices in the league, too???’” Like most of us, Turbin’s association with orange slices stretched back to his earliest memories of sports. Ther…

In Antetokounmpo’s first two years in the NBA, he went from a Dave-&-Buster’s-loving rookie nicknamed “Bambi” to the future of the NBA.

On the best days, when the fire pits glowed and the beef drippings hissed, when baseball was in town and the wind blew just right from the north — on those days, you could smell it. That sweet hickory smoke would drift down Brooklyn Avenue, invading the nostrils of fans, beer vendors, even the radio announcers at old Municipal Stadium. Advertisement Especially the radio announcers. From their perches, the voices of baseball would catch a hint of smoked meat, and since it was their job to relay t…

Editor’s Note: This story was included in The Athletic’s Best of 2020. Wayne Gretzky called right away. Danny Ainge called in the middle of his team’s playoff run. Emmitt Smith made time, as did Bruce Pearl and Jerome Bettis. All have played golf with their friend Charles Barkley. All had stories and jokes. ( Editor’s note: And profanity.) Danny Ainge, president of basketball operations: First of all, there’s nobody more fun to play with than Charles. Bruce Pearl, Auburn coach: There’s nobody t…

One day in 1998, the received some unusual news, and it came from an unusual source: People magazine. “We got a phone call referencing that Elvis Grbac was in line for Sexiest Athlete Alive,” said Bob Moore, the team’s longtime PR director. “To which a number of us were surprised.” Grbac was tall and handsome and could throw a football better than all but a few people on Earth. He had a degree from Michigan and a contract that paid him millions of dollars to play quarterback for the Chiefs. But…

Editor’s note: The added the 3-point shot 40 seasons ago. Here’s one in a on The Athletic explaining how the shot has impacted various players and teams around the league. In April 1986, Rick Pitino, the 33-year-old coach at Providence, told his three best shooters to work on their range. It was not a random suggestion. That month, the NCAA had introduced a controversial new rule to college basketball: the 3-point line. Many coaches reacted with immediate disdain. “It cheapens the game,” Conne…

Sons who idolize their fathers always want to make them proud, and Wilson is no different.

Dave Wyman doesn’t smile, doesn’t laugh, doesn’t betray any emotion whatsoever as he says, “You haven’t lived until you shit your pants.” Right at that moment, the waitress walks over and sets down sliders and fries, plus a pile of chicken wings. Nothing, and I mean nothing, is more appetizing than hearing a grown man talk about shitting his pants while snacking on saucy, messy chicken wings. “Smells good,” Wyman says, meaning the wings, not the other thing. Advertisement Wyman played nine years…

In the right conditions, believes he can throw a football 100 yards. He has thrown a football 80 yards, and last season he completed a comical variety of throws for the : a no-look pass, a left-handed pass, a pass that sailed 60 yards and dropped into his receiver’s hands even though, Mahomes later said, he underthrew it. Advertisement That is what makes the next quote so incredible. “Honestly, he got to the point that he could not throw the ball. I’m not exaggerating that. He had the yips or s…

This is a story about a professional cheerleader named Krazy George and a University of Washington cheerleader called The Yell King and the very public feud between them. The tale spans from Seattle to Oakland – or Oakland to Seattle, depending whom you ask – with detours in Michigan and the Library of Congress. Everyone agrees the story starts in 1981, but other than that, no one agrees on much of anything. Advertisement Are The Yell King and Washington the true creators? Or are Krazy George an…

1. Gardner Minshew hands over his phone, and there, strutting on the screen before me, is ’s Heisman-hopeful quarterback: brown hair, glorious mustache … and a jockstrap. Nothing but a jockstrap. He walks onto the diving board, the pool full of his teammates. Then he stops. He raises one hand slowly and cups his ear, does the same with the other. “The Hulk Hogan,” he explains, and plunges into the water, his bare ass the video’s final image. I look up. Minshew is sitting across from me, grinning…

This season was a private hell for bullpen coach Brian DeLunas, and until recently only two people knew the truth of it: his wife, Johannah, and Root Sports’ Jen Mueller. In July, Mueller sat down with DeLunas, 43, and his younger brother Adam in an expensive hotel in Denver. The Mariners were playing the , and DeLunas’ brother, dad, uncles and cousins gathered for a father-son weekend, complete with matching shirts. Advertisement At the hotel, Mueller interviewed Brian and Adam about their sto…

Cliff Avril is scared, lost, running through questions he can’t answer. It’s October 2017, and he’s just left the doctor’s office in downtown Seattle. What he heard there is neither good nor bad. Just confusing. The doctor told him if he had surgery on his injured neck and if all went well, maybe he could play again. The surgery scares him. Who the hell wants neck surgery? Then again, it’s the only way he can play football, and the thought of his career ending is nearly as scary. Advertisement S…