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Craig Custance on Muck Rack

Craig Custance

Detroit
As seen in: Apple Podcasts, The Athletic, The New York Times, ABC NewsOne, ESPN, ESPN Radio, Substack, Yahoo, WPVI-TV (Philadelphia, PA), The Hockey Writers and
Sports journalist and executive via @TheAthletic, @ESPN. Author of The Franchise: The Business of Building Winning Teams.
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Articles

Bill Zito built a winning culture in Florida. I called him to figure out how

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By Craig Custance
| The Athletic Verified
This story is part of Peak, The Athletic’s desk covering the mental side of sports. Sign up for Peak’s newsletter here. For a long time, I’ve admired a decision Bill Zito once made. And the admiration came even before he led the Florida Panthers to two Stanley Cup championships as their general manager. And before he was part of the team that helped Team USA men’s hockey win gold at the 2026 Winter Olympics.
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Dealing with a new reality: ‘Part of who you were was who you represented’

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By Craig Custance
| Substack
When you quit your job and share the story publicly, you end up hearing from a lot of people. It’s pretty great, really. My favorite was a message from Tony Borgford, who was once the video coach of the Atlanta Thrashers, the team I covered as a kid beat writer for the AJC. Hearing from Tony brought me back to lunches on the road after morning skates with him and Brad McCrimmon where I would just sit and absorb hockey knowledge.
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Why I left the best job I’ve ever had

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By Craig Custance
| Substack
At the end of August, for the first time, panic set in. Maybe it was the letter from the New York Times explaining that all my benefits were disappearing. Or meeting with a health insurance agent trying to sell me a plan. Or opening my bank app to see the final paycheck shrinking. A lot of realities hit at once. Until then, quitting my full-time job at The Athletic had been awesome. My last full day was Aug.
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