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Articles by Jason Gay
Troy Aikman, Joe Buck and the awkward tension on 'Monday Night Football'
I tuned into the “Monday Night Football” contest between San Francisco and Washington, not to watch the 49ers or the Commanders, but because I was curious to see if Joe Buck and Troy Aikman would wrestle each other on the air. I don't mean “wrestle” like two people having an argument—a verbal tangle over tush pushes, instant replay or some other evergreen NFL claptrap. I mean wrestle-wrestle, like takedowns and headlocks and ripping the pinstriped sleeves off well-tailored custom suits.
Troy Aikman, Joe Buck and the Awkward Tension on ‘Monday Night Football’
A celebrated TV duo appears headed for a breakup. Can they make it to the Super Bowl? I tuned into the “Monday Night Football” contest between San Francisco and Washington, not to watch the 49ers or the Commanders, but because I was curious to see if Joe Buck and Troy Aikman would wrestle each other on the air. I don’t mean “wrestle” like two people having an argument—a verbal tangle over tush pushes, instant replay or some other evergreen NFL claptrap. Copyright ©2026 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
Troy Aikman, Joe Buck and the Awkward Tension on ‘Monday Night Football’
Tennessee Volunteers 2 hours ago Fan accused of stealing security uniform & sneaking into Alabama-Tennessee game, Sac vs Ball & a blimp tire Fox News - Joe Kinsey • 2h Welcome to Screencaps, "America's Best Daily Column," as named by the readers. Screencaps, which publishes seven-days-a-week, is a mix of sports, pop culture, and emails from sane readers from around the world. This column isn't for the coastal elites. Give us a week to steal your heart.
Nobody Asked for a 24-Team College Football Playoff. We’re Getting One Anyway.
To which I ask: why not 48? Or 72? Or dispensing with shame, prerequisites and concerns about player safety (ha!) and throwing all 138 FBS teams into a supersized round robin bracket and going toe-to-toe in an extended gridiron thunderdome until mid-July? And why stop there? Let’s bring on Division II and those zero-scholarship smarty pantses in Division III. Throw in a couple of quality high school teams from Florida and Texas. How much public clamoring has there been for this 24-team expansion?
He was the NFL's hottest coach. Now he's fighting for his job.
Good grief, what's become of Jim Harbaugh? Not long ago, football life looked so promising for Coach Khakipants. New league, new team, new town, new contract, new All-World quarterback. A fresh pair of slacks. The same weird press conferences. The eccentric boss of the national champion Michigan Wolverines—a man who once advised not eating chicken because it was a “nervous bird” —had evaded the lightly-threatening paw of the NCAA to grab the reins of Los Angeles's sad sack second banana NFL outfit.
He Was the NFL’s Hottest Coach. Now He’s Fighting For His Job.
Jim Harbaugh escaped Michigan (and the NCAA) for the Los Angeles Chargers with great fanfare. A winless start has Coach Khakipants scrambling for quick answers. Good grief, what’s become of Jim Harbaugh? Not long ago, football life looked so promising for Coach Khakipants. New league, new team, new town, new contract, new All-World quarterback. A fresh pair of slacks. The same weird press conferences. Copyright ©2026 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8
Mark Zuckerberg Versus the Pint of Guinness
The Meta boss becomes a viral meme after taking an awkward sip of the famed Irish stout Nobody does a better Mark Zuckerberg than Mark Zuckerberg. Jesse Eisenberg’s depiction in the movie “The Social Network”? Memorable, but not the real thing. Jeremy Strong’s version of Zuck in Aaron Sorkin’s sequel “The Social Reckoning”? Didn’t see it, but it sounds like you didn’t, either.
Mark Zuckerberg versus the pint of Guinness
Nobody does a better Mark Zuckerberg than Mark Zuckerberg. Jesse Eisenberg's depiction in the movie “The Social Network”? Memorable, but not the real thing. Jeremy Strong's version of Zuck in Aaron Sorkin's sequel “The Social Reckoning”? Didn't see it, but it sounds like you didn't, either Why spend $20 plus a $12 popcorn to see a method actor in a darkened theater when the authentic version is among us, and far more fascinating?
What are they thinking? Daffy NFL teams can't stop making brainless mistakes
Football doesn't exist to entertain or enlighten. Football exists to make us feel superior to paid professionals, even when we are flat on the couch covered in Cheetos dust. The latest example: This weekend's follies in the NFC East, where a pair of victories were lost in baffling last-second fiascos that showed the humble limits of human function. It's kind of charming, if you think about it.
What Are They Thinking? Daffy NFL Teams Can’t Stop Making Brainless Mistakes
Final second fiascos for Washington and Philadelphia lead to maddening finishes—and a crush of second-guessing Football doesn’t exist to entertain or enlighten. Football exists to make us feel superior to paid professionals, even when we are flat on the couch covered in Cheetos dust. The latest example: This weekend’s follies in the NFC East, where a pair of victories were lost in baffling last-second fiascos that showed the humble limits of human function. Copyright ©2026 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
Mike Ditka: Da Farewell to Da Coach
The Hall of Fame player, head coach and pitchman—and Windy City institution—dies at 86 Mike Ditka, who died on Friday at age 86, took a football life as far as anyone ever has. He was a player, a coach, a college and NFL Hall of Famer, a pitchman, an analyst, a comedic inspiration, and a rather amusing actor, so long as he played a version of himself. Ditka was a restaurateur. A vintner. A tobacconist. He briefly considered politics, but demurred.
The Yankees aren't arrogant jerks anymore. That might be a problem.
Is there anything less frightening than the New York Yankees in the playoffs? A warm basket full of kittens? A gentle hayride at the state fair? Curling up in a hammock with a lemonade and a copy of “Clifford the Big Red Dog?” How about a vegetarian shark? A comfy sweater? How about two warm baskets full of kittens? I'm asking because New York's most historically entitled, championship-gorged baseball club has a crisis: no one's scared of them anymore. Why should they be?
The Yankees Aren’t Arrogant Jerks Anymore. That Might Be a Problem.
Another expensive season ends meekly in the Bronx. Can the Pinstripes revive their presumptuous mojo? Is there anything less frightening than the New York Yankees in the playoffs? A warm basket full of kittens? A gentle hayride at the state fair? Curling up in a hammock with a lemonade and a copy of “Clifford the Big Red Dog?” Copyright ©2026 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8 Subscribe Now Already a subscriber? Sign In
Drake Maye lives! Patriots quarterback defies early doubt
Wait, so the Patriots and Drake Maye aren't terrible anymore? No region catastrophizes its sports teams quite like New England does. Consider a week ago. Last rites hadn't even been performed on the plummeting Red Sox in the playoffs when a six-state civic emergency commenced over the local NFL concern. A 35-6 road thrashing by Jacksonville prompted a predictable surge in doomsdayism.
Michigan football is wobbling, and Wolverine claws are out
Don't worry: I'll keep it classy. Or classy-ish. I'm not here to pile (that much) on Michigan football, which is meandering at an unacceptable 3-2. I'm simply here to ask, can we all agree they're lucky they aren't 2-3? Let's be real! If those impish video referees didn't add a magical one second in the season opener, allowing the Wolverines to crawl back in time and defeat Western Michigan on a Hail Mary heave, Michigan would be sub .500 and the commotion at the Big House would be even worse.
Did the San Diego Padres just get robbed by a roof cable?
Remember Carlton Fisk, World Series Game 6, in 1975? (If you don't remember it, look it up. Google it. Ask one of those AI agents that isn't plotting to take down civilization and boil us all in a giant tub of bacon grease. Better yet: Ask anyone with silver hair or a print newspaper in their hand.
Did the San Diego Padres Just Get Robbed by a Roof Cable?
A thrilling playoff game versus Milwaukee turns on a collision between a possible home run and the roof Remember Carlton Fisk, World Series Game 6, in 1975? (If you don’t remember it, look it up. Google it. Ask one of those AI agents that isn’t plotting to take down civilization and boil us all in a giant tub of bacon grease. Better yet: Ask anyone with silver hair or a print newspaper in their hand. They’ll know.) Copyright ©2026 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
The Billionaire Yacht Battle That Still Makes Sailors Furious
A documentary revives the tumultuous but groundbreaking voyage of an all-women America’s Cup team It felt like betrayal on the high seas—one that 16 sailors haven’t forgotten. A new documentary is reviving the stirring if maddening voyage of the “Mighty Mary,” a groundbreaking America’s Cup crew undermined by one of the most baffling backroom deals in sports history. Copyright ©2026 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8
The soft-spoken, mustached American cyclist who just shocked the world
Summer McNulty couldn't argue her way past security. Her husband, the American cyclist Brandon McNulty, was having the race of his life—closing in on a shocking win at the road cycling World Championships in Montreal, but when Summer scrambled to the finish line, she was barred at the gate. Summer didn't have the proper credential. Security told her no. McNulty pleaded. She tried to explain the situation. She'd been watching elsewhere on the course, but now she needed to get to the finish.
The 16-year-old sensation shaking up American soccer
Yes, I'll say it for you: Beware the hype over the next teenage soccer phenom. Historically this is a hazardous ritual, unfair to the developing athlete, who's better served being ignored. Counterpoint: Cavan Sullivan is getting awfully hard to ignore.
Is it rude to win a football game 84-0—or am I just soft?
I'm sorry, but a college-football game that finishes 84-0 makes me a little embarrassed—for the winner. That's how I felt about Oregon's 84-0 dismissal of Portland State this past weekend. Congratulations on punting an in-state school into the fiery sun, you ruthless Ducks. A suspenseful evening in Eugene it wasn't. Oregon emptied its bench and played four quarterbacks and couldn't stop scoring. Up 63-0 after three quarters, the Ducks added 21 more points to finally put the game away for good.
After a thrilling Longhorn victory, a mess at Texas
We live in a golden age of idiocy and confrontation. I'm afraid that's the only reasonable conclusion to be drawn from the past few days of rage and tactlessness emanating from Texas. By now you may have forgotten the actually fun thing that happened at the University of Texas at Austin Saturday: The football Longhorns charging back from a 23-3 fourth-quarter deficit to stun then-No. 1 Ohio State 24-23.
Steve Ballmer surrenders to the NBA
Steve Ballmer won't press the nuclear button. Call off the swarms of lawyers and PR handlers, the howling about railroading and witch hunts. There will be no protracted battle with the NBA over the league's conclusion that his Los Angeles Clippers franchise committed several salary cap violations in its relationship with now-former star Kawhi Leonard. A fancy white flag is fluttering in Inglewood, Calif.
The US Open champion who didn't realize he actually won
Another U.S. Open is in the books. Sorry, but you're going to have to wait a full year to watch 3:30 a.m. tennis in NYC while eating caviar chicken nuggets and drinking $23 cocktails that taste like unicorn tears. What did we learn at this one? Alexander Zverev doesn't always know the score.
The U.S. Open Champion Who Didn’t Realize He Actually Won
Ben Shelton Demands Immediate Tennis Rule Change After Losing US Open Final Tennis' 146th US Open came to an end yesterday, with Germany's Alexander Zverev picking up his maiden title at the event, which makes up one of the …
No US man has won the US Open in 23 years. Can Ben Shelton or Frances Tiafoe take it?
Does a tennis showdown get more fun—or consequential—than Ben Shelton vs. Frances Tiafoe Friday night in the semifinals of the U.S. Open? I don't think so. (I'm going to presume it actually goes down Friday night, that the afternoon Alexander Zverev-Karen Khachanov undercard doesn't run longer than three Odysseys and turn Shelton-Tiafoe into one of those ridiculous after-midnight marathons that crashes into brunch.
No U.S. Man Has Won the U.S. Open in 23 Years. Can Ben Shelton or Frances Tiafoe Take It?
Sept. 11, 2026 8:10 am ET Ben Shelton, left, and Frances Tiafoe, right, are set to meet in a U.S. Open men's semifinal. Matthew Stockman/Getty Images (Shelton);Mike Segar/Reuters (Tiafoe) Does a tennis showdown get more fun—or consequential—than Ben Shelton vs. Frances Tiafoe Friday night in the semifinals of the U.S. Open? I don’t think so.
Sorry, but tennis at 3:33 a.m. isn't cool. It's ridiculous.
No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. There's nothing cool about a tennis match that finishes at 3:33 a.m. It's ridiculous. Don't get me wrong. What happened Wednesday morning at vampire cocktail hour is a brilliant moment for Ben Shelton—stopping defending champ Carlos Alcaraz in a fifth-set, 10-point tiebreaker to set up a semifinal with fellow American Frances Tiafoe, 6-7(5), 6-1, 6-3, 1-6, 7-6 (7). Big Ben is ticking. Big Foe, too. It's thrilling stuff, great for U.S. men's tennis.
Sorry, but Tennis at 3:33 a.m. Isn’t Cool. It’s Ridiculous.
Sept. 9, 2026 12:00 pm ET Carlos Alcaraz lost in a fifth set tiebreaker against Ben Shelton in a match that ended at 3:33 a.m. ET. Adam Hunger/Associated Press No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. There’s nothing cool about a tennis match that finishes at 3:33 a.m. It’s ridiculous. Don’t get me wrong.
Wait a second! Western Michigan's conference demands win over Michigan
Hold on. Wait just one…second. (I mean, wait one more second again Upon further review, Western Michigan would like its win over Michigan back. Technically, it isn't Western Michigan making the appeal, but its conference. On Tuesday, the Mid-American Conference presented its case to college football's grandees. Basically: Please stop with all these weenie explanations. You know the Broncos won.
Wait a Second! Western Michigan’s Conference Demands Win Over Michigan
Michigan's wide receiver JJ Buchanan makes the game-winning catch in a win over Western Michigan. Jacob Hamilton/Ann Arbor News/Associated Press Hold on. Wait just one…second. (I mean, wait one more second again.) Upon further review, Western Michigan would like its win over Michigan back.Technically, it isn’t Western Michigan making the appeal, but its conference.
Did Taylor and Travis Buy a Super Bowl House—or Is This Shameless Clickbait for an NFL Preview?
Reporter Asks Jared Kushner Why Anyone Should Have 'Any' Trust In His Negotiations The president’s son-in-law flaunted his record during a defensive answer about his role in Russia-Ukraine negotiations. Jared Kushner on Sunday was asked directly why his lacking track record should inspire “any confidence” in his abilities to negotiate an end to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, …
Michigan loses! Wait, Michigan wins! College football rages over last second flip-flop
Whatever you do, please –please—don't call it a “miracle.” Because it seems less like a miracle and more like college football shenanigans. Skulduggery. Flimflam. Flimflam, I say! If nothing else, it's further evidence of a vast, intergalactic conspiracy to ensure the University of Michigan gets to play by its own rules—and stop jerks like me from making fun of friends and colleagues who went to school there.
Michigan Loses! Wait, Michigan Wins! College Football Rages Over Last Second Flip-Flop
Michigan wide receiver JJ Buchanan makes the game-winning catch to win over Western Michigan. Jacob Hamilton/Ann Arbor News/Associated Press Whatever you do, please–please—don’t call it a “miracle.” Because it seems less like a miracle and more like college football shenanigans. Skulduggery. Flimflam.
Steve Ballmer and the Clippers get the NBA's doomsday hammer
There's something bleakly comical about it: The sleek, rebranded Clippers, re-sentenced to roam the earth as the sad, old Clippers. As in one of the most moribund sports teams in history, chronically traumatized and championship-deprived. Steve Ballmer tried to change that. The Microsoft mogul rode into the NBA in 2014 as an energetic savior, paying a then-spectacular $2 billion for a sidekick franchise with a dumpy rep and a toxic owner.
Steve Ballmer and the Clippers Get the NBA’s Doomsday Hammer
Sept. 3, 2026 11:10 am ET Los Angeles Clippers owner Steve Ballmer reacts during a game against the Golden State Warriors. Mark J. Terrill/Associated Press There’s something bleakly comical about it: The sleek, rebranded Clippers, re-sentenced to roam the earth as the sad, old Clippers. As in one of the most moribund sports teams in history, chronically traumatized and championship-deprived. Steve Ballmer tried to change that.
Novak Djokovic Crashes Out Early at the U.S. Open. Could This Be It?
The end comes for everyone, even Novak Djokovic. When it comes in tennis, there’s nowhere to hide. On Sunday the 39-year-old Serbian champion fell on the opening night of the U.S. Open, losing to the unseeded Argentine Mariano Navone, 7-6(5), 5-7, 4-6, 6-2, 6-1.
Novak Djokovic crashes out early at the US Open. Could this be it?
The end comes for everyone, even Novak Djokovic. When it comes in tennis, there's nowhere to hide. On Sunday the 39-year-old Serbian champion fell on the opening night of the U.S. Open, losing to the unseeded Argentine Mariano Navone, 7-6(5), 5-7, 4-6, 6-2, 6-1.
A bloody, bad day for the world's best bike racer
We started treating him as invincible, because he really seemed to be. Tadej Pogacar won nearly every bike race he entered, and he appeared to do it with ease, conquering rivals and Alpine ascents and eluding the perpetual danger of a perilous sport. On Saturday the peril caught up.
There's a US.-Canada border war—in bass fishing
It's a rowdy U.S.-Canada border war—in bass fishing. (Yup, bass fishing.) The “Angler of the Year” competition for the 2026 Bassmaster Elite Series is down to a weekend battle between a 41-year-old Canadian pro and a 21-year-old hotshot from Southern Illinois, playing out in the smallmouth bass paradise of the St. Lawrence River and Lake Ontario.
College football vs. the NFL—is it really just capitalism vs. socialism?
Devastating news: Aaron Rodgers can't play quarterback next season for the Northwestern Wildcats. Or Ohio State. Or Michigan. Or Rutgers. Or my Wisconsin Badgers, though we could surely use Dr. Aaron in Madison, whenever he's ready to declare. The Big Ten slammed the door this week, announcing a ban on NFL players from going back to school like Rodney Dangerfield and playing football in the latest signal that college sports have gone completely amok.
College Football vs. the NFL—Is it Really Just Capitalism vs. Socialism?
Lane Kiffin has explained LSU’s interest matter-of-factly: If he didn’t sign NFL guys, somebody else would. Parker S. Freedman/Getty Images Devastating news: Aaron Rodgers can’t play quarterback next season for the Northwestern Wildcats. Or Ohio State. Or Michigan. Or Rutgers. Or my Wisconsin Badgers, though we could surely use Dr. Aaron in Madison, whenever he’s ready to declare.
Roger Federer doesn't get mad when he's playing golf, either
He still hasn't played pickleball. “Haven't played pickleball, padel, at all,” Roger Federer says. What kind of retirement is this? At least there's golf. The tennis legend reports he's “actually good off the tee.” The short game…needs work. “My putting lets me down the most at the minute,” he says. Does golf make him lose his cool? That was part of Federer's tennis mystique: the elegant, imperturbable calm, the way he almost never let the pressure boil and send him over the edge.
Roger Federer Doesn’t Get Mad When He’s Playing Golf, Either
Talking to the tennis icon, who is being feted at the U.S. Open and inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame Roger Federer is set to play a Fan Week exhibition match at the U.S. Open on Tuesday. Sarah Yenesel/EPA/Shutterstock He still hasn’t played pickleball. “Haven’t played pickleball, padel, at all,” Roger Federer says. Copyright ©2026 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Did Carlos Alcaraz just save the US Open?
Vamos! Carlos Alcaraz is back. And needed The joyful tennis pinball made it official Thursday, announcing his dramatic return to the $23 Honey Deuce Invitational aka U.S. Open, which begins next week. Alcaraz has been MIA from the courts since April, when he withdrew after injuring the wrist on his right, racket-side hand. Tennis is desperate for good news. It's been a bit of a bummer summer, especially on the men's side, where injuries have tormented the field.
Did Carlos Alcaraz Just Save the U.S. Open?
Absent since April, the joyful tennis comet—and defending champion—announces his New York City return. Is a mixed doubles pairing with Serena Williams next? Updated Aug. 21, 2026 10:55 am ET Carlos Alcaraz plays a backhand during a training session in Murcia, Spain on Aug. 20. Clive Brunskill/Getty Images Vamos! Carlos Alcaraz is back. And needed.
Youth sports are completely bonkers. How to survive another crazy season.
When I watch the Little League World Series, I don't pay much attention to the players. Don't get me wrong—the kids are impressive. I say this as a former backup right fielder who spent most of his Little League career batting ninth and praying to the tormented ghost of Shoeless Joe that the ball wouldn't be hit his way. Today, I'm more interested in the parents, the journeys, sacrifices and terrible fast food breakfasts that got them there.
A miserable golfer's guide to enjoying miserable golf
The other day I played a miserable round of golf, a rotten sport invented by bored Satanists to rid the average human of all self-esteem. I enjoyed it very much. A few observations: Midweek summer golf is the best golf. I know that spring golf has its advocates, and that fall golfers get excited about wearing the overpriced sweater vests they bought on the Scotland trip, but I believe golf is best when it is played in a dead August heat in which you break a sweat just parking the cart.
A Miserable Golfer’s Guide to Enjoying Miserable Golf
Aug. 17, 2026 10:06 am ET The other day I played a miserable round of golf, a rotten sport invented by bored Satanists to rid the average human of all self-esteem. I enjoyed it very much. A few observations: Copyright ©2026 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8
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