Dan Bickley is the most influential sports media member in Arizona sports history, having spent over 20 years as the award-winning lead sports columnist for The Arizona Republic and AZCentral.com and almost two decades as a Valley sports radio talk show host. In spring 2018, Bickley made the decision to leave the newspaper to join the Arizona Sports team as host of the entertaining and informative Bickley & Marotta show, as well as bring his opinionated and provocative column exclusively to arizonasports.com.
Bickley’s journalism career began in his hometown of Chicago, where he was part of a star-studded staff at the Chicago Sun-Times. He chronicled Michael Jordan’s six NBA championships; covered the Olympics in eight different countries and attended 14 Super Bowls; spent three weeks in an Indianapolis courthouse writing about Mike Tyson’s rape trial; and once left his laptop in an Edmonton bar after the Blackhawks reached the Stanley Cup Finals.
He has won multiple awards, written two books, formed a rock band, fathered three children and once turned down an offer to work at the New York Times. His passions include sports, music, the alphabet, good beer and great radio. After joining Arizona Sports 98.7, he couldn’t be happier.
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DAN BICKLEY | Mar 25, 2025Suns’ rediscovered vibe goes well beyond stepped-up defense
The Suns have undergone a remarkable transformation, from a wholly unlikeable team to an underdog group again rallying the Valley.
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DAN BICKLEY | Mar 13, 2025Diana Taurasi gets rare happy ending, leaving WNBA better off than she found it
Great athletes don’t always come with happy endings. Diana Taurasi found hers.
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DAN BICKLEY | Mar 11, 2025With play-in approaching, Suns can walk 1 of 3 roads to end season
With the play-in tournament fast approaching, there are three ways the Phoenix Suns' regular season can end, Dan Bickley writes.
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DAN BICKLEY | Mar 10, 2025Cardinals’ culture, Jonathan Gannon win day with Josh Sweat addition
The Arizona Cardinals scored a big victory Monday. They agreed to terms with premium free agent Josh Sweat despite their turbulent report card.
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PHOENIX SUNS | Feb 26, 2025Suns can still play for their basketball lives with their last gasp
Every failed team has a last gasp, the momenty they pour their remaining energy into a dying cause. That moment has arrived for the Phoenix Suns.
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DAN BICKLEY | Feb 25, 2025Mercury legend Diana Taurasi embodies true meaning of ‘GOAT’
GOATs are different. They not like us. It was true with Michael Jordan. It was true with Kobe Bryant. It is true with Mercury legend Diana Taurasi.
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DAN BICKLEY | Feb 10, 2025
Lessons from the 2024 NFL season, and what the Cardinals need to flourish
Monti Ossenfort needs to pull the right levers, signing high-end talent in free agency and drafting impact players just like the Eagles did in 2024.
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DAN BICKLEY | Feb 8, 20252025 WM Phoenix Open delivering on promise of better not bigger
The first three rounds of the 2025 WM Phoenix Open have delivered on the Thunderbirds promise of better not bigger.
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DAN BICKLEY | Feb 2, 2025
Luka Doncic trade proves again the Lakers are the luckiest franchise in sports history
The blockbuster Luka Doncic-Anthony Davis trade is not about the Lakers getting Luka. It’s about the Lakers getting lucky.
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PHOENIX SUNS | Jan 29, 2025Suns fans can both love a Jimmy Butler trade and hate everything it represents
I want Jimmy Butler with the Phoenix Suns. But I hate everything this trade saga represents.
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PHOENIX SUNS | Jan 13, 2025Trade rumors provide both hope and harm for these Suns
The Suns are a .500 team. Mediocrity isn’t supposed to be this difficult. Or expensive. Changes are coming despite a three-game win streak.
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ARIZONA CARDINALS | Jan 5, 2025Cardinals need a bold offseason after faltering in games that mattered most
The 2024 Cardinals made progress, but the team needs bold reinforcements and an infusion of high-end talent in order to win big next season.
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ASU FOOTBALL | Jan 1, 2025ASU football proves it belongs on college football’s biggest stage
ASU football lost a huge and gut-wrenching game, but they proved they belonged on the big stage against the biggest programs in college football.
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DAN BICKLEY | Dec 29, 2024Kyler Murray has one last dance with Cardinals after season of close calls
There are no better options for the Cardinals than Kyler Murray in 2025. The quarterback has one last dance in the Valley. For better or worse.
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ARIZONA CARDINALS | Dec 22, 2024Shame on the Cardinals for being eliminated from the playoffs in the worst of ways
The Cardinals fumbled around and found out and were eliminated from playoff contention after an embarrassing loss in Carolina on Sunday.
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ARIZONA CARDINALS | Dec 15, 2024Cardinals show proof of concept for how system can work in win over Patriots
The Arizona Cardinals on Sunday proved in a win over the Patriots that when they play to their identity, that identity can supply winning football.
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ARIZONA CARDINALS | Dec 8, 2024Cardinals riding line of good, bad team after 2nd loss to Seahawks
In the NFL, there’s a big difference between a bad day and a bad team. The Cardinals are straddling a precarious line after a 30-18 home loss to the Seahawks.
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ASU FOOTBALL | Dec 7, 2024We are witnessing an all-time Cinderella story with ASU football headed to College Football Playoff
An ominous beginning at the Big 12 championship was nothing but a speed bump. Cyclones? At this point, there is no force of nature strong enough to derail ASU football.
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DAN BICKLEY | Dec 4, 2024ASU football’s magic carpet ride ascended with exhilarating speed
It has been over a quarter century since the ASU football program has risen like this and since Sun Devils fans have fallen in love like this.
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ARIZONA CARDINALS | Dec 1, 2024Cardinals didn’t play or coach to win in loss to Vikings
The Cardinals return from Minnesota with suitcases and emotional baggage. The overhead bins must’ve been loaded with regret.
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DAN BICKLEY | Nov 24, 2024Cardinals’ smothering in Seattle raises plenty of questions
The Cardinals turned their bye week into a buh-bye week. As in, farewell to their stranglehold on first place in the NFC West after Sunday's loss.
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DAN BICKLEY | Nov 19, 2024It is time for ASU president Michael Crow to fully invest in Kenny Dillingham, football program
It’s a huge win for ASU football to command center stage this late in November, and president Michael Crow must reward Kenny Dillingham and his staff.
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DAN BICKLEY | Nov 10, 2024Kyler Murray showing everything as Cardinals are becoming offensive juggernaut
Pinch yourself. The Arizona Cardinals and quarterback Kyler Murray are starting to look like the juggernaut that they are on paper.
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ARIZONA CARDINALS | Nov 3, 2024Cardinals’ winning streak a statement of handling things the right way
The Cardinals spiced up their season on Sunday, throttling the Bears before a disappointed gathering of current and former Chicagoans.