Bickley & Marotta weekdays from 6-10 a.m. on Arizona Sports

Dan Bickley

Phoenix Suns head coach Monty Williams, left, reacts to referee CJ Washington (12) during the first...
Dan Bickley

Complaints about whistles by Suns distract from their real problems

The Suns have glaring holes that they are hoping Kevin Durant can fix. And it's hard to say they're working to patch those holes.
7 days ago
Kevin Durant #35 of the Phoenix Suns signs autographs before the game against the Chicago Bulls at ...
Dan Bickley

Feeling like Griswold: Suns fans left waiting for Kevin Durant’s home debut after scratch

Durant was a late scratch on Wednesday, a letdown for a sold-out crowd anticipating one of the most celebrated home debuts in Suns history.
14 days ago
Kevin Durant #35 of the Phoenix Suns signs autographs before the game against the Chicago Bulls at ...
Dan Bickley

Kevin Durant’s home debut for Suns will reignite Valley

When Kevin Durant takes the court Wednesday for his first home game in Phoenix, the atmosphere will be overwhelming.
15 days ago
Kevin Durant #35 of the Phoenix Suns warms up before a game against the Milwaukee Bucks at Fiserv F...
Dan Bickley

Phoenix Suns’ Kevin Durant can finish the job many before him could not

Barkley delivered the laughs. Nash started a revolution. Book and CP3 rekindled a love affair. Kevin Durant can finish the job.
22 days ago
New Arizona Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon answers a question from the media during a press c...
Dan Bickley

Cardinals’ new coaching staff is impossibly green by NFL standards

First-time head coach Jonathan Gannon is 40 years old. His first-time DC Nick Rallis is 29. Together, they are younger than Bruce Arians.
27 days ago
Phoenix Suns forward Kevin Durant speaks as owner Mat Ishbia, left, and general manager James Jones...
Dan Bickley

Kevin Durant makes Suns the latest super team pressured to win a championship

When Kevin Durant finally takes the court, the Phoenix Suns will have a new target on their back as the NBA’s latest super team.
1 month ago
Philadelphia Eagles defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon looks on during the game between the Phil...
Dan Bickley

Cardinals opt for youthful inexperience with Jonathan Gannon hire

Jonathan Gannon was the last one in the door and the last man standing in Arizona. That says a lot about his ability to capture the room.
1 month ago
Arizona Cardinals owner Michael Bidwill walks onto the field before the game against the Kansas Cit...
Dan Bickley

Cardinals’ Michael Bidwill needs to focus on winning Super Bowls, not hosting them

Before turning out the lights on the Super Bowl, Michael Bidwill should’ve saved some confetti and placed the memento in his office.
1 month ago
Kevin Durant #7 of the Brooklyn Nets looks on against the Golden State Warriors during the first ha...
Dan Bickley

Kevin Durant deal resuscitates the Suns and the Valley’s sports scene

The Valley is a celebrity-obsessed region. And for many reasons, the blockbuster addition is exactly what we needed.
1 month ago
Mat Ishbia, new controlling interest owner of the Phoenix Suns and Phoenix Mercury, holds up a jers...
Dan Bickley

Phoenix Suns’ Mat Ishbia represents new beginning, hopeful reprieve for franchise

Mat Ishbia represents a new beginning for the Phoenix Suns and hopefully one of the greatest reprieves in Valley sports history.
1 month ago
FILE - In this Dec. 12, 2015 file photo, former Michigan State players Mateen Cleaves, left, and Ma...
Dan Bickley

Change is coming: Mat Ishbia’s takeover could bring Suns leadership turnover

Has a new owner ever taken over a franchise so close to a championship and this close to an official trade deadline?
1 month ago
SCOTTSDALE, ARIZONA - FEBRUARY 12: Bottles litter the 16th hole after a hole-in-one by Sam Ryder of...
Dan Bickley

City of Phoenix better at hosting championships than winning them

This week might also be the busiest, buzziest and most profitable week ever in our history as big-event hosts.
2 months ago
(Jeremy Schnell/Arizona Sports)...
Dan Bickley

Tom Brady set an impossible standard for all QBs to come

Tom Brady’s closing act was stupendous, right down to the heartfelt message he posted on social media on Wednesday.
2 months ago
Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray scrambles for a late first-half touchdown against the Lo...
Dan Bickley

Cardinals’ Kyler Murray must learn from moxie of Championship Sunday QBs

Kyler Murray is on the record. He said he wants to win Super Bowls with the Cardinals. Let’s hope he spent the weekend taking notes.
2 months ago
San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy speaks at a news conference after an NFL divisional pla...
Dan Bickley

The Valley, even Cardinals fans, should root for the 49ers and Brock Purdy

The Cardinals became the first team in three seasons to miss out on a homefield championship. In their place, we should cheer for the 49ers.
2 months ago
Arizona Cardinals GM Monti Ossenfort speaks with reporters during his introductory press conference...
Dan Bickley

Cardinals’ hiring of GM Monti Ossenfort is sign of progress, step in right direction

It proves that owner Michael Bidwill is not afraid to open his organization to outsiders, handing a high level of control to a fresh set of eyes.
2 months ago
Head coach Sean Payton of the New Orleans Saints on the sidelines before the game against the Atlan...
Dan Bickley

Sean Payton is the remedy to Cardinals QB Kyler Murray’s struggles

Imagine what an authentic, innovative, alpha male, Super Bowl-winning coach like Sean Payton might do for our slow-growing franchise QB.
2 months ago
President and owner Michael Bidwill of the Arizona Cardinals before the NFL preseason game against ...
Dan Bickley

Arizona Cardinals’ Michael Bidwill at own crossroads with changes looming

The Cardinals need an overhaul. They need an owner smart enough to look in the mirror and brave enough to step outside his comfort zone.
2 months ago
Dan Bickley

Cardinals can reset by trading high draft pick, DeAndre Hopkins

The Cardinals can secure a top-four pick, trade down and then turn to dealing their elite wide receiver in DeAndre Hopkins to pile up assets.
3 months ago
Buffalo Bills offensive tackle Spencer Brown (79) pauses as Damar Hamlin is examined by medical sta...
Dan Bickley

Bills S Damar Hamlin collapse is latest of NFL’s frightening moments

Monday Night Football halted in one of the most nauseating, stunning, sobering viewing experiences in recent memory.
3 months ago
Atlanta Falcons defensive end Grady Jarrett (97) hits Arizona Cardinals quarterback David Blough (1...
Dan Bickley

Arizona Cardinals’ loss to Falcons felt like a victory

Valley sports fans absorbed great trauma in 2022. The hope is that a new year will bring redemption and joy to Arizona.
3 months ago
Arizona State Sun Devils Head Coach Bobby Hurley on the sidelines during the first half of a Colleg...
Dan Bickley

Loss to in-state rival Arizona tough to swallow for Bobby Hurley, ASU

Bobby Hurley stared at the box score, attempting to process a nine-point loss to the fifth-ranked team in the nation.
3 months ago
Arizona Cardinals DL J.J. Watt after his final NFL home game at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Ari...
Dan Bickley

As usual, J.J. Watt’s timing was impeccable in retirement announcement

J.J. Watt came to the Arizona Cardinals as a real-life superhero. He did not disappoint before announcing his retirement.
3 months ago
Former Michigan State player Mat Ishbia laughs as he are introduced along with Michigan State's 200...
Dan Bickley

Mat Ishbia gains one of greatest unseen sport stories with purchase of Suns

There’s an old saying about the devil you know and the devil you don’t. That will not apply to the sale of the Phoenix Suns.
3 months ago
Arizona Cardinals running back James Conner (6) is hit by Denver Broncos linebacker Alex Singleton ...
Dan Bickley

New dawn may be coming for Cardinals after loss to Broncos in Denver

Extreme dysfunction in 2022 has resulted in one of the worst seasons in Cardinals history. A cultural overhaul is long overdue.
3 months ago
Head coach Kliff Kingsbury and Kyler Murray #1 of the Arizona Cardinals look on during the second h...
Dan Bickley

Arizona Cardinals’ 2022 season one of NFL’s most dysfunctional ever

The Cardinals hoped to win a home Super Bowl. Instead, they have produced one of the most dysfunctional seasons in NFL history.
3 months ago
Kyler Murray #1 of the Arizona Cardinals is looked over on the field after being injured against th...
Dan Bickley

Kyler Murray injury is cruelest blow of Arizona Cardinals’ season

A season full of hard knocks saved its cruelest blow for Kyler Murray after the Arizona Cardinals QB suffered a non-contact knee injury.
3 months ago
Dan Bickley

Pressure on Cardinals’ Kingsbury builds after Payton rumors, loss to Chargers

It's unlikely Cardinals coach Kliff Kingsbury loses his job, but pressure builds after a loss to the Chargers and a rumor about Sean Payton.
4 months ago
(Facebook Photo/David Glasser Foundation)...
Dan Bickley

Giving thanks to a sports community that shows up in the worst of times

This Thanksgiving, I am grateful for the love, empathy and strong sense of community inside this transient, crazy, divisive sports town.
4 months ago
Kevin Givens #90 of the San Francisco 49ers sacks Colt McCoy #12 of the Arizona Cardinals during th...
Dan Bickley

The truth of the Cardinals comes out in Mexico City

Once the ball is in play, pro football is brutal and honest. Once again, it wasn’t pretty for the Cardinals on Monday night in Mexico City.
4 months ago
Dan Bickley bio
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 midday show Bickley and Marotta, 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, he couldn’t be happier