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

Dan Bickley

Devin Booker #1 of the Phoenix Suns walks to the free throw line against the LA Clippers during the...
Dan Bickley

Ugly Game 4 win has Phoenix Suns on doorstep of NBA Finals

The Phoenix Suns only scored 84 points in Game 4 of the WCF on Saturday night at Staples Center and are now on the doorstep of the NBA Finals.
3 years ago
Devin Booker #1 of the Phoenix Suns adjusts his face guard during warm-ups before the start of game...
Dan Bickley

Suns’ Devin Booker must teach himself on the fly to see past the mask

Dan Bickley writes that Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker must teach himself on the fly to see past the mask, like the netting at a baseball stadium.
3 years ago
Patrick Beverley #21 of the LA Clippers knocks the ball from the hands of Devin Booker #1 of the Ph...
Dan Bickley

Suns will not have to manufacture desperation in Game 4 of WCF

Dan Bickley writes that the Phoenix Suns will not have to manufacture desperation in Game 4 of the WCF after awakening the comeback Los Angeles Clippers.
3 years ago
Deandre Ayton #22 of the Phoenix Suns celebrates in the final minutes against the LA Clippers in ga...
Dan Bickley

Suns overcome slew of obstacles in emotional Game 2 victory

The Suns beat the clock, beat the officials, beat ghosts from postseasons past and beat a Clippers team that bloodied and tormented Devin Booker.
3 years ago
Deandre Ayton #22 of the Phoenix Suns celebrates after scoring against the Denver Nuggets in Game F...
Dan Bickley

Deandre Ayton is one of the NBA’s unsung stars this postseason

Deandre Ayton has discovered something precious: Perspective. Fatherhood. Coaching. People who love you enough to tell you the truth. All of the above.
3 years ago
JUNE 20: Mikal Bridges #25 of the Phoenix Suns reacts to a three-point shot against the LA Clippers...
Dan Bickley

The NBA championship is beginning to feel real for the Phoenix Suns

After going 8-0 in the Orlando bubble in 2020, the Phoenix Suns have now won eight consecutive playoff games.
3 years ago
Chris Paul #3 of the Phoenix Suns walks on the court as Facundo Campazzo #7 of the Denver Nuggets p...
Dan Bickley

Suns face opportunity to defy their bad luck after Chris Paul’s setback

Are Chris Paul and the Suns eternally cursed by the basketball gods? Or will the latest setback represent nothing more than a speed bump?
3 years ago
Phoenix Suns fans cheer as time runs out in the second half of Game 4 of an NBA second-round playof...
Dan Bickley

Energy of Phoenix Suns fans is the best story of the NBA postseason

The Suns' surging playoff status ranks only behind you, the growing army of Suns fans in Arizona, a rabid contingent tilting the machine.
3 years ago
DENVER, CO - JUNE 11:  Chris Paul #3 of the Phoenix Suns directs the offense in the first half in G...
Dan Bickley

Red-hot Phoenix Suns are making the playoffs look easy

The Suns are running on rocket fuel. A berth in the Western Conference Finals is a foregone conclusion, Dan Bickley writes.
3 years ago
Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker (1) celebrates during the second half of Game 2 of an NBA basketbal...
Dan Bickley

Suns turned Game 2 from a playoff game into a house party

On Wednesday, the Phoenix Suns turned a playoff game vs. the Nuggets into a house party. Don’t bother knocking, Dan Bickley writes.
3 years ago
Fans cheer after Chris Paul #3 of the Phoenix Suns scored against the Denver Nuggets during the sec...
Dan Bickley

These Suns could change everything about Valley fandom for the better

The Suns' victory in Game 1 of the Western Conference Semifinals against the Denver Nuggets was a testament to the new energy filling up Phoenix Suns Arena in the postseason of 2021.
3 years ago
LeBron James #23 of the Los Angeles Lakers is guarded by Devin Booker #1 of the Phoenix Suns in the...
Dan Bickley

Suns vanquish Lakers behind Devin Booker’s Mamba Mentality

Dan Bickley writes that Suns guard Devin Booker upstaged LeBron James in the final two games of the series, including a Mamba-like slaying of the Lakers.
3 years ago
Devin Booker #1 of the Phoenix Suns puts up a shot over Andre Drummond #2 of the Los Angeles Lakers...
Dan Bickley

Suns 1 win away from sweetest reward Valley fans could ever imagine

Following Tuesday's 115-85 Game 5 win over the Lakers, the Suns are one win away from eliminating a nemesis and a king in the first round of the playoffs.
3 years ago
Phoenix Suns center Deandre Ayton dunks during the first half in Game 4 of an NBA basketball first-...
Dan Bickley

Phoenix Suns took back control in Game 4 win over Lakers

Our basketball team gathered themselves in the second quarter of Sunday’s 100-92 victory, just as the season was starting to circle the drain.
3 years ago
Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James, center, scores past Phoenix Suns forward Jae Crowder, righ...
Dan Bickley

Suns arrive at a dangerous point in the series after Game 3 loss to Lakers

The Suns have arrived at a dangerous point in the series after a Game 3 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers, needing to find solutions and a winning formula entering Game 4 on Sunday.
3 years ago
Head coach Monty Williams of the Phoenix Suns talks with Devin Booker #1 and Jae Crowder #99 during...
Dan Bickley

The rant Suns’ Monty Williams should have made after Game 2 vs. Lakers

Dan Bickley thinks Phoenix Suns head coach Monty Williams needed to call out the officiating after the team's Game 2 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers.
3 years ago
Chris Paul #3 of the Phoenix Suns sits on the bench before Game Two of the Western Conference first...
Dan Bickley

Chris Paul’s injury threatens playoff viability of Phoenix Suns

Suns PG Chris Paul played only 23 minutes and spent most of the second half on the bench in Phoenix's 109-102 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 2.
3 years ago
Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker (1) dunks as he drives past Los Angeles Lakers forward Anthony Davi...
Dan Bickley

Suns’ playoff drought may have been worth the wait after Game 1 win

It has been 11 years since we’ve had a moment like this and it might’ve been worth the wait after the Suns' Game 1 victory over the rival Lakers.
3 years ago
New York Yankees starting pitcher Corey Kluber celebrates his no-hitter against the Texas Rangers i...
Dan Bickley

MLB has too many no-hitters and not enough good hitters

MLB is 118 years old. It gets a little confused. The sport is ancient, occasionally asinine and gasping for one good breath without coughing.
3 years ago
Head coach Monty Williams of the Phoenix Suns talks with Chris Paul #3 of the Phoenix Suns during t...
Dan Bickley

Lakers matchup is the ‘hard’ Suns coach Monty Williams spoke of

Monty Williams was right. Everything we want is on the other side of hard. Only the Suns would earn a No. 2 seed and first-round series against the Lakers.
3 years ago
PHOENIX, ARIZONA - FEBRUARY 08: Owner Robert Sarver of the Phoenix Suns attends the NBA game agains...
Dan Bickley

In year 17, Phoenix Suns owner Robert Sarver is rewriting his own legacy

Robert Sarver has paid through the nose for his NBA education. He has learned that 11-year playoff droughts can do serious damage to an owner’s reputation.
3 years ago
In this Aug. 29, 2019, file photo, the Pac-12 logo is displayed on the field at Sun Devil Stadium d...
Dan Bickley

Pac-12 is turning a new leaf under commissioner George Kliavkoff

Dan Bickley writes that if the Pac-12 was a stock, it would have soared on Thursday morning after the announcement of new commissioner George Kliavkoff.
3 years ago
Quarterback Kyler Murray #1 of the Arizona Cardinals celebrates after converting a two-point conver...
Dan Bickley

What stands out across Arizona Cardinals’ 2021 schedule

There is no great reveal accompanying the NFL’s schedule release. We have known for months who the Cardinals are playing in 2021.
3 years ago
Deandre Ayton #22 of the Phoenix Suns and Markieff Morris #88 of the Los Angeles Lakers jump for th...
Dan Bickley

First-round matchup with Lakers could be a nightmare for Suns

The Phoenix Suns could face the Los Angeles Lakers in the first round of the playoffs, a matchup that Dan Bickley sees as problematic for Phoenix.
3 years ago
Phoenix Suns forward Jae Crowder (99). (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)...
Dan Bickley

If NBA relents, home-court advantage could push the Suns over the top

A full house and an electric crowd could put the Phoenix Suns over the top in the playoffs, especially given their youth and inexperience.
3 years ago
Arizona Cardinals GM Steve Keim and president Michael Bidwill watch training camp on Thursday, July...
Dan Bickley

Hope is a best-seller in the NFL, and the Cardinals are proof

Smart observers in Arizona know better than to put a ton of stock in the NFL Draft hype. But hope is a powerful emotion, and a best-seller in the NFL.
3 years ago
Aaron Rodgers #12 of the Green Bay Packers looks to pass against the Los Angeles Rams during the NF...
Dan Bickley

Cardinals among winners of NFL Draft night with Rodgers not on 49ers

The San Francisco 49ers' pick on Thursday came and went without news of an Aaron Rodgers trade, a very good thing for the Arizona Cardinals.
3 years ago
DeVonta Smith #6 of the Alabama Crimson Tide celebrates his touchdown with Jaylen Waddle #17 during...
Dan Bickley

Keim should trade up only if Cardinals can get Smith or Waddle

Dan Bickley writes that the Cardinals need a cornerstone CB and a WR with game-changing speed, five of which are available in the first round on Thursday.
3 years ago
Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Madison Bumgarner, center right, is congratulated after pitching a sev...
Dan Bickley

Diamondbacks’ strong road trip revitalizes belief in team

The Arizona Diamondbacks return to the Valley with a .500 record after a successful road trip that gives fans a few reasons to have some hope in the team.
3 years ago
Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald (11) breaks away from Pittsburgh Steelers cornerba...
Dan Bickley

Why this is the perfect weekend for Larry Fitzgerald’s retirement

April 24 is significant because it marks the 17th anniversary of the day Larry Fitzgerald was selected with the third overall pick in the 2004 NFL Draft.
3 years 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