rustindodd

On Drake Maye and the 'younger sibling effect.'

It's not just conventional wisdom — people with lots of older siblings are disproportionately represented at the highest levels of sports. Researchers have spent years looking for the reasons: www.nytimes.com/athletic/701...

this piece offers interesting insight into Sam Darnold, and some beautiful vulnerability from Max Browne, the quarterback rival who lost his job to Sam at USC. I enjoyed it.

www.nytimes.com/athletic/700...

There is so much more football in the NFC game than in the AFC one. As someone who mostly watches football to see punts go out of bounds I can't say I care for it.

Steve Nash. Clayton Kershaw. Patrick Mahomes.

Pro athletes love ping pong and science suggests there’s a reason why.

@rustindodd.bsky.social on the surprising case for table tennis as a brain-training tool 🏓

www.nytimes.com/athletic/690...

The scientific case for ping pong: Why athletes — and you — should play more table tennis Most athletes play ping pong to whet their competitive instincts or kill time. But what if it could actually improve performance?

the case for table tennis: www.nytimes.com/athletic/690...

Stoicism isn’t a buzzword for Fernando Mendoza.

The Indiana QB’s habits — discipline, delayed gratification and preparation over outcomes — reflect an ancient philosophy now guiding a title run.

Video Analysis of ICE Shooting Sheds Light on Contested Moments

Absolutely definitive video analysis of Renee Good killing here. Look at the image framed in red.
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/15/v...

Rustin Dodd HOF Ballot (8): Abreu, Beltrán, Félix, Jones, Pettitte(+1), Manny, A-Rod, Utley

Ballot #169 is from Rustin Dodd. He votes for the 8 players with the highest vote shares so far. Seven holdovers are joined by Andy Pettitte (+26)

Via The Athletic: www.nytimes.com/athletic/696...

Tracker: tracker.fyi

Bob Weir, sitting criss-cross, holding a guitar. Text reads: "1947-2026 Bob Weir Founding Member of the Grateful Dead Dies at 78. Photo by Mark Sullivan/Getty Images"

Bob Weir, who was a founding member of the Grateful Dead, has died at 78. His songwriting and rhythm guitar playing helped shape the San Francisco band’s sound as it became an American institution. trib.al/kC31x5R

YouTube video by parazitakusok Grateful Dead - Let The Good Times Roll - Alpine Valley Music Theatre 89

Bob Weir was the man.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gzig...

Indiana is ... breaking away.

My mom and I watched the Seymour Hersh documentary, White Christmas, The Thursday Murder Club, and It's a Wonderful Life over the last week. Would recommend all.

“The Little Movie That Couldn’t”: ‘Mallrats’ Turns 30 In the fall of 1995, Kevin Smith’s second film was a box office humiliation. Now, it’s become an embarrassment of riches. We chat with Smith about the movie and how it forever altered his career.

wrote about the kind of cinema that can only be appreciated in a friend's basement. that's right, I wrote about MALLRATS!

www.theringer.com/2025/11/24/m...

I reached out to Holly Rowe with a simple question: What has she learned about joy? Holly Rowe found happiness while undergoing cancer treatment. Now, she's trying to spread joy.

Via @rustindodd.bsky.social

"I reached out to Holly Rowe with a simple question: What has she learned about joy?"

www.nytimes.com/athletic/681...

The Ballad of the Kingsmen

open.spotify.com/track/648XP7...

Shaka Smart hasn’t taken a transfer in four years. The reason why goes beyond basketball Smart is the rare coach who quotes Maya Angelou and Nick Saban. He shadows NFL coaches, finds inspiration in rugby and never stops learning.

Article on Shaka

"Smart likes to preach “Giannis posture” — everyone in the program must have the body language of Giannis ... — so he struck a deal with Ighodaro. For each time he dropped his head, every member of the staff was going to do a 1 minute plank"

www.nytimes.com/athletic/680... ($)

“Nearly two months after he started hypnotherapy, he went on a vacation with his family and realized he had forgotten to buckle his seat belt for the entire flight. It felt like a breakthrough.” - Rustin Dodd, a senior writer for Peak

From @theathletic.com: For more than a year, Danny Higginbotham tried to cure his fear of flying. He tried medication and acupuncture. He sipped alcohol on the plane. “The worst anxiety ever,” he said.

Then his wife asked: “Would you ever consider hypnosis?” nyti.ms/3Lbggyt

MLB Division Series matchups are set. Here’s your team’s path to the World Series The Mariners as the '96 Yankees? The Dodgers as the '93 Jays? The Brewers as the '02 Angels? Using historical comps to find a world champion

Tim Britton is one of our era's foremost baseball nerds. www.nytimes.com/athletic/668...

What does a spotless locker room have to do with success? For these coaches, everything Photos of spotless college football locker rooms have gone viral. Said one coach: "The way we do small things is the way we do all things."

A case for cleaning your room and making your bed.

www.nytimes.com/athletic/667...

The fist pump is everywhere at the U.S. Open. It’s not just a celebration The fist pump is ubiquitous at the U.S. Open as a form of celebration. But there's a psychological component to the expression as well.

On the first pump.

www.nytimes.com/athletic/659...

Archival photo of Jim Valvano in a gray suit and red tie, wearing a basketball net around neck after winning an NCAA game. Quote reads: "Time is very precious to me. I don't know how much I have left, and I have some things that I would like to say." Attribution reads: "Jim Valvano, a legendary basketball coach from North Carolina State, during a 1993 speech"

From @theathletic.com: At the 1993 ESPYs, legendary basketball coach Jim Valvano delivered one of the most powerful speeches in sports history. The message remains indelible, an emotional tour de force on life, death and hope. nyti.ms/45pjbLB

The Secret Weapon of ‘Weapons’: Amy Madigan

www.nytimes.com/2025/08/17/m...

The Man No One Believed “Only very rarely does one of our stories—one of us—change the course of human events. Joshua Sharpe asked the right questions, refusing easy answers.” —Anna Quindlen, Pu...

My friend Josh Sharpe helped free a man from prison after two decades for a double-murder he didn't commit.

The story is chronicled in a new book, The Man No One Believed. It's an important look at the justice system.

wwnorton.com/books/978132...

A Little League coach went viral for his dad joke on the mound. It taught a bigger lesson In a tense moment, coach Jake Riordon asked his players, "Do you know why a koala bear is a marsupial and not a bear?"

From @theathletic.com: A Little League coach made a dad joke during a tense game. The moment went viral. It was equal parts strange, funny and endearing, our columnist writes. "Sometimes the best coaching has nothing to do with baseball."

A Little League coach went viral for his dad joke on the mound. It taught a bigger lesson In a tense moment, coach Jake Riordon asked his players, "Do you know why a koala bear is a marsupial and not a bear?"

I spoke with the Kentucky Little League coach who went viral for his Dad Joke during a bases-loaded jam.

www.nytimes.com/athletic/654...

Ichiro Saved One Last Surprise For Cooperstown | Defector A Hall of Fame case does not get built in the same way, or out of the same things, as a legend. There are plenty of Hall of Famers who managed to build compelling cases, in the methodical and accumula...

I enjoyed reading this. defector.com/ichiro-saved...

Ichiro Suzuki, former Seattle Mariners right fielder, in a white baseball uniform on a field, adjusts his cap. A quote reads: "He was one of the most eccentric players in the history of the game — talented, mesmerizing, focused and disciplined. There was only one Ichiro." The attribution reads: "Rustin Dodd, a senior writer for Peak"

From @theathletic.com: When Ichiro Suzuki is inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame on Sunday, it will culminate one of the most trailblazing and fascinating careers in Major League Baseball. Here are our four favorite lessons from his career. https://trib.al/az0DrfZ

Scottie Scheffler raised questions about happiness and fulfillment. This Harvard professor has some answers.

www.nytimes.com/athletic/650...

YouTube video by TylerChildersVEVO Tyler Childers - Oneida (Official Live Video)

song of the summer.

youtu.be/gR_ihUk6VFk?...

This Math Tutor Keeps Popping Up in Wes Anderson Films

This is a fun story.

Those old high school friendships that persist for decades are so special.

www.nytimes.com/2025/07/15/a...