Candace Buckner
@candacedbuckner.bsky.social
Washington Post sports columnist... the bio will get wayyyy better once I think of something cool to say
email: candace.buckner@washpost.com
email: candace.buckner@washpost.com
Reposted by Candace Buckner
With no one running the asylum, college basketball has gone full crazy.
Column from @candacedbuckner.bsky.social
Column from @candacedbuckner.bsky.social
Column | With no one running the asylum, college hoops has gone full crazy
In the latest evidence that no one is in charge, James Nnaji, who was drafted by an NBA team two years ago, is somehow eligible to play at Baylor.
www.washingtonpost.com
December 31, 2025 at 2:15 PM
With no one running the asylum, college basketball has gone full crazy.
Column from @candacedbuckner.bsky.social
Column from @candacedbuckner.bsky.social
Reposted by Candace Buckner
Tackling is one of football's basic crafts. Few players in NFL history have mastered it like Bobby Wagner. www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2025/...
December 19, 2025 at 3:07 PM
Tackling is one of football's basic crafts. Few players in NFL history have mastered it like Bobby Wagner. www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2025/...
This week Puka Nacua appeared on a live stream — and we could stop right there to break down all the reasons this ranked as an epically dumb decision. Nothing quite makes a crisis manager groan when reading a headline that features the words “pro athletes” & “live streams.”
wapo.st/4q5pbBj
wapo.st/4q5pbBj
Column | Advice to Puka Nacua: Hang out with people who have as much to lose as you
Evidently wanting more attention than one NFL game per week provides, the Rams’ star receiver appeared on a live stream that got him the wrong kind.
wapo.st
December 19, 2025 at 6:20 PM
This week Puka Nacua appeared on a live stream — and we could stop right there to break down all the reasons this ranked as an epically dumb decision. Nothing quite makes a crisis manager groan when reading a headline that features the words “pro athletes” & “live streams.”
wapo.st/4q5pbBj
wapo.st/4q5pbBj
Stripped of his armor of maize and blue, Sherrone Moore looked small. At his arraignment Friday, Moore looked afraid, or maybe he was worried. Without the brim of his block “M” hat framing his face, Moore was exposed yet remained hard to read. He looked only like a criminal defendant.
Sherrone Moore is no one’s victim, but he is a tragedy. From columnist @candacedbuckner.bsky.social:
Column | The shame of Sherrone Moore
The disgraced former Michigan coach — fired Wednesday, arraigned Friday — is no one’s victim. But he is a tragedy.
www.washingtonpost.com
December 13, 2025 at 4:06 PM
Stripped of his armor of maize and blue, Sherrone Moore looked small. At his arraignment Friday, Moore looked afraid, or maybe he was worried. Without the brim of his block “M” hat framing his face, Moore was exposed yet remained hard to read. He looked only like a criminal defendant.
Like a lot of us last Sunday, Philip Rivers was watching NFL football on his couch.
But unlike the rest of us coach potatoes, Rivers got a surprise call to join the Indianapolis Colts’ practice squad.
And nearly five years after his last NFL game, Rivers might start Sunday 🤯
wapo.st/4pBiuqj
But unlike the rest of us coach potatoes, Rivers got a surprise call to join the Indianapolis Colts’ practice squad.
And nearly five years after his last NFL game, Rivers might start Sunday 🤯
wapo.st/4pBiuqj
Column | Could a 44-year-old grandpa start an NFL game Sunday? ‘Heck yeah.’
Philip Rivers, 44, hasn’t played in five years and watched this past Sunday’s games from his couch. That might not stop him from being in the Colts’ huddle.
wapo.st
December 11, 2025 at 5:49 PM
Like a lot of us last Sunday, Philip Rivers was watching NFL football on his couch.
But unlike the rest of us coach potatoes, Rivers got a surprise call to join the Indianapolis Colts’ practice squad.
And nearly five years after his last NFL game, Rivers might start Sunday 🤯
wapo.st/4pBiuqj
But unlike the rest of us coach potatoes, Rivers got a surprise call to join the Indianapolis Colts’ practice squad.
And nearly five years after his last NFL game, Rivers might start Sunday 🤯
wapo.st/4pBiuqj
Christmas in Cleveland just got more merrier because the quarterback who evokes so much emotion, such weirdness from people, will be the starter for the final four games of the season.
It’s Shedeur SZN!
www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2025/...
It’s Shedeur SZN!
www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2025/...
Hot takes by the lake: The Shedeur Sanders story
Don’t have an opinion on this fifth-round pick of a last-place NFL team? Then you’re seemingly the only one.
www.washingtonpost.com
December 10, 2025 at 3:34 PM
Christmas in Cleveland just got more merrier because the quarterback who evokes so much emotion, such weirdness from people, will be the starter for the final four games of the season.
It’s Shedeur SZN!
www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2025/...
It’s Shedeur SZN!
www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2025/...
Reposted by Candace Buckner
Indiana's Fernando Mendoza can present himself as Mr. Nice Guy, he is a bad, bad man. On the Hoosiers and their standout quarterback from @candacedbuckner.bsky.social:
Column | Indiana swears by Fernando Mendoza, college football’s purest interview
The quarterback led the Hoosiers to their first Big Ten title since 1967, probably clinched the Heisman Trophy — and kept it clean afterward.
www.washingtonpost.com
December 7, 2025 at 2:07 PM
Indiana's Fernando Mendoza can present himself as Mr. Nice Guy, he is a bad, bad man. On the Hoosiers and their standout quarterback from @candacedbuckner.bsky.social:
Reposted by Candace Buckner
All eyes on 5 today. Expecting word on his game availability from Dan Quinn in a few hours.
December 5, 2025 at 4:13 PM
All eyes on 5 today. Expecting word on his game availability from Dan Quinn in a few hours.
Reposted by Candace Buckner
Happy college football signing day. Remembering the days when coaches huddled around fax machines to confirm players' commitments:
www.wsj.com/articles/SB1...
www.wsj.com/articles/SB1...
December 3, 2025 at 8:06 PM
Happy college football signing day. Remembering the days when coaches huddled around fax machines to confirm players' commitments:
www.wsj.com/articles/SB1...
www.wsj.com/articles/SB1...
Reposted by Candace Buckner
Talked to Ryan Rollins on Monday and tried to sort through his departure from the Wizards.
Why Washington cut him, how he feels about the team and what's propelled him to make a leap this season in my latest for @postsports.bsky.social 👇🏾.
www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2025/...
Why Washington cut him, how he feels about the team and what's propelled him to make a leap this season in my latest for @postsports.bsky.social 👇🏾.
www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2025/...
The Wizards waived him after he shoplifted, and now he’s an emerging talent
Washington could use players like Ryan Rollins, who is enjoying a breakout season with the Bucks two years after his time in D.C. ended ignominiously.
www.washingtonpost.com
December 2, 2025 at 7:55 PM
Talked to Ryan Rollins on Monday and tried to sort through his departure from the Wizards.
Why Washington cut him, how he feels about the team and what's propelled him to make a leap this season in my latest for @postsports.bsky.social 👇🏾.
www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2025/...
Why Washington cut him, how he feels about the team and what's propelled him to make a leap this season in my latest for @postsports.bsky.social 👇🏾.
www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2025/...
This is Lane Kiffin here: the legacy hire born in the red zone, the narcissist who quite skillfully can find the “I” in “Team.” More than anything else, he’s Football Coach, unbothered by the body count of jobs on his résumé, and the amount of bridges he’s incinerated along the way.
wapo.st/44JGAXf
wapo.st/44JGAXf
Column | This wasn’t a college football problem. This was a Lane Kiffin problem.
The messiness around the coach’s exit from Ole Miss to LSU was entirely of his own making.
wapo.st
December 2, 2025 at 5:08 PM
This is Lane Kiffin here: the legacy hire born in the red zone, the narcissist who quite skillfully can find the “I” in “Team.” More than anything else, he’s Football Coach, unbothered by the body count of jobs on his résumé, and the amount of bridges he’s incinerated along the way.
wapo.st/44JGAXf
wapo.st/44JGAXf
Reposted by Candace Buckner
From his small Indiana town, Myles McLaughlin made a memorable run at Derrick Henry’s national high school rushing record.
Read @candacedbuckner.bsky.social’s full column:
Read @candacedbuckner.bsky.social’s full column:
Column | The small-town football player who took a run at an NFL star’s record
Myles McLaughlin brought the national spotlight to Knox, Indiana, as he approached Derrick Henry’s career rushing mark.
www.washingtonpost.com
November 25, 2025 at 1:35 AM
From his small Indiana town, Myles McLaughlin made a memorable run at Derrick Henry’s national high school rushing record.
Read @candacedbuckner.bsky.social’s full column:
Read @candacedbuckner.bsky.social’s full column:
The autumn when Knox, Indiana became one of football’s biggest stories.
Thanks to Myles McLaughlin, a former no-star recruit who chased after history.
wapo.st/48cQz8B
Thanks to Myles McLaughlin, a former no-star recruit who chased after history.
wapo.st/48cQz8B
Column | The small-town football player who took a run at an NFL star’s record
Myles McLaughlin brought the national spotlight to Knox, Indiana, as he approached Derrick Henry’s career rushing mark.
wapo.st
November 23, 2025 at 6:03 PM
The autumn when Knox, Indiana became one of football’s biggest stories.
Thanks to Myles McLaughlin, a former no-star recruit who chased after history.
wapo.st/48cQz8B
Thanks to Myles McLaughlin, a former no-star recruit who chased after history.
wapo.st/48cQz8B
After another weekend when the civilians of the SEC took this brand slogan (“It Just Means More”) cooked up by an advertising firm way too personally, however, football could stand to mean a wee bit less.
Latest column & 🎁 link for y’all:
wapo.st/4r9pR9A
Latest column & 🎁 link for y’all:
wapo.st/4r9pR9A
Column | Hey, SEC, maybe it should mean just a bit less
Having a passion for football is cool, but it’s probably better to keep it away from your day job.
wapo.st
November 19, 2025 at 3:31 PM
After another weekend when the civilians of the SEC took this brand slogan (“It Just Means More”) cooked up by an advertising firm way too personally, however, football could stand to mean a wee bit less.
Latest column & 🎁 link for y’all:
wapo.st/4r9pR9A
Latest column & 🎁 link for y’all:
wapo.st/4r9pR9A
Reposted by Candace Buckner
If it’s true that Trump really wants the new Commanders stadium named after him, then owner Josh Harris will have a problem with many, if not most, of his own constituents.
Column from @candacedbuckner.bsky.social
Column from @candacedbuckner.bsky.social
Column | Josh Harris might have to choose between Trump and an angry fan base
The Washington Commanders might now have the toughest assignment in football.
www.washingtonpost.com
November 12, 2025 at 1:41 PM
If it’s true that Trump really wants the new Commanders stadium named after him, then owner Josh Harris will have a problem with many, if not most, of his own constituents.
Column from @candacedbuckner.bsky.social
Column from @candacedbuckner.bsky.social
Reposted by Candace Buckner
We just finished this up, feel free to read through the answers from @spencernusbaum.bsky.social and me:
Curious what we’re hearing about the Nationals new managerial hire?
Read @andrewcgolden and my story on the Post, or here on Reddit. What we’ve heard about a) his appetite for analytics b) his ability to teach fundamentals and c) his age and experience.
www.reddit.com/r/Nationals/...
Read @andrewcgolden and my story on the Post, or here on Reddit. What we’ve heard about a) his appetite for analytics b) his ability to teach fundamentals and c) his age and experience.
www.reddit.com/r/Nationals/...
From the Nationals community on Reddit
Explore this post and more from the Nationals community
www.reddit.com
October 30, 2025 at 7:46 PM
We just finished this up, feel free to read through the answers from @spencernusbaum.bsky.social and me:
Is it too corny to care about sports? To still feel seduced by sentimentality even as many of today’s fans define joy simply as the moment a parlay pays out? The NBA’s latest gambling scandal would indicate so.
www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2025/...
www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2025/...
Column | If you were ready to fall in love with the NBA again, you lost that bet
What felt like a dream opening week to the season got a rude awakening with Thursday’s news of a gambling scandal.
www.washingtonpost.com
October 25, 2025 at 7:09 PM
Is it too corny to care about sports? To still feel seduced by sentimentality even as many of today’s fans define joy simply as the moment a parlay pays out? The NBA’s latest gambling scandal would indicate so.
www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2025/...
www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2025/...
Reposted by Candace Buckner
The biggest question for the Wizards this season is whether the team will keep its 2026 draft pick, which is top-eight-protected.
Washington is racing to the bottom. Who could beat it there?
www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2025/...
Washington is racing to the bottom. Who could beat it there?
www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2025/...
www.washingtonpost.com
October 21, 2025 at 1:12 PM
The biggest question for the Wizards this season is whether the team will keep its 2026 draft pick, which is top-eight-protected.
Washington is racing to the bottom. Who could beat it there?
www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2025/...
Washington is racing to the bottom. Who could beat it there?
www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2025/...
At Indiana, fans are enjoying their Cig, and staying past halftime.
A Saturday in Bloomington, Ind., where football is, like, a thing now.
wapo.st/3JjNTNY
A Saturday in Bloomington, Ind., where football is, like, a thing now.
wapo.st/3JjNTNY
Column | Indiana football: A success story even Hoosiers fans are trying to grasp
In Bloomington, fans are learning what it means to be a football school, which means paying their coach and staying for the second half.
wapo.st
October 21, 2025 at 11:32 AM
At Indiana, fans are enjoying their Cig, and staying past halftime.
A Saturday in Bloomington, Ind., where football is, like, a thing now.
wapo.st/3JjNTNY
A Saturday in Bloomington, Ind., where football is, like, a thing now.
wapo.st/3JjNTNY
Reposted by Candace Buckner
#Commanders WR Deebo Samuel (heel) has been downgraded to out against the Cowboys tomorrow. Washington will also be without WR Terry McLaurin (quad).
October 18, 2025 at 6:31 PM
#Commanders WR Deebo Samuel (heel) has been downgraded to out against the Cowboys tomorrow. Washington will also be without WR Terry McLaurin (quad).
Reposted by Candace Buckner
Quinn said McLaurin is "frustrated," but his body just isn't ready.
#Commanders HC Dan Quinn ruled out WR Terry McLaurin (quad).
October 17, 2025 at 4:19 PM
Quinn said McLaurin is "frustrated," but his body just isn't ready.
Complete trust is great when you have blinders on. Just don’t look around and start noticing how long other franchises have needed to rebuild.
Rebuilding takes time, but Wizards fans deserve at least a schedule.
Column from @candacedbuckner.bsky.social
Column from @candacedbuckner.bsky.social
Column | Is the Wizards’ rebuild on schedule? How would we know?
What can we reasonably expect from Washington this season? That’s a tough one, and the uncertainty is getting tiring.
www.washingtonpost.com
October 16, 2025 at 2:04 PM
Complete trust is great when you have blinders on. Just don’t look around and start noticing how long other franchises have needed to rebuild.
On Tuesday, the King must have been bored. So he decided to see how much attention he could get by teasing about his future. Then once the crowds had gathered, do what he’s been most eager to do with his platform lately: sell a product.
Some words:
www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2025/...
Some words:
www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2025/...
Column | LeBron James is selling his credibility, one Decision at a time
With an insatiable thirst for attention, the King is devaluing his legacy with every silly social media post and thoughtless advertising campaign.
www.washingtonpost.com
October 7, 2025 at 8:48 PM
On Tuesday, the King must have been bored. So he decided to see how much attention he could get by teasing about his future. Then once the crowds had gathered, do what he’s been most eager to do with his platform lately: sell a product.
Some words:
www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2025/...
Some words:
www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2025/...
Reposted by Candace Buckner
Momentum is real. Today, it came on Quan Martin's hit in the 2nd quarter, and felt to the #Commanders defense like "a gasp of air." www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2025/...
An L.A. story: Commanders force fumble, and Chargers crumble
With Jayden Daniels back under center, Washington takes charge after a second-quarter turnover and rolls past Los Angeles.
www.washingtonpost.com
October 6, 2025 at 2:11 AM
Momentum is real. Today, it came on Quan Martin's hit in the 2nd quarter, and felt to the #Commanders defense like "a gasp of air." www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2025/...