July on Disney+ is where franchise finales, monster makeovers, and nostalgic throwbacks collide. Marvel closes out Phase 5 with the last three episodes of “Ironheart,” Nat Geo kicks off an expanded SharkFest anchored by the 90-minute documentary “Jaws @ 50,” and Disney Channel’s cult musical series dives into vampire lore with “ZOMBIES 4: Dawn of the Vampires.”

For families, the month is bursting with animation: a brand-new season of “Phineas and Ferb,” eight fresh episodes of “Miraculous Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir,” and the preschool revival “Mickey Mouse Clubhouse+” (introducing Duffy the Disney Bear to U.S. audiences) all arrive before July is out. Meanwhile, the heist-rom-thriller “Suspicious Minds” adds summer-night intrigue, and foodie viewers can sink their teeth into the first “Summer Baking Championship.”

Behind the headlines, Disney+’s Hulu hub quietly drops one of its largest movie libraries to date. Day-one arrivals range from “Alita: Battle Angel” and “Bridesmaids” to “Home Alone,” “I, Robot,” and “Prometheus,” making July 1 a binge-watch bonanza. Sports fans also get a tech-tour of the Bernabéu with “Megastructures: Real Madrid Super Stadium,” while nostalgic viewers can relive three full seasons of “America’s Funniest Home Videos.”

Disney+ in July 2025: Marvel Finales, SharkFest Spectacles, and a Flood of Fan-Favorite Films

Below is the complete, U.S. schedule of confirmed releases for July 2025. (Titles marked Hulu on Disney+ stream inside the Disney+ app’s Hulu tile.)

Full July 2025 Release Schedule

Tuesday, July 1

• Ironheart — Episodes 4-6 (series finale)
• Critter Fixers: Country Vets S6 (12 eps)
• Lost Treasures of Egypt S5 (10 eps)
• Phineas and Ferb — Revival season premiere
• Library movie wave (Hulu on Disney+): Alita: Battle Angel, Bridesmaids, Bride Wars, Country Strong, The Day After Tomorrow, Dirty Dancing 1-2, Easy A, Ford v Ferrari, Home Alone 1-3, I, Robot, Prometheus, Real Steel, Ted 1-2, Wrath of Man, and dozens more

Wednesday, July 2

• Miraculous Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir S6 (8 eps)
• ZOMBIES, ZOMBIES 2, ZOMBIES 3 — Sing-Along Editions

Sunday, July 6 – SharkFest Launch

• Sharks Up Close with Bertie Gregory (special)
• Investigation Shark Attack S1 (6 eps)
• Shark Quest: Hunt for the Apex Predator S1
• Sharks of the North (special)
• Super Shark Highway (special)

Wednesday, July 9

• Ancient Aliens: Origins S1 (12 eps)
• People & Places: Shorts (series debut)

Thursday, July 10

• Summer Baking Championship S1 (8 eps)
• Suspicious Minds S1 (all eps; heist-romance)

Friday, July 11

• ZOMBIES 4: Dawn of the Vampires (original movie)
• Jaws @ 50: The Definitive Inside Story (Nat Geo doc)

Thursday, July 17

• America’s Funniest Home Videos S13-15 (67 eps)
• Disneyland Resort P.O.V. Walkthroughs (ride-along series)

Friday, July 18

• Megastructures: Real Madrid Super Stadium (Nat Geo special)

Tuesday, July 22

• Mickey Mouse Clubhouse+ — First 10 episodes

Wednesday, July 23

• Kiff S2 (animated series)

Saturday, July 26

• BBQ Brawl S1-2 (14 eps)
• Theme Song Takeover S4 (6 eps)
• Ultimate Summer Cook-Off S1 (4 eps)

Monday, July 28

• Hurricane Katrina: Race Against Time S1 (5 eps)

Wednesday, July 30

• StuGo S1 (full season)
• StuGo: Shorts S1 (6 eps)
• Big City Greens S4 (10 eps)

Thursday, July 31

• Project Runway S21 — Two-episode premiere
• Project Runway Library (S1-4, 51 eps)

Coming in August
Keep an eye out for the MCU animated anthology “Eyes of Wakanda” on August 6, plus more Hulu film drops every Friday.

Key Takeaways

• July brings major Disney+ originals including new “Ironheart” episodes, “ZOMBIES 4,” and the revival of “Mickey Mouse Clubhouse+.”
• The streaming service adds popular films like “Alita: Battle Angel” and “Bridesmaids” alongside new reality and animated content.
• National Geographic offerings expand with “Hurricane Katrina: Race Against Time” and sports documentary “Megastructures: Real Madrid Super Stadium.”

Major Original Series Premiering in July 2025

Disney+ is bringing a strong lineup of original content to subscribers this July, featuring Marvel superheroes, musical zombies, and beloved animated characters returning to screens big and small.

Highly Anticipated Series

Marvel’s Ironheart continues its first season run with episodes 4-6 dropping on July 1st. The series follows Riri Williams, a genius inventor who creates the most advanced suit of armor since Iron Man. Fans who enjoyed her introduction in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever can now see her full story unfold.

ZOMBIES 4: Dawn of the Vampires premieres on July 11th, bringing a fresh supernatural twist to the popular musical franchise. Disney is building anticipation by releasing sing-along versions of the previous three ZOMBIES films starting July 2nd.

High Potential, a new drama series about gifted teenagers navigating extraordinary abilities while dealing with ordinary high school problems, debuts mid-month with a three-episode premiere package.

Returning Fan Favorites

Project Runway Season 21 makes its streaming debut this month, bringing high fashion competition to Disney+. This season features guest judges from Marvel films and Disney animated features.

The Academy returns for its sophomore season, continuing the story of performing arts students competing for prestigious scholarships. The show has gained popularity for its realistic portrayal of the pressures young performers face.

Big City Greens drops new episodes weekly throughout July, following the continuing adventures of Cricket Green and his family as they adjust to city life with their country sensibilities.

Animated and Kids Shows

Mickey Mouse Clubhouse+ premieres on July 22nd, reviving the beloved preschool series with new adventures. Mickey, Minnie, and their friends return with updated animation and interactive elements for a new generation of viewers.

Kiff Season 2 debuts this month, continuing the adventures of the optimistic squirrel and her bunny best friend. The second season introduces new characters and locations in Table Town.

Miraculous Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir adds Season 6 episodes on July 2nd. The popular superhero series continues to expand its universe with new miraculous powers and villains for Marinette and Adrien to face.

Theme Song Takeover returns with musical shorts featuring supporting characters from Disney animated shows performing their own versions of their shows’ theme songs.

Exclusive Movies and Special Premieres

Disney+ is rolling out an impressive lineup of exclusive films and special presentations this July. Subscribers can look forward to major theatrical releases, unique sing-along experiences, and compelling documentaries that offer behind-the-scenes insights.

Blockbuster Movie Releases

July brings several high-profile movies to the streaming platform. The highly anticipated ZOMBIES 4: Dawn of the Vampires premieres on Friday, July 11th, continuing the popular musical franchise with a vampire-themed twist.

Sci-fi fans will be thrilled by the addition of “Alien: Romulus,” the latest entry in the legendary space horror series. This prequel explores the terrifying xenomorph origins with a fresh cast of characters.

“Ford v. Ferrari,” the acclaimed racing drama starring Matt Damon and Christian Bale, joins the platform mid-month. The film chronicles the rivalry between automotive giants during the 1966 Le Mans race.

Action movie enthusiasts can enjoy “Independence Day” and “28 Weeks Later” as part of the platform’s summer blockbuster collection. These additions provide perfect viewing options for those hot July evenings.

Special Features and Sing-Along Versions

Disney+ is enhancing its musical offerings with special sing-along versions of fan favorites. All three previous ZOMBIES films will be available in sing-along format ahead of the new sequel’s release, allowing fans to prepare for the newest installment.

The platform will also feature “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” with enhanced viewing options, including director commentary and behind-the-scenes features. These extras provide deeper insights into the filmmaking process.

Several classic Disney animated features receive the sing-along treatment this month as well. These interactive versions display lyrics on screen, making them perfect for family movie nights.

A special collection of “Desperate Housewives” episodes with creator commentary arrives, giving fans new perspectives on the beloved series. This marks the first time such special features have been available for the show on streaming.

Documentaries and Biographical Films

Jaws @ 50: The Definitive Inside Story premieres this month, exploring Steven Spielberg’s groundbreaking 1975 thriller on its 50th anniversary. The documentary features interviews with cast members and film historians discussing the movie’s lasting impact.

“Sophie and the Baron” offers an intimate look at the unique friendship between photographer Baron Wolman and artist Sophie Kipner, showcasing their creative collaboration across generations.

The powerful five-part series Hurricane Katrina: Race Against Time debuts on July 28th. This documentary examines the devastating 2005 natural disaster through previously unseen footage and survivor testimonies.

“Ancient Aliens: Origins” arrives mid-month, investigating theories about extraterrestrial influences on early human civilizations. The documentary features expert interviews and examinations of archaeological mysteries around the world.

Disneyland Resort and Theme Park Celebrations

Disney+ will showcase Disneyland’s historic 70th anniversary with special content in July 2025. The streaming service will offer fans unique ways to experience the magic from home through virtual walkthroughs, celebration highlights, and exclusive behind-the-scenes footage.

70th Anniversary Events

The Disneyland Resort 70th Celebration will be prominently featured on Disney+ this July. Subscribers can look forward to streaming the “70th Celebration Nighttime Spectaculars” starting July 18th, which captures the special evening shows created specifically for this milestone anniversary.

These spectaculars include enhanced fireworks, projection mapping, and drone shows that honor seven decades of Disney storytelling and innovation. The nighttime events feature music and visuals spanning Disneyland’s rich history.

Special programming will also include footage from the celebration’s opening ceremony, celebrity appearances, and exclusive interviews with Disney Imagineers who helped shape the park’s legacy from its beginning to today’s modern attractions.

Attractions and Experiences Featured

Disney+ will highlight iconic attractions across Disneyland Resort in their anniversary celebrations. Beloved rides receiving special attention include Haunted Mansion, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, and Jungle Cruise – all with enhanced features for the 70th celebration.

The content will also showcase newer areas such as:

• Cars Land with Radiator Springs Racers
• Avengers Campus and its superhero experiences
• Mickey’s ToonTown fresh from its recent renovation
• Pixar Pier featuring the Incredicoaster and Pixar Pal-A-Round

A special two-hour guided tour called “A Story of Celebration” will be available as documentary content, walking viewers through Disneyland’s evolution from opening day attractions to recent additions. The tour explores Main Street, U.S.A., and other lands that have become central to the Disney experience.

Disneyland Resort P.O.V. Walkthroughs and Shorts

The highly anticipated Disneyland Resort P.O.V. Walkthroughs will premiere on July 17th. These immersive first-person experiences transport viewers directly into cinematic ride-alongs of Disneyland’s most iconic attractions.

The walkthroughs use state-of-the-art filming techniques to create an incredibly realistic virtual experience of riding attractions like Indiana Jones Adventure and Soarin’ Around the World. Each video includes ambient park sounds and music to enhance the immersion.

Additionally, a new collection called “People and Places: Shorts” will debut, featuring behind-the-scenes looks at how Cast Members create magic daily. These shorts explore lesser-known areas of the park and highlight special details that casual visitors might miss.

Disney+ will also include special Hollywood Land shorts focusing on the connection between Disney films and their theme park adaptations, showing how movie magic transforms into physical experiences.

Events, Specials, and National Geographic Content

July 2025 brings an exciting lineup of seasonal competitions, nature documentaries, live sports, and special events to Disney+. Subscribers can look forward to summer-themed cooking shows, shark week programming, and exclusive sports coverage throughout the month.

Seasonal Specials and Competitions

The summer heat brings hot competition to Disney+ this July with several cooking and reality shows. BBQ Brawl Seasons 1-2 (14 episodes) arrives on July 26th, bringing grill masters together for smoky showdowns. Food Network’s Ultimate Summer Cook-Off (Season 1, 4 episodes) also drops the same day, featuring chefs creating perfect warm-weather dishes.

Fans of fashion will be thrilled as a brand new season of Project Runway premieres this month. The competitive design show continues to showcase emerging fashion talents creating runway-ready looks under tight deadlines.

For dessert lovers, Summer Baking Championship and I Scream, You Scream bring sweet treats to the platform, challenging bakers to create refreshing summer confections that beat the heat while impressing discerning judges.

National Geographic Premieres

National Geographic delivers impressive documentary content this July. Lost Treasures of Egypt (Season 5, 10 episodes) arrives July 1st, exploring ancient archaeological discoveries and historical mysteries along the Nile.

Shark enthusiasts will enjoy a full lineup including Sharks Up Close with Bertie Gregory, Shark Attack, Super Shark Highway, and Sharks of the North. The comprehensive Shark Quest: Hunt for the Apex Predator follows researchers tracking the ocean’s most formidable hunters.

Megastructures: Real Madrid Super Stadium examines the engineering marvel behind one of soccer’s most iconic venues. Animal lovers can enjoy Critter Fixers: Country Vets (Season 6, 12 episodes) starting July 1st, following veterinarians as they treat animals in rural Georgia.

Live Sports and Event Coverage

Disney+ expands its sports offerings this July with several live events. The WNBA All-Star Game and WNBA Skills Competition showcase the best in women’s basketball, while specific team coverage highlights matchups between the Indiana Fever and New York Liberty.

Golf fans can tune into PGA Tour Live for tournament coverage, while MMA enthusiasts get access to UFC 318 Prelims. The NFL Flag Championships brings youth football excitement to the platform.

These sporting events will be available through the ESPN integration within Disney+, giving subscribers more live content options than ever before. Many events will include pre-show coverage and expert analysis.

Additional New Episodes and Series

July brings several episodic releases and new series to Disney+. Stu-Go premieres this month, along with documentary series People and Places which explores diverse communities around the world.

Paradise, English Teacher, and Suspicious Minds will release new episodes weekly, while Camp Alec provides family-friendly summer-themed content. Hurricane Katrina: Race Against Time (Season 1, 5 episodes) arrives July 28th, examining the devastating 2005 natural disaster.

Disney’s documentary series Banana Ball explores the wild variant of baseball gaining popularity across America. These shows join the continuing rollout of Marvel’s Ironheart, which drops episodes 4-6 on July 1st at 6pm PT.

Frequently Asked Questions

Disney+ has an exciting lineup for July 2025 with new movies, series premieres, and returning favorites. Here are answers to common questions about what’s coming to the streaming platform next month.

What new Disney movies can we expect on Disney Plus in July 2025?

The highlight movie release for July 2025 is ZOMBIES 4: Dawn of the Vampires, which continues the popular musical franchise with a vampire twist. This new installment will likely bring back favorite characters while introducing new supernatural elements.

Several catalog movies will also be added on July 1st including Alita: Battle Angel, Bridesmaids, and Country Strong. Fans of musical content can enjoy sing-along versions of the original ZOMBIES and ZOMBIES 2 starting July 2nd.

Are there any new Disney Plus original series debuting in July 2025?

Yes, July brings several exciting new series premieres. Mickey Mouse Clubhouse+ will premiere on July 22nd, reviving the beloved children’s series with new adventures. The first season of StuGo will also debut, though the exact date hasn’t been specified.

Season 2 of Kiff premieres on July 23rd, continuing the animated adventures of the energetic squirrel and her bunny best friend.

Can you provide a list of the new content arriving on Disney Plus for July 2025 in the United States?

The July 2025 lineup includes a mix of original content, returning series, and library additions. Major titles include ZOMBIES 4: Dawn of the Vampires, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse+, and Kiff Season 2.

Library additions include Critter Fixers: Country Vets (Season 6), Lost Treasures of Egypt (Season 5), and BBQ Brawl (Seasons 1-2). Reality TV fans can enjoy a new season of Project Runway and The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives: Season 2 Reunion.

When are the release dates for July 2025 content on Disney Plus?

Content releases are spread throughout July 2025. The month begins with several additions on July 1st including Ironheart Episodes 4-6 releasing at 6 PM PT.

Mickey Mouse Clubhouse+ premieres on July 22nd, followed by Kiff Season 2 on July 23rd. Additional content arrives on July 26th and 28th, with Hurricane Katrina: Race Against Time (Season 1) releasing on the 28th.

Will there be any exclusive anime series released on Disney Plus in July 2025?

Yes, anime fans can look forward to RWBY: Complete Series arriving on July 1st, available in both subbed and dubbed versions. This represents Disney+’s continued expansion into anime content.

There’s also Miraculous Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir (Season 6, 8 episodes) releasing on July 2nd, which while not strictly anime, features an anime-inspired animation style popular with similar audiences.

What are the major Disney Plus releases scheduled for summer 2025?

The summer 2025 lineup is headlined by ZOMBIES 4: Dawn of the Vampires and the finale of Marvel Television’s Ironheart, with episodes 4-6 releasing in early July.

Mickey Mouse Clubhouse+ marks a significant revival of the classic children’s series. The continuation of popular series like Kiff with its second season premiere also represents an important part of Disney+’s summer programming strategy.

If Egypt is the new powerhouse of the HaBaWaBa movement, as demonstrated last Saturday by Sodic Sports Club’s double in the U9 and U11 categories, the Hungarian school is a timeless certainty: the U13 finals day of the HaBaWaBa International Festival PLUS 2025 turned into a stage of excellence for Magyar waterpolo. In both the women’s U13 tournament and the mixed team competition, in fact, the final challenges were entirely “made in Hungary”.

Szentes player celebrating the U13 Girls HaBaWaBa PLUS win (ph. Giacomello).

The final of the U13 girls’ tournament (11 teams participating) starring Szentes Starfish and OSC Girls from Budapest was exciting and balanced. The game, played point to point, ended in a draw (7-7) before being decided in an electrifying final chapter on shootouts. Thanks to saves by number 1 Emma Meszaros, it was Szentes Starfish who won the gold medal, ending the match on 11-10 score: it’s the first HaBaWaBa title for the club coming from South Hungary.

The U13 mixed-teams tournament had as many as 58 squads at the start, a marked increase from 51 teams registered in 2024. PSN Sharks – club from the city of Pecsi that won the U11 title at HaBaWaBa in 2019 – and Balaton VK from Balatonfuzfo were face to face in the final game. The two teams put on a superb technical and competitive match, leading the score by turns: a goal by the Sharks with 35’’ to go set the score at 6-6, sending the game to shootouts. At penalties phase, kids from Pecsi handled the tension better, winning overall 9-7 and clinching the second ever HaBaWaBa title for their club.  

PSN Sharks’ joy after winning the U13 mixed teams tournament at HaBaWaBa PLUS 2025 (ph. Giacomello).

SEMIFINALS AND THIRD PLACE. In the morning semifinals of the U13 girls’ tournament, Starfish Szentes overcame the Swiss RZO U13D team 12-4, while OSC Girls won 8-3 over Entente 95 Filles from France. In the final for 3^rd place RZO U13D defeated 7-3 Entente 95 Filles and took the lowest step on the podium. 

In the U13 mixed teams’ tournament, the semifinals ended with Balaton’s narrow victory over Vasas (7-6) and PSN Sharks’ success over Rapallo Gialli (9-4). The final for 3rd place ended with Vasas’ victory over the Italian team (13-11).

PSN celebration… (ph. Giacomello).

FAIR PLAY. During the closing ceremony, the winning teams of the Fair Play Trophy will also be awarded: the trophy is assigned to the most correct teams in the two tournaments based on the scores given by the juries. In this edition, it was lifted by Universo Silvi – at its first ever participation in the U13 girls’ tournament – and Pescara Nuoto e Pallanuoto, in the mixed team competition.

SEE YOU IN 2026. HaBaWaBa 2025 has thus come to an end, in the last two weeksthe “game of the ball in water” brought together at the Bella Italia & EFA Village in Lignano Sabbiadoro 147 teams from 5 continents and 15 countries: Australia, Croatia, Egypt, France, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Montenegro, Palestine, Monaco, Singapore, Slovakia, Switzerland, Turkey, United States. 

The event – supported by World Aquatics, European Aquatics, FIN, CONI and realised thanks to the help of sponsors Turbo, Compact Goals, Ossidabile and All Risks Consulenze Assicurative – proved once again to be a huge success, a true festival capable to create unforgettable memories in little athletes, coaches and fans, transforming waterpolo into a means of spreading the noblest values of sport. 

HaBaWaBa will return to Lignano Sabbiadoro in the summer of 2026, but the HaBaWaBa movement will continue to gather in the coming months in the various stages of the HaBaWaBa International Circuit scattered around the world, from Brazil to Egypt, from Spain to South East Asia.

PSN Sharks on the podium of HaBaWaBa PLUS 2025 awarded by Olympic champions Zoltan Szecsi e Branislav Mitrovic (ph. Giacomello).

Szentes Starfish, HaBaWaBa International Festival PLUS 2025 U13 Girls tournament champions: Emma Meszaros, Lea Szolfi Ludescher, Boglar Toth, Petra Boldizsar, Eszter Tyukasz, Ajsa Jenei, Emma Kata Hekedi, Lena Kecskes, Kata Szabo, Lilla Galfi, Kiara Vanda Nagy, Liliana Berkes, Laura Somogyi, Luca Meszaros. Coach: Fruzsina Bravik.

PSN Sharks, HaBaWaBa International Festival PLUS 2025 U13 mixed teams tournament champions: Balazs Marcz, Zalan Tibor Kovacs, Peter Lubiczki,  Bence Daniel Chvojka, Manolo De Blasio, Adam Zalan Becsei, Zsigmond Labossa, Sebestyen Wagner, Otman Taya, Donat Horvath, Adam Kindl, Balint Jozsef Kovacs, Goran Predacs, Miroszlav Poszovacs, Dominik Kovacs. Coach: Tamas Voros.

***

Click here for further infos about HaBaWaBa

Indiana Pacers backup guard T.J. McConnell exemplifies a type of basketball player I generally regard with disgust: the Skittering Little Rat Guy. This is the frenzied little gremlin always very visibly going 40 percent harder than anybody else at every single moment, constantly poking for steals, throwing himself theatrically to the floor (on his back to draw charges against better players, on his front after every halfway-loose ball he can turn into a monument to his own commitment), fouling a degree too hard, sprinting and yelling and gesticulating. Slapping the floor, even. Skittering Little Rat Guys are far more common in college basketball than in the NBA—some mid-major colleges start entire lineups of fifth-year Skittering Little Rat Guys—but they are found at all levels of the sport.

I regard the Skittering Little Rat Guy as basketball’s most objectionable player type, both ethically and in simple visceral terms. For one thing, the Skittering Little Rat Guy’s whole deal, his very presence on the court, is antithetical to the best, most breathtaking basketball stuff—and to the very idea of basketball as a stylish, expressive, creative game. He gunks up the works. He is an intruder into the cool sport from Mike Krzyzewski’s vision of what it should be; not coincidentally, some of the most hateful Skittering Little Rat Guys in living memory—Bobby Hurley, Steve Wojciechowski, Grayson Allen—made themselves famous at Coach K’s Duke program.

Coaches love the Skittering Little Rat Guy, for his total personal sublimation into the numbers on the scoreboard, for his utility as a cudgel against the reserve and self-respect of the other guys on the team. In his practice habits he is Martin Prince, forever asking Mrs. Krabappel for a pop quiz. Match his effort, Capable Scorer and Ball-Handling Wizard, or he will take your minutes.

The Skittering Little Rat Guy by his nature invites a certain stripe of viewer to see him as a vessel for basketball sanctimony; it’s hard at times to resist reading that sanctimony into the Skittering Little Rat Guy himself. After all, all he’s really doing out there is going insanely hard, with total focus and commitment and exertion, for every second he is on the floor. Look at how red he is! By contrast, everybody else on the floor can seem as though they’re playing at half-speed, half-attention, half-desire. The Skittering Little Rat Guy offers those certain viewers an opportunity to go “If [so-and-so star player] competed like the [Skittering Little Rat Guy], he’d average 50 points a game and his team would never lose … but he doesn’t want it enough!” From there, this certain fan is a short transit from issuing takes about star players being overpaid, and then it’s a gentle right-hand turn to using the words “winner” and “coddled,” and then he’s talking up how the college game—the highest level 999 out of 1,000 Skittering Little Rat Guys will ever reach—is more pure, and if you have not bailed by then he would love to talk to you about the scourge of “reverse racism.”

Among the many things that certain stripe of viewer can’t or won’t understand is that the Skittering Little Rat Guy’s whole style of play depends upon him occupying a specialized niche on a team with better players handling the more important stuff. This is especially true in the NBA, where Skittering Little Rat Guys as a rule cap out as role players. Over the course of a game, the Skittering Little Rat Guy will play like 18 fewer minutes than the guy the team depends upon for both voluminous scoring production and the decisive plays. Over the course of an 82-game regular season, that adds up to a couple dozen fewer 48-minute games of basketball than the guy carrying the team’s championship hopes on his back. The Skittering Little Rat Guy’s express job is to wear himself out in a modest portion of playing time—a portion of playing time delimited by how long it takes him to wear himself out.

Put another way, if everybody in the NBA went that hard at every minute, the Skittering Little Rat Guy might very well be an assistant on his dad’s high-school coaching staff. With few exceptions, the Skittering Little Rat Guy brings little else to the court that stands out nearly as much as his sheer intensity. He is less an NBA player plus maniacal focus and intensity than he is an NBA player because of maniacal focus and intensity.

Credit the Skittering Little Rat Guy with knowing this, and for embracing the deal available to him. If he did not, he would chill out a little bit, like an ambitious baseball pitcher who, hoping to rise above the station of a seventh-inning flamethrower, learns to take a couple miles per hour off of his standard four-seamer so that he can throw 70 of them in an outing instead of 15. This is why Jalen Brunson, a literal coach’s son and fanatical dark-artist whose movement style certainly calls the word skittering to mind, is not really a Skittering Little Rat Guy: He chills out, relatively speaking, on defense, saving his legs as best he can for hunting buckets at the other end. He values buckets more highly than he values Grind; moreover his ability to provide buckets is of vastly greater value than whatever increased number of steals and charging fouls he could produce by sprinting around like like a madman on defense. His Knicks and Villanova teammate Josh Hart, though? At the very least he is Skittering Little Rat Guy–adjacent.

The Skittering Little Rat Guy, that is to say, is above all else an attitude, a martial disposition toward the game, most distinctly but not exclusively found in short-armed, hyper-competitive little bastards, the type who were lauded as “floor generals” in high school and then found they did not have the juice to be more than Basketball Tracy Flick when they got to the sport’s highest levels. Many of them skitter as a movement style; all of them skitter as an approach to basketball, darting around in the game’s crannies and unwatched hinterlands, shaving an advantage here and there through wily opportunism and sheer exertion and then, well, skittering back into the shadows. The Skittering Little Rat Guy does not value dignity; his terms are those of total warfare. The mark his meager abilities leave him unable to put on the box score or in the highlight reel he will die to put on the standings chart.

In many respects Chris Paul could be considered the patron saint of Skittering Little Rat Guys, with his infamous zeal for diving and crotch-punching; his aggregative, Tom Thibodeau–ian approach to competition; his total war mentality. Paul’s career accomplishments testify to Skittering Little Rat Guy attributes more than those of perhaps any other genuinely great NBA player, ever. Had he not also been one of the best ball-handlers, playmakers, and orchestrators of his or any generation, he certainly would have settled for the life of the itinerant shrimpy shithouser, hanging onto pro basketball’s ass end with his teeth, and he likely would have excelled at it.

But Paul can’t be considered a true Skittering Little Rat Guy. His mastery of the skills and nuances of basketball puts him in a different category. By perfecting the art of controlling the game’s tempo and flow, during his peak years he if anything played the game at far lower levels of minute-by-minute cardiovascular exertion than most of his peers. The true Skittering Little Rat Guy doesn’t have that, and can’t; his mode is not control but chaos.

As a category, the Skittering Little Rat Guy is one of the chief beneficiaries of the space the sport’s dumber rules carve out for try-hard goons specializing in stuff that annoys the hell out of everybody else. By treating open retaliatory shoves as tantamount to murder, the NBA has made an actual valuable skillset out of the type of bullshit that draws those retaliatory shoves, and then a brick-handed asshole like Matthew Dellavedova can scrabble together an entire career out of diving through people’s legs and thwacking them in their crotches. In this respect, T.J. McConnell stands out from most of the other Skittering Little Rat Guys: For as annoying as he can be with the full-court pressing and flinging himself after inbound passes and diving after every loose ball with total abandon, he has never earned a reputation for dirty play. That is commendable and also, in its way, pretty impressive.

Nevertheless I have mostly been grossed out by McConnell in the decade he’s spent redly skittering around the NBA, harrying ball-handlers the length of the floor, Nash dribbling in tiny-radius curlicues around the restricted area. For a while there, even I regarded him as maybe my least favorite basketball player ever—more despised even than other notable Skittering Little Rat Guys like Patrick Beverley, Austin Rivers, and the above mentioned Duke pricks. I think what has bothered me the most about McConnell is what fans of his, in Philadelphia and then Indiana, have tended to admire: There is something unseemly, undignified, vaguely weedlike about a shrimpy little college guard of plainly modest skills flailing and thrashing around out there among bigger and better players, nipping at them like a high-strung little terrier. Fans see an indefatigable underdog refusing the game’s agreed-upon terms, the Little Engine That Could chug-chug-chugging up that hill; I, by contrast, see the exact same thing, and simply want him to fuck off so that the actually cool players can test their otherworldly abilities against each other instead of dealing with friggin’ Rudy Ruettiger over here.

Very probably I will go back to despising T.J. McConnell, as soon as next season. But I must admit: Over the course of this spring’s playoffs, he won me over a bit. I even shifted into Hell Yeah Teej mode a few times as he helped Indiana give hell to the heavily favored Oklahoma City Thunder in the Finals. The key thing, I think, is his fit with the Pacers, whose entire team-wide approach matches his: On a team dedicated to stomping on the gas pedal at all times and defying the opposition to keep up, McConnell’s personal frenzy blends in instead of distracting.

In that light, I could more comfortably appreciate that this Skittering Little Rat Guy is NBA-good at some actual basketball stuff. He’s nails from the middle of the lane, both for his diminutive size and just for a guard in general, with that high-release jumper/floater thing of his and the quick spin-gather he uses when a defender beats him to the spot where he wants to take that shot. For key stretches of hard-fought Finals games, his value to the Pacers—and for more than just racing around like he’d had a bowl of NoDoz for lunch—was undeniable.

After Indiana’s Game 6 win, in which McConnell posted 12 points, nine rebounds, and six assists, his father and (naturally) former coach crashed the postgame interview on NBA TV. What followed was a set of interactions the likes of which load the term “coach’s son” with so much sickly meaning: When asked what he thought of his son’s performance, the first thing out of the elder McConnell’s mouth was disappointment that T.J. had missed his first two free throws in the game. The segment ended with the old man reminding everyone that while T.J. had lost the state championship in high school, his sister, Megan McConnell of the Phoenix Mercury, won it.

The younger McConnell punctuated this display with a few sardonic looks at the camera, which effectively cut the tension but also—or maybe I imagined it—seemed to reveal some real angst behind the eyes. For the first time it occurred to me that T.J. might be just as tired of being a Skittering Little Rat Guy as I am of watching them.

Anyway, I have said and written many mean things about T.J. McConnell over the years, so I figure I owe him equally vocal credit where it’s due. The ornery li’l hobgoblin had a hell of a series. There! I said it!

A new company at Eurobike, S Rower, is aiming to turn your existing smart trainer into a smart rower, with its bolt-on attachment that works with pretty much any direct drive smart trainer. The company unveiled itself (and its product) here at Eurobike 2025, with a hardware accessory that takes advantage of the relatively universal standards of smart trainers, including both hardware attachment points as well as software control.

I had a chance to briefly look at the two pre-production units they had brought to Eurobike, which were mounted to both an Elite Suito smart trainer, as well as a Tacx NEO 2 smart trainer. What’s notable is that neither of those smart trainers are new or high-end by today’s standards, with the Suito being 7-8 years old, and the Tacx NEO 2 being about the same.

Ok, so starting off with the hardware first. The unit is an aluminum beam, currently as one giant piece. It sounds like for production they’ll likely aim to break it apart into two pieces with some sort of attachment coupling mechanism in the middle, mainly to simplify shipping, but storage as well. In any event, today you’ve got the main beam, and then it attaches to the head-unit component at the top.

Of course you’ve got your seat that rolls along the beam, along with a spot for pedals to be installed.

So, moving upwards towards the smart trainer, we’ve got the S Rower ‘head unit’, or main module. This attaches to your smart trainer via its cassette. It uses a standard bicycle thru-axle to attach to the trainer just like your bike would, except that instead of a chain, it locks onto the cassette’s outer most gear:

Then, inside the S Rower module (the case looking part), there’s a belt drive that connects to a wheel, which in turn connects to the rower handle. Note that it is indeed a belt drive, not a chain drive. Thus, it’s totally silent.

Atop that you see a small display, that’s just a simple tablet placed up there in a groove. You can attach any tablet you want, though I suspect the exact specifics of that little grove will change slightly by the time it ships.

Meanwhile, the tablet is running whatever smart trainer software you want. That’s because the S Rower doesn’t actually care what software you have, since that’s between your app and the smart trainer. Sure, they have a demo application here, in which case it’s using Bluetooth FTMS to control the trainer’s resistance level, but it could be any application.

For example, in chatting with the icTrainer app folks shortly after this, a few booths over, they already support structured workouts for rowing, and they already support every smart trainer on the market (and it costs a mere $29/year). Seems like a pretty obvious future pairing.

But again, that’s the cool part of standards – it doesn’t matter. The S Rower is leveraging cycling axle & cassette standards that work on every direct drive smart trainer ever made. And in turn, whatever app the user ultimately uses for the rowing portion is also leveraging with ANT+ FE-C or Bluetooth FTMS standards that have also been on every smart trainer made in the last 12-15 years. Again, standards are fun.

In any case, on to the most important: pricing and availability. Right now the company is aiming to start delivering products in Q2 2026 (so next spring), and the units will be produced in Italy. The units will be priced at $695USD, though you can pre-order today and there’s a discount down to $520USD.

To me, that seems ($520) incredibly reasonable compared to full blown rowers (normally $1,000 for non-smart integrated ones, such as the Concept 2). If you added the cost of a budget smart trainer ($400), or a secondhand one ($200-$300), you’re still talking substantially less than most smart rower setups (many of which don’t fold away very easily). Assuming the company can manage to deliver on the availability, and most critically, what rowers think of the rowing feel/inertia, I suspect they could be a runaway success.

But as always, time will tell. I suppose we’ll have to see next Eurobike, in late June 2026, whether or not they’ve hit their goals.

With that – thanks for reading!

FOUND THIS POST USEFUL? SUPPORT THE SITE!

Hopefully, you found this post useful. The website is really a labor of love, so please consider becoming a DC RAINMAKER Supporter. This gets you an ad-free experience, and access to our (mostly) bi-monthly behind-the-scenes video series of “Shed Talkin’”.

Support DCRainMaker – Shop on Amazon

Otherwise, perhaps consider using the below link if shopping on Amazon. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. It doesn’t cost you anything extra, but your purchases help support this website a lot. It could simply be buying toilet paper, or this pizza oven we use and love.

RICHMOND, Ky. – The Eastern Kentucky University men’s golf team has announced its 2025-26 season schedule on Wednesday, per head coach Pat Stephens.
 
The slate of competition will feature 10 regular-season competitions with five in the fall and five in the spring ahead of the ASUN Conference Championship (April 22-24) and the NCAA Regionals (May 12-14).
 
“I am very pleased and excited about our 2025-26 tournament schedule,” said Stephens. “We added several new events to the schedule this season.  The team will be tested against great competition and even better venues. Finishing the fall season in Hawaii and beginning the spring season in Puerto Rico will create a lot of excitement for the team and a motivating factor to make these trips.”
 
The Colonels will begin the season at the Joe Feaganes Marshall Invitational (Sept. 8-9) at the Guyan Golf and Country Club in Huntington, West Virginia.
 
EKU will then host its lone home tournament of the season in the Colonel Classic (Sept. 20-21) at the University Club at Arlington, looking to defend its title from last season.
 
September action concludes in the Keystone State at the Nemacolin Collegiate Invitational (Sept. 29-30) hosted by West Virginia at the Pete Dye – Mystic Rock Golf Course.
 
They will return to action in the Bluegrass at the Cullan Brown Collegiate (Oct. 6-7) hosted by Kentucky at the Lexington Country Club, the Colonels’ lone tournament in October.
 
The fall slate wraps up with a return to the Kapolei Invitational (Nov. 4-6) hosted by Hawaii at the Kapolei Golf Course.
 
After two months off, the Colonels start the spring in Puerto Rico for the Palmas Del Mar Collegiate (Feb. 8-10) hosted by UNC Greensboro.
 
March will feature three tournaments beginning with the Babygrande Donald Ross Collegiate (March 9-11) hosted by George Mason, Seminole Intercollegiate (March 15-17) hosted by Florida State at the Seminole Legacy Golf Club in Tallahassee, and finally the Memphis Intercollegiate (March 30-31) at the Colonial Country Club.
 
The regular season ends with the Bluegrass Collegiate (April 13-14) at the University Club of Kentucky – Big Blue.
 
EKU then prepares for the ASUN Championship in Valdosta, Ga. at Kinderlou Forest Golf Course beginning on April 22.