Sports
Meet Tonja Stelly, the mother of the only NBA-NHL brother tandem
On Jan. 9, Tonja Stelly had to be in two places at once. That’s nothing new to her. It’s become a tradition over the past three years, whenever the NBA and NHL schedules collide in just the right way.
The Knicks were playing the Portland Trail Blazers inside the world’s most famous arena, Madison Square Garden, that Tuesday. Her son Quentin Grimes, a guard with the Knicks at the time and currently with the Detroit Pistons, had a 7:30 p.m. tipoff. Twenty miles to the east, her son Tyler Myers, a defenseman for the Vancouver Canucks, had a game at the same time, against the New York Islanders in Elmont, N.Y.
So Tonja and her husband, Ken, along with her brother and his family, hopped on a flight from Texas to New York. Tonja and Ken went to UBS Arena to watch Tyler, spending two hours bending their necks between the action in front of them and the cell phone on her lap, which featured the Knicks game. Her brother and his family were doing the same thing at MSG, with the sounds of a basketball kissing the hardwood and the Canucks-Islanders game on a tiny screen nestled in front of them.
“The people sitting around us, of course, were like, ‘Wow! You’re really into sports,’” Tonja said. “We were like, ‘Yes, yes we are.’”
Everyone knows about Donna Kelce, the mother of NFL players Travis and Jason Kelce. Most people are familiar with Sonya Curry, the mother of NBA players Stephen and Seth Curry. Very few, though, are familiar with Tonja Stelly, the mother of the only NBA-NHL brother tandem in history.
She’s a sports mom and former athlete herself, having played basketball at Fort Hays State University back in her home state of Kansas. Quentin and Tyler are her only children, and from October to April, she travels around the country, bouncing between packed basketball arenas and frigid hockey arenas to see them compete.
She gave birth to both in Houston 10 years apart — Tyler on Feb. 1, 1990, and Quentin on May 8, 2000 — but they have different fathers. As a result, they grew up apart in separate households, seeing one another only a few times a year, if that.
“I was like a single child,” Quentin said, recalling his upbringing.
Three months after Quentin was born, Tyler moved to Calgary with his father, Paul, who was in the oil and gas business, and that’s where the hockey took hold. He had already started playing the sport in Texas — around age 7 — but the sport’s ubiquity in Canada helped him dive deeper into the game, which set him on a path to the NHL.
In the summers, and sometimes during spring break, Tyler would travel back to Texas to spend time with his mom and his little brother. Tonja would take them out to play tennis or basketball, swim or take ride bikes. They’d take annual 22-hour round-trip car rides to go see Tonja’s side of the family in Kansas. She did everything she could to make sure her sons had a relationship, even though they lived, essentially, a country away from one another.
(Photos courtesy of Tonja Stelly)
“It was very difficult when you’ve only got six to eight weeks during the summer to put that together,” she said. “But we would do things as a family unit and individually.”
Things like letting them play video games together and take turns on choosing where to eat dinner.
“They would pick different things being that Quentin was 4 and 5 and then Tyler was 14 and 15,” she said.
As Tyler entered his teenage years, the demands of junior hockey kept him away longer. But Tonja and Quentin would venture to Kelowna, B.C., to watch him play in junior and did the same when he broke into the NHL. Quentin was 8 when the Buffalo Sabres selected Tyler 12th in the 2008 NHL Draft. At 6 feet 8 inches, he became one of the tallest players in NHL history and quickly made an impact for the Sabres, who made the playoffs his rookie season. Shortly after Quentin turned 10, Tyler won the Calder Trophy for the league’s best rookie. He finished in the top 20 for the Norris Trophy, which honors the league’s best all-around defenseman, in each of his first two seasons.
The Sabres playoff series spurred Quentin’s appreciation for the sport for more than his association to it via Tyler.
“I remember seeing that atmosphere, and I think I took more interest than the regular Texan watching hockey,” he said. “I tell people all the time, with playoff hockey, I don’t think there’s a better atmosphere — banging on the glass, shoving, pushing, hip-checking, it’s super fast-paced, people throw stuff on the ice. They’re not doing that at a basketball game.” (Well, unless they’re Jamal Murray, but we digress.)
Around 9, Quentin began playing AAU basketball, and like his older brother, quickly stood out among his peers. By high school, it was apparent he’d follow in the footsteps of his basketball-playing parents. Tonja Nuss was a 5-10 guard on the 1985-86 Fort Hays team that went 18-12. His father, Marshall Grimes, was a 6-foot guard for Santa Clara and Louisiana-Lafayette in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
As a five-star recruit, Quentin initially played at Kansas before transferring to Houston after his freshman season. There, he blossomed into the leading scorer on the Cougars’ 2021 Final Four team, leading to him being selected 25th by the Knicks in the NBA Draft.
Only so many people know what it takes to be a professional athlete. And luckily for Quentin, his brother is one of them. Tyler could share how to train like a professional athlete, and how to eat like one. But he also wanted to let Quentin “carve his own path.”
“As an athlete, I know I don’t want to bombard him with too much advice or too much that might overwhelm him, but certainly little things here and there I’ll throw at him,” Tyler said. “Even last month, I was reading this book and I forwarded him what it was all about and told him to check it out. Just little things like that here and there, that I think can help him out, and anything that I’ve gone through along the way.”
The NBA and NHL schedules don’t overlap in an easy way for Tyler and Quentin to see each other play live. “We kind of have to keep tabs on each other from afar,” Tyler said.
But Quentin playing in New York to begin his career helped when the Canucks would swing through the city to play the Rangers, Islanders and Devils in succession. Tyler attended one of Quentin’s home games a couple of years ago, and they shared a couple of dinners together.
“As you see them mature into adults and find their way, especially since Tyler was gone at such a young age, to see that circle back to them now as adults is pretty special,” Tonja said while fighting back tears. “Pretty special.”
(Photos courtesy of Tonja Stelly)
When Tyler spoke by phone earlier this week, he was already excited for his mom and brother to come to Vancouver this week for the Canucks’ second-round playoff series against the Edmonton Oilers.
Equally as exciting in the days leading up to Mother’s Day, Quentin will get to meet Tyler’s three children (Tristan, Skylar and Tatum) for the first time.
“It’ll be awesome,” Tyler said in advance of the visit. “The kids will get to meet their uncle, and it’ll be great for them to connect.”
For Tonja, who helped raise two boys with different cultural backgrounds, interests and upbringings, “It’s a pretty special weekend.”
What could be more special?
Well, Quentin has one year left on his contract with the Pistons at $4.2 million and could potentially re-sign long term. Tyler is pulling in $6 million this season and is set to become a free agent July 1.
A lot would have to line up, but it’s awfully tempting to wonder if Tonja’s sons could one day call the same arena and the same city home. After all, the Detroit Red Wings could potentially be in the market for a right-handed defenseman this summer.
“I think they (could use one), too,” Tonja said with a laugh. “That would be so awesome.”
(Photo illustration: Dan Goldfarb / The Athletic; photos courtesy of Tonja Stelly )
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Shedeur Sanders made his regular-season debut for the Cleveland Browns during the team’s 23-17 loss to the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday, and it wasn’t the outing he would’ve hoped for in his first real action in the NFL.
Sanders went 4-of-16 for 47 yards, was sacked twice and threw an interception. The Ravens ultimately saw tight end Mark Andrews score a rushing touchdown in the 23-17 victory.
Sanders was critical of himself after the game, but former NFL quarterback Cam Newton said this game backed up an opinion he’s had for quite a while.
Shedeur Sanders of the Cleveland Browns warms up before the game against the Baltimore Ravens at Huntington Bank Field on Nov. 16, 2025 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Jason Miller/Getty Images)
“I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again: I do not think Kevin Stefanski wants Shedeur Sanders to succeed in Cleveland,” Newton said on ESPN’s “First Take”. “The reason being is, don’t tell me what he said, don’t tell me what he’s saying. I’m going off of actions – alright? Let’s go off actions.
“The actions is, if I’m Shedeur, or if I’m a Shedeur Sanders fan, I would not want him to take the field because that’s going to consistently be the display we’re going to see. It doesn’t matter if it’s Deshaun Watson, it doesn’t matter if it’s Shedeur Sanders, it doesn’t matter if it’s Dillon Gabriel, it doesn’t matter if it’s Dan Orlovsky, it doesn’t matter if it’s Cam Newton. You need help in Cleveland. When you have a quarterback that’s still making $46 million on your roster, and he’s not healthy, that impacts the talent that’s around him. They are not a good team.”
The Browns are 2-8 this season, and Sanders marks the third quarterback change since the regular season began. At first, 41-year-old journeyman Joe Flacco was leading the way in Stefanski’s offense, but he was benched, leading to rookie Dillon Gabriel taking over.
BROWNS’ SHEDEUR SANDERS OFFERS BLUNT CRITIQUE OF PERFORMANCE IN NFL DEBUT
After Flacco was traded to the Cincinnati Bengals, Gabriel became the full-time starter with Sanders backing him up. It’s been a struggle for Gabriel, who went 7-of-10 passing for 68 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions Sunday before Stefanski turned to Sanders after Gabriel suffered a concussion.
Newton believes Sanders is being set up to fail, saying the Colorado product and son of Hall of Famer Deion Sanders isn’t being given a fair chance to make his mark in Cleveland.
“But this is the thing that really irks me the most… because [Sanders] doesn’t get any reps,” Newton said. “Circa 2015, circa when Cam Newton was the MVP, circa when, hey, my backup for [the] majority of my career was probably the biggest blessing of my career, to have a veteran in Derek Anderson. Ron Rivera still knew, ‘We’re one play away, kid, from you not being available.’”
Cam Newton attends the BET Awards Media House on June 29, 2024 in Los Angeles, California. (Robin L Marshall/Getty Images for BET)
Sanders was blunt in his postgame press conference while discussing his performance in his first regular-season action.
“I don’t think I played good,” Sanders said. I think there’s a lot of things we need to look at during the week and go and just get comfortable with even throwing routes with Jerry [Jeudy] and throwing routes with all those guys.
“I think that was my first ball to him all year,” he continued. “But other than that, I just think overall, we just got to go next week and understand, so that we have a week to prepare stuff I like to do.”
To Newton’s point, Sanders hadn’t received any first-team reps in practice before this game. He started the season as the team’s third-string quarterback before moving to Gabriel’s backup after the Flacco trade.
Despite the poor outing, Sanders’ confidence isn’t wavering as the Browns move on to next week’s game against the Las Vegas Raiders on the road.
Shedeur Sanders of the Cleveland Browns walks off the field after losing to the Baltimore Ravens 23-16 at Huntington Bank Field on Nov. 16, 2025 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Jason Miller/Getty Images)
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“I still have the same confidence. I’m still me,” he said. “I’ll never go anywhere. You know, just going out there, seeing daylight, that’s all I needed to see how they move out there. Playing against a great defense. You got guys from the Pro Bowl out there, so it’s exciting to see. Okay, this is what it’s like? Alright. This is what it’s like? I’m excited for it. So, you know, I just got to take this one and build on it.”
Stefanski has not named a starting quarterback for the Raiders matchup, though an announcement is expected later this week.
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Nahshon Wright had just made a huge play for the Chicago Bears, and in spectacular fashion.
The fifth-year cornerback leaped high in full sprint with his hand stretched over his head to intercept a pass by Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy in the end zone to preserve a 10-3 Bears lead late in the second quarter.
No wild celebration followed. Instead, Wright jogged to the back of the end zone and took a knee in memory of Oakland football legend John Beam, the former football coach at Laney College who died Friday after being shot on campus a day earlier.
“He was watching over me,” Wright, who played for Beam at Laney in 2018, said after the Bears’ 19-17 victory on Sunday . “It’s crazy. He called me the night before he passed and he told me that every game he watched, I just seemed to get a pick. So I just know he was behind me today.”
Just before noon Thursday, the Oakland Police Department responded to reports of gunshots at Laney and found Beam suffering from gunshot wounds. He was transported to an area hospital, where he was listed in critical condition. At approximately 10 a.m. the next day, Beam was pronounced dead.
Oakland police arrested 27-year-old Oakland resident Cedric Irving Jr. as a suspect in the case early Friday morning at the San Leandro BART station. Irving is a former football player at Skyline High School where Beam once coached, but police said he did not play under Beam.
Former Laney College football coach John Beam holds the trophy after the Eagles won the California Community College Athletic Assn. championship in 2018.
(Peralta Community College District via Associated Press)
Irving and Beam knew each other but were not close, acting Oakland Police Chief James Beere said Friday at a news conference. Beere added that Irving isn’t a student at Laney but “was on campus for a specific reason” on Thursday.
“This was a very targeted incident,” Beere said.
On Monday, Irving was charged with murder and 10 other felonies related to Beam’s death. Alameda County Dist. Atty. Ursula Jones Dickson said during an afternoon news conference that Irving faces 50 years to life in prison if convicted.
Irving is scheduled for arraignment Tuesday, Jones Dickson said.
Beam coached football in Oakland for more than 40 years. He came to Laney as running backs coach in 2004, was promoted to offensive coordinator in 2005 and was head coach from 2012 to 2024. Upon retirement from coaching, Beam continued to serve as Laney’s athletic director, a post he had held since 2006.
For many of his players and members of the community, Beam was much more than a coach, as seen by viewers of Season 5 of the Netflix documentary series “Last Chance U,” which focused on Beam and the Eagles during the 2019 football season.
“Filming with him at Laney College gave us a firsthand look at his passion, his integrity, and his unwavering commitment to the young men he coached — and to the city of Oakland,” the show’s creator, Greg Whiteley, wrote Friday on X.
Wright told reporters that Beam was “someone I could confide in, someone that I love dearly.” He added that the coach filled a huge void for him and his brother — New Orleans Saints cornerback Rejzohn Wright, who played at Laney in 2018 and 2019 — after the death of their father in 2017.
“Beam stepped in, stepped in as a father figure, a father role,” Nahshon Wright said. “He did a lot for me and my brother, my family. He’s been there. He’s been there every step of the way, and it won’t stop. I gained an angel, for sure.”
In a scene from “Last Chance U,” Laney coach John Beam talks to player Rejzohn Wright.
(Netflix)
Rejzohn Wright reposted a video clip of his brother’s interception and its aftermath on X and wrote: “Long live Coach beam forever with us!”
In an Oct. 19 Instagram post, Beam wrote that he was “in Chicago to watch the brothers battle” as the Bears hosted the Saints. The pride and love Beam felt toward his former players was more than evident in the photos he posted and the words he wrote.
“The Wright Way — always believe and keep grinding, never give up and believe the path will open up,” Beam wrote.
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NFL fans may not have any nails left to bite as several games came down to the wire in Week 11.
Six games came within three points while eight games came within seven points. The Miami Dolphins and Carolina Panthers each won their respective games in overtime. The Dolphins did it while playing the first-ever regular-season NFL game in Madrid, Spain.
Meanwhile, Josh Allen led the Buffalo Bills to a win against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in a slugfest. He scored three touchdowns through the air and three touchdowns on the ground.
As of now, the Kansas City Chiefs are out of the playoff picture. The Chiefs lost to the Denver Broncos in the closing moments and dropped to 5-5 on the season.
Read below for the rest of the scores this week.
Nov. 13, 2025
- New England Patriots 27, New York Jets 14
Nov. 16, 2025
Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen celebrates after scoring a touchdown against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025, in Orchard Park, New York. (Carolyn Kaster/AP Photo)
- Miami Dolphins 16, Washington Commanders 13 (OT)
- Carolina Panthers 30, Atlanta Falcons 27 (OT)
- Buffalo Bills 44, Tampa Bay Buccaneers 32
- Houston Texans 16, Tennessee Titans 13
- Chicago Bears 19, Minnesota Vikings 17
- Green Bay Packers 27, New York Giants 20
- Pittsburgh Steelers 34, Cincinnati Bengals 12
Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams (18) walks the field after his team’s win over the Minnesota Vikings in an NFL football game, Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025, in Minneapolis. (Matt Krohn/AP Photo)
- Jacksonville Jaguars 35, Los Angeles Chargers 6
- Los Angeles Rams 21, Seattle Seahawks 19
- San Francisco 49ers 41, Arizona Cardinals 22
- Baltimore Ravens 23, Cleveland Browns 16
- Denver Broncos 22, Kansas City Chiefs 19
- Philadelphia Eagles 16, Detroit Lions 9
Denver Broncos place kicker Wil Lutz (3) after celebrates after making a 35-yard field goal to defeat the Kansas City Chiefs in an NFL football game Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025, in Denver. (Jack Dempsey/AP Photo)
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Nov. 17, 2025
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