Bill Bradley returns to RJ as sports editor after Allen Leiker retires
There is a change in leadership of the Las Vegas Review-Journal Sports department.
Bill Bradley is the new assistant managing editor for sports, a position he held from 2015 to 2022.
He replaces Allen Leiker, who is retiring after more than 36 years at the newspaper — 35 of which were in management as an assistant sports editor, deputy sports editor and sports editor.
“Awards are nice, and we won our share of them, but awards come and go,” Leiker said. “What I’ll cherish most are the people I worked with, especially the past two years as sports editor. They were always there for me.
“The department is in great hands. Bill put us on the national map as a sports section in his first stint here and will keep us there.”
Under the previous direction by Bradley, the RJ ushered in coverage of the Golden Knights and Raiders, along with major events such as the Pro Bowl and NHL All-Star Game.
“I am ecstatic to be back at the Review-Journal,” said Bradley, who grew up in the Phoenix area and graduated from Northern Arizona while also attending Arizona State. “I learned a lot in my time away from Las Vegas media, such as making coverage more focused on the reader.
“I haven’t forgotten how unique a sports market this is and look forward to helping Review-Journal sports continue to move ahead.”
Bradley previously served as sports editor at the Detroit Free Press, Sacramento Bee and The Tennessean. He also has worked for the NFL and the Action Network betting site.
Has seen it all
A native of Topeka, Kansas, Leiker helped coordinate coverage of every major sports event in Las Vegas for more than three decades.
He was part of the management team that won the Grand Slam in the Associated Press Sports Editors national contest two out of three years.
His two most memorable events are the 2024 Super Bowl at Allegiant Stadium and the Golden Knights’ Stanley Cup championship in 2023. For the latter, Leiker was editor of “Golden!” — the RJ’s book about that title run.
“We were always told that the NFL would never come to Las Vegas,” Leiker said. “And hockey in the desert? Yeah, right. I thought about that a lot as I watched both events from the press box.”
Earning praise
RJ Executive Editor Glenn Cook praised both men.
“I couldn’t be more pleased about this change in Sports leadership at the Review-Journal,” Cook said. “It’s bittersweet to see Al Leiker start a well-deserved retirement after decades of service, but welcoming back Bill Bradley is a win for our readers.
“Al oversaw coverage of literally everything in Las Vegas at points across his career, going back to when the department focused on just high schools and UNLV. You’d be hard-pressed to find any editor who has witnessed more change in a single city, anywhere. If you told Al at the start of his tenure at the RJ that he would finish his career covering a Raiders-Chiefs NFL game in Las Vegas, he would have laughed at you.
“Bill elevated the Review-Journal while writing his first chapter as sports editor here, so we expect more of the same with his return. As our audiences’ habits change, Bill will make sure readers find Review-Journal coverage, no matter the platform.”
Contact Ed Graney at egraney@reviewjournal.com. Follow @edgraney on X.
