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This is Defector, a new sports blog and media company. We made this place together, we own it together, we run it together. Without access, without favor, without discretion, and without interference.

Defector

Giri Nathan

Tennis

All Hail Lilli Tagger And The One-Hander

Patrick Redford

Slovenian Tadej Pogacar of UAE Team Emirates XRG pictured in action during the stage 14 of the 2026 Tour de France cycling race, a stage of 155km from Mulhouse to Le Markstein Fellering, on Saturday 18 July 2026. The 113th edition of the Tour de France starts on Saturday 4 July in Barcelona, Spain, and will finish in Paris, France on the 26th of July. BELGA PHOTO JASPER JACOBS (Photo by JASPER JACOBS / BELGA MAG / Belga via AFP)

Cycling

How Tadej Pogacar Got The Joy Back

Tom Ley

Pete Crow-Armstrong Is Good Enough To Raise The Forbidden Question

ALPE D'HUEZ, FRANCE - JULY 24: A general view of the peloton compete climbing to the Alpe d'Huez (1835m) while fans cheers during the 113th Tour de France 2026, Stage 19 a 127.9km stage from Gap to Alpe d'Huez 1835m / #UCIWT / on July 24, 2026 in Alpe d'Huez, France. (Photo by Dario Belingheri/Getty Images)

A Day In The Chaos Of Cycling’s Most Legendary Arena

David Roth

President Donald Trump holds up a Los Angeles Dodgers jersey as he hosted 2025 World Series champions in the Rose Garden of the White House on July 23, 2026 in Washington, DC.

The Dodgers Went To Grandpa’s House!

Dave McKenna

Dublin , Ireland - 11 July 2026; Kobe McDonald of Mayo during the GAA Football All-Ireland Senior Championship semi-final match between Mayo and Louth at Croke Park in Dublin. (Photo By Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile via Getty Images)

Gaelic Football

From Cursed To First? Mayo And Teen Sensation Kobe McDonald Want To Win Just Once

LeBron James #23 of the Los Angeles Lakers and Vj Edgecombe #77 of the Philadelphia 76ers smile during the second half of the game

LeBron James Is A Philadelphia 76er

EF Education - EasyPost team's Ecuadorian rider Richard Carapaz cycles to the finish line to win the 18th stage of the 113th edition of the Tour de France cycling race, 185 km between Voiron and Orcières-Merlette in the French Alps, on July 23, 2026. (Photo by Loic VENANCE / AFP)

A Good Tour de France Is In The Eye Of The Beholder

<p>Columnist. Author of many <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Drew-Magary/e/B001JS8R52/ref=dp_byline_cont_pop_book_1">fine works of literature</a>, including <em>Point B</em>. Handsomest man in the world.</p>


Drew Magary

Brick Johnson, Woody Johnson, and Roger Goodell pose for a photo

Why Your Team Sucks

Why Your Team Sucks 2026: New York Jets

Sarah Borus

France Europe French Paris 7th arrondissement Muse Rodin Museum art sculpture hands

Arts And Culture

You’ve Got To Hand It To Rodin


<p>charismatic megafauna (they/them)</p>


Sabrina Imbler

a grainy still image of jimothy the raccoon with an abnormally short spine running across a lawn

Creaturefector

Is Jimothy OK? A Creature Investigation

Nick Martin

Books

Danny McBride Leaves You Wandering

Marcelo Mayer #11 of the Boston Red Sox reacts after striking out to end the fourth inning against the New York Yankees at Fenway Park on June 25, 2026 in Boston, Massachusetts.

Podcasts

Arachnid Surgical Robots And Neckless Third Basemen, With Paul Tremblay

Samer Kalaf

Wally the Green Monster hoists a sign in honor of the Boston Red Sox 15 straight wins

The Red Sox’s Streak Is Over, But The Children Have Feasted

<p>Staff Writer</p>
<p>Find me on Signal @DefectorChris.19</p>


Chris Thompson

A sign reads "LONG LIV GOLF" at one of their dumb events.

Golf

LIV Golf Circling The Toilet From Whence It Sprung

Ray Ratto

Owner Tom Dundon of the Portland Trail Blazers speaks during a press conference before a game on April 2, 2026.

This Is So Stupid

Here Is An Extremely And Needlessly Complicated Way To Rescue Portland From Tom Dundon

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<div>Abigail Segel is a contributing writer at Defector. She is also an editor for The IX Soccer and the Equalizer. Her work has been published in the Guardian and the Montreal Gazette.</div>
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Abigail Segel

Leicy Santos's teammates dowse her in water while celebrating

Soccer

Leicy Santos Is In The Right Spot

Maitreyi Anantharaman

Sophie Cunningham announces a round in a lightweight fight during the UFC 329 event at T-Mobile Arena on July 11, 2026 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

WNBA

Sophie Cunningham Is About As Edgy As A Beach Ball

Phee’s Back

Lauren Theisen

four actors on a set that looks like a dark back porch with a hot tub

After The Argument Comes The Rest Of Your Lives

The images show two adult orcas feeding on the ocean sunfish,

Orcas Are Kerploding Sunfish Into A Thousand Pieces

Why Your Team Sucks 2026: Las Vegas Raiders

<p>Jae Towle Vieira [they/them] works as a producer for Normal Gossip. Their fiction has been published in <i data-stringify-type="italic">The Normal School</i>, <i data-stringify-type="italic">New England Review, Carve Magazine, Passages North, Fairy Tale Review</i>, and elsewhere.</p>


Jae Towle Vieira

The Haunting, The Psychic, And The Stepmom

A dad sits in the grass at a park with his shirt off listening to music on headphones and reading the paper while his baby sleeps next to him

Minor Dilemmas

What’s Going To Happen To The Rest Of My Life After I Become A Parent?

SAINT-GERVAIS MONT-BLANC, FRANCE - JULY 16: A fan stands roadside under an umbrella as he waits for the peloton of cyclists during the stage fifteen of the 110th Tour de France 2023 from Les Gets les Portes du Soleil to Saint-Gervais Mont-Blan on July 16, 2023, France. It is estimated that between twelve and fifteen million fans will line the 3,404 km of French roads to witness the 110th edition of the Tour de France in person. As a symbol of French unity and identity, the world's most famous cycling race has stitched a human landscape across the geography of France since 1903. (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images)