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Defector

Patrick Redford

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - APRIL 14: WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert holds a Golden State Valkyries jersey after announcing their fifth overall pick of Juste Joyce during the 2025 WNBA Draft at The Shed on April 14, 2025 in New York City. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)

Podcasts

Welcome To The Craziest Possible WNBA Offseason, With Maitreyi Anantharaman

Ray Ratto

Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees arrives to the spring training game against the Chicago Cubs on March 23, 2026 in Mesa, Arizona. He's got big goofy shades on.

Baseball Is Almost Back, And Almost Gone

Giri Nathan

Carlos Alcaraz of Spain returns a shot against Sebastian Korda of the United States during their match on Day 6 of the Miami Open at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida, on March 22, 2026. (Photo by Mauricio Paiz/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Tennis

Carlos Alcaraz Is Getting Tired Of Facing So Many Roger Federers

EDMONTON, CANADA - MARCH 21: Connor McDavid #97 of the Edmonton Oilers steps into the penalty box during the second period of the game against the Tampa Bay Lightning at Rogers Place on March 21, 2026, in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. (Photo by Andy Devlin/NHLI via Getty Images)

Doesn’t Anybody Want To Win This Wretched Division?

Maitreyi Anantharaman

Amaya Battle #3 of the Minnesota Golden Gophers celebrates with her team after making a go-ahead shot against the Ole Miss Rebels in the fourth quarter during a second round game of the 2026 NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament held at Williams Arena on March 22, 2026 in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

College Basketball

Minnesota’s Buzzer-Beater Sounded Like Home

Barry Petchesky

ATLANTA, GEORGIA - MARCH 23: Travelers stand in long lines at Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport on March 23, 2026 in Atlanta, Georgia.The travel disruptions continue as hundreds of TSA agents quit or work without pay during a partial government shutdown. U.S. President Donald Trump said ICE agents will be deployed to U.S. airports on Monday, with border czar Tom Homan in charge of the effort.(Photo by Megan Varner/Getty Images)

Politics

ICE Agents Deployed To Nation’s Swamped Airports To Stand Around And Do Nothing

Luis Paez-Pumar

A dejected Cristian Romero of Tottenham Hotspur during the Premier League match between Tottenham Hotspur and Nottingham Forest at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on March 22, 2026 in London, United Kingdom.

Soccer

Tottenham Keeps Finding New Lows

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<p>Charles P. Pierce is a writer at <em>Esquire</em> and the author of four books, most recently <em>Idiot America</em>, and has been a working journalist since 1976. He lives near Boston with his wife but no longer his three children.</p>
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Charles P. Pierce

A tightly cropped image of a player releasing a jump shot

Elder Wisdom

I Miss My Jump Shot

Commissioner Roger Goodell of the NFL announces the New York Jets pick during round one of the 2022 NFL Draft on April 28, 2022 in Las Vegas, Nevada

Crosswords

The Crossword, March 23: March Madness

Tom Ley

A side by side photo of Jorginho and Chappell Roan

Chappell Roan And Jorginho Are Beefing

St. John’s Won Funny

ORLANDO, FLORIDA - MARCH 21: Luka Doncic #77 of the Los Angeles Lakers reacts against the Orlando Magic at Kia Center on March 21, 2026 in Orlando, Florida. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Julio Aguilar/Getty Images)

Luka Doncic And Goga Bitadze Debate Whether They Threatened To Fuck Each Other’s Family Members In A Second Language

Cam Skattebo Sorry For Saying CTE And Asthma Are Fake

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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

Laura Harvey looks perplexed while receiving a yellow card

The Cascadia Rivalry Was Totally Bonkers

UAE Team Emirate's Slovenian rider Tadej Pogacar celebrates as he crosses the finish line to win the 117th Milan - Sanremo one-day classic cycling race, in Sanremo on March 21, 2026.

Cycling

Tadej Pogacar Takes One Beautiful Step Closer To Completing Cycling

Rob Martin Will Always Be A Short King Of March

Kelsey McKinney

taylor frankie paul in a baby blue dress looks over her shoulder at the camera

Arts And Culture

The Not-At-All-Secret Life Of Taylor Frankie Paul

Kathryn Xu

Jonathan Wheatley, Team Principal of Audi F1 Team looks on during the Sprint ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of China.

Racing

Not Satisfied By Fernando Alonso’s Limbs, Aston Martin’s Accursed Car Also Consumes Team Principal

Moise Koumane falls to his back in celebration

It’s Child Week

Eleanor Russell

The New Evangelists

MIAMI, FLORIDA - MARCH 19: Luka Doncic #77 of the Los Angeles Lakers reacts after scoring a three-pointer against the Miami Heat during the third quarter at Kaseya Center on March 19, 2026 in Miami, Florida. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Rich Storry/Getty Images)

I’m So Sorry To Tell You This But The Lakers Must Be Taken Seriously


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Sabrina Imbler

A still from the trailer for Hoppers showing a beaver standing on a pile of machine rubble and proselytizing to a crowd of animals

Dam It All To Hell

Mikayla Blakes #1 and head coach Shea Ralph of the Vanderbilt Commodores react on the sideline against the Furman Paladins in the first half at Vanderbilt University Memorial Gymnasium on November 10, 2025 in Nashville, Tennessee.

The Tournament’s Best Subplot Is Shea Ralph Vs. Her Old Coach

High Point Is A Deeply Weird School

David Roth

Oscar Cluff #45 of the Purdue Boilermakers looks for a shot against Morez Johnson Jr. #21 of the Michigan Wolverines during the first half of the Big Ten Men's Basketball Tournament Championship game on March 15, 2026.

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