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Defector

Ray Ratto

EDMONTON, CANADA - JUNE 02: Fans cheer on the Edmonton Oilers in Game Six of the Western Conference Final of the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs against the Dallas Stars at Rogers Place on June 2, 2024, in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. (Photo by Andy Devlin/NHLI via Getty Images)

Edmonton At The End

Tom Ley

Chicago Sky guard Chennedy Carter (7) is whistled for a flagrant foul for knocking Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark (22) to the ground on June 1, 2024, at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana.

WNBA

Caitlin Clark And The Fever Are Going Through It

Luis Paez-Pumar

Real Madrid's Spanish defender Nacho Fernandez (C) and Real Madrid's players lift the trophy to celebrate their victory at the end of the UEFA Champions League final football match between Borussia Dortmund and Real Madrid at Wembley Stadium in London, United Kingdom on June 01, 2024.

Soccer

Real Madrid Is Bulletproof

<p>Owen Lewis is a former Defector intern and has written for The Guardian, The Second Serve, The Athletic, n+1, Texas Monthly, Air Mail, and other publications.</p>


Owen Lewis

<p>Heather Chen is a former Defector intern and the managing editor at the <em>Columbia Daily Spectator</em>. She loves hockey, photography, and the good ol’ state of Michigan.</p>


Heather Wei-Xi Chen

MOVIE GAG: CHILD ACTOR BOBBY 'WHEEZER' HUTCHINS OF THE OUR GANG TROUPE HITTING A MAN OVER THE HEAD WITH A HAMMER.UNDATED PHOTOGRAPH, CIRCA 1920s.

Announcements

The Baby Photo Takeover Continues

Israel Daramola

Talk show host Conan O'Brien appears on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" at the NBC Studios on September 5, 2003 in Burbank, California.

Mods Asleep

The Late-Night Television Wars Are Worth Reliving

Giri Nathan

Rafael Nadal is playing against Alexander Zverev in the first round of the men's singles at the Roland Garros French Open tennis tournament in Paris, France, on May 27, 2024.

Tennis

There Are No Tidy Endings In Rafael Nadal’s Clay Temple

<p>Nicholas Russell is a writer from Las Vegas.</p>


Nicholas Russell

End of life petrol and diesel cars and vans are piled on top of one another as they wait to be recycled in a car scrapyard on November 29, 2022 in Glastonbury, England. The UK scraps over one million cars a year and many more petrol and diesel cars will need to be taken off the road if the Government is to reach its target for the number of electric cars to be reached.

I Will Drive This Fucked-Up Car Until One Of Us Dies

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<div class="p-rich_text_section">Tom Scocca is the editor of <a href="http://indignity.net">Indignity</a>, a subscription-supported newsletter of news, essays, and commentary.</div>
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Tom Scocca

Former U.S. President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump attends the NASCAR Cup Series Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on May 26, 2024 in Concord, North Carolina. He is wearing a make American Great Again hat.

Margin Of Error

The Doubts Were Not Reasonable

MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - MAY 30: Luka Doncic #77 of the Dallas Mavericks celebrates during the fourth quarter against the Minnesota Timberwolves in Game Five of the Western Conference Finals at Target Center on May 30, 2024 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. 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 David Berding/Getty Images)

The Mavericks Have Met The Moment


<p>Corey Atad is a freelancer writer based in Toronto with an unhealthy Air Bud obsession.</p>


Corey Atad

The Decemberists Take Me Back And Forth

Former U.S. President Donald Trump sits at the defendant's table inside the courthouse as the jury is scheduled to continue deliberations for his hush money trial at Manhattan Criminal Court on May 30, 2024 in New York City. Judge Juan Merchan gave the jury instructions, and deliberations are entering their second day. The former president faces 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in the first of his criminal cases to go to trial.

Defector Up All Night

Justice Delivered To Notable Yankees Fan

FC Barcelona women's football team present their Champions League trophy to supporters from the balcony of the Catalan Regional Government headquarters one day after getting their third Champions League triumph, in Barcelona on May 26, 2024. The Catalans finally avenged final defeats by Lyon in 2019 and 2022 yesterday in Bilbao, beating the French giants 2-0 to lift the Champions League for the third time.

Buy The T-Shirt, Not The Jersey

David Roth

Closeup view of butter roll. It's a stock photo.

Podcasts

The State Of The Website And The Two Types Of Butter

Patrick Redford

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - MAY 06: Donte DiVincenzo #0, Jalen Brunson #11, and Josh Hart #3 of the New York Knicks react against the Indiana Pacers during Game One of the Eastern Conference Second Round Playoffs at Madison Square Garden on May 06, 2024 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. ()

Vinson Cunningham On The Knicks, Art, And How Basketball Can Help You Live Nobly

NEW YORK, NY - MAY 28: Jeff McNeil #1 of the New York Mets reacts after popping out with the bases loaded during the ninth inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers in game one of a doubleheader at Citi Field on May 28, 2024 in New York City. (Photo by Adam Hunger/Getty Images)

Meet The Mess

<p>B.D. McClay is an essayist and critic.</p>


B.D. McClay

11 February 2020, Berlin: Bottles of the brand "Coca Cola" are lined up in the cinema Zoo Palast.

I Will Never Abandon My Special Little Drink

<p>Mitch Therieau is a writer living in Virginia.</p>


Mitch Therieau

American singer Rob Thomas, of the American rock band Matchbox Twenty, sings on stage during a concert in Los Angeles, California, circa 1996. (Photo by Lester Cohen/Getty Images)

In Defense Of That Whole Weird ’90s Rock Marble-Mouthed Thing

<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

Normal Gossip logo with cartoon characters gossiping

Chilling Tales Of A Haunted And Constipated Global Traveler

<p><span style="font-weight: 400">Madeleine Baker is a historian and an associate editor at </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400">The Drift.</span></i></p>


Madeleine Baker

Professor Richard Dawkins next to a bus displaying an atheist message in Kensington Gardens, London.

The Ghosts Of New Atheism Still Haunt Us

<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

INDIANAPOLIS, IN - FEBRUARY 17: Shaquille O'Neal, Ernie Johnson, Kenny Smith and Charles Barkley from TNT talk as a part of State Farm All-Star Saturday Night on Saturday, February 17, 2024 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana. 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. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2024 NBAE (Photo by Brandon Todd/NBAE via Getty Images)

Funbag

A Requiem For ‘Inside The NBA’ From A Guy Who Barely Watched It

Lauren Theisen

Wyatt Johnston scores a goal on Stuart Skinner

Sometimes The Puck Goes In, And Sometimes It Doesn’t

<p>Fran Hoepfner is a writer and teacher.</p>


Fran Hoepfner

US actor Kevin Costner attends a press conference for the film "Horizon: An American Saga" during the 77th edition of the Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, southern France, on May 20, 2024.

Why Do I Keep Rooting For Kevin Costner?

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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

Portland Trail Blazers' Bill Walton, who received many accolades for his performance on the court, is depicted here. Walton would later go on to pursue a career off the court as a sports broadcaster and an actor in feature films.

Bill Walton Let His Joy Flourish

Barry Petchesky

LOS ANGELES, CA - APRIL 19: Umpire Angel Hernandez looks on during the MLB game between the New York Mets and the Los Angeles Dodgers on April 19, 2024 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, CA. (Photo by Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

End Of An Error As Ángel Hernández Calls It Quits

<p><i><span style="font-weight: 400">Dan Brooks writes essays and fiction from Missoula, Montana.</span></i></p>


Dan Brooks

Taylor Swift performs onstage during the Taylor Swift reputation Stadium Tour at MetLife Stadium on July 21, 2018 in East Rutherford, New Jersey.