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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

Alex Sujong Laughlin

a group of Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders practice outside

Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders: It’s Time To Unionize

Kelsey McKinney

Arts And Culture

Who Are These Big Book Lists For?

Dave McKenna

Peyton Ham, a 16-year-old from Leonardtown, Md, stands next to his grandfather, Keith Raley, while doing tree clearing work. Two days after this photo was taken Ham was shot and killed by a Maryland State Police trooper.

Policing

U.S. Court Of Appeals Rules Against Cop Who Killed Peyton Ham

Giri Nathan

Novak Djokovic of Serbia celebrates winning match point with a violin gesture against Holger Rune of Denmark in his Gentlemen's Singles fourth round match during day eight of The Championships Wimbledon 2024 at All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club on July 08, 2024 in London, England.

Tennis

No One Can Invent A Guy To Be Mad At Quite Like Novak Djokovic

Israel Daramola

The Year’s Best Rap Album Wants To Take You To The Future

Billy Haisley

Lamine Yamal (17) and Nico Williams (19) of Spain celebrate during the UEFA EURO 2024 round of 16 match between Spain and Georgia at Cologne Stadium on June 30, 2024 in Cologne, Germany.

Soccer

Lamine Yamal And Nico Williams Are Here To Save The Euros

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.

Owen Lewis

Holger Rune carrying his bags on the court

Holger Rune Is Clueless

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 Point B. Handsomest man in the world.

Drew Magary

A toy vendor is selling toys in Colombo, Sri Lanka, on February 28, 2024. (Photo by Thilina Kaluthotage/NurPhoto)

Funbag

The World Will Drown In Cheap Toys

Staff Writer
Find me on Signal @DefectorChris.19

Chris Thompson

Actors from "All My Children" at the Emmys.

This Is So Stupid

Here Are Some MLB Draft Prospects Whose Names Would Be Right At Home On ‘All My Children’

Ray Ratto

Gregg Berhalter Head Coach of the United States during the National Anthem before the CONMEBOL Copa America group C match between the United States and Uruguay at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium on July 1, 2024 in Kansas City, Missouri.

U.S. Soccer Is Happy To Make You Wait

Britain's Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, arrives at a charity polo game at the Ikoyi Polo Club in Lagos on May 12, 2024 as he and Britain's Meghan (unseen), Duchess of Sussex, visit Nigeria as part of celebrations of Invictus Games anniversary. (Photo by Kola Sulaimon / AFP)

Don’t Look Now, But The British Tabloids Have Discovered The ESPY Awards

Soraya Roberts

John Turturro's character holds a tomato in Box of Moonlight

Defector At The Movies

‘Box Of Moonlight’ Is A Gem From The ’90s Indie Boom

Tommy Craggs is an editor and writer, late of Game Theory With Bomani Jones on HBO, Mother Jones (no relation), HuffPost, Slate, Gawker Media, and Deadspin. He&#8217;s part of the <a href="https://flaminghydra.com/">Flaming Hydra</a> cooperative of independent writers and artists, and one of the many founders of the <a href="https://www.oaklandreviewofbooks.org/">Oakland Review of Books</a>.

Tommy Craggs

Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark (22) drives past New York Liberty forward Jonquel Jones (35) and goes in for two during a WNBA game between the New York Liberty and the Indiana Fever

WNBA

Who Made Caitlin Clark A Good White Girl?

Patrick Redford

Peanut Butter the dog gets going on his speedrun attempt

Video Games

Peanut Butter The Dog Hits A Two-Run Blast, And The Crowd Goes Wild

Kathryn Xu

Racing

Lewis Hamilton Is Not Finished

Tom Ley

Temwa Chawinga #6 of Kansas City Current controls the ball during the first half of the National Womens Soccer League game against NJ/NY Gotham FC on April 14, 2024 at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey.

Barbra Banda And Temwa Chawinga Were Bigger Than The Season’s Biggest Game

No One Knows How To Beat Carlos Alcaraz In Five Sets

Maitreyi Anantharaman

Brady Tkachuk #7 of the Senators steps into the steps into the penalty box during the second period of the game against the Detroit Red Wings at Little Caesars Arena on January 31, 2024 in Detroit, Michigan.

Crosswords

The Crossword, July 8: Going, Going, Gone

LONDON, ENGLAND - JULY 03: Emma Raducanu of United Kingdom reacts in the Women's Singles Second Round match against Elise Mertens of Belgium during day three of The Championships Wimbledon 2024 at All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club on July 03, 2024 in London, England.shi (Photo by Shi Tang/Getty Images)

Emma Raducanu, Wimbledon Protagonist, Takes Shape

Barry Petchesky

Science

NASA Must Put Me On The Simulated Mars Mission, To Test The Astronauts’ Patience

ARLINGTON, TEXAS - JULY 02: A general view of signage promoting the 2024 MLB All Star Game is shown outside the ballpark before the game bw at Globe Life Field on July 02, 2024 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Sam Hodde/Getty Images)

Seven Ideas, Ranging From Sensible To Terrible, For Fixing The MLB All-Star Game

MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - JULY 06: Jose Miranda #64 of the Minnesota Twins acknowledges fans after his at-bat against the Houston Astros in the sixth inning. Miranda tied an MLB record recording a hit in 12 consecutive at-bats at Target Field on July 06, 2024 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by David Berding/Getty Images)

Old-Timey Ballplayers Have Nothing On José Miranda

Sometimes Ugly Gets The Job Done

Brad Balukjian, PhD has chosen two careers—journalist and scientist—which converge on pursuit of the truth. He has been published in Rolling Stone, Smithsonian, National Geographic, and many others. His first book, The Wax Pack: On the Open Road in Search of Baseball’s Afterlife, hit #7 on the LA Times bestseller list and was named one of NPR’s Best Books of 2020. He is a Research Associate at the California Academy of Sciences, and he discovered 17 species of insects (green flash bugs) in Tahiti, one of which he named after Harrison Ford. He lives on the road, where he’s in an open relationship with his VCR.

Brad Balukjian

An image of Tito Santana in the ring during his time in WWF, with the cover of Brad Balukjian's book "The Six Pack" visible at lower left.

Book Excerpts That Don't Suck

Before He Became A Wrestling Legend, Tito Santana Needed A Name

Former NFL quarterback Archie Manning stands on the field prior to the start of the Allstate Sugar Bowl at Mercedes Benz Superdome on January 01, 2020 in New Orleans, Louisiana.