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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

Ray Ratto

WINNIPEG, CANADA - APRIL 23: Winnipeg Jets fans cheer on their team as they get set to face off against the Colorado Avalanche in Game Two of the First Round of the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Canada Life Centre on April 23, 2024, in Winnipeg, Canada. (Photo by David Lipnowski/Getty Images)

The Stanley Cup’s Got To Return To Canada Sometime, Right?

David Roth

Fruit Plate, Menges Lakeside Hotel and Resort, Livingston Manor, New York, USA, John Margolies Roadside America Photograph Archive, 1978. It looks real messed up. Cottage cheese in the middle and such.

Podcasts

At Beautiful Mount Airy Lodge

Nicholas Russell is a writer from Las Vegas.

Nicholas Russell

: A COVID face mask dangles from the rear-view mirror of a car

Life Lessons

Why I Keep Masking

Dan McQuade was a founding member of Defector. He died in January 2026.

Dan McQuade

A bunch of baseball cards behind. In front are two cards. One has this tip: "Never put poison in your mouth. And if you see someone put poison in their mouth, you should get help right away." The other says: "Drug dealers are always trying to tempt ballplayers. They like to hang around celebrities and try to get us to join them at parties. We learn to just say no. We tell them to get lost or we'll call police. Call it what you want, pot, grass, crack, speed, angel dust, or coke — it's dangerous stuff that can hurt you and even kill. If you're approached, just say no and then call your local police or tell your parents."

“Don’t Put Poison In Your Mouth,” And Other Great Tips From ’80s And ’90s Trading Cards

Staff Writer
Find me on Signal @DefectorChris.19

Chris Thompson

A Dangerously Bad Bullpen Is Everyone’s Problem

Tom Ley

Nikola Jokic (15) of the Denver Nuggets argues with referee Justin Van Duyne (64) during the first quarter against the Minnesota Timberwolves at Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado on Tuesday, April 1, 2025.

Everyone Can Do That

Luis Paez-Pumar

Gabriel Martinelli of Arsenal celebrates scoring his team's second goal with teammate Declan Rice during the UEFA Champions League 2024/25 Quarter Final Second Leg match between Real Madrid C.F. and Arsenal FC at Estadio Santiago Bernabeu on April 16, 2025 in Madrid, Spain.

Soccer

Arsenal Was Perfect When It Had To Be

Eva Holland is a freelance writer and editor based in Whitehorse, Yukon. She&#8217;s a correspondent for Outside magazine and the author of the books Nerve and <a href="https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/no-sleep-til-fairbanks#/">No Sleep &#8216;Til Fairbanks</a>.

Eva Holland

‘North Of North’ Is An Arctic Comedy That Will Warm Your Heart

APRIL 16: (R-L) DeMar DeRozan #10, Domantas Sabonis #11, and Zach LaVine #8 of the Sacramento Kings sit on the bench at the end of the game in their loss to the Dallas Mavericks in othe NBA play-in tournament game at Golden 1 Center on April 16, 2025 in Sacramento, California. 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.

Extinguish The Beam

Maitreyi Anantharaman

French player Dominique Malonga speaks to the press during the 2025 WNBA Draft at the Shed in New York City on April 14, 2025.

WNBA

Dominique Malonga Is Ready To Light Up The WNBA

Underexplained Lists

Angry Interjections From Chuck Grassley’s Chippy Town Hall Meeting, Ranked

Kathryn Xu

Georgia representative Marjorie Taylor Greene in Congress

Politics

The DOGE Fencing Hearing Reveals The Latest In Anti-Trans Grift

Patrick Redford

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA - APRIL 15: Zach Edey #14 of the Memphis Grizzlies unsuccessfully goes up for a dunk on Quinten Post #21 of the Golden State Warriors in the first half of the NBA play-in tournament game at Chase Center on April 15, 2025 in San Francisco, California. 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 Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

Zach Edey Is A Force

The author can be reached at postpostdoc@protonmail.com.

Post-Postdoc

Capital

How I Became Highly Educated Grist For The AI Mill

Italian goalkeeper #01 Gianluigi Donnarumma saves a shot from Aston Villa's English striker #09 Marcus Rashford during the UEFA Champions League quarter-final second-leg football match between Aston Villa and Paris Saint-Germain at Villa Park in Birmingham, central England on April 15, 2025.

Paris Saint-Germain Escaped Its Past, For Now

Jae Towle Vieira [they/them] works as a producer for Normal Gossip. Their fiction has been published in The Normal School, New England Review, Carve Magazine, Passages North, Fairy Tale Review, and elsewhere.

Jae Towle Vieira

Normal Gossip logo with cartoon characters gossiping

Lit Up On Bleep Island

charismatic megafauna (they/them)

Sabrina Imbler

A photo of a USAID education officer, Joel Runnels, standing in a field

Interviews

An Interview With A Fired USAID Education Officer

Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors reacts after making a basket against the Memphis Grizzlies in the second half of the NBA play-in tournament game at Chase Center on April 15, 2025.

The Warriors Really Had To Work For It

Barry Petchesky

ST PAUL, MINNESOTA - APRIL 15:-Andre Fleury #29 of the Minnesota Wild gets surrounded by teammates after an overtime win against the Anaheim Ducks at Xcel Energy Center on April 15, 2025 in St Paul, Minnesota. (Photo by Luke Schmidt/NHLI via Getty Images)

One Last Nice Moment For Marc-Andre Fleury, Who Deserves Them All

General Manager Nico Harrison of the Dallas Mavericks looks on during the second quarter against the Los Angeles Lakers at American Airlines Center on April 09, 2025 in Dallas, Texas. 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.

Nico Harrison Picks Ideal Moment To Piss Off Everyone Again

<div>Rick Paulas is a writer in Brooklyn who made <a href="http://www.theladyingreenpoint.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.theladyingreenpoint.com&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1693673714100000&amp;usg=AOvVaw3mdrn4_mwbI7boyzf49u2G">The Lady in Greenpoint</a>, a 3-mile walking audio ghost story starting at the Pulaski Bridge, and The Palmer Hotel, a collection of spooky short stories set over a century in a downtown hotel, which has sold out.</div>
<div></div>

Rick Paulas

Why Is This So Good?

The Best Thing I Own Is My Tiny TV/VCR

Albert Burneko

Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket carrying astronauts Aisha Bowe, Amanda Nguyễn, Kerianne Flynn, Gayle King, Katy Perry, and Lauren Sánchez, lifts off from Launch Site One north of Van Horn, Texas on April 14, 2025.

Science

At What Point Has One Actually “Been To” Space?

NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA - FEBRUARY 08: (L-R) Bill Belichick and Jordan Hudson attend Michael Rubin's 2025 Fanatics Super Bowl Party at The Sugar Mill on February 08, 2025 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Mike Coppola/Getty Images for Fanatics)

College Football

Bill Belichick’s Girlfriend Asks That Her Boyfriend’s Son Receive The “Upmost Respect”

TOPSHOT - Running back TreVeyon Henderson (L) and US Vice President JD Vance bobble the College Football Playoff National Championship Trophy as US President Donald Trump hosts the 2025 College Football National Champions, Ohio State Buckeyes, celebrating the team's title-winning season with a ceremony on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, DC, April 14, 2025. (Photo by Brendan SMIALOWSKI / AFP)

Point/Counterpoint: JD Vance Drops The National Championship Trophy

A racegoer relaxes on day two of the Grand National Festival horse race meeting at Aintree Racecourse in Liverpool, north-west England, on April 4, 2025. (Photo by Oli SCARFF / AFP)