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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

Jets fan holding up a "Thank you schedule makers" sign at a game

The NFL Schedule Release Is A Beast That Won’t Stop Growing

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

Dan McQuade

Thurston Howell III / Clayton Thorson split image

This Mike Florio Paragraph Has Been Bouncing Around My Brain For 4 Years Now

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

guy with heartburn at night (Photo by Tom Kelley/Getty Images)

Elder Wisdom

I Am Now “Is This A Heart Attack?” Years Old

Sam Bennett and Jake McCabe hit each other

The Leafs Return Home With Bruises, Nerves, And A Win

SAN FRANCISCO, CA - MAY 10: LeBron James #6 and Anthony Davis #3 of the Los Angeles Lakers look on during Game 5 of the Western Conference Semi-Finals of the 2023 NBA Playoffs against the Golden State Warriors on May 10, 2023 at Chase Center 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 Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2023 NBAE

Lakers-Warriors Is A Series Searching For A Story

charismatic megafauna (they/them)

Sabrina Imbler

A model of a brown grain weevil resting on a grain.

Creaturefector

Going Against The Grain Weevils

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

Podcasts

What’s A Guy Gotta Do To Make A Friend Around Here?

Staff Writer
Find me on Signal @DefectorChris.19

Chris Thompson

Oh No, Shaquille O’Neal Is Still Evading The FTX Lawsuit!

Luis Paez-Pumar

Old timey photo of golfers with 'How Golf Can Save Your Life' book cover in the bottom left corner

Interviews

“I’m Usually Thinking About Other Shit”: Drew Millard On The Healing Power Of Golf

Lauren Theisen

Philipp Grubauer looks on after giving up a goal

Enough With The Blowouts!

GLENDALE, ARIZONA - SEPTEMBER 08: Former NFL player and current sportscaster Mark Schlereth stands on the field during the NFL game between the Arizona Cardinals and the Detroit Lions at State Farm Stadium on September 08, 2019 in Glendale, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

IMPORTANT: New NFL TV Rules Will Reduce My Mark Schlereth Risk Factor By 50 Percent

Soraya Roberts

Kelly Reichardt directing Michelle Williams on Showing Up

Defector At The Movies

Indie Cinema Is Now Genre Cinema

BOSTON, MA - MAY 9: Joel Embiid #21 of the Philadelphia 76ers talks to the media after the game against the Boston Celtics during the Eastern Conference Semi Finals of the 2023 NBA Playoffs on May 9, 2023 at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts.

Joel Embiid Is Showing Up His Biggest Critic: Joel Embiid

Tom Ley

The Nuggets Need Jamal Murray Pulling Face

Patrick Redford

Los Angeles, CA - May 08: Lakers forward LeBron James forces Warriors guard Stephen Curry to turn over the ball with less than tweo seconds remaining in the fourth quarter of Game 4 at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on Monday, May 8,, 2023. Los Angeles on Monday, May 8, 2023 in Los Angeles, CA. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)

The Warriors Blew It

Duane Banks Field, where the Iowa Hawkeyes baseball team plays.

College Baseball

Two More College Athletic Departments Swept Into Online Gambling Troubles

Baseball Was Never The Problem

Giri Nathan

Lonnie Walker IV Rewarded LeBron James’s Trust

QINGDAO, CHINA - AUGUST 14: (CHINA OUT) A woman wearing Facekini enjoys herself at a beach on August 14, 2014 in Qingdao, Shandong Province of China. The mask is used by people for protecting themselves from the sun's rays, jellyfish and algae. (Photo by Visual China Group via Getty Images/Visual China Group via Getty Images)

Funbag

I Used To Be A Summer Crank

TORONTO, ON- MAY 7 - Toronto Maple Leafs fans leave after the Leafs fall 3-2 in Florida for game three in the second round of the NHL Stanley Cup playoffs, Toronto fans gathered at Maple Leaf Square outside Scotiabank Arena in Toronto. May 7, 2023. (Steve Russell/Toronto Star via Getty Images)

The Leafs Are The Hockey Knicks, Unless It’s The Other Way Around

Alec Martinez celebrates a goal on Jack Campbell

The Golden Knights Shredded The Lesser Oilers

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - APRIL 21: A view shows the Las Vegas Strip behind the site that the Oakland Athletics agreed in principle to purchase from Red Rock Resorts Inc. for a potential new ballpark on April 21, 2023 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The A's President Dave Kaval said the deal for the 49-acre plot of land, formerly the home of Wild Wild West Gambling Hall &amp; Hotel, could be used to relocate the Major League Baseball franchise from Oakland to Las Vegas. The team will now work on a public-private partnership to build a USD 1.5 billion, 30,000-to-35,000-seat, partially retractable-roof stadium in time for the 2027 season. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

The A’s’ Vegas Deal Might Be Falling Through Already

Getting Old Is Rude But It Beats The Alternative

Max Strus #31 of the Miami Heat grabs the rebound during Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals of the 2023 NBA Playoffs against the New York Knicks on May 8, 2023 at Kaseya Center in Miami,

The Heat Sapped New York’s Will To Live One Rebound At A Time

Barry Petchesky

CLEVELAND, OH - MAY 08: Cleveland Guardians second baseman Andres Gimenez (0) tags out Detroit Tigers left fielder Akil Baddoo (60) attempting to steal second base during the second inning of the Major League Baseball game between the Detroit Tigers and Cleveland Guardians on May 8, 2023, at Progressive Field in Cleveland, OH. (Photo by Frank Jansky/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)