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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

Ben Orbison is a writer living in Los Angeles

Ben Orbison

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - JUNE 15: Tommy Fleetwood of England plays a second shot on the first hole during the first round of the 123rd U.S. Open Championship at The Los Angeles Country Club on June 15, 2023 in Los Angeles, California.

Golf

The Los Angeles Country Club Owes L.A. More Than Just A Good U.S. Open

David Roth

Rep. Clay Higgins (R-LA) questions Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Christopher Wray about conspiracy theories related to the January 6, 2020 attack on the U.S. Capitol during a hearing of the House Homeland Security Committee.

Politics

Clay Higgins Is The Norm

Lauren Theisen

Davey Martinez: Look At This Photograph

Ray Ratto

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - APRIL 21: (EDITORS NOTE: This image was shot with a fisheye lens.) 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)

Las Vegas A’s Begin Relocation Talks

<a href="https://abshippy.com/">Abdullah Shihipar</a> is a writer and public health researcher based at Brown University.

Abdullah Shihipar

L-R Kyla Bennett, PhD, JD Director, New England PEER and a local resident Tracy Stewart of Medway look over old astroturf piled up in a forested area, where it's apparently leaching PFAS chemicals into nearby water sources.

Climate

The Case Against Turf Fields

Patrick Redford

OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA - JUNE 13: Oakland Athletics fans display signs during a reverse boycott game against the Tampa Bay Rays at RingCentral Coliseum on June 13, 2023 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Brandon Vallance/Getty Images)

Oakland A’s Fans Held A Raucous Wake For Their Team

Giri Nathan

Defector Reads A Book

Defector Reads A Book Is Spending The Summer With The Late Cormac McCarthy

Richard Staff is a <a href="https://twitter.com/RichardStaff" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">weapons-grade Twitter goblin</a> and hostage of the Mets. That is his real name.

Richard Staff

Michael Hermosillo of the Angels makes a catch in foul territory during the 2020 MLB season, while a bunch of creepy stuffed teddy bears look on.

“I Almost Wished There Was Someone There To Curse At Me”: Isolation And Triumph In MLB’s Plague Season

Samer Kalaf

A CNN broadcaster with the chyron "What is woke?"

This Is So Stupid

This Blog Has Gone Woke

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

STOCKTON, CA - SEPTEMBER 29: A school bus carries children at sunrise on Bethel Island, one of the residential islands surrounded by levees that hold back the higher waters of the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta on September 29, 2005 west of Stockton, California. Officials say that the dikes of the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta are in worse shape than those that broke and flooded New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina. There is a two-in-three chance that a catastrophic earthquake or storm in the next 50 years may damage the levees enough to cause the kind of destruction that engulfed New Orleans, according to experts. Such an event would affect the water supply that serves two-thirds of California and create a nightmare traffic jam on Highway 4, the two-lane road that would be the major evacuation route, if it is not damaged beyond usability. Approximately 1,600 miles of levees protect the delta's islands, which lie well below sea-level, and most were built more than 100 years ago. (Photo by David McNew/Getty Images)

Dadfector

The Last Bus

PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA - FEBRUARY 22: Ben Franklin Impersonator, Robert DeVitis attends the pre-launch of Oatly's new plant-based Cream Cheese exclusively in Philadelphia at Spread Bagelry on February 22, 2023 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Lisa Lake/Getty Images for Oatly)

Underexplained Lists

Cream Cheeses, Ranked

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - JUNE 13: Sergei Bobrovsky #72 of the Florida Panthers sits in the crease after Mark Stone #61 of the Vegas Golden Knights scored an empty-net hat trick goal against the Florida Panthers during the third period in Game Five of the 2023 NHL Stanley Cup Final at T-Mobile Arena on June 13, 2023 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Just Pull The Goalie Earlier Next Time

Barry Petchesky

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - June 13: &lt;&gt; at T-Mobile Arena on June 13, {year6} in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Zak Krill/NHLI via Getty Images)

The Whole Ice Belongs To Mark Stone

The Vegas Golden Knights celebrate with the Stanley Cup

Vegas Was Built Like A Champion

DENVER, COLORADO - JUNE 12: (EDITORS NOTE: Retransmission with alternate crop.) Nikola Jokic #15 of the Denver Nuggets celebrates with his daughter Ognjena after a 94-89 victory against the Miami Heat in Game Five of the 2023 NBA Finals to win the NBA Championship at Ball Arena on June 12, 2023 in Denver, Colorado. 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 Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)

Defector Up All Night

Nikola Jokic’s Tiny Adorable Daughter Is Now An NBA Champion

Maitreyi Anantharaman

Nikola Jokic (15) of the Denver Nuggets celebrates as he leaves the court after the fourth quarter of the Nuggets' 94-89 NBA Finals clinching win at Ball Arena in Denver on Monday, June 12, 2023.

Nikola Jokic Just Wants To Go Home

(MANDATORY CREDIT Ebet Roberts/Getty Images) UNITED STATES - AUGUST 01: LOLAPOLOOZA Photo of Eddie VEDDER and PEARL JAM and Stone GOSSARD, L-R: Stone Gossard and Eddie Vedder performing live onstage (Photo by Ebet Roberts/Redferns)

Funbag

Who Is Our Least Intelligible Singer?

The Nuggets Couldn’t Have Done It Without Bruce Brown

DENVER, COLORADO - JUNE 12: Jamal Murray #27 of the Denver Nuggets celebrates after a 94-89 victory against the Miami Heat in Game Five of the 2023 NBA Finals to win the NBA Championship at Ball Arena on June 12, 2023 in Denver, Colorado. 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 Justin Edmonds/Getty Images)

Jamal Murray Became A Champion And His Best Self All At Once

Shohei Ohtani Might Lead These Angels To The Playoffs Yet

APR 28 1968; READY FOR ROCKET-TICKET CAMPAIGN; Jack Grunwald, right, will serve as general chairman of the Denver Rockets' season-ticket drive that will be launched with an organizational dinner meeting for 60 area businessmen Monday evening at the Denver Athletic Club. Grunwald headed last year's drive that set an ABA high of nearly 700 season tickets. Mapping plans are, from left. Rockets owner J. W. Ringsby, cochairmen Max Moore and Frank Byrne.; (Photo By The Denver Post via Getty Images)

It’s An Upset That The Nuggets Exist

Soraya Roberts

I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson. Episode 302 of I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson. Cr.

Arts And Culture

“You Knew It Was Something Really Nasty”: How The Art Department Brings ‘I Think You Should Leave’ To Life

Luis Paez-Pumar

Jimmy Butler #22 of the Miami Heat looks on during the game during Game Five of the 2023 NBA Finals on June 12, 2023 at the Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado.

The Heat’s Fire Turned Back To Embers

OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA - JUNE 12: Jonah Bride #26, Seth Brown #15, Jace Peterson #6, Esteury Ruiz #1 and Ramon Laureano #22 of the Oakland Athletics celebrate after a 4-3 win against the Tampa Bay Rays at RingCentral Coliseum on June 12, 2023 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images)

Tonight’s A’s Game Will Be A Party Or A Wake

Tom Ley

DENVER, CO - JUNE 12: A overall view of the Denver Nuggets team during the post-game celebration during Game Five of the 2023 NBA Finals on June 12, 2023 at the Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado. 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 2023 NBAE