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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

Maitreyi Anantharaman

Alysha Clark #7 of the Las Vegas Aces helps teammate Jackie Young #0 up off the court in the second quater against the New York Liberty during Game Four of the 2023 WNBA Finals at Barclays Center on October 18, 2023 in New York City.

WNBA

The Aces Are The Aces Are The Aces

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

JAPAN, TOKYO - MARCH 17 : Sumo Wrestler Training in Sumida. Sumo wrestlers training in the Azumazeki-beya, located at Higashi–Komagata, Sumida. The sumo-beya, aka heya ('room') is an organization of sumo wrestlers where they train and live. All wrestlers in professional sumo must belong to one. There are currently 43 heya on MARCH 17, 2015 in Tokyo, Japan. (Photo by Frédéric Soltan/Corbis via Getty Images)

Jamboroo

Life With Manboobs

Israel Daramola

Giri Nathan

Patrick Redford

David Roth

Lauren Theisen

Carrie Brownstein, Janet Weiss and Corin Tucker of Sleater-Kinney perform at Barnsdall Art Park as part of ArthurFest on September 4, 2005.

Defector Music Club

Defector Music Club Gets Lost In Sleater-Kinney’s ‘The Woods’

The cover of Esther Yi's novel Y/N, featuring a woman dancing near a mirror.

Defector Reads A Book

Defector Reads A Book Is Getting Low-Key Parasocial With It

Albert Burneko

Max Scherzer of the Texas Rangers looks unhappy as he watches Jose Altuve's home run fly into the left-field stands.

More Like Min Scherzer

Staff Writer
Find me on Signal @DefectorChris.19

Chris Thompson

Cars and horseback riders share a packed country road in 1935.

Life's Rich Pageant

Freakin’ Traffic Is Ruining My Life!

charismatic megafauna (they/them)

Sabrina Imbler

A photo of a white tray full of 13 little syringes, which is sitting on top of an unseen white tray of even more syringes

Into The Woods

I Resent My Accursed Allergy Shots, Unless They Work, In Which Case I Love Them!

Tom Ley

P.J. Tucker#17 James Harden #1 and Tyrese Maxey #0 of the Philadelphia 76ers during an open scrimmage on October 14, 2023 at Chase Fieldhouse in Wilmington, Delaware.

James Harden Has Made His Next Move

<div class="gmail_default">Timothy Faust is a healthcare writer and author of the book <a href="http://www.healthjusticenow.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.healthjusticenow.com&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1685593699820000&amp;usg=AOvVaw24V19Y2HTPgYkH_EpZ_lgj">Health Justice Now</a>. He and his long little dog, Ume, move around a lot.</div>
<div class="gmail_default"></div>

Timothy Faust

A drawing of Tim as a kidney vending machine.

Life Lessons

You Too Can Donate A Kidney And Still Be A Normal Cool Guy Who Pounds Brewskis

Evan Longoria and Ryne Nelson look disappointed about the ball that dropped

This Is How A Team Pleads For Mercy

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

Normal Gossip Returns, In Search Of A Teenage Dream

Soraya Roberts

Aparna Nancherla speaks onstage during The 2023 New Yorker Festival at SVA Theater 1 on October 07, 2023 in New York City.

Arts And Culture

Aparna Nancherla Is My Favorite Impostor

Diana Moskovitz is Defector&#8217;s investigations editor. You can contact her at diana@defector.com or dfmoskovitz@protonmail.com. She&#8217;s also on Signal @dmoskovitz.99

Diana Moskovitz

Miles Bridges #0 of the Charlotte Hornets in action against the Brooklyn Nets at Barclays Center on March 27, 2022 in New York City.

The Cycle Continues Around Miles Bridges

T.M. Brown is a Brooklyn-based writer who has written for The New Yorker, The New York Times, and Rolling Stone, as well as the good versions of Deadspin and the Village Voice. He writes the newsletter <a href="https://tedthoughts.substack.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://tedthoughts.substack.com/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1696431933834000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1vP6E3SoXDsrjiq0Qj9HM5">Is It Supposed to Look Like That?</a>

T.M. Brown

Tennis

Surviving Break Point

Ray Ratto

PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA - OCTOBER 17: Alec Bohm #28 and Bryce Harper #3 of the Philadelphia Phillies celebrate a 10-0 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks in Game Two of the Championship Series at Citizens Bank Park on October 17, 2023 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images)

Go D-Backs And Go Astros Because, Well, What Else Is There To Do?

Nicholas Russell is a writer from Las Vegas.

Nicholas Russell

Cosplayer Devan Blake dressed as Valak from "The Conjuring" attends the 2019 Comic-Con International on July 18, 2019 in San Diego, California.

Defector At The Movies

They’ll Just Keep Conjuring That Garbage

NEW YORK, NY - AUGUST 16: Actors Jeff Bridges (L) and John Goodman attend "The Big Lebowski" Blu-ray release at the Hammerstein Ballroom on August 16, 2011 in New York City. (Photo by D Dipasupil/FilmMagic)

Funbag

A Requiem For “Dude”

Samer Kalaf

The Namedropping podcast logo, a coffee cup with a scratched-out name

The Geography Of A Name, With Thomas Dai

A black and white illustration of turpentine resin harvesting.

Where Are We Vis-À-Vis The Woods? An Investigation

Kelsey McKinney

Paul Hollywood's Devonshire Splits, as shown on the Bread Week episode. They're very circular, very beautifully even in color, and very neatly decorated with cream and strawberries.

Chefector

The Not-So-Great Defector Bake Off Proves Too Small For Bread Week

Managing Partner John Fisher of the Oakland Athletics in the stands during the game against the Chicago Cubs at RingCentral Coliseum on April 17, 2023 in Oakland, California. The Cubs defeated the Athletics 10-1.

A’s Reliever Trevor May Retires, Tells Owner To “Take Mommy And Daddy’s Money Somewhere Else”

INGLEWOOD, CALIFORNIA - OCTOBER 16: Justin Herbert #10 of the Los Angeles Chargers reacts on the bench in the second half against the Dallas Cowboys at SoFi Stadium on October 16, 2023 in Inglewood, California. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)

Nobody Does It Like The Chargers

PHILADELPHIA, PA - OCTOBER 03: Miami Marlins general manager Kim Ng looks on prior to Game 1 of the Wild Card Series between the Miami Marlins and the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park on Tuesday, October 3, 2023 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Rob Tringali/MLB Photos via Getty Images)

That’s More Like The Marlins We All Know And Ignore

A Danger sign in front of trees in Yellowstone National Park warns visitors to not approach wildlife.

Do Not Fuck Around With The Woods

Megan Rapinoe #15 of OL Reign reacts after her last home regular-season NWSL match at Lumen Field on October 06, 2023 in Seattle, Washington.