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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

Chris Christie, Nikki Haley, Ron DeSantis, Vivek Ramaswamy, and Tim Scott standing onstage, all very normally, at a GOP primary debate in Miami.

Politics

These Debates Don’t Matter

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

Carson Wentz grinning weirdly on the field before a Washington Commanders game in 2022.

You Thought You’d Seen The Last Of Carson Wentz. You Were Tragically Mistaken

Ray Ratto

Brian Cashman sitting at a Bloomberg training terminal and giving a goofy thumbs up at a charity event in 2022.

Brian Cashman Has Absolutely Had It Up To Here

Bears coach Matt Eberflus grimacing in kind of a Popeye style on the sideline at Soldier Field during his team's game against the Vikings.

Matt Eberflus: Justin Fields Is Out Tonight, But Also Doubtful, But Also Who’s Really To Say?

Billy Haisley

Antoine Griezmann of Atletico Madrid celebrates after scoring his team's third goal during the UEFA Champions League match between Atletico Madrid and Celtic FC at Civitas Metropolitano Stadium on November 7, 2023 in Madrid, Spain.

Soccer

Atlético Madrid Is Enjoying Life In Bizarro World

Barry Petchesky

TORONTO, CANADA - NOVEMBER 8: Joseph Woll #60 of the Toronto Maple Leafs reaches for the puck against the Ottawa Senators at Scotiabank Arena on November 8, 2023 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Michael Chisholm/NHLI via Getty Images)

God Bless The Maple Leafs’ Defense

Albert Burneko

Manchester United manager Eric ten Hag, looking lonely and miserable on the sideline while his team blows a lead to FC Copenhagen in the Champions League.

More Like Erik Two Hag

Dave McKenna

High School Sports

Be True To Your Shitty School

Luke Plunkett is a co-founder of the website <a href="https://aftermath.site/">Aftermath</a>.

Luke Plunkett

Video Games

Most Video Game Artwork Will Never Be Seen

Lauren Theisen

three members of the Stereophonic cast in a recording booth

Arts And Culture

‘Stereophonic’ Is “The Fleetwood Mac Play” And So Much Better For It

MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN - OCTOBER 04: Craig Counsell #30 of the Milwaukee Brewers before the game against the Arizona Diamondbacks during Game Two of the Wild Card Series at American Family Field on October 04, 2023 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by John Fisher/Getty Images)

Managers Matter

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

The Secret Family Recipe That Would Not Die

Giri Nathan

Iga Swiatek lifts the WTA Finals trophy in Cancun

Tennis

Iga Swiatek Is Back Where She Started

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

Dan McQuade

An old-timey black and white photo of a man in a house showing off a vacuum to a housewife. It's from 1953. And I've photoshopped the head of Connor Stalions onto the salesman’s head crudely. It is in color, unlike the rest of the photo, and the head is clearly held on with scotch tape.

College Football

Report: Connor Stalions Was Low-Rated Online Seller Of Used Vacuums, Which He Stored On His Porch, Annoying His Neighbor Jeff

Felix Kent

CAMBRIDGE, MA - AUGUST 30: A gate in front of Harvard Yard at Harvard University on August 30, 2018 (Photo by Scott Eisen/Getty Images)

Life Lessons

How They Keep The Gates

Kathryn Xu

SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA - NOVEMBER 7: Anthony Duclair #10 of the San Jose Sharks skating with the puck against the Philadelphia Flyers at SAP Center on November 7, 2023 in San Jose, California. (Photo by Andreea Cardani/NHLI via Getty Images)

The Flyers Ruined Our Stink-Off

The LED board shows the VAR check which disallows a Tottenham Hotspur goal for offside during the Premier League match between Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea FC at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on November 06, 2023 in London, England.

VAR Turned A Great Match Into The Worst And Weirdest Game Of The Season

Maitreyi Anantharaman

Milaysia Fulwiley of South Carolina looks on during the Aflac Oui Play match between South Carolina and Notre Dame at Halle Georges Carpentier on November 06, 2023 in Paris, France.

College Basketball

I Vant To Vatch Fresh Blood

Kelsey McKinney

Staff Writer
Find me on Signal @DefectorChris.19

Chris Thompson

A perfect iced drizzle cake, presented on the show.

Chefector

The Not-So-Great Defector Bake Off Wastes Time, Thyme In Botanical Week

Mikhail Sergachev grabs the stick of Auston Matthews

The Leafs Are As Nerve-Racking As Ever

Long Beach, CA - July 29:Billy the Puppet, from the "SAW" horror film franchise, making its first public appearance, as part of the "SAW X" film promotion and exhibit inside Midsummer Scream, a Halloween and horror convention, at Long Beach Convention Center, in Long Beach, CA, Saturday, July 29, 2023. The latest installment of the series follows serial killer Jigsaw, as he exacts revenge against con artists. The gathering, from Friday through Sunday, features all things Halloween and in the horror genre, with many attendees dressing up as their favorite characters, across TV, film, comics and animation. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

Funbag

I Would Not Make A Good Jigsaw Killer

attends the 2016 ESPYS at Microsoft Theater on July 13, 2016 in Los Angeles, California.

There’s One Way To Fix The All-Star Game

Tom Ley

College Football: Ohio State Julian Fleming (4) in action, runs with the football vs Michigan at Ohio Stadium. Football analyst Connor Stalions and head coach Jim Harbaugh present in the background. Columbus, Ohio, November 26, 2022. In this photo edit, Stalion has been made black and white.

The Connor Stalions Affair Now Features A Double Agent

Samer Kalaf

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

Names For Revolutionaries, With Edward Onaci

A screenshot on ESPN+ of a player from IUPUI going up for a dunk, you can see the surrounding