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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

Podcasts

Diana Learns To Ride A Bike

Israel Daramola

Bill Belichick giving a very awkward thumbs up to the camera.

Death To The NCAA

Bill Belichick Will Not Allow The Patriots To Scout His Bad Team

Lauren Theisen

Micah Parsons #1 of the Green Bay Packers sacks Jared Goff

The Packers Got What They Needed In Micah Parsons

Brandy Jensen

English broadcaster, author and parliamentarian Melvyn Bragg

Arts And Culture

Thank You, Melvyn Bragg

Maitreyi Anantharaman

Former Seattle Seahawk Marshawn Lynch looks on while on the sideline documenting the NFL Preseason 2025 game between Las Vegas Raiders and Seattle Seahawks at Lumen Field on August 7, 2025 in Seattle, Washington.

Crosswords

The Crossword, Sept. 8: Chomp Chomp

Giri Nathan

Aryna Sabalenka poses with her trophy after defeating Amanda Anisimova of the United States during their Women's Singles Final match on Day Fourteen of the 2025 US Open at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on September 06, 2025 in New York City. (Photo by Susan Mullane/ISI Photos/ISI Photos via Getty Images)

Tennis

Aryna Sabalenka Is The Final Boss Of The Hard Court

Barry Petchesky

ORCHARD PARK, NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 7: during the NFL 2025 game between Baltimore Ravens and Buffalo Bills at Highmark Stadium on September 7, 2025 in Orchard Park, New York. (Photo by Timothy T Ludwig/Getty Images) *** Local Caption ***

Nobody Beats The Ravens Like The Ravens

Kathryn Xu

McLaren's Lando Norris (centre left) and Oscar Piastri (centre right) celebrate with the team after taking second and third respectively at the Italian Grand Prix.

Racing

The McLaren Championship Battle Needs To Get More Evil

US Open, Ride Share pick up and drop off location with NY Pavilion and Queens theater in background, Flushing Meadows Corona Park, Queens, New York.

Transit

An Elegant Solution For Anyone Stuck Waiting On An Uber At The U.S. Open

Emmanuel Rivera #26 of the Baltimore Orioles celebrates with teammates after walking off the Los Angeles Dodgers 4-3 at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on September 06, 2025 in Baltimore, Maryland

[Affecting A Maryland Accent] “Whoa! Go O’s!”

Aaron Timms

A view of the park from behind police barriers

The U.S. Open Could Be More Than A Fortress For Capital

David Roth

Mikol Furneaux(L) waves two packages of Windows 95 software in the first store in Australia to sell the product at midnight 24 August. Microsoft hopes to sell between 20 and 30 million copies of the software world wide by the end of 1995. This photo has been edited to insert Defector "Remember Some Guys" baseball cards in the image

Announcements

Relive Our Week Of Remembering The Guys Of The 21st Century

Steve Ballmer Pleads Ignorance About Kawhi Leonard’s Outside Money

Ray Ratto

Daniel Levy, chairman of Tottenham Hotspur FC, looks on during the award ceremony following the UEFA Europa League final football match between Tottenham Hotspur FC and Manchester United FC in May of 2025.

Soccer

The End Finally Comes For Daniel Levy, The Man Tottenham Hotspur Fans Loved To Hate

Owen Lewis is a former Defector intern and has written for The Guardian, The Second Serve, The Athletic, n+1, Texas Monthly, Air Mail, and other publications.

Owen Lewis

Interviews

Lucas Schaefer Understands The Brutality, Absurdity, And Transcendence Of Boxing

Head coach Mike Gundy of the Oklahoma State Cowboys speaks with the media during the Big 12 Media Days at The Ford Center at The Star on July 09, 2025 in Frisco, Texas.

College Football

Mike Gundy Just Needs Some Attention

Samer Kalaf

Don’t Let The Shills Tell You The Commercial-Free Service Should Have Commercials

Jalen Hurts of the Philadelphia Eagles walks to the team huddle with his thumb up prior to an NFL football game against the Dallas Cowboys at Lincoln Financial Field on September 4, 2025.

Spit, Rain, Pomp: The NFL Is Back, Baby

Amanda Anisimova celebrates after winning the women's singles quarterfinal match between Amanda Anisimova of the United States and Iga Swiatek of Poland at the 2025 US Open tennis championships in New York, the United States, Sept. 3, 2025. (Photo by Li Rui/Xinhua via Getty Images)

Amanda Anisimova Gets Revenge For Her Wimbledon Bagels

Lamar Jackson of the Baltimore Ravens participates in warmups prior to the NFL Preseason 2025 game against the Dallas Cowboys.

The Fun Kind Of Bad Vs. The Boring Kind Of Good, With Mina Kimes

Albert Burneko

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr. testifies before the Senate Finance Committee at the Dirksen Senate Office Building on September 04, 2025 in Washington, DC.

Politics

Setting Aside The Incorrect Claim About Herd Immunity

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

A general view of a light stand prior to the AFC Championship Game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Buffalo Bills at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium on January 26, 2025 in Kansas City, Missouri.

Jamboroo

There Is Always An After

Nicholas Russell is a writer from Las Vegas.

Nicholas Russell

Sphere lights up with an advertisement for "The Wizard of Oz at Sphere" ahead of the show's premiere

No Courage, No Heart, No Brain

Commuters wait on the platform as a Northbound Broad Street Line train arrives at SEPTA City Hall subway station.

It’s Mega-Fucked That SEPTA Has To Be Bailed Out By A Betting App

Kelsey McKinney

close up of president trump's face in the oval office