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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

Israel Daramola

College Football

Miami Keeps Blowing It

Lauren Theisen

Max Scherzer #31 of the Toronto Blue Jays acknowledges the fans as he exits the game during the fifth inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers in game seven of the 2025 World Series at Rogers Center on November 01, 2025 in Toronto, Ontario. (

Living And Dying With Max Scherzer

Ray Ratto

Josh Allen stiff-arms Leo Chenal of the Chiefs during the Bills/Chiefs game on November 2, 2025.

Is There A Favorite Hiding Somewhere In The NFL’s Big Muddle?

Luis Paez-Pumar

Erling Haaland of Manchester City celebrates scoring the first goal during the Premier League match between Manchester City and AFC Bournemouth at Etihad Stadium on November 2, 2025 in Manchester, England.

Soccer

Erling Haaland Has Taken Control

Alex Sujong Laughlin

Podcasts

Josh Plays Pickup Basketball

Tom Ley

Jayden Daniels #5 of the Washington Commanders walks to the locker room after injuring his left arm during the fourth quarter against the Seattle Seahawks in the game at Northwest Stadium on November 02, 2025 in Landover, Maryland.

Jayden Daniels Shouldn’t Have Been Out There

Maitreyi Anantharaman

Coach Gary Lough watches as Mo Farah tries his race shoes the day before the Chicago Marathon on October 07, 2018 in Chicago, United States. This image is part of a series following Mo Farah behind the scenes in his journey towards the Tokyo Olympics. Farah is a multiple Olympic, World and European champion and Britain's most successful track athlete in modern Olympic Games history.

Crosswords

The Crossword, Nov. 3: Bottom Feeders

Barry Petchesky

TORONTO, ON - NOVEMBER 01: Will Smith #16 of the Los Angeles Dodgers tags out Isiah Kiner-Falefa #7 of the Toronto Blue Jays at home in the ninth inning during Game Seven of the 2025 World Series presented by Capital One between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre on Saturday, November 1, 2025 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Daniel Shirey/MLB Photos via Getty Images)

Toronto Will Never Get Over This


<p>Dan McQuade was a founding member of Defector. He died in January 2026.</p>


Dan McQuade

CINCINNATI, OHIO - NOVEMBER 02: Chase Brown #30 of the Cincinnati Bengals leaps over Kevin Byard III #31 of the Chicago Bears during the fourth quarter in the game at Paycor Stadium on November 02, 2025 in Cincinnati, Ohio. Brown is completely upside down, back to the camera, legs in the air, looking like his flip will continue to land him on his back. Both Bears players are looking at him. One is on the ground, behind him, looking up. The other is reaching toward Brown. In the background is a full stadium of people, and from the orange it's clear it's the Bengals stadium.

Move Over World Series, The Bears And Bengals Are Playing

Auburn University head football coach Hugh Freeze walks off the field surrounded by a police escort following the Tigers home loss to Kentucky on November 1, 2025

Auburn Gives Hugh Freeze The Hook

Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto is mobbed by teammates as they celebrate winning the 2025 World Series against the Toronto Blue Jays 5-4

Yoshinobu Yamamoto Will Not Be Denied

Toronto, Ontario, Canada October 31, 2025: Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop Mookie Betts (50) leaps to Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman Enrique Hernandez (8) after the final out while Toronto Blue Jays third baseman Addison Barger (47) is out at second in the ninth inning and Los Angeles Dodgers Miguel Rojas celebrates during game six of the World Series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Toronto Blue Jays at Roger Centre on Friday, October 31, 2025 in Los Angeles, CA.(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

Six Isn’t Enough

<div class="gmail_default">
<div class="gmail_default">Ryan Goldberg is an award-winning journalist and author who has written for <i>Texas Monthly</i>, The Intercept, <i>The</i> <i>New York Times</i>, <i>Popular Science</i>, and ProPublica, among many other publications. Some of his best stories ran in the old Deadspin. He lives in Brooklyn, and leads regular walks for the Brooklyn Bird Club. You can find more of his work at <a href="http://ryangoldberg.net/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://ryangoldberg.net&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1758917926877000&amp;usg=AOvVaw04lh06uBoaa598nfG5ro-G">ryangoldberg.net</a>.</div>
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Ryan Goldberg

UNITED STATES - 2023/05/31: Close-up of a barred owl (Strix varia), also known as the northern barred owl, or striped owl, in a park in Kirkland, Washington State, United States. (Photo by Wolfgang Kaehler/LightRocket via Getty Images)

Birdfector

The Owl Code Tearing Apart New York’s Birders

EDMONTON, CANADA - OCTOBER 23: Evan Bouchard #2 of the Edmonton Oilers in action during the game against the Montreal Canadiens at Rogers Place on October 23, 2025, in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. (Photo by Andy Devlin/NHLI via Getty Images)

Evan Bouchard’s Making It Messy Out There

An LSU football player pointing in the distance.

Come On Down And Pick LSU’s Next Football Coach!

<p><a href="https://tomwhyman.com/">Tom Whyman</a> is a British philosopher.</p>


Tom Whyman

Arts And Culture

Werner Herzog’s New Book Tackles The Problem Of Truth

David Roth

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. of the Toronto Blue Jays celebrates after hitting a solo home run in the first inning during Game Five of the 2025 World Series. The Distraction logo is at upper left and the light above the stadium is lovely.

I Like To Get A Solid 12 Hours

<p>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 <em>Point B</em>. Handsomest man in the world.</p>


Drew Magary

Head Coach Bill Belichick of the North Carolina Tar Heels poses during a press conference on December 12, 2024 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

Jamboroo

Our Rich People Suck At Spending Money

Defector Staff

Announcements

Help Secure Our Financial Independence By Infiltrating The Great Blogger Bake Shop

Roma's Spanish defender #22 Mario Hermoso celebrates with Roma's Argentine forward #21 Paulo Dybala after scoring his team's first goal during the Italian Serie A football match between AS Roma and Parma at the Olympic Stadium in Rome on October 29, 2025.

The Best Title Race Is, Once Again, In Serie A

Jason England

Leonardo DiCaprio in One Battle After Another.

‘One Battle After Another’ Isn’t Up For The Fight


<p>charismatic megafauna (they/them)</p>


Sabrina Imbler

a photo of the microscopic flatworm Stenostomum simplex, which looks like a worm with green balls inside its body.

Creaturefector

Exclusive! A Revealing And Not Made-Up Interview With A Two-Headed Worm

Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Dodgers looks on during Game Five of the 2025 World Series. The background of the fans in the seats is indistinct, but Ohtani is in focus.

Game 3 Is The Legend, But The Blue Jays Are For Real

Kelsey McKinney

Lily Allen Takes The “Fuck It” Approach To A Breakup Album

Patrick Redford

NEW YORK, NY - OCTOBER 26: Daniel Naroditsky during Day 1 of the FIDE World Rapid Championship 2024 on December 26, 2024 in New York, NY. (Photo by Lennart Ootes/Getty Images)