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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

Luis Paez-Pumar

Andrew Wiggins #22 of the Miami Heat dunks the ball in overtime to defeat the Cleveland Cavaliers at Kaseya Center on November 10, 2025 in Miami, Florida.

The Heat And Cavs Played The Wildest Eight Seconds Of The Season

charismatic megafauna (they/them)

Sabrina Imbler

A pack of Nanotyrannus attacking a juvenile T. rex.

Creaturefector

Let Us Now Celebrate Our Extinct Short King, Nanotyrannus

Israel Daramola

Arts And Culture

In ‘Die My Love,’ Motherhood Is A Mad Mad Mad World

Albert Burneko

First issues of The New Yorker with a caricature cover of Eustace Tilley drawn by Rea Irvin, are displayed at the "Covering The New Yorker" exhibition to commemorate the magazine’s 100th anniversary.

Gambling

Everybody Stand Down: New Yorker Columnist’s Child Doesn’t Care About Sports Gambling

Giri Nathan

Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan celebrates with the Billie Jean King Trophy after defeating Aryna Sabalenka at the WTA Finals.

Tennis

Elena Rybakina Reigned Over A Tour That Suspended Her Coach For Abuse

Patrick Redford

Kings head coach Doug Christie looking confused.

The Kings Are An Abomination

Ray Ratto

Brian Daboll of the New York Giants stands on the sideline during the second half of an NFL football game against the Chicago Bears on Sunday, November 9, 2025. It's snowing and he looks kind of frustrated.

The New York Giants Finally Saw Enough From Brian Daboll

Deion Sanders sitting at a table during a press conference.

College Football

What’s Left For Deion Sanders And Colorado?

Kathryn Xu

Emmanuel Clase #48 of the Cleveland Guardians celebrates the team's 8-6 win over the Athletics.

What’s One Rigged Pitch?

Brian Brobbey of Sunderland AFC scores a late equalizing goal for Sunderland during the Premier League match between Sunderland and Arsenal at the Stadium Of Light in Sunderland, England, on November 8, 2025.

Soccer

Sunderland Doesn’t Need To Die To Get To Heaven

Staff Writer
Find me on Signal @DefectorChris.19

Chris Thompson

Donald Trump smiles woodenly from the owner's box at the Nov. 9 Commanders game.

Booooooo! Boooooooo!!!

Maitreyi Anantharaman

Paul Skenes #30 of the Pittsburgh Pirates throws during a baseball game against the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park on September 24, 2025 in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Crosswords

The Crossword, Nov. 10: What’s In A Name?

Tom Ley

Emmanuel Clase #48 of the Cleveland Guardians reacts after striking out Patrick Bailey #14 of the San Francisco Giants in the bottom of the ninth inning to end the game at Oracle Park on June 18, 2025 in San Francisco, California. The Guardians won the game 4-2

Emmanuel Clase And Luis Ortiz Indicted For Elaborate Pitch-Rigging Scheme

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

Fox Sports play-by-play announcer Gus Johnson before a college basketball game between the St. John's Red Storm and the Connecticut Huskies at Madison Square Garden on February 23, 2025 in New York City.

At Last, Gus Johnson Meets An Octave He Cannot Defeat

U.S. President Donald J. Trump (R) talks with Washington Commanders owner Josh Harris before a state dinner at the Lusail Palace on May 14, 2025, in Doha, Qatar. The visit underscores the strategic partnership between the United States and Qatar, focusing on regional security and economic collaboration.

Report: Donald Trump Trying To Slap His Awful Name On The Commanders’ New Stadium

U.S. President Donald Trump departs Air Force One on October 30, 2025 at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland. Trump is returning to Washington following a high-stakes meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, alongside securing trade deals with ASEAN, Japanese and South Korean partners on his week-long Asian tour.

Politics

If You’re Stuck At An Airport Right Now, It’s Because Trump Fucked You

Samer Kalaf

ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt speaks onstage ADL's Never Is Now event in New York.

The ADL Is Having A Mamdani Meltdown

Chief strategy officer Paul DePodesta of the Cleveland Browns stands on the field prior to a game on December 17, 2017 against the Baltimore Ravens.

November Is When The Colorado Rockies Do Their Best Work

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

Here Is What Reading To My Child Has Done To My Brain

We Got Our First Peek At What The Playoff Committee Values

Head coach Sean Payton of the Denver Broncos speaks to Bo Nix (10) after a failed third-down conversion during the third quarter of Denver's awful, awful game against the Raiders on November 6, 2025.

Bad Football! No!

Stephen A. Smith playing solitaire on his phone during the NBA Finals

Stephen A. Smith And Other ESPNers Partner With Obscenely Scuzzy Mobile Casino

Lauren Theisen

A general view of the Enterprise Center during a game between the St. Louis Blues and the Edmonton Oilers

How To Watch Hockey

Andrew Cuomo delivers a concession speech on Election Night.

Let’s Check In With People Who Threatened To Leave Zohran Mamdani’s NYC

David Roth

A screenshot of Matt Damon getting bad news from Paddy Considine in The Bourne Supremacy. The Distraction logo is at lower left.