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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

Giri Nathan

INGLEWOOD, CALIFORNIA - NOVEMBER 29: Cooper Flagg #32 of the Dallas Mavericks attempts a layup against John Collins #20 and Nicolas Batum #33 of the Los Angeles Clippers during the second quarter at Intuit Dome on November 29, 2025 in Inglewood, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Katelyn Mulcahy/Getty Images)

Cooper Flagg Makes History Against The Ancient Clippers

Samer Kalaf

Football coach Lane Kiffin in Ole Miss gear.

College Football

Our Long National Nightmare Is Over: Lane Kiffin Has Picked A Job

UNC head coach Bill Belichick in a big puffy coat

Bill Belichick’s First Season At UNC Ends With A Mumble

Jimmy Butler III #10 of the Golden State Warriors looks to pass the ball against Saddiq Bey #41 of the New Orleans Pelicans

The Warriors Without Steph Curry Are Bad, But The Pelicans Are Still Worse

Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff #16 throws a pass during the second half of an NFL football game between the Green Bay Packers and the Detroit Lions

Nothing Is Coming Up Lions

Ralph Jones

Interviews

An Illuminating Conversation With The Man Who Was Willem Dafoe’s Stunt Penis

Dave McKenna

Diana Nyad speaks at the FEMME Awards 2025 at Terranea Resort on March 20, 2025 in Rancho Palos Verdes, California.

Swimming

Diana Nyad Finally Got Her Plaque

Luis Paez-Pumar

Vikings on a boat preparing for a fortress raid in Assassin's Creed Valhalla

The Backlog

‘Valhalla’ Is Assassin’s Creed At Its Most Bloated

David Roth

A barn near Litchfield, Connecticut. It is painted in a faded red, and there's an American flag painted on the front of it. The Distraction logo is at upper right.

Podcasts

A Long Weekend In “Magary Country”

Tom Ley

Football teams from the schools of Yale and Princeton playing a match on Thanksgiving Day afternoon that ended in a tie score, November 1879. The illustration, a wood engraving, was published in an 1879 issue of Harper’s Weekly newspaper.

Defector Up All Night

Catch Your Breath In The Thanksgiving Open Thread

<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

View of American media mogul and businesswoman Martha Stewart, in a blue, striped apron, as she works in her kitchen, Westport, Connecticut, August 1976.

Jamboroo

Confessions Of A Domestic Demigod

Ray Ratto

Israel Daramola

Indiana Hoosiers OL Mike Katic (56) celebrates with the Old Oaken Bucket following a college football game between the Purdue Boilermakers and Indiana Hoosiers on November 30, 2024 at Memorial Stadium in Bloomington, IN

It’s All Over But The Crowing Over The Corpse Of Your Rival

Cason Wallace #22, Isaiah Hartenstein #55, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander #2, Chet Holmgren #7, and Luguentz Dort #5 of the Oklahoma City Thunder celebrate during the first half against the Portland Trail Blazers on November 23, 2025.

Are The Thunder Too Good?

Zohran Mamdani holding up a photo of Ian Wright

This Is So Stupid

Can Zohran Mamdani Keep New Yorkers Safe From Remembering Some Arsenal Guys?

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


Sabrina Imbler

a mother leopard seal opens her mouth above the body of her dead pup

Creaturefector

Why Won’t Nora The Leopard Seal Abandon Her Dead Pups?

<p>Jae Towle Vieira [they/them] works as a producer for Normal Gossip. Their fiction has been published in <i data-stringify-type="italic">The Normal School</i>, <i data-stringify-type="italic">New England Review, Carve Magazine, Passages North, Fairy Tale Review</i>, and elsewhere.</p>


Jae Towle Vieira

Motive, Opportunity, And Sweet Potato Pie

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<div><a href="https://www.bystefanfatsis.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.bystefanfatsis.com/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1759235100786000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1mlCW5_XUY56jklGr11a_z">Stefan Fatsis</a> is the author of four books: <a href="https://groveatlantic.com/book/unabridged/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://groveatlantic.com/book/unabridged/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1759235100786000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0jbw5ZscOBp6w-1um3R6yu"><i>Unabridged</i></a>, <a href="https://bookshop.org/p/books/a-few-seconds-of-panic-a-sportswriter-plays-in-the-nfl-stefan-fatsis/7891278" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://bookshop.org/p/books/a-few-seconds-of-panic-a-sportswriter-plays-in-the-nfl-stefan-fatsis/7891278&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1759235100786000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0MpNNngIOKaj-715hSNVZD"><i>A Few Seconds of Panic</i></a>, <a href="https://bookshop.org/p/books/word-freak-heartbreak-triumph-genius-and-obsession-in-the-world-of-competitive-scrabblep-layers-stefan-fatsis/11648962" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://bookshop.org/p/books/word-freak-heartbreak-triumph-genius-and-obsession-in-the-world-of-competitive-scrabblep-layers-stefan-fatsis/11648962&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1759235100786000&amp;usg=AOvVaw02LL51Wrka0A0lLkwOxYUj"><i>Word Freak</i></a>, and <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Wild-Outside-Renegade-Baseball-Heartland/dp/0802712975" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.amazon.com/Wild-Outside-Renegade-Baseball-Heartland/dp/0802712975&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1759235100786000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1YzbrZGW2KCbIttDDLhkPn"><i>Wild and Outside</i></a>. He&#8217;s also a former cohost of “Hang Up and Listen,” commentator on NPR&#8217;s &#8220;All Things Considered,&#8221; and reporter for <i>The Wall Street Journal</i>.</div>
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Stefan Fatsis

Life's Rich Pageant

How A Campy 1970s Game Show Became Part Of Canada’s National Lexicon

Patrick Redford

TORONTO, ON - NOVEMBER 24: Brandon Ingram #3 of the Toronto Raptors waves to the crowd as he walks off the court after defeating the Cleveland Cavaliers at Scotiabank Arena on November 24, 2025 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Andrew Lahodynskyj/Getty Images)

Welcome To The ‘Nothing But Respect’ Media Hour

DETROIT, MICHIGAN - NOVEMBER 17: Jalen Duren #0 of the Detroit Pistons reacts after he dunks in the first half against the Indiana Pacers at Little Caesars Arena on November 17, 2025 in Detroit, Michigan. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Rick Osentoski/Getty Images)

Jalen Duren, Phenomenal Leaper, Has Made The Leap

Funbag

All Of The Brands Suck At Branding

Lauren Theisen

Logan Cooley #92 of the Utah Mammoth celebrate a hat trick with the Utah Mammoth bench during the third period against the Vegas Golden Knights at Delta Center

The Hats Were Not Enough For Logan Cooley

Barry Petchesky

The Phoenix Mercury logo and the planet Mercury.

The Phoenix Mercury’s New Logos Vs. The Planet Mercury: An Exhausting Showdown

11:00 A.M. Monday. May 9th. 1910. Newsies at Skeeter's Branch. Jefferson near Franklin. They were all smoking. Location: St. Louis. Missouri. May 9. 1910. Gelatin silver print. 9.1 x 11.9 cm

Announcements

Would You Like To Be Defector’s Sixth-Ever Editorial Intern?

Idrissa Gueye of Everton receives a red card for a disagreement with Michael Keane of Everton during the Premier League match between Manchester United and Everton at Old Trafford on November 24, 2025 in Manchester, England.