CULTURE

Footer Column 2

Footer Legal

Footer Main

Nav Bar

OTHER

SPORTS

Subscribe, at any level, to play

Thanks for your interest in Defector Crosswords!

Become a subscriber today to get unlimited access

Thanks for reading!

Plans start at $8/month.

Subscribers enjoy unlimited, ad-free browsing.

Register to continue

Or click here to subscribe for unlimited, ad-free access!

Our gift to you: This year's post is unlocked. Register your email to get even more free articles.

Welcome to the 2025 Hater's Guide!

Just register your email:

This blog is free to read.

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

Kathryn Xu

Ilia Malinin of the United States performs in the Men - Free Skating on day 3 of the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final.

Figure Skating

The Quad God Performs Another Miracle

Tom Ley

Mohamed Salah of Liverpool waves to the fans at full time during the Premier League match between Leeds United and Liverpool at Elland Road on December 6, 2025 in Leeds, England.

Soccer

Liverpool’s Nightmare Season Now Features Mo Salah Drama

David Roth

A crop of four images of people kind of partying and hanging out from Ken Ohara's "Contacts" show at The Whitney, with the relevant Whitney credit language superimposed at lower right.

Arts And Culture

Make Yourself At Home

Luis Paez-Pumar

Here’s The 2026 World Cup Draw

Patrick Redford

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - DECEMBER 01: LeBron James #23 of the Los Angeles Lakers on court against the Phoenix Suns at Crypto.com Arena on December 01, 2025 in Los Angeles, 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 Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

LeBron James’s Scoring Streak Tells The Story


<p class="wp-block-paragraph"><a href="http://Feldman.cool" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Brian Feldman</a> is a software engineer living in Brooklyn.</p>


Brian Feldman

tim robinson using the computer in the chair company

‘The Chair Company’ Is A Show About How Fun It Is To Use The Computer


<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Culture Writer</p>


Israel Daramola

Ray Ratto

Death To The NCAA

What Does Winning Your Conference Mean Anymore?

<p>August <span class="il">Prum</span> is a writer and filmmaker based in Queens.</p>


August Prum

Martin Donovan, Elina Lowensohn, and Bill Sage, left to right, dance in an empty restaurant in a scene from Hal Hartley's film "Simple Men."

Hal Hartley Is Still Figuring It All Out Onscreen

Exhaust fumes adding to the air pollution in Santiago, Chile, in 1962.

Podcasts

Another Side Of Carbon Dioxide, With Peter Brannen

Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison speaks during the Bloomberg Screentime conference in Los Angeles on October 9, 2025. (Photo by Patrick T. Fallon / AFP)

Capital

Paramount Is Trying To Bully Its Way Into Acquiring Warner Bros. Discovery


<p class="wp-block-paragraph">charismatic megafauna (they/them)</p>


Sabrina Imbler

Dave McKenna

a still from the movie Jingle Bell Heist, with Lucy Punch in a fascinator looking at Connor Swindells

Defector Watches A Christmas Movie: ‘Jingle Bell Heist’

Defector Staff

An illustration of the back of a bus with several website logos on it

Announcements

Give A Gift That Doesn’t Suck, Get A Gift That Doesn’t Suck

<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

Photo by Tim Leedy 1/1/09Pork and Sauerkraut on New Year's day.Paul and Sara Wixon of Muhlenberg twp have a family dinner at Wegman's restaurant in Muhlenberg Twp.

Jamboroo

Eat Dinner Early

Listening Habits

The Rap Music That Defined 2025

<div class="PostFooter_wrapper__Msc__">
<div class="Container_contentWidthWrapper__RL4A5">
<div class="PostFooter_inner__ikvxo">
<div class="PostBylineRiver_wrapper__2QH_p">
<div class="PostBylineRiver_authorWrapper__6ThRc">
<div class="PostBylineRiver_bio__xKPxl">
<p>Robert Rubsam writes fiction and nonfiction. His work has appeared in the NYT Magazine, the Atlantic, the Washington Post, the Baffler, and Liberties. He is a contributing writer for Commonweal Magazine.</p>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="Container_contentWidthWrapper__RL4A5">
<div id="coral_thread" class="Embed_wrapper__vD_40">
<div>
<div id="coral" class="coral-width-gt-xs coral-width-gte-xs coral-width-gt-mobile coral-width-gte-mobile coral-width-gt-mobileMax coral-width-gte-mobileMax coral-width-gt-sm coral-width-gte-sm coral-width-lt-md coral-width-lte-md coral-width-lt-lg coral-width-lte-lg coral-width-lt-xl coral-width-lte-xl" data-nosnippet="true">
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<div></div>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>


Robert Rubsam

‘Train Dreams’ Is Afraid Of Its Own Shadow

Giri Nathan

INGLEWOOD, CALIFORNIA - NOVEMBER 04: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander #2 of the Oklahoma City Thunder defends James Harden #1 of the Los Angeles Clippers at Intuit Dome on November 04, 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 Luke Hales/Getty Images)

It Is A Moral Imperative For The Rest Of The NBA To Improve The Clippers

Keyshawn Johnson of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers looks on during a NFL football game against the Baltimore Ravens on September 15, 2002. He's kind of smirking a bit.

Can You Really Tell The Story Of The Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Just 10 Hours?

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - DECEMBER 01: Dillon Brooks #3 of the Phoenix Suns reacts against the Los Angeles Lakers at Crypto.com Arena on December 01, 2025 in Los Angeles, 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 Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

Dillon Brooks Wants The Last Word

Lauren Theisen

Nathan MacKinnon #29 of the Colorado Avalanche celebrates with Gabriel Landeskog

Who Can Stop The Avalanche?

<p>Staff Writer</p>
<p>Find me on Signal @DefectorChris.19</p>


Chris Thompson

The Clippers Checked Out Early From Chris Paul’s Retirement Tour

<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

The Petty Feuds Of A Dog In Therapy

Tim Robinson Understands What The Boys Are Going Through

Barry Petchesky

MILAN, ITALY - NOVEMBER 26: An general view of the Milano Santa Giulia Ice Hockey Arena located in the Santa Giulia district on November 26, 2025 in Milan, Italy. For the 2026 Olympic Games, a new multi-purpose arena will be inaugurated, where 16,000 people will be able to watch the best national teams and the great international stars of ice hockey and para ice hockey on November 26, 2025 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Vincenzo Lombardo/Getty Images)

Olympics

What’s Going On With The Olympic Hockey Arena?

a photo of the set of the broadway musical Chess, with a sign that says CHESS, and the chorus standing for bows in front of it