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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

David Hollingshead

Arts And Culture

Humanists Have Done Nothing Wrong

David Roth

Craig Kimbrel of the Tampa Bay Rays prepares to throw against the Washington Nationals during the sixth inning of a baseball game at Tropicana Field on June 20, 2026.

Craig Kimbrel Can’t Quit

Ray Ratto

Jeff McNeil of the Athletics slides into third base safe against the Boston Red Sox in the top of the fourth inning of a major league baseball game at Sutter Health Park on July 30, 2026 in Sacramento, California.

Did The A’s Infect The Red Sox With Whatever Is Wrong With Them?

Patrick Redford

Adam Silver, Joshua Kushner and Bob Iger are seen at Day 10 of the 2025 US Open Tennis Championships at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on September 2, 2025 in Flushing Meadows, Queens, New York City. (Photo by XNY/Star Max/GC Images) *** Local Caption ***Adam Silver;Joshua Kushner;Bob Iger

Lakers Owner Mark Walter Suddenly Sells Team Amid Federal Investigation

<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

A table displaying various handmade Viking axes carved by Bosnian Stipe Pleic

Podcasts

Eventually Everyone Needs An Axe Guy

A child plays alone in a soccer goal on a grassy field

Minor Dilemmas

Will My Only Child Be A Weirdo?

Sophie Cunningham #8 of the Indiana Fever reacts to DiJonai Carrington #7 of the Chicago Sky foul during the first half on August 8, 2026 at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Melissa Tamez/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Trans Rights And Lesbian Lefts, With Maya Goldberg-Safir

Dave McKenna

Food

All Day I Dream Of Curry Fries

<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

Todd Bowles and Jon Gruden talk at training camp

Why Your Team Sucks

Why Your Team Sucks 2026: Tampa Bay Buccaneers

<p>Owen Lewis is a former Defector intern and has written for The Guardian, The Second Serve, The Athletic, and other publications.</p>


Owen Lewis

Interviews

‘The Cruelest Game’ Examines Tennis As Torture

Albert Burneko

Studious robot on an ocean liner cruising the North Sea.

The Machines

With The Power Of AI, Information Can Pour Straight Through Your Skull And Onto The Ground Without Ever Slowing


<p>Noelle Mateer is a writer in Pittsburgh. Her work appears in Wired, The Baffler, The Guardian and more. Her Substack is <a href="https://pathenewsletter.substack.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://pathenewsletter.substack.com/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1786567070811000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1LOAnbsGrpau8RvDRBu5SF">Pennsylvania: The Newsletter</a>. </p>


Noelle Mateer

Big Boy, the largest operating steam locomotive, arrives in Silver Springs, New York, on its only East Coast tour this month to celebrate its 250th anniversary. (Photo by John Whitney/NurPhoto)

Life's Rich Pageant

Everybody Loves Big Boy

Why Your Team Sucks 2026: Baltimore Ravens

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


Sabrina Imbler

US Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (R) looks on as President Donald Trump speaks before signing an executive order

Science

Three Vaccines Is Less Vaccine Than One Vaccine, According To Donald Trump

Kathryn Xu

Umpires explain a rule review to manager John Schneider of the Toronto Blue Jays during the seventh inning of their MLB game against the Boston Red Sox.

Red Sox Stumble Into Rules Review Hell, Emerge With Inconsequential Run

Music

Charli XCX Made A Beautiful Monument To Impermanence

Israel Daramola

Mike Kinsella of American Football performs onstage during a concert at O2 Academy Leeds.

American Football Is Still Making Magic

Annie Berke

The Sports Idiot Is Dead, Long Live The Sports Idiot

Funbag

Cathy Engelbert Is Doing The Job She Was Hired To Do

Billy Haisley

Former player Ashley Cole of England and Fabrizio Romano are seen at the Heineken booth during the UEFA Champions League Final 2026 in Budapest, Hungary.

Soccer

While Wearing An Orange Wig And A Big Red Foam Nose, Fabrizio Romano Insists He’s Not A Clown

a fluffy white and brown cat in a gray camouflage recovery suit

Animals

Melon’s Odyssey On The Black Market For Life-Saving Cat Medicine

Tom Ley

Announcements

Transactions, August 10

NICE, FRANCE - AUGUST 09: Demi Vollering of Netherlands and Team FDJ United - SUEZ - Yellow Leader Jersey celebrates at finish line as stage and final overall race winner during the 5th Tour de France Femmes 2026, Stage 9 a 99.2km stage from Nice to Nice / #UCIWWT / on August 09, 2026 in Nice, France. (Photo by Tim de Waele/Getty Images)

Cycling

The Tour de France Femmes Was A Contentious,  Hypercompetitive Classic

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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>. Subscribe to his newsletter, <a href="https://stefanfatsis.substack.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://stefanfatsis.substack.com/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1786480936396000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0fRpxgEOhbgbpR79WFcozC">Unabridged</a>.</div>
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Stefan Fatsis

Meller and Swift shake hands over the board

Games

Two Scrabble Superstars Explain Their Unbelievable Championship Match

Maitreyi Anantharaman

Kayla McBride #21 of the Minnesota Lynx celebrates a three-point basket with Napheesa Collier #24 and teammates during the second half against the Dallas Wings at Target Center on August 9, 2026 in Minneapolis, Minnesota.