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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

Kelsey McKinney

four actors in bad Beatles wigs pose for a photo

Reds Week

Possible Red Card: The Beatles Movie Wigs

Maitreyi Anantharaman

A still from the Sherlock Holmes episode "The Red-Headed League"

“The Red-Headed League” Is A Sherlock Holmes Mystery That Can Laugh At Itself


<p>Amy Schneider is a software engineer, cat owner, and Jeopardy champion who posts about her experiences on Twitter @Jeopardamy. She used to have a podcast, and odds are she will again some day.</p>


Amy Schneider

13 Short Blogs About The Cincinnati Reds

David Roth

Rich Dotson of the Chicago White Sox pitches during an MLB game at Comiskey Park in Chicago, Illinois during the 1986 season.

Podcasts

Just A Minute More, With Tim Marchman

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<div>Abigail Segel is a contributing writer at Defector. She is also an editor for The IX Soccer and the Equalizer. Her work has been published in the Guardian and the Montreal Gazette.</div>
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Abigail Segel

Soccer

The NWSL’s Golden Boot Race Is Red Hot

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


Sabrina Imbler

Rock Layers in Lower Mound in Gale Crater on the surface of Mars, with the Reds Week logo at the center on a mound

Let’s Remember Some Publications That Said We Would Get To Mars By 2026

<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

Why Your Team Sucks

Why Your Team Sucks 2026: Buffalo Bills

Ray Ratto

Eugenio Suarez of the Cincinnati Reds hugs teammate Elly de la Cruz #44 after hitting a grand slam home run in the ninth inning during the game between the Cincinnati Reds and the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park on Wednesday, August 26, 2026.

Historic Cincinnati Comeback Offers A Stirring Testament To The Power Of Reds Week

Lauren Theisen

Patrick Redford

Rachelle Hampton

Alex Sujong Laughlin

Taylor Swift performs onstage during the 2012 iHeartRadio Music Festival at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on September 22, 2012 in Las Vegas, Nevada

Defector Music Club Gets Back Together For Taylor Swift’s ‘Red’

Albert Burneko

Tim Curry as Darkness in the film Legend (1985): a big red goat-man with huge horns

Let’s Remember When Tim Curry Played A Huge Scary Red Guy

a photo of a person in a red light mask in a dark room, with the reds week logo next to it

Is My Red Light Mask Doing Anything Or Am I Delusional? An Investigation

Israel Daramola

An Ode To Redman, The Hip-Hop Court Jester

Giri Nathan

Pat McAfee reacts in the game between the Los Angeles Rams and the Indianapolis Colts

I Played Pat McAfee’s Album For Another Frequently Red-Faced, Sleeveless Baby

<p>Mitch Therieau is a writer living in Virginia.</p>


Mitch Therieau

The Red Hot Chili Peppers Beyond Good And Evil

Justin Ellis

Hasan Piker, Streamer &amp; Creator, Night, at a press conference during day two of Web Summit Vancouver 2026 at Vancouver Convention Centre. The Reds Week logo is at right.

We Are Living In The Dumbest Age Of Red-Baiting

Caleb Williams of the Chicago Bears and DJ Moore #2 of the Chicago Bears visit on set of the Wildcard on Prime post game show after an NFC Wild Card Playoff game against the Green Bay Packers at Soldier Field

Why Your Team Sucks 2026: Chicago Bears

Defector Staff

Dolly Parton performing live on stage in New York in August 1978

Arts And Culture

Our Favorite Dolly Parton Performances

<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 Girlboss And The Drug Rug

Taylor Swift attends the Taylor Swift and Target "Red" Deluxe Edition CD release launch party at Skylight West on October 22, 2012 in New York City

The Not-So-Great Defector Make-Off Dares To Attempt A Red Lip

General Manager John Lynch, CEO Jed York and Head Coach Kyle Shanahan of the San Francisco 49ers in the locker room after the NFC Championship game against the Detroit Lions on January 28, 2024.

The San Francisco 49ers Have Revolutionized The Concept Of Losing The Offseason

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - MAY 04: (L-R) Karlie Kloss and Joshua Kushner attend the 2026 Met Gala celebrating "Costume Art" at Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 04, 2026 in New York City. (Photo by Taylor Hill/Getty Images)

I’m On That Good Kushner Alcohol, With Harrison Faigen

DMX performs at the Hard Knock Life Tour at the Continental Airlines Arena.

The Year DMX Painted The World Blood Red

Tom Browning of the Cincinnati Reds pitches against the Chicago Cubs during an Major League Baseball game circa 1989 at Wrigley Field in Chicago. The Reds Week logo is at lower left.

Tom Browning Devoured Innings And Tormented My Team

Minor Dilemmas

What Do I Do About My Fragile Kid?

Felix Kent

03 June 2024, Brandenburg, Fürstenwalde: A traffic light at an intersection in the city center shows red and green for vehicles turning right. Photo: Monika Skolimowska/dpa (Photo by Monika Skolimowska/picture alliance via Getty Images)