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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

Laura Wheatman Hill

Emily St. John Mandel, author of Exit Party

Interviews

Talking To Emily St. John Mandel About Revision, Timeline Corruption, And Living Without A Floor

Barry Petchesky

PHILADELPHIA, PA - JANUARY 01: TV personality Barry Melrose speaks during the 2012 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic Practice Sessions at Citizens Bank Park on January 1, 2012 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Eliot J. Schechter/NHLI via Getty Images)

Barry Melrose Brought Hockey Home

Ray Ratto

Nehemiah Pritchett #28 of the Seattle Seahawks celebrates with teammates after an intercepting a pass intended for Romeo Doubs #87 of the New England Patriots during the fourth quarter of the game on September 9, 2026.

The NFL Opener Had That Wednesday Night Football Feeling

<p>The author can be reached at postpostdoc@protonmail.com.</p>


Post-Postdoc

A visual representation of the Navier Stokes proof

The Machines

What Gets Left Out Of Math’s New Era?

Giri Nathan

USA's Ben Shelton celebrates his win against Spain's Carlos Alcaraz during the men's singles quarter-final tennis match on day ten of the US Open tennis tournament at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York City on September 9, 2026. (Photo by Leonardo MUNOZ / AFP) / “The erroneous mention[s] appearing in the metadata of this photo by Leonardo MUNOZ has been modified in AFP systems in the following manner: [USA's Ben Shelton] instead of [Spain's Carlos Alcaraz]. Please immediately remove the erroneous mention[s] from all your online services and delete it (them) from your servers. If you have been authorized by AFP to distribute it (them) to third parties, please ensure that the same actions are carried out by them. Failure to promptly comply with these instructions will entail liability on your part for any continued or post notification usage. Therefore we thank you very much for all your attention and prompt action. We are sorry for the inconvenience this notification may cause and remain at your disposal for any further information you may require.”

Tennis

Ben Shelton Took Down Carlos Alcaraz In The Match Of His Life

<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 high school performance of "One Day More" from Les Miserables.

Podcasts

Do You Hear The People Sing? Singing The Song Of Sequined Teens?

<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

Jamboroo

The Gift Of Forgetting

Patrick Redford

Announcements

‘Only If You Get Caught’ Returns Next Week

Justin Ellis

Two nine-year-old boys ride their bikes side by side on the sidewalk

Minor Dilemmas

Should I Be Worried That My Kid Hasn’t Found A Best Friend?

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


Sabrina Imbler

A feeder fish approaches a piece of seemingly submerged driftwood. Suddenly, the driftwood moves; it turns out to be a large, perfectly camouflaged frog that rises from the bottom and consumes the orange fish

Creaturefector

Horrible Toad Very Good At What It Does

Albert Burneko

Filming at the BBC Ealing studios for Dr Who story call "Moonbase" which sees the return of the Cybermen. Our picture shows: The Cybermen building a weapon on the moons surface, 19th January 1967.

What If We Could Have A Future?

Lauren Theisen

Mickey Moniak #22 of the Colorado Rockies reacts after striking out

Let’s See If The Colorado Rockies Have Learned How To Play Baseball Yet

Becca Young

‘Furious’ Makes You Face It

And Now For The Premiere Of ‘All Ball,’ In Which I Am Far Too Nice To The Vile Packers

David Roth

A general view of a Callaway cart bag near the ninth green during the first round of the Insperity Invitational 2026 at The Woodlands Golf Club.

Golf

Callaway Golf Got Wrecked By YouTube Doofuses Because Everyone’s Out Of Ideas

Portrait photo of musician and podcast host Hrishikesh Hirway

Hrishikesh Hirway Learned To Live With Being Uncomfortable

Whit Weeks #7 and head coach Lane Kiffin of the LSU Tigers walk down victory hill before fall practice at Tiger Stadium

Funbag

Should College Football Have An Age Limit?

<p>Owen Lewis is a former Defector intern and has written for The Guardian, The Second Serve, The Athletic, n+1, Texas Monthly, Air Mail, and other publications.</p>


Owen Lewis

Linda Noskova of the Czech Republic reacts to defeating Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine in the fourth round on Day 8 of the US Open

There’s Still Tennis At The U.S. Open

<div id=":g4.ma" class="Mu SP" title="January 26, 2021 at 2:34:42 PM UTC-5" data-tooltip="January 26, 2021 at 2:34:42 PM UTC-5"><span id=":g4.co" class="tL8wMe EMoHub" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/GoStevenGoldman">Steven Goldman</a> is a former BP editor-in-chief and current consulting editor. He is the author of the Casey Stengel biography <i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Forging-Genius-Making-Casey-Stengel/dp/1574888749">Forging Genius</a> </i>and host of the long-running <a href="https://www.baseballprospectus.com/show/the-infinite-inning/"><i>Infinite Inning </i>podcast</a>, which sits at the crossroads of baseball, history, politics, and culture. His most recent book, which has an introduction by David Roth, is <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Baseballs-Brief-Lives-Inspired-Infinite/dp/B0BBJTPGDF"><i>Baseball&#8217;s Brief Lives: Player-Stories Inspired by the Infinite Inning</i></a>.</span></div>
<div id=":g5.ma" class="Mu SP" data-tooltip="January 26, 2021 at 2:34:45 PM UTC-5"></div>


Steven Goldman

Mike Trout of the Los Angeles Angles hits a double in the ninth inning during the game against the Philadelphia Phillies at Angel Stadium. There's basically no one in the seats behind home plate.

The Angels Are Just Passing Through

Israel Daramola

TALLAHASSEE, FL - SEPTEMBER 07: A general view of the score board displaying the Game Delayed due to power outage prior to the game between the Florida State Seminoles and the #19th ranked SMU Mustangs at Doak S. Campbell Stadium on Bobby Bowden Field on September 7, 2026 in Tallahassee, Florida.

College Football

The Light’s Gone Out At Florida State

Luis Paez-Pumar

Fermin Lopez, Raphinha, Lamine Yamal and Anthony Gordon of FC Barcelona celebrate their team's third goal during the LaLiga EA Sports 2026/27 match between Valencia CF and FC Barcelona at Estadi de Mestalla on September 06, 2026 in Valencia, Spain.

Soccer

Barcelona Is The Greatest Show On European Soil

SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA - SEPTEMBER 06: Aaron Judge #99 of the New York Yankees looks on before the game against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park on September 06, 2026 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Orlando Ramirez/Getty Images)

Aaron Judge Back

Tom Ley

The Rams Play In Australia In Two Days And They Haven’t Left Yet

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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

Arts And Culture

Summer May Be Ending, But We’ll Always Have ‘Sterling Point’

Maitreyi Anantharaman

Ohio State Buckeyes goaltender Amanda Thiele (30) makes a save during the first period of the Women's Frozen Four Championship game between the Ohio State Buckeyes and the Wisconsin Badgers on March 23rd, 2025, at Ridder Arena in Minneapolis, MN.