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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

Staff Writer
Find me on Signal @DefectorChris.19

Chris Thompson

James Wood rounds the bases after hitting a spring training home run.

Please Give Us James Wood Now, Before Joey Gallo’s Shoulder Un-Kerplodes

charismatic megafauna (they/them)

Sabrina Imbler

Brood XIX cicadas hold onto blades of grass on the campus of the University of North Carolina

Creaturefector

Everything You Need To Know About The Cicadas, As Well As Some Additional Cicada Information That Is Less Crucial But Still Provocative

Barry Petchesky

RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA - MAY 09: Chris Kreider #20 of the New York Rangers scores a goal against Pyotr Kochetkov #52 of the Carolina Hurricanes during the second period in Game Three of the Second Round of the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs at PNC Arena on May 09, 2024 in Raleigh, North Carolina. (Photo by Josh Lavallee/NHLI via Getty Images)

The Rangers Are Killers

Albert Burneko

Donovan Mitchell #45 of the Cleveland Cavaliers three point basket during the game against the Boston Celtics during Round 2 Game 2 of the 2024 NBA Playoffs on May 9, 2024.

One Unsustainable Trick To Beating The Boston Celtics

Billy Haisley

Joselu Mato of Real Madrid celebrates with his teammates after scoring a goal during the UEFA Champions League Semi-Final second leg football match between Real Madrid and Bayern Munich at Santiago Bernabeu Stadium in Madrid, Spain on May 08, 2024.

Soccer

Real Madrid Did It Again

David Roth

Steve Albini performs with his band Shellac at the FYF Fest in Los Angeles in 2016.

Music

Everyone Has A Steve Albini Album

Giri Nathan

Tennis

‘Challengers’ Captures The Dirty Little Bits Of Tennis

Indiana Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle argues a call with referee Josh Tiven #58 during the fourth quarter against the New York Knicks in Game Two of the Eastern Conference Second Round Playoffs on May 08, 2024 in New York City.

Rick Carlisle Doesn’t Believe This Shit

Alex Sujong Laughlin

South African singer and songwriter Tyla arrives for the 2024 Met Gala in a Balmain gown meant to evoke sand in an hourglass. She is being helped by a procession of men in tuxedos who are holding the train of her gown in order for her to walk.

Arts And Culture

How Do You Compartmentalize The Spectacle?

An ancient grave with a skeleton with both masculine and feminine signifiers.

Science

Can We Exhume Gender From The Long-Dead?

Lauren Theisen

Sportsnet's Hockey Night In Canada studio set

The Best Way To Stream The NHL Playoffs Is Dead

A black-and-white 1970 photograph of Hall & Oates looking out the window of an apartment building, taken by Michael Ochs. The Distraction logo is at upper right.

Podcasts

Marriage Lore And A Song About Pissing

Ray Ratto

SALT LAKE CITY, UT - APRIL 19: The main entrance of the Delta Center is seen with the "NHL in Utah" logos on April 19, 2024 in Salt Lake City, Utah. The NHL has allowed the sale of the Arizona Coyotes and the team will relocate to Salt Lake City, Utah. (Photo by Chris Gardner/Getty Images)

How Long Can It Possibly Take To Name A Team?

Sunrise, FL - May 8: Boston Bruins RW David Pastrnak fighting with Florida Panthers RW Matthew Tkachuk in the third period. (Photo by Matthew J. Lee/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)

The Boys Are Scrappin’

a dice snake feigning death on top of a camouflage piece of clothing

Want To Eat This Snake? What If It Was Dead, Bleeding From The Mouth, And Covered In Poop? What Then?

Patrick Redford

Life's Rich Pageant

Ohio State Graduates Subjected To Commencement Speaker’s Cryptobabble And Bad Singing

Maitreyi Anantharaman

Arturs Silovs #31 of the Vancouver Canucks celebrate after defeating the Nashville Predators in Game Six to win the Western Conference First Round Playoffs at Bridgestone Arena on May 03, 2024 in Nashville, Tennessee.

The Legend Of “Silvos” Is Only Beginning

Willson Contreras of the St. Louis Cardinals reacts/screams after getting hit with a J.D. Martinez swing in a game on May 7, 2024.

Willson Contreras Broke His Arm In The Small Margins

Puja Changoiwala is an award-winning journalist and author based in Mumbai. <a href="https://www.pujachangoiwala.com/">This</a> is her website.

Puja Changoiwala

An image of the frontline in the Russia/Ukraine war, with an image of Mohammed Sufiyan, who was lured into that conflict by an Indian YouTube influencer.

Politics

How A YouTuber Duped Indians Into The Russia-Ukraine War

Luis Paez-Pumar

Mats Hummels, Emre Can and Nico Schlotterbeck (L-R) celebrates victory after the UEFA Champions League semi-final second leg match between Paris Saint-Germain and Borussia Dortmund at Parc des Princes on May 07, 2024 in Paris, France.

Borussia Dortmund Knocked PSG Out By The Grace Of Millimeters

Miles Wood scores the winning goal in overtime

On A Night Of Ugly Goals, Miles Wood Dared To Be Pretty

Jae Towle Vieira [they/them] works as a producer for Normal Gossip. Their fiction has been published in The Normal School, New England Review, Carve Magazine, Passages North, Fairy Tale Review, and elsewhere.

Jae Towle Vieira

Normal Gossip logo with cartoon characters gossiping

Is Nana Drunk And Running A Dice Game?

Dave McKenna

WASHINGTON, DC - SEPTEMBER 27: RFK Stadium is seen from East Capitol Street in Washington, DC on September 27, 2023. (Photo by Craig Hudson for The Washington Post via Getty Images)

Elder Wisdom

RIP RFK Stadium, Where A Dirtball Came Of Age

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - MAY 07: Vincent Trocheck #16 of the New York Rangers celebrates after scoring the game-winning goal in the second overtime to defeat the Carolina Hurricanes in Game Two of the Second Round of the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Madison Square Garden on May 07, 2024 in New York City. (Photo by Josh Lavallee/NHLI via Getty Images)

Vincent Trocheck Is Reaping

Tom Ley

Gordon Hayward #33 of the Oklahoma City Thunder arrives to the arena before the game against the New Orleans Pelicans during Round 1 Game 4 of the 2024 NBA Playoffs on April 29, 2024 at the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, Louisiana.