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

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 Point B. Handsomest man in the world.

Drew Magary

A woman stands with her cellphone in Grand Central Terminal, the historic world-famous landmark and transportation hub in Midtown Manhattan July 21, 2020 in New York. - The station is the southern terminus of the Metro-North Railroad's Harlem, Hudson and New Haven Lines and ridership has been down during the height of the coronavirus pandemic. (Photo by TIMOTHY A. CLARY / AFP) (Photo by TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP via Getty Images)

Life Lessons

Metro-North Is My North Star

Barry Petchesky

This Is So Stupid

I Found My Keys

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.

Owen Lewis

Tennis

Tenacity Isn’t Enough Against Iga Swiatek

Amos Barshad

Actress Tiffani Thiessen hosts the Grand Opening of Bowlero on March 12, 2016 in Woodland Hills, California.

Bowling

The Rise Of Bowlero Has Put Bowling In The Jaws Of Private Equity

Lauren Theisen

Oliver Ekman-Larsson #91 of the Florida Panthers checks Jack Roslovic #96 of the New York Rangers into the boards

The Panthers Will Do Anything

Where Are My Keys?

Staff Writer
Find me on Signal @DefectorChris.19

Chris Thompson

Kristaps Porzingis Rained Hellfire On The Hapless Mavericks

Godzilla standing and I guess yelling, as seen during the trailer to the film Godzilla Minus One.

Defector Up All Night

An Observation About ‘Godzilla Minus One’

David Roth

Luka Doncic making a very silly WHOOO face after the Mavericks defeated the Timberwolves in Game 5 of the 2024 NBA Western Conference Finals. He's got a hat on.

Podcasts

Garlic Shrimp And Slovenian Timelords, With Ray Ratto

Alex Belth

Journalist Grant Wahl (right) works in the FIFA Media Center before a FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Group B match between Wales and USMNT at Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium on November 21, 2022 in Al Rayyan, Qatar. He had been detained earlier by stadium security for wearing a rainbow-colored t-shirt before later being allowed to enter the stadium.

Soccer

Remembering Grant Wahl, America’s Greatest Soccer Writer

Kathryn Xu

Paul Skenes #30 of the Pittsburgh Pirates pitches to Shohei Ohtani #17 of the Los Angeles Dodgers at PNC Park on June 5, 2024 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Shohei Ohtani And Paul Skenes Had A Splendid Introduction

Patrick Redford

Giri Nathan

Tom Ley

Albert Burneko

Luis Paez-Pumar

Ray Ratto

BOSTON, MA - NOVEMBER 23: Jayson Tatum #0 of the Boston Celtics and Luka Doncic #77 of the Dallas Mavericks on November 23, 2022 at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. 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. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2022 NBAE (Photo by Brian Babineau/NBAE via Getty Images)

Behold The Defector NBA Finals Mega-Preview

Billy Haisley

Scarves of Kylian Mbappe, Jude Bellingham and Vinicius Jr.hang in a souvenir stall outside the stadium prior to the UEFA Champions League 2023/24 round of 16 second leg match between Real Madrid CF and RB Leipzig at Estadio Santiago Bernabeu on March 06, 2024 in Madrid, Spain.

Real Madrid Plays Itself

Maitreyi Anantharaman

Napheesa Collier #24 of the Minnesota Lynx drives to the basket during the game against the Los Angeles Sparks on June 5, 2024 at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California.

WNBA

Napheesa Collier Grows In Every Direction

COMMERCE CITY, COLORADO - JUNE 01: Sam Coffey #17 and Lily Yohannes #6 of the United States enter the field for warmups prior to playing the Korea Republic at Dick's Sporting Goods Park on June 01, 2024 in Commerce City, Colorado. (Photo by Erin Chang/ISI Photos/USSF/Getty Images for USSF)

Lily Yohannes Is The Truth

Head coach Dan Hurley of the Connecticut Huskies reacts in the first half against the Purdue Boilermakers during the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament National Championship game at State Farm Stadium on April 08, 2024 in Glendale, Arizona.

Lakers’ Pursuit Of JJ Redick Gets Even Funnier, In That They Are Now Pursuing Dan Hurley

Sergio Perez of Mexico and Oracle Red Bull Racing looks on after a crash during the first lap of the race during the F1 Grand Prix of Monaco.

Racing

There Are No Easy Solutions For The Second-Driver Conundrum

Michael is a writer who has worked with The Atlantic, The New Yorker, WIRED, Vox, The New York Times, and other publications. His first book, The Other Olympians, which uncovers the stories of several European athletes who transitioned gender in the 1930s, is now available for purchase.

Michael Waters

Helen Stephens running in the 1936 Olympics

Olympics

Olympian Helen Stephens Suffered Through An Anti-Queer Panic That Still Reverberates

Suffering Pigeons All Over At Roland-Garros

PHILADELPHIA, PA - NOVEMBER 27: JJ Redick #17 of the Philadelphia 76ers drives to the basket against LeBron James #23 of the Cleveland Cavaliers at the Wells Fargo Center on November 27, 2017 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 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 Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)

The Lakers’ Pursuit Of JJ Redick Keeps Getting Funnier

Heather Chen is a former Defector intern and the managing editor at the Columbia Daily Spectator. She loves hockey, photography, and the good ol’ state of Michigan.

Heather Wei-Xi Chen

RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA - MAY 20: Matthew Tkachuk #19 of the Florida Panthers looks on after a fight against the Carolina Hurricanes during the second period in Game Two of the Eastern Conference Final of the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs at PNC Arena on May 20, 2023 in Raleigh, North Carolina. He's kind of holding hands with the ref that's carting him away

Matthew Tkachuk Is My Beloved American Girl Doll

Television video and still camera lenses are seen in centerfield as the sun sets behind home plate

Which Broadcast Has The Best View In Baseball?

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

Where There’s Smoke, There’s Horny

PHOENIX, AZ - MARCH 7: Jontay Porter #34 of the Toronto Raptors arrives to the arena before the game against the Phoenix Suns on March 7, 2024 at Footprint Center in Phoenix, Arizona. 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. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2024 NBAE (Photo by Kate Frese/NBAE via Getty Images)

Gambling

How The Fix Gets In

Google CEO Sundar Pichai speaks during the Stanford Business, Government, and Society Forum at Stanford University in April of 2024.