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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

Tom Ley

Underexplained Lists

Angry Interjections From Chuck Grassley’s Chippy Town Hall Meeting, Ranked

Kathryn Xu

Georgia representative Marjorie Taylor Greene in Congress

Politics

The DOGE Fencing Hearing Reveals The Latest In Anti-Trans Grift

Patrick Redford

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA - APRIL 15: Zach Edey #14 of the Memphis Grizzlies unsuccessfully goes up for a dunk on Quinten Post #21 of the Golden State Warriors in the first half of the NBA play-in tournament game at Chase Center on April 15, 2025 in San Francisco, California. 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 Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

Zach Edey Is A Force

The author can be reached at postpostdoc@protonmail.com.

Post-Postdoc

Capital

How I Became Highly Educated Grist For The AI Mill

Luis Paez-Pumar

Italian goalkeeper #01 Gianluigi Donnarumma saves a shot from Aston Villa's English striker #09 Marcus Rashford during the UEFA Champions League quarter-final second-leg football match between Aston Villa and Paris Saint-Germain at Villa Park in Birmingham, central England on April 15, 2025.

Soccer

Paris Saint-Germain Escaped Its Past, For Now

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

Podcasts

Lit Up On Bleep Island

charismatic megafauna (they/them)

Sabrina Imbler

A photo of a USAID education officer, Joel Runnels, standing in a field

Interviews

An Interview With A Fired USAID Education Officer

Ray Ratto

Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors reacts after making a basket against the Memphis Grizzlies in the second half of the NBA play-in tournament game at Chase Center on April 15, 2025.

The Warriors Really Had To Work For It

Barry Petchesky

ST PAUL, MINNESOTA - APRIL 15:-Andre Fleury #29 of the Minnesota Wild gets surrounded by teammates after an overtime win against the Anaheim Ducks at Xcel Energy Center on April 15, 2025 in St Paul, Minnesota. (Photo by Luke Schmidt/NHLI via Getty Images)

One Last Nice Moment For Marc-Andre Fleury, Who Deserves Them All

General Manager Nico Harrison of the Dallas Mavericks looks on during the second quarter against the Los Angeles Lakers at American Airlines Center on April 09, 2025 in Dallas, Texas. 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.

Nico Harrison Picks Ideal Moment To Piss Off Everyone Again

<div>Rick Paulas is a writer in Brooklyn who made <a href="http://www.theladyingreenpoint.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.theladyingreenpoint.com&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1693673714100000&amp;usg=AOvVaw3mdrn4_mwbI7boyzf49u2G">The Lady in Greenpoint</a>, a 3-mile walking audio ghost story starting at the Pulaski Bridge, and The Palmer Hotel, a collection of spooky short stories set over a century in a downtown hotel, which has sold out.</div>
<div></div>

Rick Paulas

Why Is This So Good?

The Best Thing I Own Is My Tiny TV/VCR

Albert Burneko

Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket carrying astronauts Aisha Bowe, Amanda Nguyễn, Kerianne Flynn, Gayle King, Katy Perry, and Lauren Sánchez, lifts off from Launch Site One north of Van Horn, Texas on April 14, 2025.

Science

At What Point Has One Actually “Been To” Space?

NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA - FEBRUARY 08: (L-R) Bill Belichick and Jordan Hudson attend Michael Rubin's 2025 Fanatics Super Bowl Party at The Sugar Mill on February 08, 2025 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Mike Coppola/Getty Images for Fanatics)

College Football

Bill Belichick’s Girlfriend Asks That Her Boyfriend’s Son Receive The “Upmost Respect”

David Roth

TOPSHOT - Running back TreVeyon Henderson (L) and US Vice President JD Vance bobble the College Football Playoff National Championship Trophy as US President Donald Trump hosts the 2025 College Football National Champions, Ohio State Buckeyes, celebrating the team's title-winning season with a ceremony on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, DC, April 14, 2025. (Photo by Brendan SMIALOWSKI / AFP)

Point/Counterpoint: JD Vance Drops The National Championship Trophy

A racegoer relaxes on day two of the Grand National Festival horse race meeting at Aintree Racecourse in Liverpool, north-west England, on April 4, 2025. (Photo by Oli SCARFF / AFP)

Life's Rich Pageant

Please Enjoy These Photos Of Drunk People At An English Horse Race

Jen Vafidis

Richard Kind poses at a gala celebrating "All In: Comedy About Love" opening night on Broadway at The Hudson Theatre on December 16, 2024 in New York City.

Life Lessons

How Meeting Richard Kind Changed The Course Of My Life

Israel Daramola

Nico Iamaleava Leaves Tennessee To Seek More Money In The Transfer Portal

Race winner Oscar Piastri of Australia and McLaren celebrates in parc ferme, surrounded by fireworks.

Racing

Oscar Piastri Takes It To Lando Norris

Staff Writer
Find me on Signal @DefectorChris.19

Chris Thompson

Golf

Rory McIlroy Feels It All On Sunday

Santiago Espinal #4 and Elly De La Cruz #44 of the Cincinnati Reds celebrate after winning the game between the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park on Saturday, April 12, 2025 in Cincinnati, Ohio.

The Cincinnati Reds Are Going Nowhere In Particular More Quickly Than Any Team Ever Has

Tottenham Hotspur's Greek-Australian Head Coach Ange Postecoglou gestures on the touchline during the English Premier League football match between Wolverhampton Wanderers and Tottenham Hotspur at the Molineux stadium in Wolverhampton, central England on April 13, 2025.

Tottenham Has One Last Chance To Avert Disaster

Dan McQuade was a founding member of Defector. He died in January 2026.

Dan McQuade

A man in a hospital bed, lightly covered in blood, with a gray sweatshirt on, with two rats on him over his yellow blanket.

For A Good Time And Great Laughs, Try ‘The Pitt’!

Maitreyi Anantharaman

Bryce Harper #3 of the Philadelphia Phillies breaks his helmet after slamming it to the ground after striking out against the San Francisco Giants during the sixth inning of a game at Citizens Bank Park on May 5, 2024 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Crosswords

The Crossword, April 14: Statlines

Mark Messier, Namesake And Sole Voter Of Mark Messier Leadership Award Presented By Mark Messier, Knows How To Fix The Rangers: Mark Messier

OTTAWA, CANADA - DECEMBER 29: Gavin McKenna #9 of Team Canada skates in the first period against Team Germany of the Group A match during the 2025 IIHF World Junior Championship at Canadian Tire Centre on December 29, 2024 in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Team Canada defeated Team Germany 3-0. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images)