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

Giri Nathan

PARIS, FRANCE - JUNE 09: Carlos Alcaraz of Spain appears to be injured against Novak Djokovic of Serbia during the Men's Singles Semi Final match on Day Thirteen of the 2023 French Open at Roland Garros on June 09, 2023 in Paris, France.

Tennis

Carlos Alcaraz Lost His Legs, And His Chance To Beat Novak Djokovic

Patrick Redford

TORONTO, CANADA - MAY 31: Anthony Bass #52 of the Toronto Blue Jays pitches in the ninth inning of their MLB game against the Milwaukee Brewers at Rogers Centre on May 31, 2023 in Toronto, Canada. (Photo by Cole Burston/Getty Images)

Anthony Bass Tossed From Major-League Roster

A. Frog is a freelance writer living in Japan.

A. Frog

Creaturefector

I Messed Up Again

Tom Ley

ST. LOUIS, MO - APRIL 11: Trinity Rodman #25 of the United States runs for the ball during an international friendly game between Ireland and the USWNT at CITYPARK on April 11, 2023 in St. Louis, Missouri.

Soccer

What Is This USWNT Player’s Deal: Trinity Rodman

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

Dan McQuade

Bill Russell in a USF jersey holding a basketball. He's number 6.

College Basketball

College Basketball Players Can Wear Digits Above ‘5’ Again

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

Music

Sometimes The Best Bands In The World Play Right In Front Of The Toilets

charismatic megafauna (they/them)

Sabrina Imbler

When A Turtle Is A Taxi For Shrimp

Barry Petchesky

SUNRISE, FLORIDA - JUNE 08: Matthew Tkachuk #19 of the Florida Panthers scores a goal past Adin Hill #33 of the Vegas Golden Knights during the third period in Game Three of the 2023 NHL Stanley Cup Final at FLA Live Arena on June 08, 2023 in Sunrise, Florida. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)

There’s Life In The Old Cat Yet

Several photos of Eagles fans overlaid with a note to the Eagles owner, and under that is a screenshot of a newspaper

In 1984, These Two Men Told The Eagles Owner: “Go Birds”

Samer Kalaf

Jimmy Dunne speaks during Golf Channel interview

Golf

PGA Tour Board Member Vows To Kill Any 9/11 Perpetrators Involved In LIV Golf Merger

Lauren Theisen

Those Were Two Great Days To Root For The Reds

Dave McKenna

Politics

Pat Robertson, Anti-Gaming Crusader And Horse Racing Enthusiast, Is Dead

JERSEY CITY, NJ - JUNE 8: The sun is shrouded as it rises in a smokey sky behind the Empire State Building, Chrysler Building and One Vanderbilt in New York City on June 8, 2023, as seen from Jersey City, New Jersey. (Photo by Gary Hershorn/Getty Images)

Climate

It’s All The Same Fire

David Roth

LIV Golf CEO Greg Norman at a press conference during the LIV event in Adelaide, Australia, in April of 2023.

Podcasts

The Money Will Not Shut Up, With Ray Ratto

Life's Rich Pageant

Paul Pierce Traps Kevin Garnett In Grim Men’s Livestream

Staff Writer
Find me on Signal @DefectorChris.19

Chris Thompson

Fans hang signs at Oakland Coliseum calling for John Fisher to sell the Athletics.

John Fisher’s Lackeys Eat Shit In Contentious Stadium Financing Hearing, May Win Anyway

I Could Stare At The Roland Garros Clay All Day

A rainbow Red Sox logo on the video board at Fenway Park

No Straights At Pride Night

Luis Paez-Pumar

Nikola Jokic #15 of the Denver Nuggets grabs the rebound during Game Three of the 2023 NBA Finals against the Miami Heat on June 7, 2023 at Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida.

The Nuggets Were Just Too Damn Big

PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan smiles.

The PGA Tour’s High Ground Was Just A Bargaining Position

DeChambeau begins his interview with Collins, minutes before he gets to the 9/11 stuff

The LIV-PGA Shit-Eating Tour Is A Marvel To Behold

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.