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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

charismatic megafauna (they/them)

Sabrina Imbler

A bleeped and blooped photo of a 2,200 year old bird nest

Zillowing Out

A 2,200-Year-Old Poop Donut In Which We Can Raise Our Hatchlings

Patrick Redford

VILLARS-SUR-OLLON, SWITZERLAND - MAY 01: Gino Mader of Switzerland and Team Bahrain Victorious celebrates the second place on the podium after the 75th Tour De Romandie 2022 - Stage 5 on May 1, 2022 in Villars-sur-Ollon, Switzerland. (Photo by RvS.Media/Basile Barbey/Getty Images,)

Cycling

Gino Mäder Had Too Much More To Give

Corey Atad is a freelancer writer based in Toronto with an unhealthy Air Bud obsession.

Corey Atad

Defector At The Movies

‘Across The Spider-Verse’ Reclaims Animation’s Pioneering Spirit

SAINT LOUIS, MO - APRIL 11: Naomi Girma #27 of the United States warming up before a game between Ireland and USWNT at CITYPARK on April 11, 2023 in Saint Louis, Missouri. (Photo by John Todd/USSF/Getty Images).

Soccer

What Is This USWNT Player’s Deal: Naomi Girma

Ray Ratto

BOULDER, UNITED STATES - APRIL 22: University of Colorado football head coach Deion Sanders secures his headset under his cowboy hat during the Spring football game as part of Black and Gold Day on April 22, 2023. (Photo by Michael Ciaglo for The Washington Post)

College Football

Vegas Doesn’t Stay Down For Long

Staff Writer
Find me on Signal @DefectorChris.19

Chris Thompson

Yasir Al-Rumayyan at a Donald Trump-owned golf club.

Golf

Golf’s Emerging Behemoth Might Be Too Big To Exist And Too Rich To Stop

Defector Staff

TORONTO, ON - AUGUST 5: Caedmon Dunbar (red shirt) plays the ball during a game of Spike Ball in High Park. Josh DeGrott (blue shirt) waits to react to the hit as Robbie Dunbar (left) and Naomi DeGrott keep an eye on play. Feature pictures from around Toronto. COVID-19. CORONAPD Toronto Star/Rick Madonik

Announcements

Aspiring Spikeball Pro Laura Wagner Is Leaving Us

Israel Daramola

In Honor Of Cormac McCarthy, Let’s Reconsider ‘The Counselor’

David Roth

A bathroom at Mar-a-Lago positively jammed with boxes full of junk.

Podcasts

Ambitions As A Writer And Bathroom Chandeliers, With Israel Daramola And Dave McKenna

Luis Paez-Pumar

Video Games

‘Diablo IV’ Isn’t Quite Sure What It Wants To Be

Ben Orbison is a writer living in Los Angeles

Ben Orbison

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - JUNE 15: Tommy Fleetwood of England plays a second shot on the first hole during the first round of the 123rd U.S. Open Championship at The Los Angeles Country Club on June 15, 2023 in Los Angeles, California.

The Los Angeles Country Club Owes L.A. More Than Just A Good U.S. Open

Rep. Clay Higgins (R-LA) questions Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Christopher Wray about conspiracy theories related to the January 6, 2020 attack on the U.S. Capitol during a hearing of the House Homeland Security Committee.

Politics

Clay Higgins Is The Norm

Lauren Theisen

Davey Martinez: Look At This Photograph

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - APRIL 21: (EDITORS NOTE: This image was shot with a fisheye lens.) A view shows the Las Vegas Strip behind the site that the Oakland Athletics agreed in principle to purchase from Red Rock Resorts Inc. for a potential new ballpark on April 21, 2023 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The A's President Dave Kaval said the deal for the 49-acre plot of land, formerly the home of Wild Wild West Gambling Hall &amp; Hotel, could be used to relocate the Major League Baseball franchise from Oakland to Las Vegas. The team will now work on a public-private partnership to build a USD 1.5 billion, 30,000-to-35,000-seat, partially retractable-roof stadium in time for the 2027 season. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

Las Vegas A’s Begin Relocation Talks

<a href="https://abshippy.com/">Abdullah Shihipar</a> is a writer and public health researcher based at Brown University.

Abdullah Shihipar

L-R Kyla Bennett, PhD, JD Director, New England PEER and a local resident Tracy Stewart of Medway look over old astroturf piled up in a forested area, where it's apparently leaching PFAS chemicals into nearby water sources.

Climate

The Case Against Turf Fields

OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA - JUNE 13: Oakland Athletics fans display signs during a reverse boycott game against the Tampa Bay Rays at RingCentral Coliseum on June 13, 2023 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Brandon Vallance/Getty Images)

Oakland A’s Fans Held A Raucous Wake For Their Team

Giri Nathan

Defector Reads A Book

Defector Reads A Book Is Spending The Summer With The Late Cormac McCarthy

Richard Staff is a <a href="https://twitter.com/RichardStaff" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">weapons-grade Twitter goblin</a> and hostage of the Mets. That is his real name.

Richard Staff

Michael Hermosillo of the Angels makes a catch in foul territory during the 2020 MLB season, while a bunch of creepy stuffed teddy bears look on.

“I Almost Wished There Was Someone There To Curse At Me”: Isolation And Triumph In MLB’s Plague Season

Samer Kalaf

A CNN broadcaster with the chyron "What is woke?"

This Is So Stupid

This Blog Has Gone Woke

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

STOCKTON, CA - SEPTEMBER 29: A school bus carries children at sunrise on Bethel Island, one of the residential islands surrounded by levees that hold back the higher waters of the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta on September 29, 2005 west of Stockton, California. Officials say that the dikes of the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta are in worse shape than those that broke and flooded New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina. There is a two-in-three chance that a catastrophic earthquake or storm in the next 50 years may damage the levees enough to cause the kind of destruction that engulfed New Orleans, according to experts. Such an event would affect the water supply that serves two-thirds of California and create a nightmare traffic jam on Highway 4, the two-lane road that would be the major evacuation route, if it is not damaged beyond usability. Approximately 1,600 miles of levees protect the delta's islands, which lie well below sea-level, and most were built more than 100 years ago. (Photo by David McNew/Getty Images)

Dadfector

The Last Bus

PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA - FEBRUARY 22: Ben Franklin Impersonator, Robert DeVitis attends the pre-launch of Oatly's new plant-based Cream Cheese exclusively in Philadelphia at Spread Bagelry on February 22, 2023 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Lisa Lake/Getty Images for Oatly)

Underexplained Lists

Cream Cheeses, Ranked

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - JUNE 13: Sergei Bobrovsky #72 of the Florida Panthers sits in the crease after Mark Stone #61 of the Vegas Golden Knights scored an empty-net hat trick goal against the Florida Panthers during the third period in Game Five of the 2023 NHL Stanley Cup Final at T-Mobile Arena on June 13, 2023 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Just Pull The Goalie Earlier Next Time

Barry Petchesky

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - June 13: &lt;&gt; at T-Mobile Arena on June 13, {year6} in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Zak Krill/NHLI via Getty Images)

The Whole Ice Belongs To Mark Stone

The Vegas Golden Knights celebrate with the Stanley Cup

Vegas Was Built Like A Champion

DENVER, COLORADO - JUNE 12: (EDITORS NOTE: Retransmission with alternate crop.) Nikola Jokic #15 of the Denver Nuggets celebrates with his daughter Ognjena after a 94-89 victory against the Miami Heat in Game Five of the 2023 NBA Finals to win the NBA Championship at Ball Arena on June 12, 2023 in Denver, Colorado. 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 Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)