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Defector

<p>Jen Ramos Eisen is a Central California- and Las Vegas-based baseball labor and economics reporter.</p>


Jen Ramos Eisen

Domingo German #0 of the New York Yankees pitches to Esteury Ruiz #1 of the Oakland Athletics in the bottom of the ninth inning at RingCentral Coliseum on June 28, 2023 in Oakland, California. Ruiz made the final out in a no-hit perfect game for German, defeating the Athletics 11-0.

The Perfect Game That Also Sucked 

Lauren Theisen

Racing

NASCAR Got Wet In Chicago

Ray Ratto

BALTIMORE, MD - JUNE 23: A detail of the MLB All Star Game patch on a Seattle Mariners jersey during the game between the Seattle Mariners and the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on Friday, June 23, 2023 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Rob Tringali/MLB Photos via Getty Images)

It’s Good That Every Team Gets A Guy

Patrick Redford

RIFU, MIYAGI, JAPAN - JULY 24: Babra Banda #11 of Team Zambia leads their side out prior to the Women's First Round Group F match between China and Zambia on day one of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Miyagi Stadium on July 24, 2021 in Rifu, Miyagi, Japan. (Photo by Koki Nagahama/Getty Images)

Soccer

Zambia Is Here For A Good Time, And Maybe Even A Long Time


<p>Dan McQuade was a founding member of Defector. He died in January 2026.</p>


Dan McQuade

PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA - MAY 11: James Harden #1 of the Philadelphia 76ers reacts to a play against the Boston Celtics during the second quarter in game six of the Eastern Conference Semifinals in the 2023 NBA Playoffs at Wells Fargo Center on May 11, 2023 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.

The Sixers Enter Another Summer Of Angst

Maitreyi Anantharaman

Megan Keller #5, Rebecca Johnston #6 and Micah Zandee-Hart #28 of Team Keller celebrate after a 2-1 shootout win in the finals of the PWHPA All-Star Tournament

Women's Hockey

Women’s Hockey’s Civil War Has Ended, Messily

Barry Petchesky

OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA - JULY 01: Seth Brown #15 of the Oakland Athletics trots around the bases after hitting a solo home run off Keynan Middleton #99 of the Chicago White Sox in the bottom of the seventh inning at RingCentral Coliseum on July 01, 2023 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)

There Is No Easy Part Of The Schedule When You’re The White Sox

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - OCTOBER 01: in their women's strawweight fight during the UFC Fight Night event at UFC Apex on October 1, 2022 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)

Mark Zuckerberg, I Will Give You Five American Dollars If You Choke Out Elon Musk

Tom Ley

FRISCO, TX - JULY 04: Fans enjoys a post-game fireworks display over the stadium celebrating the Fourth of July after the MLS game between Inter Miami FC and FC Dallas at Toyota Stadium on July 4, 2022 in Frisco, Texas.

Defector Up All Night

Let’s Have A Summer Weekend Open Thread

Jewell Loyd #24 of the Seattle Storm shoots against Kayla McBride #21 of the Minnesota Lynx in overtime at Climate Pledge Arena on June 29, 2023 in Seattle, Washington.

WNBA

Jewell Loyd Will Take All The Shots

Albert Burneko

The Spain women's national team huddles on the field after losing to Italy in the UEFA Euros

Spain Is A Big Ugly Mess With Some Extremely Cool Players

<p>Nicholas Russell is a writer from Las Vegas.</p>


Nicholas Russell

Promotional image for Matthew McConaughey's Art Of Livin' event featuring McConaughey, Tony Robbins, Dean Graziosi, and Trent Shelton

Arts And Culture

The Art (And Commerce) Of Livin’: Five Dazed And Confusing Hours Of Matthew McConaughey’s Self-Help Seminar

HOUSTON, TEXAS - JANUARY 31: Raquel Rodríguez #11 of Costa Rica celebrates her goal against Haiti during the second half during a Group A - 2020 CONCACAF Women's Olympic Qualifying at BBVA Stadium on January 31, 2020 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images)

Can Costa Rica Sneak Up On The World Again?

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<div>Abigail Segel is a contributing writer at Defector. She is also an editor for The IX Soccer and the Equalizer. Her work has been published in the Guardian and the Montreal Gazette.</div>
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Abigail Segel

SAINT LOUIS, MO - APRIL 11: Kristie Mewis #22 of the United States with the ball during a game between Ireland and USWNT at CITYPARK on April 11, 2023 in Saint Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Bill Barrett/USSF/Getty Images).

What Is This USWNT Player’s Deal: Kristie Mewis


<p>Diana Moskovitz is Defector&#8217;s investigations editor. You can contact her at diana@defector.com or dfmoskovitz@protonmail.com. She&#8217;s also on Signal @dmoskovitz.99</p>


Diana Moskovitz

MOBILE, AL - FEBRUARY 04: A general view of a Georgia Bulldogs helmet during the Reese's Senior Bowl on February 4, 2023 at Hancock Whitney Stadium in Mobile, Alabama. (Photo by Michael Wade/Icon Sportswire)

College Football

When Georgia Football Players Are Accused Of Crimes, This Fixer Shows Up

Gymnast Simone Biles of Team United States flips through the air as performs her dismount during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games Women's Gymnastics Balance Beam Final at Ariake Gymnastics Center on Tuesday, August 3, 2021

Gymnastics

A Brief Investigation Into Whether Brady Quinn Broke The Simone Biles News

David Roth

A stock photo of a man in his thirties sitting at a computer with headphones on, presumably thinking about podcasts.

Podcasts

Let’s Remember Some Podcasts, With Alex Sujong Laughlin

Nigeria's female national football team Super Falcons pose for a group photo before the final of Aisha Buhari Invitational tournament at the Mobolaji Johnson Arena in Lagos state, Nigeria Sept. 21, 2021. South Africa's female national football team Banyana Banyana on Tuesday night emerged champions of the maiden edition of the Aisha Buhari Invitational Women's Tournament after defeating the Super Falcons of Nigeria 4-2 in the last game.

Nigeria Could Be Headed For World Cup Disaster

<p>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 <em>Point B</em>. Handsomest man in the world.</p>


Drew Magary

Life Lessons

How Much Shit Should You Have In Your Wallet? An Investigation

This Is So Stupid

Inside Defector’s Attempt To Revolutionize The Metaverse T-Shirt Space

<p>Keith Paradise is a freelance writer who somehow won a Keystone Press Award during his<br />
decade spent as a newspaper reporter in Pennsylvania, where he covered sports, education, and<br />
the murder of a neighborhood turkey. Originally from Pittsburgh, he is a senior writer for<br />
Billiards Digest magazine and his name has appeared twice in the notable section of The Year’s<br />
Best Sports Writing anthology—including in 2024 for his Defector article on the rise and fall of<br />
sports clothing icon Starter.</p>


Keith Paradise

A rack of Starter jackets, satin and pullover and polyester. Colorado Rockies is in the front.

The Rise And Fall Of Starter, The Coolest Company On Earth

Tommy Pham waits for the mound visit to end

Tommy Pham As Intense As Ever, But In A More Productive Way

Members of the Canadian womens national soccer team wear "Enough Is Enough" shirts in protest for equal pay ahead of the 2023 SheBelieves Cup soccer match between Canada and Japan at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas, on February 22, 2023.

Canada Needs A Win, And They Might Just Get One

OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA - JUNE 28: Domingo German #0 of the New York Yankees celebrates his no-hit perfect game against the Oakland Athletics, defeating them 11-0 at RingCentral Coliseum on June 28, 2023 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)

All The Weight Of A Perfect Game

French Christophe Laporte of Jumbo-Visma, Belgian Wout Van Aert of Jumbo-Visma, Danish Jonas Vingegaard of Jumbo-Visma, Belgian Tiesj Benoot of Jumbo-Visma and US' Sepp Kuss of Jumbo-Visma pictured in action during stage 21, the final stage of the Tour de France cycling race, from Paris la Defense Arena to Paris Champs-Elysees, France, on Sunday 24 July 2022. This year's Tour de France takes place from 01 to 24 July 2022. BELGA PHOTO POOL LEQUIPPE - UK OUT (Photo by POOL LEQUIPPE / BELGA MAG / Belga via AFP) (Photo by POOL LEQUIPPE/BELGA MAG/AFP via Getty Images)