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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

Patrick Redford

WASHINGTON, DC - DECEMBER 07: David Ellison attends the 48th Kennedy Center Honors at The Kennedy Center on December 07, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Shannon Finney/WireImage)

Capital

Paramount Launches Hostile Takeover Bid For Warner Bros. Discovery

Tom Ley

Daiyan Henley #0 of the Los Angeles Chargers at hits Jalen Hurts #1 of the Philadelphia Eagles as he throws during the second quarter SoFi Stadium on December 08, 2025 in Inglewood, California.

Jalen Hurts Won The Disaster Contest

Jack Hanson

Arts And Culture

Patricia Lockwood’s Inexhaustible Mind

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

Dan McQuade

The Bills’ Hallmark Christmas Movie Is An Infomercial For A Health Insurer

Billy Haisley

Phil Foden of Manchester City and Rayan Cherki of Manchester City celebrate 4th goal during the Premier League match between Manchester City and Sunderland at Etihad Stadium on December 6, 2025 in Manchester, England.

Soccer

Rayan Cherki’s Pass Was A Thing Of Beauty

Israel Daramola

Death To The NCAA

The College Football Playoff Is Here And No One Is Happy

Nicholas Russell is a writer from Las Vegas.

Nicholas Russell

Interviews

Seth Harp Talks About The Rot At The Core Of America’s Empire

Ray Ratto

ANAHEIM, CA - OCTOBER 19: Portrait of (L-R) Second Baseman Jeff Kent #21 and Left Fielder Barry Bonds #25 both of the San Francisco Giants during game one of the World Series against the Anaheim Angels on October 19, 2002 at Edison Field in Anaheim, California. The Giants defeated the Angels 4-3. (Photo by Donald Miralle/Getty Images)

The Hall Of Fame Welcomes Jeff Kent And Not That Other Guy

Maitreyi Anantharaman

Host/chef Gordon Ramsay with contestant Sandra in the "Cooking For Life" episode of HELL'S KITCHEN

Crosswords

The Crossword, Dec. 8: That’s Me In The Middle

Barry Petchesky

JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA - DECEMBER 07: Daniel Jones #17 of the Indianapolis Colts is checked on by trainers after an injury during the first quarter against the Jacksonville Jaguars at EverBank Stadium on December 07, 2025 in Jacksonville, Florida. (Photo by Mike Carlson/Getty Images)

That About Does It For The Colts

Azeez Al-Shaair #0 of the Houston Texans intercepts a pass intended for Travis Kelce #87 of the Kansas City Chiefs during the fourth quarter at Arrowhead Stadium on December 07, 2025 in Kansas City, Missouri.

The Chiefs Are No Longer Getting Away With It

Head Coach Marcus Freeman of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish leads his team into the stadium to start the second half of a college football game against the Stanford Cardinal on November 29, 2025 at Stanford Stadium in Palo Alto, California.

College Football

Notre Dame Is Taking Its Bowl Eligibility And Going Home

Kathryn Xu

World Drivers Champion Lando Norris of Great Britain and McLaren and the McLaren team celebrate during the F1 Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi at Yas Marina Circuit on December 07, 2025 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

Racing

Lando Norris Achieves The Ultimate

Fernando Mendoza And Indiana Are The Flippin’ Big Ten Champs!

Ilia Malinin of the United States performs in the Men - Free Skating on day 3 of the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final.

Figure Skating

The Quad God Performs Another Miracle

Mohamed Salah of Liverpool waves to the fans at full time during the Premier League match between Leeds United and Liverpool at Elland Road on December 6, 2025 in Leeds, England.

Liverpool’s Nightmare Season Now Features Mo Salah Drama

David Roth

A crop of four images of people kind of partying and hanging out from Ken Ohara's "Contacts" show at The Whitney, with the relevant Whitney credit language superimposed at lower right.

Make Yourself At Home

Luis Paez-Pumar

Here’s The 2026 World Cup Draw

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - DECEMBER 01: LeBron James #23 of the Los Angeles Lakers on court against the Phoenix Suns at Crypto.com Arena on December 01, 2025 in Los Angeles, 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 Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

LeBron James’s Scoring Streak Tells The Story

<a href="http://Feldman.cool" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Brian Feldman</a> is a software engineer living in Brooklyn.

Brian Feldman

tim robinson using the computer in the chair company

‘The Chair Company’ Is A Show About How Fun It Is To Use The Computer

What Does Winning Your Conference Mean Anymore?

August Prum is a writer and filmmaker based in Queens.

August Prum

Martin Donovan, Elina Lowensohn, and Bill Sage, left to right, dance in an empty restaurant in a scene from Hal Hartley's film "Simple Men."

Hal Hartley Is Still Figuring It All Out Onscreen

Exhaust fumes adding to the air pollution in Santiago, Chile, in 1962.

Podcasts

Another Side Of Carbon Dioxide, With Peter Brannen

Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison speaks during the Bloomberg Screentime conference in Los Angeles on October 9, 2025. (Photo by Patrick T. Fallon / AFP)

Paramount Is Trying To Bully Its Way Into Acquiring Warner Bros. Discovery

charismatic megafauna (they/them)

Sabrina Imbler

Dave McKenna

a still from the movie Jingle Bell Heist, with Lucy Punch in a fascinator looking at Connor Swindells