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Defector

charismatic megafauna (they/them)

Sabrina Imbler

Wojciech Chmielewski and Michal Gancarczyk of Team Poland compete in the Men's Doubles Run 1 on day five of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic games at Cortina Sliding Centre on February 11, 2026 in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy

Olympics

High-Level, Actionable Insights From Watching Doubles Luge For The First Time

Ray Ratto

NBA commissioner Adam Silver speaks during the pre-game press conference in Berlin.

The NBA Could Really Use A Break

Barry Petchesky

MILAN, ITALY - FEBRUARY 11: Elias Pettersson #40 of Sweden tries to score against Goalie Damian Clara #i20 of Italy during the Men's Preliminary Group B match between Sweden and Italy on day five of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic games at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena on February 11, 2026 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by RvS.Media/Robert Hradil/Getty Images)

Damian Clara Was Italy’s Improbable Bastion

Billy Haisley

A child taunts the Chelsea fans during the Premier League match between Chelsea and Leeds United at Stamford Bridge on February 10, 2026 in London, United Kingdom.

Soccer

There Are No Good Teams In The Premier League

Kathryn Xu

Ilia Malinin (United States of America) competes during the Figure Skating Men Single Skating Short Programme Final Figure Skating competition.

Ilia Malinin Brings Figure Skating To The Crossroads

Maitreyi Anantharaman

Laila Edwards #10 of Team United States celebrate her first goal with Hilary Knight #21 during the Women's Ice Hockey - Group A match between Team Canada and Team United States on day four of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic games at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena on February 10, 2026 in Milan, Italy.

Team USA’s Speedy Children Delivered A Beatdown Of Canada

Brandy Jensen

Sturla Holm Laegreid from Norway reacts emotionally at the award ceremony.

Adulterous Norwegian Biathlete’s Appeal Denied

Patrick Redford

10 February 2026, Italy, Tesero: Olympia, Olympic Winter Games Milan Cortina 2026, Nordic skiing/cross-country skiing sprint classic, men, race, Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo (Norway) is on the track. Photo: Daniel Karmann/dpa (Photo by Daniel Karmann/picture alliance via Getty Images)

Johannes Klæbo Ran Everybody Off The Course

Lauren Theisen

The Tigers Need More Than Nostalgia From Justin Verlander

CHONGQING, CHINA - FEBRUARY 8: In this photo illustration, a person holds a smartphone displaying the Kalshi app page on the Apple App Store, with the Kalshi branding visible in the background, on February 8, 2026, in Chongqing, China. Kalshi, a U.S.-regulated prediction market platform that allows users to trade on the outcomes of real-world events, has surged in popularity and recently climbed to second place on the Apple App Store’s U.S. free apps ranking, highlighting growing public interest in event-based financial markets and outcome forecasting. (Photo illustration by Cheng Xin/Getty Images)

Podcasts

On The Breathtakingly Cynical Giannis Antetokounmpo Kalshi Investment

Sam Darnold of the Seattle Seahawks reacts after defeating the New England Patriots 29-13 to win Super Bowl LX. He is kind of making "the Sam Darnold Face" while confetti falls behind him.

Sam Darnold’s Super Bowl Tax Bill Is A Total Write-Off

Alex Sujong Laughlin

They Publish Books By “Women And Weirdos” In Their Free Time

Libby Watson is a writer, <a href="https://www.twitch.tv/libtron">streamer</a> and <a href="https://www.patreon.com/whatsallthisthen">podcaster</a>.

Libby Watson

The exterior of breakfast, lunch, and pizza

Food

I Traveled 800 Miles To Eat Breakfast, Lunch, And Pizza At Criss Angel’s Breakfast, Lunch, And Pizza

Julia Simon of Team France competes in the Mixed Relay 4 x 6km (M+W) on day two of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic games at Anterselva Biathlon Arena on February 08, 2026 in Antholz-Anterselva, Italy. (Photo by Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images)

The Saga Of The French Teammate-Defrauder Taught Me To Appreciate The Essence Of Biathlon

Kelsey McKinney

Bronze medallist Norway's Sturla Holm Laegreid covers his face on the podium

Norwegian Biathlete, At Summit Of His Life’s Work: I Cheated On My Girlfriend

Head coach Kim Caldwell of the Tennessee Lady Volunteers looks on in the first half against the South Carolina Gamecocks during their game at Colonial Life Arena on February 08, 2026 in Columbia, South Carolina.

College Basketball

Kim Caldwell Is Running Out Of Hard Truths To Deliver

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

Advice

The Real Highlight Of The Super Bowl Was Josh McDaniels Eating Shit

The President of the Lombardy Region, Attilio Fontana, is welcoming the mascots Tina and Milo of the XXV Winter Olympic Games Milano Cortina 2026 in Piazza Citta di Lombardia, in Milan, Italy, on February 27, 2024.

Which Other Olympic Mascots Could Italian Stoats Tina And Milo Slaughter In Cold Blood?

Staff Writer
Find me on Signal @DefectorChris.19

Chris Thompson

Miles Bridges, Moussa Diabate, and Jalen Duren brawl

Pistons Pissed, Hornets Stung, Beef Stew Beefs, Too

Italy's Verena Hofer competes in the luge women's singles run 1 at Cortina Sliding Centre during the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games in Cortina d'Ampezzo on February 9, 2026. (Photo by FRANCK FIFE / AFP via Getty Images)

Olympic Photographers: Stop Doing The Lugers Dirty

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

Diana Moskovitz

A black and white photo of Laurence Fournier Beaudry and partner Guillaume Cizeron of Team France competing in the Ice Dance - Rhythm Dance on day zero of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic games at Milano Ice Skating Arena on February 06, 2026 in Milan, Italy.

Figure Skating

France’s Viral Ice Dancing Team Has A Dark Backstory

Luis Paez-Pumar

New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye is sacked by Seattle Seahawks defensive tackle Byron Murphy II in the fourth quarter. The New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks played in Super Bowl LX at Levi's Stadium on February 8, 2026.

The Patriots Offensive Line Got Obliterated

Israel Daramola

Bad Bunny Celebrated America

Albert Burneko

Italy's Stefania Constantini and Italy's Amos Mosaner compete in the curling mixed doubles round robin semi-final between USA and Italy during the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games at the Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium in Cortina d’Ampezzo on February 9, 2026.

The Super Bowl Could Not Compete With Tape-Delayed Olympic Curling

Dave McKenna

A man walks past The Washington Post on August 5, 2013 in Washington, DC after it was announced that Amazon.com founder and CEO Jeff Bezos had agreed to purchase the Post for USD 250 million. Multi-billionaire Bezos, who created Amazon, which has soared in a few years to a dominant position in online retailing, said he was buying the Post in his personal capacity and hoped to shepherd it through the evolution away from traditional newsprint.