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Defector

Ray Ratto

MILAN, ITALY - FEBRUARY 22: goalkeeper Connor Hellebuyck of United States celebrates winning the gold medal during the Ice Hockey Men's Gold Medal Game match between Canada and USA on day sixteen of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic games at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena on February 22, 2026 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Andrea Branca/Eurasia Sport Images/Getty Images)

Olympics

Team USA Had The Golden Goalie

Maya Goldberg-Safir writes about women’s basketball and splits her time between Chicago and Oakland, where she was born and raised. She is the creator of <a href="https://wnbaroughnotes.substack.com/">Rough Notes</a>, a newsletter chronicling women’s basketball from the court, the road, and the heart.

Maya Goldberg-Safir

Women's Basketball

Cardte Hicks Played Above The Rim And Ahead Of Her Time

charismatic megafauna (they/them)

Sabrina Imbler

the ancient fish Haikouichthys, which resembles a blue noodle with four eyes

Creaturefector

Finally! An Ancient Fish That Understood Life’s Terrors

Gold medalist Loic Meillard of Team Switzerland, Silver medalist Fabio Gstrein of Team Austria and Bronze medalist Henrik Kristoffersen of Team Norway celebrate by taking a victory selfie on the podium during the medal ceremony for the Men's Slalom Run

It’s Time To Get Cozy At The Podium

Lauren Theisen

Jack Hughes #86 of Team United States celebrates after their gold-medal win

Jack Hughes Sheds Blood And Teeth For His Country, U.S. Wins Olympic Gold

Mikhail Shaidorov Celebrated Gold By Skating In A Panda Suit

Maitreyi Anantharaman

Megan Keller #5 (R) of Team United States celebrates scoring a goal with teammates Hannah Bilka #23 (C) and Hilary Knight #21 (L) in the first period during the Women's Preliminary Round Group A match between the United States and Czechia on Day minus one of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic games at Milano Rho Ice Hockey Arena on February 05, 2026 in Milan, Italy.

Still Country For Old Women

Harry Krinsky is a producer and media consultant living in Brooklyn. He is the cohost of <a href="https://defector.com/tag/nothing-but-respect">Nothing But Respect</a>.

Harry Krinsky

Rich Paul stands in front of a white board

Media Meltdowns

Rich Paul’s Podcast Was Built To Be Useless

Giri Nathan

Arif Mohd Khan of Team India reacts in the finish area after competing in the Men's Slalom Run on day ten of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics at Stelvio Alpine Skiing Centre on February 16, 2026 in Bormio, Italy. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)

Indian Skier Starts, Finishes Race

Patrick Dubuque is a writer and editor at Baseball Prospectus.

Patrick Dubuque

Phillippe Aumont of Team Canada pitches during Game 3 of Pool C between Team Great Britain and Team Canada at Chase Field on Sunday, March 12, 2023 in Phoenix, Arizona.

A Season For Hope

Billy Haisley

Players of Arsenal look dejected after conceding a second goal during the Premier League match between Wolverhampton Wanderers and Arsenal at Molineux on February 18, 2026 in Wolverhampton, England.

Soccer

Ohhhhhhhh, Arsenal

Kathryn Xu

Alysa Liu of Team United States competes in Women's Single Skating - Free Skating.

Alysa Liu Is Untouchable

MILAN, ITALY - FEBRUARY 19: Megan Keller #5 of Team United States celebrates with teammates after scoring the game-winning goal to win the gold medals in the overtime during the Women's Gold Medal match between the United States and Canada on day 13 of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic games at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena on February 19, 2026 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

Team USA’s Gold Is Sweeter For The Struggle

Staff Writer
Find me on Signal @DefectorChris.19

Chris Thompson

Margot Robbie's mouth, with a hand over it.

Arts And Culture

Emerald Fennell Now Going Moor-To-Moor Trying To Shock People

HOUSTON, TEXAS - FEBRUARY 11: Kevin Durant #7 of the Houston Rockets looks on during the second half of the game against the Los Angeles Clippers at Toyota Center on February 11, 2026 in Houston, Texas. 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 Jack Gorman/Getty Images)

Kevin Durant Neither Confirms Nor Denies The Latest Burner Allegations

David Roth

Marc Kennedy and Ben Hebert of Team Canada compete during Men's Round Robin between Team Canada and Team Great Britain on day eleven of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic games at Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium on February 17, 2026.

Podcasts

Across The Hog Line, With John Cullen

Patrick Redford

Charlotte Hornets Chicago Bulls NBA Basketball

Maybe LaMelo Ball Shouldn’t Have A Driver’s License

Veronica de Souza

Make It Nice

Make It Nice: Curtains, Linens, And How To Figure Out What You Like

This Is So Stupid

I Finally Understand This Tara Lipinski Commercial

Silver medalist Gu Ailing of China poses for photos after the awarding ceremony of the freestyle skiing women's freeski big air event at the Milan-Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Livigno, Italy, Feb. 16, 2026. (Photo by Wang Peng/Xinhua via Getty Images)

Eileen Gu Will Never Be The Traitor JD Vance Wants Her To Be

Barry Petchesky

MILAN, ITALY - FEBRUARY 18: Quinn Hughes #43 of Team United States celebrate his victory goal in overtime with Matthew Tkachuk #19 and Jack Hughes #86 during the Ice Hockey Men's Play-off Quarterfinals match between Team United States and Team Sweden on day twelve of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic games at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena on February 18, 2026 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Xavier Laine/Getty Images)

Quinn Hughes Almost Smiled

Lesley Ryder is a writer and a host covering the Chicago Red Stars. She co-created <a href="https://galpalsports.com/">Gal Pal Sports</a>, a platform that lives to make women’s sports fun for everyone.

Lesley Ryder

Kendall Coyne #26 of Team United States controls the puck against in the second period during the Women's Playoffs Semifinal match between United States and Sweden on Day 10 of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic games at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena on February 16, 2026 in Milan, Italy.

All I Want Is A Women’s Hockey Broadcast That Talks About The Hockey

Gianluca Prestianni of SL Benfica seems with Vinicius Junior of Real Madrid CF during the UEFA Champions League 2025/26 League Knockout Play-off First Leg match between SL Benfica and Real Madrid C.F. at Estadio do SL Benfica on February 17, 2026 in Lisbon, Portugal.

Soccer Racismo Sounds The Same Every Time

MILAN, ITALY - FEBRUARY 18: Mitch Marner of Team Canada celebrates a goal during the Ice Hockey Men Quarterfinals match between Canada vs Czechia on day twelve of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic games at Milano Santa Giulia Ice Hockey Arena on February 18, 2026 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Stefano Guidi/Getty Images)

Canada Took A Czech Beating And Survived

UCLA men's basketball coach Mick Cronin in a postgame scrum after UCLA's blowout loss to Michigan State on Feb. 17