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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

Israel Daramola

Arts And Culture

RIP To ‘Euphoria,’ HBO’s Dumbest Show

Alex Sujong Laughlin

Podcasts

‘Try Hard’ Is Back, Now In Video Form

Patrick Redford

Soccer

The USMNT Is Still Stuck In The Middle

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


Nicholas Russell

‘Backrooms’ Doesn’t Quite Capture The Weirdness Of The Originals

Lauren Theisen

sprinklers spraying the field with players on it

College Softball

Texas Tech Overcomes Last-Ditch Homer And Sprinkler Attack To Beat UCLA

Maitreyi Anantharaman

Lionel Messi of Argentina celebrates with the trophy at the end of the Finalissima trophy 2022 football match between Italy and Argentina. Argentina won 3-0 over Italy.

Crosswords

The Crossword, June 1: Bleus Band

Ray Ratto

Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred answers questions during an MLB owner's meeting at the Waldorf Astoria on February 10, 2022 in Orlando, Florida. Manfred addressed the ongoing lockout of players, which owners put in place after the league's collective bargaining agreement ended on December 1, 2021.

MLB Owners Want A Salary Cap Because They Want To Cash Out

Dave McKenna

Sphere Entertainment Co. Executive Chairman and CEO James Dolan operates a booth for the Wizard's chamber during a preview of the Atrium experience for "The Wizard of Oz at Sphere" ahead of the show's premiere on August 28, 2025 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

To Boo Or Not To Boo? That’s The Question, Knicks Fans

Tom Ley

Fernando Tatis Jr. looks relieved after hitting a homer

Fernando Tatis Jr. Finally Hit A Damn Homer

Luis Paez-Pumar

A screenshot of OOTP 27, showing Jose Ramirez hitting against Logan Gilbert

Video Games

Playing A Baseball Simulator Made Me A Fanatic Again

There’s No Hiding From The Spurs

Gabriel of Arsenal looks dejected after missing the team's fifth penalty in the penalty shoot out, as players of Paris Saint-Germain celebrate victory in the UEFA Champions League Final 2026 match between Paris Saint-Germain and Arsenal FC at Puskas Arena on May 30, 2026 in Budapest, Hungary.

Well, That Stunk

<p>Joshua C. Kendall was born in New York City. An award-winning freelance journalist, he has written on history,<br />
politics, biography, health care, and neuroscience for many national magazines and newspapers. He is currently an associate fellow of Yale’s Trumbull College. His previous books include <em>First Dads</em>, <em>The Man Who Made Lists</em>, and <em>The Forgotten Founding Father</em>.</p>


Joshua Kendall

Book Excerpts That Don't Suck

“Awfulness For Decades”: A Short History Of Trump And Doonesbury

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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

Janine Sonis of the Denver Summit FC celebrateds her second goal of the second half against the Orlando Pride with teammates Kaleigh Kurtz and Eva Gaetino.

The Denver Summit May Not Be Good, But They Sure Are Fun

Defector Staff

A photo of a bunch of old-timey green barstools with the cover of the NYRB Classics edition of Robert Coover's Universal Baseball Association in the middle and the Defector Reads A Book logo at left.

Defector Reads A Book

There Is A Whole World In ‘The Universal Baseball Association, Inc. J. Henry Waugh, Prop.’

Kathryn Xu

Clementine the tuxedo cat looking like a snake.

Life's Rich Pageant

How I Became An Itinerant Cat Tutor

Billy Haisley

FC Barcelona players toss Alexia Putellas in the air at the end of the match between FC Barcelona Femeni and Real Sociedad Femenino.

Barcelona Wins The Crown But Loses The Queen

Claude Lemieux carries the torch in the opening ceremony of Game Three of the Eastern Conference Final of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs between the Montreal Canadiens and the Carolina Hurricanes at the Bell Centre on May 25, 2026 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

The Tragedy Of Appreciating SOBs Too Late

Journalismism

Bari Weiss Hires Credulous Dope To Run ’60 Minutes’


<p>charismatic megafauna (they/them)</p>


Sabrina Imbler

The dead whale lies bloated off the Danish island of Anholt. It is the humpback whale known as Timmy, which first beached off Timmendorfer Strand at the end of March and was transported to the North Sea around a month later

Creaturefector

The Long, Sad, And Totally Fucked-Up Tale Of Timmy The Whale’s Trip To Germany

Albert Burneko

Spurs Deliver An Ass-Kicking And Force Game 7

Betnijah Laney-Hamilton #44 and Pauline Astier #18 of the New York Liberty celebrate after a timeout during the fourth quarter against the Phoenix Mercury at Barclays Center on May 27, 2026 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City.

WNBA

Don’t Think Too Hard About The New York Liberty

David Roth

The New York Knicks celebrate with the Bob Cousy Trophy after defeating the Cleveland Cavaliers 130-93 in Game Four of the NBA Eastern Conference Finals at Rocket Arena on May 25, 2026 in Cleveland, Ohio.