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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

Tom Ley

Gambling

How Did Bryce Harper End Up Helping FanDuel Keep A Gambling Addict On The Hook?

Patrick Redford

Uno-X Mobility team's Norwegian rider Torstein Træen celebrates on the podium with the overall leader's yellow jersey after the 4th stage of the 113th edition of the Tour de France cycling race, 182 km between Carcassonne and Foix in southwestern France, on July 7, 2026. (Photo by Loic VENANCE / AFP)

Cycling

Meet Torstein Træen, The Stoic Norwegian Survivor Who Briefly Lit Up The Tour de France

Dave McKenna

A National Guard officer walks through an emptied out area of The Great American State Fair

Politics

Trump’s State Fair Was Ass In All The Ways I’d Been Warned 

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


Sabrina Imbler

Patty, an Asian elephant kept in captivity at the Bronx Zoo stands in her enclosure alone after being separated from the zoo's other remaining elephant

Creaturefector

The Other Elephant

Lauren Theisen

view of a mostly empty ballpark, from low on the third base side, at the FerryHawks play the Rockers

A Front-Row Seat To The Worst Team In Pro Baseball

Barry Petchesky

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - JUNE 14: CEO, owner and governor Tom Dundon of the Carolina Hurricanes hoists the Stanley Cup after the team's 3-0 victory over the Vegas Golden Knights in Game Six of the 2026 NHL Stanley Cup Final at T-Mobile Arena on June 14, 2026 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Hurricanes won the series four games to two. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

I’m Not Sure There Are Enough Dundons On The Stanley Cup

<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

Switzerland supporters celebrate their team's victory with flares

Podcasts

The World Cup Quarterfinals Are Here. Pick A Team Or DIE

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<p class="sc-77igqf-0 bOfvBY">Vince Guerrieri is an award-winning journalist and author in the Cleveland area. He likes Lake Erie perch sandwiches, Jim Traficant and long walks on the field at League Park. His website is <a class="sc-1out364-0 hMndXN sc-145m8ut-0 kGbjEv js_link" href="http://vinceguerrieri.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-ga="[[&quot;Embedded Url&quot;,&quot;External link&quot;,&quot;http://vinceguerrieri.com/&quot;,{&quot;metric25&quot;:1}]]">vinceguerrieri.com</a>, and you can follow him on Twitter <a class="sc-1out364-0 hMndXN sc-145m8ut-0 kGbjEv js_link" href="https://twitter.com/vinceguerrieri" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-ga="[[&quot;Embedded Url&quot;,&quot;External link&quot;,&quot;https://twitter.com/vinceguerrieri&quot;,{&quot;metric25&quot;:1}]]">@vinceguerrieri</a>.</p>
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Vince Guerrieri

The Bears Wouldn’t Be The First NFL Team In Hammond, Indiana

Billy Haisley

Minor Dilemmas

Am I The Asshole For Judging The Screen Time Habits Of Other People’s Kids?

Sarah Borus

Pitcher Zack Wheeler #45 of the Philadelphia Phillies throws a pitch

Hell Hath No Fury Like A Pitcher Scorned

Maitreyi Anantharaman

Skylar Diggins #4 of the Chicago Sky warms up prior to the game against the Portland Fire at Wintrust Arena on June 26, 2026 in Chicago, Illinois

WNBA

The Long-Awaited Blowup Between Skylar Diggins And The Sky Has Finally Arrived

<p>Staff Writer</p>
<p>Find me on Signal @DefectorChris.19</p>


Chris Thompson

Brad Stevens, Celtics president of basketball operations.

What Do The Boston Celtics Intend To Be?

Media Meltdowns

Dana White Stars In History’s Worst Truck Ad

<p>Jae Towle Vieira [they/them] works as a producer for Normal Gossip. Their fiction has been published in <i data-stringify-type="italic">The Normal School</i>, <i data-stringify-type="italic">New England Review, Carve Magazine, Passages North, Fairy Tale Review</i>, and elsewhere.</p>


Jae Towle Vieira

a classroom with desks and chairs piled on top of each other in a corner

Who Pranks The Pranksters?

The Mets Have Turned It Around 360 Degrees

Giri Nathan

Coco Gauff of the Untied States returns a shot in the Ladies Singles Quarter Finals match against Jessica Pegula of the United States on day nine of The Championships Wimbledon 2026 at All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club on July 07, 2026 in London, England. (Photo by Shi Tang/Getty Images)

Tennis

You Don’t Have To Love Grass To Win On It

The Tour de France’s Infernal Present Portends Its Impossible Future

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<p>Robert Rubsam writes fiction and nonfiction. His work has appeared in the NYT Magazine, the Atlantic, the Washington Post, the Baffler, and Liberties. He is a contributing writer for Commonweal Magazine.</p>
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Robert Rubsam

Arts And Culture

‘The Furious’ Kicks Ass

Allisha Gray #15 of the Atlanta Dream shoots against the Golden State Valkyries in the fourth quarter at Gateway Center Arena on July 4, 2026 in College Park, Georgia.

The Atlanta Dream Are Getting Drowsy

Luis Paez-Pumar

Lionel Messi #10 of Argentina celebrates after the 3-2 victory during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Round of 16 match between Argentina and Egypt at Atlanta Stadium on July 07, 2026 in Atlanta, Georgia.

Soccer

Lionel Messi Refuses To Let Time Win

Funbag

The Hot Take Industrial Complex Cannot Be Killed By Conventional Means

Sohini Desai

Meet The Broadway Actor Teaching Public Defenders How To Win In Court

France's forward #10 Kylian Mbappe celebrates past Paraguay's goalkeeper #12 Orlando Gill after winning the 2026 World Cup round of 16 football match between Paraguay and France at the Philadelphia Stadium in Philadelphia on July 4, 2026.

Paraguayan Senator Gets Shockingly Racist Toward Kylian Mbappé

Albert Burneko

Is It Mitch McConnell Or Your Own Sense Of Possibility That Has Been Dead For Weeks?

a photo of a swimming crab trapped inside a plastic bottle