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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

Leicy Santos's teammates dowse her in water while celebrating

Soccer

Leicy Santos Is In The Right Spot

Maitreyi Anantharaman

Sophie Cunningham announces a round in a lightweight fight during the UFC 329 event at T-Mobile Arena on July 11, 2026 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

WNBA

Sophie Cunningham Is About As Edgy As A Beach Ball

Tom Ley

Phee’s Back

Lauren Theisen

four actors on a set that looks like a dark back porch with a hot tub

Arts And Culture

After The Argument Comes The Rest Of Your Lives


<p class="wp-block-paragraph">charismatic megafauna (they/them)</p>


Sabrina Imbler

The images show two adult orcas feeding on the ocean sunfish,

Creaturefector

Orcas Are Kerploding Sunfish Into A Thousand Pieces

<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

Why Your Team Sucks

Why Your Team Sucks 2026: Las Vegas Raiders

<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

Podcasts

The Haunting, The Psychic, And The Stepmom

Giri Nathan

A dad sits in the grass at a park with his shirt off listening to music on headphones and reading the paper while his baby sleeps next to him

Minor Dilemmas

What’s Going To Happen To The Rest Of My Life After I Become A Parent?

Patrick Redford

SAINT-GERVAIS MONT-BLANC, FRANCE - JULY 16: A fan stands roadside under an umbrella as he waits for the peloton of cyclists during the stage fifteen of the 110th Tour de France 2023 from Les Gets les Portes du Soleil to Saint-Gervais Mont-Blan on July 16, 2023, France. It is estimated that between twelve and fifteen million fans will line the 3,404 km of French roads to witness the 110th edition of the Tour de France in person. As a symbol of French unity and identity, the world's most famous cycling race has stitched a human landscape across the geography of France since 1903. (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images)

Cycling

A Mathematically Rigorous Guide To The Uncs Of The Tour de France

Media Meltdowns

ESPN Just Keeps Getting Smaller And Louder

Luis Paez-Pumar

LeBron James of the Miami Heat celebrates winning Game 7 of the NBA Finals at the American Airlines Arena June 20, 2013 in Miami, Florida. The Miami Heat, led by NBA Most Valuable Player LeBron James, won the NBA Finals for the second consecutive year by defeating the San Antonio Spurs 95-88 in game seven of the championship series.

Miami Heat Post, Then Remove, Video That I Am Taking To Mean LeBron James Is Definitely Coming Back To Miami

Natalie Weiner

Interviews

Colson Whitehead Talks About Embracing Change, Pulling Off A Heist, And Finding A Good Coffee Table

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


Chris Thompson

Buster Posey, Larry Baer, and Greg Johnson huddle together.

Doofus Chaplain Takes The Giants’ Pride Night Victimhood To Instagram

Sarah Borus

Trea Turner #7 of the Philadelphia Phillies cannot field the ball on an infield RBI single

Trea Turner Is A True Two-Way Player

Children participate in a pasta eating competition

Funbag

I Demand We Normalize Chewing With Your Mouth Open

<p>Owen Lewis is a former Defector intern and has written for The Guardian, The Second Serve, The Athletic, n+1, Texas Monthly, Air Mail, and other publications.</p>


Owen Lewis

Tennis

Tennis.com Lived And Died With The Internet

Billy Haisley

Lionel Messi watches players of Spain receiving the medals following the FIFA World Cup 2026 Final match between Spain and Argentina

What Messi Means

Dennis Santana #60 of the Pittsburgh Pirates is restrained by teammates Rafael Flores Jr. #43 and Ryan O'Hearn #29 of the Pittsburgh Pirates as Austin Wells #28 of the New York Yankees moves in during an altercation after the eighth inning at Yankee Stadium

Dennis Santana To José Caballero: Look Deep Into My Eyes Or I Will Kick Your Ass

<p>Grace Byron is a critic, reporter, and novelist based in Queens. Her writing has appeared in <em>The New Yorker</em>, <em>Granta</em>, <em>Bookforum</em>, and elsewhere. Her debut novel <em>Herculine</em> is out now.</p>


Grace Byron

Books

Can Men Stop Hating Women?

This photograph taken on July 5, 2024, shows anti-doping testing kit materials displayed at the International Testing Agency (ITA) testing facility inside a truck at the finish line of the 7th stage of the 111th edition of the Tour de France cycling race, 25,3 km individual time trial between Nuits-Saint-Georges and Gevrey-Chambertin. The overall leader yellow jersey rider and stage winner are systematically summoned to be tested for doping after the day's stage, along with any rider selected by ITA based on performance or intelligence from the organisation's investigative department. A chaperon escorts the rider to the facility where a supervised urine sample is collected for testing. (Photo by Thomas SAMSON / AFP)

Intensified Doping Investigations At Tour de France Threaten Cycling’s Delicate Balance

Red Alert: Nick Sirianni Has Discovered ChatGPT


<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Culture Writer</p>


Israel Daramola

For Better Or Worse, ‘The Odyssey’ Is Peak Christopher Nolan


<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Leander Schaerlaeckens is a long-time soccer writer, currently contributing to <i>The Guardian </i>and elsewhere. He is the author of <a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/722130/the-long-game-by-leander-schaerlaeckens/"><i>The Long Game: U.S. Men&#8217;s Soccer and its Savage, Four-Decade Journey to the Top, or Thereabouts</i></a>. He teaches journalism and sports communication at Marist University. He will cover his fourth World Cup in 2026.</p>


A photo of the author Leander Schaerlaeckens taken by Asha Fuller.

Leander Schaerlaeckens

U.S. President Donald Trump reacts next to FIFA President Gianni Infantino after presenting the FIFA World Cup Winner's Trophy to Spain in the World Cup Final. Trump's kind of leaning like there's a very heavy wind.

FIFA Got What It Came For

Luguentz Dort #5 of the Oklahoma City Thunder celebrates after a play against the Los Angeles Lakers at the Paycom Center on April 2, 2026 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Zaccharie Risacher #10 of the Atlanta Hawks reacts during the third quarter against the New Orleans Pelicans at State Farm Arena on January 7, 2026 in Atlanta, Georgia