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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

Kathryn Xu

Umpires explain a rule review to manager John Schneider of the Toronto Blue Jays during the seventh inning of their MLB game against the Boston Red Sox.

Red Sox Stumble Into Rules Review Hell, Emerge With Inconsequential Run

Patrick Redford

Music

Charli XCX Made A Beautiful Monument To Impermanence

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


Israel Daramola

Mike Kinsella of American Football performs onstage during a concert at O2 Academy Leeds.

American Football Is Still Making Magic

Annie Berke

Arts And Culture

The Sports Idiot Is Dead, Long Live The Sports Idiot

<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

Funbag

Cathy Engelbert Is Doing The Job She Was Hired To Do

Billy Haisley

Former player Ashley Cole of England and Fabrizio Romano are seen at the Heineken booth during the UEFA Champions League Final 2026 in Budapest, Hungary.

Soccer

While Wearing An Orange Wig And A Big Red Foam Nose, Fabrizio Romano Insists He’s Not A Clown

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


Sabrina Imbler

a fluffy white and brown cat in a gray camouflage recovery suit

Animals

Melon’s Odyssey On The Black Market For Life-Saving Cat Medicine

Tom Ley

Announcements

Transactions, August 10

NICE, FRANCE - AUGUST 09: Demi Vollering of Netherlands and Team FDJ United - SUEZ - Yellow Leader Jersey celebrates at finish line as stage and final overall race winner during the 5th Tour de France Femmes 2026, Stage 9 a 99.2km stage from Nice to Nice / #UCIWWT / on August 09, 2026 in Nice, France. (Photo by Tim de Waele/Getty Images)

Cycling

The Tour de France Femmes Was A Contentious,  Hypercompetitive Classic

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<div><a href="https://www.bystefanfatsis.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.bystefanfatsis.com/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1759235100786000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1mlCW5_XUY56jklGr11a_z">Stefan Fatsis</a> is the author of four books: <a href="https://groveatlantic.com/book/unabridged/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://groveatlantic.com/book/unabridged/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1759235100786000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0jbw5ZscOBp6w-1um3R6yu"><i>Unabridged</i></a>, <a href="https://bookshop.org/p/books/a-few-seconds-of-panic-a-sportswriter-plays-in-the-nfl-stefan-fatsis/7891278" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://bookshop.org/p/books/a-few-seconds-of-panic-a-sportswriter-plays-in-the-nfl-stefan-fatsis/7891278&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1759235100786000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0MpNNngIOKaj-715hSNVZD"><i>A Few Seconds of Panic</i></a>, <a href="https://bookshop.org/p/books/word-freak-heartbreak-triumph-genius-and-obsession-in-the-world-of-competitive-scrabblep-layers-stefan-fatsis/11648962" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://bookshop.org/p/books/word-freak-heartbreak-triumph-genius-and-obsession-in-the-world-of-competitive-scrabblep-layers-stefan-fatsis/11648962&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1759235100786000&amp;usg=AOvVaw02LL51Wrka0A0lLkwOxYUj"><i>Word Freak</i></a>, and <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Wild-Outside-Renegade-Baseball-Heartland/dp/0802712975" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.amazon.com/Wild-Outside-Renegade-Baseball-Heartland/dp/0802712975&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1759235100786000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1YzbrZGW2KCbIttDDLhkPn"><i>Wild and Outside</i></a>. He&#8217;s also a former cohost of “Hang Up and Listen,” commentator on NPR&#8217;s &#8220;All Things Considered,&#8221; and reporter for <i>The Wall Street Journal</i>. Subscribe to his newsletter, <a href="https://stefanfatsis.substack.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://stefanfatsis.substack.com/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1786480936396000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0fRpxgEOhbgbpR79WFcozC">Unabridged</a>.</div>
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Stefan Fatsis

Meller and Swift shake hands over the board

Games

Two Scrabble Superstars Explain Their Unbelievable Championship Match

Maitreyi Anantharaman

Kayla McBride #21 of the Minnesota Lynx celebrates a three-point basket with Napheesa Collier #24 and teammates during the second half against the Dallas Wings at Target Center on August 9, 2026 in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

WNBA

Kayla McBride Keeps It Ethical

Alex Sujong Laughlin

A picture I took from the Brooklyn Bridge the first week I lived in New York, almost a decade ago.

Podcasts

What Does It Take To Make Big City Dreams Work?

FLOWERY BRANCH, GEORGIA - MAY 27: Michael Penix Jr. #9 of the Atlanta Falcons runs through drills alongside Tua Tagovailoa #1 as head coach Kevin Stefanski looks on during OTA’s at IBM Performance Field on May 27, 2026 in Flowery Branch, Georgia. (Photo by Todd Kirkland/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Michael Penix Jr.; Tua Tagovailoa; Kevin Stefanski

Why Your Team Sucks

Why Your Team Sucks 2026: Atlanta Falcons

Samer Kalaf

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani speaks

Politics

The “Ground Zero Mosque” Strategy Makes An Even More Pathetic Return

Passengers arrive on an Amtrak train at Union Station on December 04, 2024 in Chicago, Illinois. Amtrak carried a record 32.8 million passengers in their 2024 fiscal year, a 15 percent increase over the same period in 2023.

Crosswords

The Crossword, Aug. 10: Midpoint

Ray Ratto

Coach Nelson meets the press. The Golden State Warriors have named Don Nelson as the team's new head coach, it was announced today by Executive Vice President of Basketball Operation's Chris Mullin. Event in, Oakland, Ca, on 8/30/06.

Don Nelson Followed His Bliss And Changed Basketball

a still of ESPN reporter Lindsey Thiry batting away a big bug

What Big Bug “Attacked” An ESPN Reporter At Rams Camp?

Science

We Wouldn’t Be Here Without Poop

Sophie Cunningham #8 of the Indiana Fever is fouled by DiJonai Carrington #7 of the Chicago Sky during the first half

Sophie Cunningham Has Quite A Journey To Get Back To Basketball

Sarah Borus

Asylum seekers, who entered Israel illegally via Egypt, lean at the fence of the Holot detention centre in Israel's southern Negev Desert, on February 17, 2014.

Alligator Alcatraz Isn’t Just An American Fantasy

Defector Staff

Undated group photo of the original "Our Gang."

Staff Chat

Staff Chat Starts Now? Staff Chat Starts Now

Sohini Desai

The Defector Interns Say Fogo de “Ciao”

Why Your Team Sucks 2026: Dallas Cowboys

Giri Nathan

LaMelo Ball of the Charlotte Hornets attends a 2025 NBA Summer League game

Interviews

Let’s Unpack LaMelo Ball’s Sugary Abode

Sportscaster Mike Krukow watches from the broadcast center between the San Francisco Giants and the San Diego Padres at Oracle Park on October 1, 2021 in San Francisco, California.