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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

Barry Petchesky

Show Us Your Fantasy Football Team

Argentina, Patagonia, Rio Pinturas, Cueva de las Manos

The Machines

Whatever AI Looks Like, It’s Not

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - AUGUST 25: (L-R) Alex Verdugo #24, Aaron Judge #99 and Juan Soto #22 of the New York Yankees celebrate after defeating the Colorado Rockies at Yankee Stadium on August 25, 2024 in New York City. The Yankees defeated the Rockies 10-3. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)

We Need A Better Phrase For Back-To-Back-To-Back Home Runs

RALEIGH, NC - NOVEMBER 26: Patrik Laine #29 of the Columbus Blue Jackets looks on during the warmups of the game against the Carolina Hurricanes at PNC Arena on November 26, 2023 in Raleigh, North Carolina. (Photo by Jaylynn Nash/Getty Images)*** Local Caption ***Patrik Laine

Bad Contracts Expose Bad Teams

Kathryn Xu

Vintage color photograph of a chimpanzee in a skirt, stupid blouse, wristwatch and boots seated at a cluttered desk in a faux office, typing on a red typewriter. (Photo by Found Image Holdings/Corbis via Getty Images)

Science

Point/Counterpoint: Monkeys Typing Shakespeare

A basalt head portrait of Roman Emperor Nero is pictured at the exibition "Nero" in Rome on April 11, 2011. Nearly two hundred pieces, including sculptures, reliefs, frescoes, paintings and artifacts from recent excavations will be shown during the exhibition from April 12 to September 18. AFP PHOTO / ALBERTO PIZZOLI (Photo by ALBERTO PIZZOLI / AFP) (Photo by ALBERTO PIZZOLI/AFP via Getty Images)

Olympics

Nero Was The Worst Best Olympian Ever

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - JUNE 26: An exterior general view is seen of Sphere prior to the 2024 Upper Deck NHL Draft on June 26, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The 2024 Upper Deck NHL Draft will be held at the Sphere on June 28 and 29, 2024. (Photo by Eliot J. Schechter/NHLI via Getty Images)

Journalismism

Jeff Marek Got Fired For Leaking Draft Picks To The Wrong Person

Announcements

Everyone’s Been Competing To Post Defector’s 10,000th Blog And I Just Clicked Publish On This

US Senator from Ohio and 2024 Republican vice presidential candidate J.D. Vance (R) gives a thumbs up as he shakes hands with US former President and 2024 Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump during the second day of the 2024 Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, July 16, 2024. Days after he survived an assassination attempt Donald Trump won formal nomination as the Republican presidential candidate and picked right-wing loyalist J.D. Vance for running mate, kicking off a triumphalist party convention in the wake of last weekend's failed assassination attempt. (Photo by Jim WATSON / AFP)

Politics

Look At These Fucking Weirdos

Don’t Bury Me At Biscuit Basin

CALGARY, CANADA - FEBRUARY 25: A view of the exterior of the Scotiabank Saddledome home of the NHL’s Calgary Flames with the city skyline in the background on February 25, 2016 in Calgary, Alberta. (Photo by Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images) *** Local Caption ***

A Useful, Clear-As-Day, Couldn’t-Be-Simpler Guide To Canada’s Hockey Arenas, Places, And Centres

British actor and singer Sting on the set of Dune, directed and written by David Lynch. (Photo by Nancy Moran/Sygma via Getty Images)

Wings Week

Sting’s Winged Briefs In ‘Dune’ Are Cinema’s Most Iconic Underpants

LONDON - APRIL 4: A creation made from Red Bull cans is seen at the Red Bull Art Of Can private view and awards at the The Old Truman Brewery on April 4, 2005 in London, England. Applicants had to use at least one Red Bull can in their creations, and the evening also features an auction of celebrity entries including a car by David Coulthard, an Olympic inspired medal by Jason Gardener and a shoe by Tara Palmer-Tomkinson. (Photo by Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images)

I Drank Every Flavor Of Red Bull In A Row To See If It Would Give Me Wings

NASA Must Put Me On The Simulated Mars Mission, To Test The Astronauts’ Patience

MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - JULY 06: Jose Miranda #64 of the Minnesota Twins acknowledges fans after his at-bat against the Houston Astros in the sixth inning. Miranda tied an MLB record recording a hit in 12 consecutive at-bats at Target Field on July 06, 2024 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by David Berding/Getty Images)

Old-Timey Ballplayers Have Nothing On José Miranda

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - JUNE 29: New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers looks on during the UFC 303 event at T-Mobile Arena on June 29, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)

The Jets Are Desperate Enough To Enable Aaron Rodgers

Greenfinches and Goldfinches on and around a bird feeder.

Birdfector

You’re A Birder, James Hetfield

SUNRISE, FLORIDA - JUNE 24: Aleksander Barkov #16 of the Florida Panthers enters the dressing room with the Stanley Cup ready to celebrate with teammates after beating the Edmonton Oilers in Game Seven of the Stanley Cup Final at the Amerant Bank Arena on June 24, 2024 in Sunrise, Florida. (Photo by Eliot J. Schechter/NHLI via Getty Images)

Momentum Or The Moment?

NEW YORK, NY - MAY 30: Barclay Goodrow #21 of the New York Rangers prior to the National Hockey League Eastern Conference Final game 5 against the Florida Panthers on May 30, 2024 at Madison Square Garden in New York. (Photo by Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Barclay Goodrow Is Not Pleased With The Rangers’ And Sharks’ Handshake Deal

The mated Russian-built Zarya (left) and U.S.-built Unity modules are backdropped against the blackness of space over Earth's horizon shortly after leaving Endeavour's cargo bay December 13, 1998. After being released from the shuttle Endeavour, the international space station was orbiting the Earth on its own today -- ``a bright new star'''' not to be visited again until May. (photo by NASA)

What If We’re Stuck Down Here?

EDMONTON, CANADA - JUNE 13: Ryan Nugent-Hopkins #93 of the Edmonton Oilers skates past Carter Verhaeghe #23 of the Florida Panthers during the first period of Game Three of the 2024 Stanley Cup Final at Rogers Place on June 13, 2024 in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. (Photo by Codie McLachlan/Getty Images)

Panther Sticks Are Everywhere

ALEXANDRIA, VIRGINIA - DECEMBER 13: Monumental Sports &amp; Entertainment CEO Ted Leonsis (R) arrives for the announcement of a new sports arena for the Washington Wizards NBA basketball team and Washington Capitals NHL hockey team, December 13, 2023 in Alexandria, Virginia. Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced a tentative agreement with Monumental Sports &amp; Entertainment that would move the Wizards and the Capitals from Washington, DC to what Youngkin called a new "visionary sports and entertainment venue" in northern Virginia. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)

The Washington Capitals, You Have Made A Powerful Enemy Today

Earthrise - Apollo 8, December 24, 1968. This view of the rising Earth greeted the Apollo 8 astronauts as they came from behind the Moon after the fourth nearside orbit. The photo, by&#xa0;astronaut&#xa0;William Anders, is displayed here in its original orientation, though it is more commonly viewed with the lunar surface at the bottom of the photo. Earth is about five degrees left of the horizon in the photo. The unnamed surface features on the left are near the eastern limb of the Moon as viewed from Earth. The lunar horizon is approximately 780 kilometers from the spacecraft. Height of the photographed area at the lunar horizon is about 175 kilometers.

Bill Anders First Saw The Earth

SUNRISE, FL - JUNE 08: Florida Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky (72) makes a tough save in the first period during game one of the Stanley Cup Finals between the Edmonton Oilers and the Florida Panthers on Saturday, June 8, 2024 at Amerant Bank Area in Sunrise, Fla. (Photo by Peter Joneleit/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)