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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

Dave McKenna

Neon sign welcomes visitors to Bakersfield. Country western star Buck Owens, built a $10million 'Buck Owen's Crystal Palace' at Highway 99, right next to the Crystal Palace is the huge Yellow and black BAKERSFIELD sign of Sillect street that we all see from the 99 freeway Bakersfield is a city increasingly popular with Southern California families because its houses are affordable and its schools good and it still has a smalltown feel. (Photo by Spencer Weiner/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

Arena Football

Arena Football League Relaunch Comes As Surprise To Cities That Will Allegedly Have Teams 

Sinead O'Connor singing at a recent UFC fight

Music

Sinead O’Connor Was A Rebel With A Cause

Internationals

Monaghan’s Thrill-Filled Quest For An All-Ireland Football Championship Is Sponsored By A Bronx Flooring Company

Giri Nathan

Patrick Redford

TOPSHOT - Jumbo-Visma team's Danish rider Jonas Vingegaard wearing the overall leader's yellow jersey (C), Jumbo-Visma team's Belgian rider Wout Van Aert wearing the sprinter's green jersey (C) and Jumbo-Visma team's American rider Sepp Kuss (R) celebrate with champagne as they cycle during the 21st and final stage of the 109th edition of the Tour de France cycling race, 115,6 km between La Defense Arena in Nanterre, outside Paris, and the Champs-Elysees in Paris, France, on July 24, 2022. (Photo by Thomas SAMSON / various sources / AFP) (Photo by THOMAS SAMSON/AFP via Getty Images)

Cycling

What Can Hardcore Fans And Curious Newbies Learn From ‘Tour de France: Unchained’?

High School Sports

In Praise Of Andre Jackson, A Dunker From The Gods

Politics

Pat Robertson, Anti-Gaming Crusader And Horse Racing Enthusiast, Is Dead

A story in the Wright State Daily Guardian about Robert Pollard's no-hitter for Wright State University on March 11, 1978.

Celebrating Robert Pollard’s No-Hitter And The Rock-Jock Nexus

Washington Commanders soon-to-be ex-owner Dan Snyder on the field before his team lost the Dallas Cowboys in 2022.

Owner Of Newspaper That Dan Snyder Tried To Put Out Of Business Now Owns Snyder’s Football Team

The guitar as it appeared on Craigslist and the guitar as it's being repaired, split screen

Elder Wisdom

Happiness Is Fixing A Guitar

Life Lessons

Requiem For An Overweight

TEMPE, AZ - SEPTEMBER 21: A Colorado Buffaloes helmet on the field during the college football game between the Colorado Buffaloes and the Arizona State Sun Devils on September 21, 2019 at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona.

College Football

He Was A Colorado Recruit. Then Dozens Of Women Came Forward

BOSTON - 1969: Bill Russell #6 of the Boston Celtics poses for a portrait in 1969 at the Boston Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 1969 NBAE (Photo by Dick Raphael/NBAE via Getty Images)

FBI Releases Bill Russell Investigation Files, Slanders The Dead

James Dolan, in a velvet blazer and a dumb hat, singing his heart out.

James Dolan And Me, Face To Face

Cows stand behind a fence, but in front of a picturesque view of County Mayo in Ireland.

Things We Actually Like

A Yank Walks Into A Pub

Eastern Motors guy with 1-888-203-5217 on his face

Life's Rich Pageant

A Jingle That Will Not Die

Players fight to earn the ball during the Guinness Six Nations third round, Italy vs Ireland at the Olympic Stadium of Rome. Ireland won the match with a score of 34-20. (Photo by Pasquale Gargano/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images)

Rugby

Ireland Has The Best Rugby Team In The World? How’d That Happen?

The Never-Ending Resurrection Of Eva Cassidy

Burt Bacharach, The Genius Who Got Punks To Admit Elevator Music Was Cool, Is Dead

Policing

Federal Judge Dismisses Lawsuit Against Cop Who Killed Peyton Ham

And This Byrd Can Sing: David Crosby, 1941-2023

Orioles CEO John Angelos Honors A Civil Rights Icon Through A Fit Of Bullying

A view of RFK stadium during a football game

A Dead Fan’s Notes

Pete Philo Is Back In Court. His First Victim Never Got A Second Chance

Bowling

Duckpin Bowling Loses Its Home

Quarterback Caleb Williams #13 of the USC Trojans celebrates USC Trojans defeated the Notre Dame Fighting Irish 38-27 during a NCAA football game at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles on Saturday, November 26, 2022.