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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

David Roth

Andre Braugher in a black and white portrait taken in 2015.

Arts And Culture

The Good Guy

Shohei Ohtani smiling in the dugout during an Angels game on September 17 of 2023.

Podcasts

Infinite Bonilla Mode

Tommy DeVito looking right, his mouth pretty wide open, after leading the Giants to a Monday Night Football win in New Jersey.

Never Count Out Touchdown Tommy

A photo of the cross-section of the samosa sandwich from Punjabi Junction in Manhattan. It has classic deli sandwich stuff on it but is most notable for containing smushed up samosas.

Food

Time For My Weird Sandwich

Shohei Ohtani sits on the bench during a September Angels game in 2023.

Shohei Ohtani Just Got Super-Duper Paid

A man wears a bootleg Bart Simpson t-shirt—black, with the words Ay Carumba (sic) in heavy metal font over an image of Bart displaying GUD and BAD finger tattoos—on the streets of Bangkok, in 2018.

Professor Frink Is Real, And Strong, And My Friend, With Matt Selman

Ron DeSantis poses with a supporter, or anyway with a guy in a baseball hat, in Newton, Iowa in December of 2023. He is smiling in a very unsettling way.

Politics

What Puts A Smile On Ron DeSantis’s Face?

Irish boxer Katie Taylor exulting after defeating Chantelle Cameron in a title bout in Dublin on November 25, 2023.

Great Irish Champions, With Dave McKenna

A coffee table with some Vogue magazines on it, and a Sports Illustrated on top. It's the famous "Why the University of Miami should drop football" cover but it's been edited to say "Why it's hard to play volleyball without a volleyball."

Journalismism

Scorn Illustrated

Mark Sanchez looking forlorn after a Jets game on October 31, 2010.

Gratitude, Triumph, And The Butt Fumble, With Jasper Wang

Atlanta Braves pitcher Kyle Wright throwing a pitch against the Washington Nationals in a September 2023 road game.

What Do The Kansas City Royals Know About Shoulders?

Aaron Barrett and Derek Gibbs of Reel Big Fish perform at Southampton University on March 5, 2011.

When Ska Was King, With Rob Harvilla

TWO HARBORS, MN - NOVEMBER 9: A bright moon shone over the horizon near the Split Rock Lighthouse on November 10, 2019. It was lit to honor the lives of the 29 men that died aboard the Edmund Fitzgerald 44 years ago. The lighthouse is only lit for approximately two hours and fifteen minutes each year. (Photo by Alex Kormann/Star Tribune via Getty Images)

College Football

The Edmund Fitzgerald Is Inspiring Jim Harbaugh And Michigan Football To Achieve “Lake Mindset”

New Vikings quarterback Joshua Dobbs exults after leading his team to a comeback win against the Falcons in Atlanta.

A Dad’s Guide To Joshua Dobbs Mindset

Dan McQuade was a founding member of Defector. He died in January 2026.

Dan McQuade

Split image. Roth stands outside the Stroud Mall holding a CD he purchased. Dan stands inside the Stroud Mall in front of the "Pennsylvania Skill" machine parlor.

Dan And Dave Explore Another Mall

Evan Carter of the Texas Rangers celebrates in the clubhouse after beating the Astros in Game 7 of the ALCS.

Giving Home Plate The Business, With Emma Baccellieri

Lourdes Gurriel Jr. of the Arizona Diamondbacks celebrates in the clubhouse after beating the Philadelphia Phillies 4-2 in Game Seven of the National League Championship Series at Citizens Bank Park.

When You Avoid Rock Bottom, You Don’t Have As Far To Climb

Albert Burneko

Staff Writer
Find me on Signal @DefectorChris.19

Chris Thompson

Giri Nathan

Justin Ellis

Luis Paez-Pumar

Maitreyi Anantharaman

Patrick Redford

Ray Ratto

Tom Ley

A bunch of old-timey celebrities, including Pat Boone, sign autographs in Lakers uniforms during a charity game in Ye Olden Tymes.

All Anyone Could Ever Hope To Know Or Learn About The 2023–24 NBA Season, Or Indeed About Anything, And Well In Advance Too

Onterrio Smith of the Minnesota Vikings diving for some extra yards in a NFL Playoff Game against the Eagles in January of 2005.

Holiday In Onterrio

Israel Daramola

Lauren Theisen

Carrie Brownstein, Janet Weiss and Corin Tucker of Sleater-Kinney perform at Barnsdall Art Park as part of ArthurFest on September 4, 2005.

Defector Music Club

Defector Music Club Gets Lost In Sleater-Kinney’s ‘The Woods’

Orioles reliever DL Hall leaves the mound while his teammates wait for the reliever who will relieve him during the team's Game 3 loss in the American League Divisional Series.

Nothing Is Promised, Even For The Orioles

An illustration of the cohosts of The Distraction, in the style of a Nascar fan t-shirt. We're both wearing those fire-suits and appear deeply tan.

A Tote Bag Full Of Starting Lineups, Live With Rohan Nadkarni

An old lady scampering around on the ceiling of a mental hospital directly above an unaware George C. Scott, in 1990's Exorcist III: Legion.

Defector At The Movies

All This Bleeding

Geraldo Perdomo of the Arizona Diamondbacks celebrates by splashing to beers around after Arizona completed their two-game Wild Card sweep of the Brewers in October of 2023.

Wild Cards And Animal Spirits In October

The animals from Paw Patrol, or more accurately people wearing costumes of the animals from Paw Patrol, waving at the Paris premiere of the Paw Patrol movie.