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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

Dallas Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy seeming to look side-eyed at The Distraction logo at upper left, in a photo taken before the team's Wild Card loss to the Green Bay Packers.

Podcasts

There Is Some Crying In Football, With Ray Ratto

A screenshot of one of the scammy AI-generated listings on Amazon; the product's name is just the boilerplate apology text created by OpenAI when it's asked to do something it can't do.

Capital

The Future Of E-Commerce Is A Product Whose Name Is A Boilerplate AI-Generated Apology

Tua Tagovailoa makes a semi-Jim Face during warm-ups before the Dolphins' Week 18 loss to the Buffalo Bills.

Pantsless On New Year’s Eve, With Rohan Nadkarni

Investor Bill Ackman, wearing one of those goofy headsets you can rent that play the radio broadcast, watches Emma Radacanu play at the 2021 U.S. Open in Queens, NY.

Politics

Hiding And Seeking With The New York Times

Michael Penix Jr, seen here pointing at The Distraction logo at upper left during Washington's win over Texas in the Sugar Bowl on 1/1/2024.

Wolfgang Amadeus Penix Jr.

Jalen Hurts #1 of the Philadelphia Eagles looks on in the first half at Lumen Field on December 18, 2023 in Seattle, Washington.

Yelling At An Infant About Fake Punts, With Dan McQuade

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.

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.

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.