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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

New Mets GM Billy Eppler, seen here in 2019 when he was the GM of the Los Angeles Angels.

The Mets Finally Filled The Least Desirable Position In Baseball

Tom Brady, seen here yelling during the Bucs' Week 9 loss to Washington, with The Distraction logo at upper left.

Podcasts

The Key Ingredient Is Ruthlessness, With Seth Wickersham

A close-up image of Aaron Rodgers looking upset from a game against the Arizona Cardinals.

A Cancel Culture Casket Of One’s Own, With Lauren Theisen

Argentine and Uruguayan players compete, or mostly kind of lay around, in basketball at the 1952 Summer Olympics.

College Basketball

I Will Create A Winning Basketball Program At The University Of Austin

Aaron Rodgers on the field in an old-timey Packers uniform in Week 5, before anyone knew he wasn't vaccinated.

Homeopathic Quarterbacks And Magic Baseball Jewelry, With Dan McQuade

This is Jim Breuer performing at the New York Comedy Club in 2016, but the photo is taken from far enough away that you can pretend it's someone funnier.

Engagement Versus Laughter And Other Comedy Dilemmas, With Christian Finnegan

Investor Michael Milken at his own institute's annual event in 2017, back when he was still a convicted financial criminal.

Capital

Here Are The Seven Best Sentences From The Financial Times’ Story About Michael Milken’s High-Finance Jamboree

Colts receiver Michael Pittman Jr. and 49ers defensive back Emmanuel Moseley compete for a pass in the rain on Sunday Night Football.

A Miserable Football Game Is A Joy Forever

Manu Ginobili works against Austin Rivers in a NBA Playoff game in 2015.

Journalismism

Introducing The ‘New Yorker’  Eurostep

Marvin Bagley is fouled by both Zion Williamson and Jaxson Hayes in a '19-20 NBA game no one on earth remembers.

Entering Marvin Bagley III Mode, With Patrick Redford

Washington State coach Nick Rolovich, simultaneously wearing and not wearing a mask in a 2020 loss to Utah.

College Football

Nick Rolovich Is Marching Towards The Abyss

A picture of a human brain taken by a positron emission tomography scanner.

It’s Time For Brain Chat

Terrance Gore taking an extra base, with a great deal of vigor, in a 2019 Royals game.

It’s Terrance Gore Season In Major League Baseball

Justin Turner and Cody Bellinger celebrate in a Dodger win.

A Hater’s Guide To The MLB Playoffs, With Justin Halpern

Seattle Mariners reliever Paul Sewald hushes the crowd in Anaheim down the stretch of his team's failed 2021 playoff run.

How Did The Mariners Even Get This Close?

Steaks on a grill at the Las Vegas Food And Wine Festival, in the before times.

Talking Fine And Less-Fine Dining, With Liz Cook

Brewers reliever Devin Williams, seen here pumping his fist after getting an out against the Marlins in April.

Defector Up All Night

It’s Not What You Want

Jets quarterback Zach Wilson holding up his jersey on draft night, quite possibly the last time he will experience joy near such a jersey.

The Jets Effect And Pedestrian Mindset, With Dom Cosentino

Hungarian sculptors and creators Reka Gergely (L) and Tamas Gilly (R) pose next to the statue of Satoshi Nakamoto, the mysterious inventor of the virtual currency bitcoin, after its unveiling at the Graphisoft Park in Budapest, on September 16, 2021. - Hungarian bitcoin enthusiasts unveiled a statue on September 16 in Budapest that they say is the first in the world to honour Satoshi Nakamoto, the mysterious inventor of the virtual currency. The bronze life-size sculpture depicts a hooded figure with stylised facial features, alluding to Nakamoto, a pseudonym credited as bitcoin's founder, but whose identity remains unknown. (Photo by ATTILA KISBENEDEK / AFP) (Photo by ATTILA KISBENEDEK/AFP via Getty Images)

This Is All Exactly What It Looks Like

circa 1945: Studio image of a young boy wearing a party hat, blowing out the four candles on a chocolate birthday cake

Talking One Year Of Defector, With Almost Every Defector Staffer

Randy Edsall looking upset in a 2017 UConn Huskies game against Virginia.

Randy Edsall Punted Into Retirement By FCS Team

(Vaccinated) fans going berserk at Virginia Tech's Lane Stadium

This Is What It’s Supposed To Be Like

A drawing of French humanist and educational reformer Petrus Ramus.

The Many Guys Of History, With Patrick Wyman

Javier Baez does a double thumbs-down gesture, apparently directed at Mets fans, after hitting a home run on Sunday against the Nationals.

The New York Mets Must Win More Games To Humiliate And Punish Their Faithless Fans

Tennessee Titans star Derrick Henry rushes against the Houston Texans at the end of the last NFL season.