CULTURE

Footer Column 2

Footer Legal

Footer Main

Nav Bar

OTHER

SPORTS

Subscribe, at any level, to play

Thanks for your interest in Defector Crosswords!

Become a subscriber today to get unlimited access

Thanks for reading!

Plans start at $8/month.

Subscribers enjoy unlimited, ad-free browsing.

Register to continue

Or click here to subscribe for unlimited, ad-free access!

Our gift to you: This year's post is unlocked. Register your email to get even more free articles.

Welcome to the 2025 Hater's Guide!

Just register your email:

This blog is free to read.

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

Felix Kent

03 June 2024, Brandenburg, Fürstenwalde: A traffic light at an intersection in the city center shows red and green for vehicles turning right. Photo: Monika Skolimowska/dpa (Photo by Monika Skolimowska/picture alliance via Getty Images)

Reds Week

Every Right On Red Frays The Social Contract A Little Further

Simple Hotel Room, Iceland. (Photo by: GHI/Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

Arts And Culture

Why Does Hotel Art Look Like That?

Life Lessons

Why Can’t I Turn Off The Game?

CAMBRIDGE, MA - AUGUST 30: A gate in front of Harvard Yard at Harvard University on August 30, 2018 (Photo by Scott Eisen/Getty Images)

How They Keep The Gates

CANADA - JULY 24: Leonard Cohen (Photo by Andrew Stawicki/Toronto Star via Getty Images)

How Do You Reconcile A Part You Hate In A Work You Love?

ZAGREB, CROATIA - MARCH 20: A sign in tribute to Craig Breen of Ireland and Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team who succumbed to injuries sustained in a testing crash last week during Day One of the FIA World Rally Championship Croatia on March 20, 2023 in Zagreb, Croatia. (Photo by Qian Jun/MB Media/Getty Images)

It’s Continually Alarming That Choices Matter

Shoppers Looking at Records at Tower Records on Sunset Boulevard (Photo by nik wheeler/Corbis via Getty Images)

Music

The Lost Art Of Being Stuck With An Album

A woman sits on the floor of her hotel room in her underwear, leaning against the bed and with a magnum of champagne turned up to her mouth. Her clothes are strewn about the bed and floor of the room. (Photo by Graphic House/Getty Images)

How To Drink Alone, The Madison Avenue Way

Carl von Clausewitz (1780 -1831); Prussian general and military theorician. (Photo by: Photo 12/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

This Is So Stupid

Are You The General Of Carl von Clausewitz’s Dreams? Take This Quiz To Find Out!

A tourist practices with a paddleboard during a sunset in Philippine's Boracay island on April 24, 2018, ahead of its closure. - Police with assault rifles patrolled entry points to Boracay island on April 24 just days before a six-month shutdown and clean-up of one of the Philippines' top tourist attractions. (Photo by NOEL CELIS / AFP) (Photo credit should read NOEL CELIS/AFP via Getty Images)

Elder Wisdom

A Middle-Aged Person Takes Up A Hobby

TORONTO, ONTARIO - AUGUST 09: Auston Matthews #34 and Mitchell Marner #16 of the Toronto Maple Leafs look on following their lose to the Columbus Blue Jackets 3-0 in Game Five of the Eastern Conference Qualification Round prior to the 2020 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Scotiabank Arena on August 09, 2020 in Toronto, Ontario. (Photo by Andre Ringuette/Freestyle Photo/Getty Images)

Fans

How Bad Should I Want My Team To Feel When They Lose?

American actress Dagmar (1921 - 2001) reading a book of 'Comic Characters of Shakespeare' by John Palmer, circa 1950. (Photo by Graphic House/Archive Photos/Getty Images)

Reading Is Easy, TV Is Hard

A group of teenagers having fun in a convertible car in the 1950's. (Photo by FPG/Getty Images)

This Is Not Actually An Endorsement Of Ditching Your Childhood Friends

Julien Ingrassia traditionally drinks from a shoe as he celebrates his 8th World title on November 21, 2021 after the ACI Rally Monza 2021

Racing

The Lottery In Secaucus

1985: A lady racegoer has a nap during Royal Ascot at Ascot racecourse in Berkshire, England. Mandatory Credit: Allsport UK /Allsport

The Disappearing Girl

TOKYO, JAPAN - JANUARY 30: A local surfer is seen in action with Mount Fuji in the background from the beach of Enoshima during the build up to the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games on January 30, 2020 in Fujisawa, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. The venue will hold the sailing events. (Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images)

As You Know, Jeff, Every Time I Stare Into The Abyss It Stares Back At Me

‘Drive To Survive’ Cracks Open The Narrow Reality Of Competition

TORONTO, ON - APRIL 7: Mitchell Marner #16 of the Toronto Maple Leafs waits for a faceoff against the Montreal Canadiens during an NHL game at Scotiabank Arena on April 7, 2021 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Maple Leafs defeated the Canadiens 3-2. (Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Mitchell Marner

The Salary Cap Is A Psyop

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - MARCH 02: Jack Eichel #9 of the Buffalo Sabres stretches in warm-ups prior to the game against the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden on March 02, 2021 in New York City. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)