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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.

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Defector

The Defector Crewneck Sweatshirt Is Back In Stock

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Merch v3

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Albert Burneko

Donald Trump delivers an announcement on his Homeland Security Task Force in the State Dining Room of the White House on October 23, 2025 in Washington, DC

President Trump Makes An Announcement In The State Dining Room Of The White House

Politics

What Can’t The President Do?

VictorPortraitWClaw

David Roth

Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner seen in a blue sweatshirt on a boat in an image from his campaign ad. He has red hair and a beard.

PlatnerBoat

What Job Is A Guy With A Nazi Tattoo Qualified For?

<p>Keith Paradise is a freelance writer who somehow won a Keystone Press Award during his<br />
decade spent as a newspaper reporter in Pennsylvania, where he covered sports, education, and<br />
the murder of a neighborhood turkey. Originally from Pittsburgh, he is a senior writer for<br />
Billiards Digest magazine and his name has appeared twice in the notable section of The Year’s<br />
Best Sports Writing anthology—including in 2024 for his Defector article on the rise and fall of<br />
sports clothing icon Starter.</p>


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Keith Paradise

PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA - SEPTEMBER 4: A general overall interior view of PNC Park in the fourth inning during a game between the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Los Angeles Dodgers at PNC Park on September 4, 2025 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Brandon Sloter/Getty Images)

Los Angeles Dodgers v Pittsburgh Pirates

Why Are There Still Pirates Fans?

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Israel Daramola

Giorgio Armani Party

Arts And Culture

Waiting On D’Angelo

Jaya and Matt!

Jaya Saxena

Tyra Banks Celebrates The Opening Of SMiZE & Dream Ice Cream

Food

Tyra Banks Please Explain What The Hell You Mean By “Hot Ice Cream”

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<p class="sc-77igqf-0 bOfvBY">Vince Guerrieri is an award-winning journalist and author in the Cleveland area. He likes Lake Erie perch sandwiches, Jim Traficant and long walks on the field at League Park. His website is <a class="sc-1out364-0 hMndXN sc-145m8ut-0 kGbjEv js_link" href="http://vinceguerrieri.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-ga="[[&quot;Embedded Url&quot;,&quot;External link&quot;,&quot;http://vinceguerrieri.com/&quot;,{&quot;metric25&quot;:1}]]">vinceguerrieri.com</a>, and you can follow him on Twitter <a class="sc-1out364-0 hMndXN sc-145m8ut-0 kGbjEv js_link" href="https://twitter.com/vinceguerrieri" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-ga="[[&quot;Embedded Url&quot;,&quot;External link&quot;,&quot;https://twitter.com/vinceguerrieri&quot;,{&quot;metric25&quot;:1}]]">@vinceguerrieri</a>.</p>
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Vince Guerrieri

USA - CIRCA 1950s: Otto Graham of the Cleveland Browns runs with the ball circa 1950s. (Photo by Sporting News via Getty Images via Getty Images)

Otto Graham of the Cleveland Browns

The Day The Browns Crafted A Playbook Entirely Out Of Spite

Dave McKenna

A photo of Mike Lucido having his jersey retired. He's wearing a letterman's jacket and sporting a huuuuge head of hear with massive sideburns. A man in a sweater and tie is handing him a plaque with his name on it and his now retired number, 44.

Mike Lucido Jersey Retirement

High School Sports

When A High School Football Legend Was Dying, His Teammates Made Sure He Went Out Like A Star

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Patrick Redford

WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 18: The Free Press' Honestly with Bari Weiss (pictured) hosts Senator Ted Cruz presented by Uber and X on January 18, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Leigh Vogel/Getty Images for Uber, X and The Free Press)

The Free Press’ Honestly with Bari Weiss Hosts Senator Ted Cruz presented by Uber and X

Journalismism

Bari Weiss Signs Huge Deal To Usher CBS News Into Its Vichy Era

<p>Staff Writer</p>
<p>Find me on Signal @DefectorChris.19</p>


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Chris Thompson

Donald Trump makes a face in the Oval Office.

President Trump Signs Executive Order In Oval Office

Treasury Department Has Plans To Mint Dollar Coin Featuring Donald Trump’s Likeness

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Luis Paez-Pumar

A sign is posted in front of Electric Arts headquarters on September 29, 2025 in Redwood City, California.

Electronic Arts To Be Taken Private In Huge 55 Billion Deal

Video Games

Saudi Arabia’s All-Consuming Maw Devours Electronic Arts

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Nick Sturm

Good Riddance To ‘The Best American Poetry’

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<p>Charles P. Pierce is a writer at <em>Esquire</em> and the author of four books, most recently <em>Idiot America</em>, and has been a working journalist since 1976. He lives near Boston with his wife but no longer his three children.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
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Charles P. Pierce

Worcester, MA - May 11: Opening Day at the new Polar Park for the Worcester Red Sox in Worcester on May 11, 2021. Spectators watch from above home plate as Syracuse Mets and the WooSox line the field. (Photo by John Tlumacki/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)

Worcester Red Sox Vs. Syracuse Mets at Polar Park

A Million Lives Lead Back To Worcester

The rusted hulk of RFK Stadium, which is being demolished.

Demolition Of RJK Stadium Continues

The Commanders’ D.C. Stadium Deal Is An Abomination

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Barry Petchesky

LOS ANGELES, CA - NOVEMBER 04: Jimmy Kimmel is seen at 'Jimmy Kimmel Live" on November 04, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by RB/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images)

Celebrity Sightings In Los Angeles – November 04, 2019

Charlie Kirk Is A Means To An End


<p>Robert Weintraub is the author of four books, including <em>The Divine Miss Marble</em>, now <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Divine-Miss-Marble-Tennis-Mystery/dp/1524745367/ref=asc_df_1524745367/?tag=hyprod-20&amp;linkCode=df0&amp;hvadid=459515946640&amp;hvpos=&amp;hvnetw=g&amp;hvrand=6202131795131082661&amp;hvpone=&amp;hvptwo=&amp;hvqmt=&amp;hvdev=c&amp;hvdvcmdl=&amp;hvlocint=&amp;hvlocphy=9010752&amp;hvtargid=pla-926582175995&amp;psc=1">out in paperback</a>. He has also written for the <em>New York Times</em>, ESPN/Grantland, Slate, Columbia Journalism Review, the <em>Guardian</em>, Football Outsiders, and many other outlets. Follow on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/robwein" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">@robwein</a>.</p>


Robert Weintraub

Bubblegum card (from the Bowman Gum Company) features baseball player Hank Thompson, of the New York Giants, 1955.

Gum Card Of Hank Thompson

Hank Thompson Lived A Wild, Tragic, Forgotten Life In Baseball

U.S. Vice President JD Vance, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller depart Union Station after meeting with federal law enforcement officers on August 20, 2025.

VP Vance And Defense Secretary Hegseth Visit Federal Law Enforcement Officers Patrolling At D.C.’s Union Station

The United States Of Snitches

Jesse Cole, owner of the Savannah Bananas, in his trademark yellow suit and top-hat.

Jesse Cole

Life's Rich Pageant

The Official Charity Of The Savannah Bananas Has A Hard Time Explaining How Its Money Is Spent

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Samer Kalaf

The scene after shots were fired at an appearance by Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University.

Political Activist Charlie Kirk Shot Dead At Utah Valley University

This Is Who Charlie Kirk Was

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Kelsey McKinney

Engraving shows interior of Leiden University library, Netherlands 1610 by Jan Cornelisz Woudanus, approximately 1570-1615.

Interior of Leiden University library.

The Machines

If The Thieving AI Company Can Survive The Legal Settlement, Then It Is Not Big Enough

Aaron Timms

A view of the park from behind police barriers

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Tennis

The U.S. Open Could Be More Than A Fortress For Capital

A man faces the realistic artist" robot "Ai-Da" using artificial intelligence at a stand during the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) AI for Good Global Summit in Geneva on May 30, 2024.

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Butlerian Jihad Now

<p>Mitch Therieau is a writer living in Virginia.</p>


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Mitch Therieau

Marcus Mumford and Alex Ebert and Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes perform as part of the Railroad Revival Tour at San Pedro Port of Call on April 22, 2011 in San Pedro, California.

Railroad Revival Tour In Concert – San Pedro, CA

The Tragedy Of “Stomp Clap Hey”

The Diplomatic Security Service (DSS), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), and Metro Transit Police Department (MTPD) agents walk on patrol near Nationals Park on August 15, 2025 in Washington, DC. An increased presence of law enforcement has been seen throughout the nation's capital since U.S. President Donald Trump announced plans to deploy federal officers and the U.S. National Guard.

Trump Increases Federal Law Enforcement Presence, Deploys National Guard In Nation’s Capital

Notes From The D.C. Clampdown

James Dobson poses for a portrait in 2011 in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

dobson

James Dobson Is Dead, Was A Monster

Kwakho Madikwain, associate of former gang member Nicholas Mnguni, fills out a spreadsheet of purchase orders in Khayelitsha on March 13, 2025. Former gang member Nicholas Mnguni, known as Zwe in his township, left the 20 Men gang in 2017 to start his own business, producing and selling perfumes, cleaning products, and insect repellent. His business, ML Scents, has enabled him to employ 4 seasonal workers, with the hope of keeping them off the streets, and away from gang recruitment. As a former gangster, Nicholas is exempt from paying the protection fee demanded by local gangs. “Luckily, they know me, so they leave me alone, plus, I don’t want to be aggressive anymore,” he says. (Photo by EMMANUEL CROSET / AFP)

SAFRICA-ECONOMY-SOCIAL

It Took Many Years And Billions Of Dollars, But Microsoft Finally Invented A Calculator That Is Wrong Sometimes

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