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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

Kelsey McKinney

Life Lessons

On Being Perceived

David Roth

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?

Felix Kent

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


<p>Dan McQuade was a founding member of Defector. He died in January 2026.</p>


Dan McQuade

An ad for the Carlos Watson show. A quote calls him "Anderson Cooper Meets Oprah" on it.

Media Meltdowns

Ozy Media Is A Monumental Bummer

Kalyn Kahler

My White Whale Is The Story Of An MLB Veteran Paying His Teammates To Get Vaccinated

Dave McKenna

A Centralian carpet python lies coiled at Sydney Wildlife World on September 11, 2009 which features Australian flora and fauna set amongst natural habitats and eco-systems. The non-venomous Centralian carpet python found only in Australia's Northern Territory, uses its colouring to help it blend in with the red sand and rock found in its usual arid desert habitat. Like other carpet pythons it is mainly nocturnal and feeds on small mammals, birds and reptiles. AFP PHOTO / Greg WOOD (Photo credit should read GREG WOOD/AFP via Getty Images)

Life's Rich Pageant

Death Of A Snake Salesman

Samer Kalaf

What Does It Mean To Be Macpilled?

Ray Ratto

Animals

Local Dog Undergoes Successful ACL Surgery

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)

Capital

This Is All Exactly What It Looks Like

Luis Paez-Pumar

A bike rests by the waterfront in Queens, New York

The Great Outdoors

Spinning My Wheels

What Do We Do With The Big Business Of Immersive Art?

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


Chris Thompson

The NBA Won’t Allow John Wall To Be Much More Than A Burden

Science

Could A Handful Of Swallowed Metal Ball Bearings And Exposure To The World’s Strongest Magnets Cause My Torso To Explode Into A Cloud Of Viscera? A Scientific Examination


<p>Diana Moskovitz is Defector&#8217;s investigations editor. You can contact her at diana@defector.com or dfmoskovitz@protonmail.com. She&#8217;s also on Signal @dmoskovitz.99</p>


Diana Moskovitz

An image of a woman standing atop an Ohio State football helmet. She is very small, while the helmet fills the frame. Behind her is darkness.

College Football

Courtney’s Story

<p>Columnist. Author of many <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Drew-Magary/e/B001JS8R52/ref=dp_byline_cont_pop_book_1">fine works of literature</a>, including <em>Point B</em>. Handsomest man in the world.</p>


Drew Magary

GLENDALE, ARIZONA - AUGUST 17: The Arizona Cardinals warm-up during a NFL team training camp at University of State Farm Stadium on August 17, 2020 in Glendale, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

Jamboroo

The Best Part Of Football Is Getting Ready For It


<p><a href="http://Feldman.cool" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Brian Feldman</a> is a software engineer living in Brooklyn.</p>


Brian Feldman

Defector At The Movies

At The Turtle Club In The Shadow Of 9/11

Albert Burneko

Mark Davis’s House Is The World Capital Of Sadness

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<div>Casey Taylor is a writer living and working in Pittsburgh. He is currently writing a book for St. Martin&#8217;s Press about cannabis religions, Haile Selassie I, and the Cold War in the Caribbean. He also writes a free newsletter called <a href="https://weedchurch.substack.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://weedchurch.substack.com/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1709306863919000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1mVH2xiID6S0zvlyj6yHco">Weed Church</a> covering foolish spiritual things that occur to him. His work has appeared in The New Republic, WIRED, New York Magazine, and a sports blog he can’t currently recall the name of. You can <a href="mailto:caseyt7@gmail.com" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">email</a> him if you’d like.</div>
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Casey Taylor

High School Sports

Bishop Sycamore’s Capital Crime Was Not Being Good Enough At Football

Bryson DeChambeau looks bummed about a missed putt.

Golf

We Need A Better Poster Boy For A Healthy Heckling Discourse Than Big Stupid Asshole Bryson DeChambeau

Maitreyi Anantharaman

Miguel Cabrera #24 of the Detroit Tigers high fives Manager A.J. Hinch after hitting his 500th career home run in the sixth inning during a MLB game against the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre on August 22, 2021 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

500 Belongs To Me

The biggest crowd in Europe on Saturday will not be watching detached professionals kissing the badge of their latest football team, but at the All-Ireland Gaelic football final. Two amateur teams, Dublin and Mayo, will attempt to win the coveted All-Ireland trophy for Gaelic football in a replay following a rare draw two weeks ago.

History

Bottled Up In Cork: A Loss In Hurling Is More Than A Loss

Tom Ley

We Got Ohtani


<p>Claire Watkins is a musician and writer living in Chicago, IL.</p>


Claire Watkins

Soccer

Carli Lloyd Was A Self-Contained Superstar

Billy Haisley

Paris Saint-Germain's Qatari President Nasser Al-Khelaifi (L) and Paris Saint-Germain's Sporting Director Leonardo Nascimento de Araujo (R) pose along side Argentinian football player Lionel Messi (C) as he holds-up his number 30 shirt during a press conference at the French football club Paris Saint-Germain's (PSG) Parc des Princes stadium in Paris on August 11, 2021. - The 34-year-old superstar signed a two-year deal with PSG on August 10, 2021, with the option of an additional year, he will wear the number 30 in Paris, the number he had when he began his professional career at Spain's Barca football club.

A Thing Of Beauty Is A Joy Forever, My Man John Keats Said That

Old headlines about how Marijuana led to killings