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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

Nick Sturm

Arts And Culture

Good Riddance To ‘The Best American Poetry’

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

A Million Lives Lead Back To Worcester

Staff Writer
Find me on Signal @DefectorChris.19

Chris Thompson

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

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

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)

Politics

Charlie Kirk Is A Means To An End

Robert Weintraub is the author of four books, including The Divine Miss Marble, 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 New York Times, ESPN/Grantland, Slate, Columbia Journalism Review, the Guardian, Football Outsiders, and many other outlets. Follow on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/robwein" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">@robwein</a>.

Robert Weintraub

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

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

David Roth

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.

The United States Of Snitches

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

Life's Rich Pageant

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

Samer Kalaf

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

This Is Who Charlie Kirk Was

Kelsey McKinney

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

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

Tennis

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

Albert Burneko

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.

Butlerian Jihad Now

Mitch Therieau is a writer living in Virginia.

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.

The Tragedy Of “Stomp Clap Hey”

Dave McKenna

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.

Notes From The D.C. Clampdown

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

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)

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

Starving Palestinians including women and children holding pots wait to receive food distributed by a charity organization as Israel continue to block humanitarian aid from reaching the Gaza Strip on August 10, 2025.

The Free Press Reports Gaza’s Starving Children Have Pre-Existing Condition Of Being Bombed By Israel

Patrick Redford

Michael Porter Jr. Is The Incredibly Dumb Man For An Incredibly Dumb Moment

Corey Atad is a freelancer writer based in Toronto with an unhealthy Air Bud obsession.

Corey Atad

Zohran Mamdani smiling with a megaphone in the park

Selling Zohran

Tommy Craggs is an editor and writer, late of Game Theory With Bomani Jones on HBO, Mother Jones (no relation), HuffPost, Slate, Gawker Media, and Deadspin. He&#8217;s part of the <a href="https://flaminghydra.com/">Flaming Hydra</a> cooperative of independent writers and artists, and one of the many founders of the <a href="https://www.oaklandreviewofbooks.org/">Oakland Review of Books</a>.

Tommy Craggs

Mods Asleep

Are We Playing It All Wrong?

Lauren Theisen

Taylor Swift performs onstage during "Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour"

Taylor Swift Turned Me Straight

Brandy Jensen

Shakira Austin #0 of the Washington Mystics shoots the ball against Maria Kliundikova #77 of the Minnesota Lynx in the first quarter at Target Center on August 08, 2025 in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

WNBA

Why A Bunch Of Real Dicks Keep Throwing Fake Ones

E.Y. Zhao is a writer and editor from St. Louis. Her debut novel, <a href="https://astrapublishinghouse.com/product/underspin-9781662603266/">Underspin</a>, set in the world of competitive table tennis, is out now. She holds a BA in history from Harvard College and an MFA from the University of Michigan.

E.Y. Zhao

Felix Lebrun of France competes in the Men's Singles Semifinal match against Wang Chuqin of China on day 7 of the United States Smash 2025 World Table Tennis at the Orleans Arena on July 12, 2025 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Table Tennis

Sweating Through The Existential Angst Of A Las Vegas Table Tennis Tournament

A screengrab of Alan Dershowitz on his Dershow podcast's mailbag segment. He is literally saying the words "Jeffrey Epstein" at this moment.

Are You Aware Of The Alan Dershowitz Martha’s Vineyard Pierogi Situation?

Maggie Mertens is a freelance journalist in Seattle, and the author of <a href="https://bookshop.org/p/books/better-faster-farther-how-running-changed-everything-we-know-about-women-maggie-mertens/20674936?ean=9781643753355" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://bookshop.org/p/books/better-faster-farther-how-running-changed-everything-we-know-about-women-maggie-mertens/20674936?ean%3D9781643753355&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1754022936515000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1qsnDemLKZppvFS2kpVCTH">BETTER FASTER FARTHER: How Running Changed Everything We Know About Women</a>. She also sometimes writes and sends the newsletters <a href="https://maggiemertens.substack.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://maggiemertens.substack.com/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1754022936515000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0lAUeT18_qV95dy9jg9Sg0">My So-Called Feminist Life</a> and <a href="https://gilmorewomen.substack.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://gilmorewomen.substack.com/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1754022936515000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1hLBDLFWCAWpJsqvPzljRr">Gilmore Women</a>.
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Maggie Mertens

High School Sports

Minnesota Softball Has A Title IX Problem

Eva Holland is a freelance writer and editor based in Whitehorse, Yukon. She&#8217;s a correspondent for Outside magazine and the author of the books Nerve and <a href="https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/no-sleep-til-fairbanks#/">No Sleep &#8216;Til Fairbanks</a>.