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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

<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

This Is So Stupid

I Can No Longer Accept Being Condescended To By The Little Game On My Phone

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<div><a href="https://www.bystefanfatsis.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.bystefanfatsis.com/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1759235100786000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1mlCW5_XUY56jklGr11a_z">Stefan Fatsis</a> is the author of four books: <a href="https://groveatlantic.com/book/unabridged/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://groveatlantic.com/book/unabridged/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1759235100786000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0jbw5ZscOBp6w-1um3R6yu"><i>Unabridged</i></a>, <a href="https://bookshop.org/p/books/a-few-seconds-of-panic-a-sportswriter-plays-in-the-nfl-stefan-fatsis/7891278" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://bookshop.org/p/books/a-few-seconds-of-panic-a-sportswriter-plays-in-the-nfl-stefan-fatsis/7891278&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1759235100786000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0MpNNngIOKaj-715hSNVZD"><i>A Few Seconds of Panic</i></a>, <a href="https://bookshop.org/p/books/word-freak-heartbreak-triumph-genius-and-obsession-in-the-world-of-competitive-scrabblep-layers-stefan-fatsis/11648962" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://bookshop.org/p/books/word-freak-heartbreak-triumph-genius-and-obsession-in-the-world-of-competitive-scrabblep-layers-stefan-fatsis/11648962&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1759235100786000&amp;usg=AOvVaw02LL51Wrka0A0lLkwOxYUj"><i>Word Freak</i></a>, and <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Wild-Outside-Renegade-Baseball-Heartland/dp/0802712975" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.amazon.com/Wild-Outside-Renegade-Baseball-Heartland/dp/0802712975&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1759235100786000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1YzbrZGW2KCbIttDDLhkPn"><i>Wild and Outside</i></a>. He&#8217;s also a former cohost of “Hang Up and Listen,” commentator on NPR&#8217;s &#8220;All Things Considered,&#8221; and reporter for <i>The Wall Street Journal</i>.</div>
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Stefan Fatsis

A player reacts to a word being ruled invalid

Games

Competitive Scrabble Is A Lexical Shitshow

Jamboroo

Pips Understands The True Joy Of Puzzle-Solving

Kathryn Xu

Vintage engraving of Army officers playing a game of Kriegsspiel, 1870s, 19th century. Kriegsspiel is a genre of wargaming developed by the Prussian army in the 19th century to teach battlefield tactics to officers.

Life's Rich Pageant

‘Pandemic Legacy’ Has Destroyed My Life

Luis Paez-Pumar

A family plays the board game Risk at home

Risk Week

In A Game Of Risk, The Frustration Is The Point

<p>Nick Zarzycki is a Toronto-based writer whose work has appeared in the <i data-stringify-type="italic">Washington Post</i>, <i data-stringify-type="italic">Deadspin</i> and <i data-stringify-type="italic">Toronto Life</i>.</p>


Nick Zarzycki

A wizard dressed in a suit looks upon a fortress on a hill as lightning bolts and dollar bills dot the sky

The Creator Of ‘Magic: The Gathering’ Knows Exactly Where It All Went Wrong

<p><span class="il">Hoang</span>&#8211;<span class="il">Kim</span> Vu is the co-editor of the Defector Crossword. His puzzles have appeared in multiple venues, including the New York Times, L.A. Times, and USA Today.</p>


Hoang-Kim Vu

Three competitors take part in the ACPT final

The World’s Fastest Crossword Solvers Can’t Tell You How To Do This

Scrabble World Champion Nigel Richards holds up a trophy and shows the final winning board in London in 2018