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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

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Barry Petchesky

Pope Leo XIV (C) reacts wearing a Chicago White Sox baseball team cap as he meets newly wedded couples during the weekly general audience in St Peter's Square at the Vatican on June 11, 2025. (Photo by Filippo MONTEFORTE / AFP)

VATICAN-RELIGION-POPE-AUDIENCE

Life's Rich Pageant

Chicago Man Wears White Sox Cap To Work

<div>Jen Kinney is a journalist and audio producer with a troubling fixation on debris, detritus, and discard.</div>


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Jen Kinney

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Capital

Seven Days At The Bin Store

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<p>Sebastian Stockman is a Teaching Professor in English at Northeastern University, a writer whose work has appeared in the <em>Washington Post </em>and the <em>Boston Globe</em> among many other places, and a guy who publishes <a href="https://sebastianstockman.substack.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://sebastianstockman.substack.com/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1748539688609000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0eIUYaj1h-eA1-XIa8i0L7">A Saturday Letter,</a> a very occasional free thing. Follow him on Bluesky @<a href="https://bsky.app/profile/substockman.bsky.social">substockman.bsky.social</a>.</p>
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Sebastian Stockman

Florida, Miami, Arscht Performing Arts Center, The Miami Herald Spelling Bee, test, competition, stage, overview, contestants, judges, moderator, sit, chair, elimination, opera house,

An overview of contestants at The Miami Herald Spelling Bee.

Confessions Of A Spelling Bee Pronouncer

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Tom Ley

Tracy Morgan, Timothee Chalamet and Ben Stiller attend Game One of the Eastern Conference Finals of the 2025 NBA Playoffs between the New York Knicks and the Indiana Pacers at Madison Square Garden on May 21, 2025 in New York City. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement.

Indiana Pacers v New York Knicks – Game One

Congratulations, You Are Officially Having A Better Day Than Several Celebrities

Paul Pierce

Paul Pierce Turns Grim Men’s Wager Into Pleasant Men’s March

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Ray Ratto

Cardinal Robert Prevost, newly elected as Pope Leo XIV is seen on the Saint Peter's Basilica balcony, at Saint Peter's Square in Vatican on April 8, 2025.

Cardinal Robert Prevost Elected As Pope Leo XIV

Well, They Made A Cubs Fan The Pope [UPDATE]

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Samer Kalaf

NFL coach Jeff Ulbrich jogging out of the tunnel.

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Jeff Ulbrich’s Dreadful Son Was Behind The Shedeur Sanders Prank Call

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Kathryn Xu

A racegoer relaxes on day two of the Grand National Festival horse race meeting at Aintree Racecourse in Liverpool, north-west England, on April 4, 2025. (Photo by Oli SCARFF / AFP)

RACING-ENG-NATIONAL

Please Enjoy These Photos Of Drunk People At An English Horse Race

Bryce Harper #3 of the Philadelphia Phillies looks on in the dugout in the third inning during a spring training game against the Baltimore Orioles at BayCare Ballpark on March 2, 2025 in Clearwater, Florida.

Baltimore Orioles v Philadelphia Phillies

Bob, That’s The Wrong Bryce!

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.

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‘Pandemic Legacy’ Has Destroyed My Life

AI Anthony Davis points a gun at his head

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The Mavericks Don’t Want To Talk About Their Creepy AI Video In Which Anthony Davis Points A Gun At His Head

North Carolina Tar Heels football head coach Bill Belichick and his girlfriend Jordon Hudson look on during the first half of the game between the North Carolina Tar Heels and the Duke Blue Devils at Dean E. Smith Center on March 08, 2025 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

Duke v North Carolina

Bill Belichick: Please Email My Girlfriend

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The Cranks Next Door

A news chyron that reads: Man arrested for shooting two people in Miami Beach

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This Is The Logical Endpoint Of Zionism

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Giri Nathan

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A Stinky Pilgrimage To The Corpse Flower, With Notes Of Rat, Sweat, And Cheese

A recall notice on a case of Boar's Head products.

Popular Deli Meat Maker Boar Head’s Recalls 7 Million Pounds Of Meat After Listeria Outbreak

“Residual Ham Material,” And Even More Evocative Phrases From USDA Inspections Of Boar’s Head Plants

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Luis Paez-Pumar

SS Lazio mascotte eagle Olimpia with the falconer Juan Bernabe on the pitch after the Serie A TIM match between SS Lazio and US Lecce - Serie A TIM at Stadio Olimpico on January 14, 2024 in Rome, Italy.

SS Lazio v US Lecce – Serie A TIM

Soccer

Lazio Fires Fascist Falconer For Posting Penis Implant Pictures

<p>Ashwin Rodrigues is a <a href="https://ashwinrodrigues.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://ashwinrodrigues.com&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1736881844399000&amp;usg=AOvVaw2gTYrT5B9gKSQ8eCIDai5A">freelance writer</a> and Arsenal supporter living in New York. His work has been featured in <em>GQ</em>, <em>Fast Company</em>, Vice, <em>Wired</em> and other publications.</p>


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Ashwin Rodrigues

An Arsenal fan wearing a shirt that reads "Mr. Gooner"

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A Tale Of Two Gooners

<p>Staff Writer</p>
<p>Find me on Signal @DefectorChris.09</p>


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Chris Thompson

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A Comprehensive And Maddening History Of Color Star, Would-Be Titans Of Just About Anything

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Israel Daramola

COLLEGE FOOTBALL: JAN 02 CFP Quarterfinal Allstate Sugar Bowl – Notre Dame vs Georgia

College Football

Burying The SEC Feels Too Good To Be Wrong

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Defector Staff

Accademia carrara art gallery: playing cards and tarots, bembo e cicognara, 1455-1490, bergamo, Italy.

Accademia carrara art gallery: playing cards and tarots, bembo e cicognara, 1455-1490, bergamo, Italy

Underexplained Lists

Underexplained Predictions For 2025

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Year In Review

What Horrible Things Did We Do To Our Penises Last Year?

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What Did We Get Stuck In Our Rectums Last Year?

Some kids who are fans of the Charlotte Hornets.

Hornets Cruelly Bait-And-Switch Child By Promising PS5 But Giving Him PS5 And Hornets Tickets

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Patrick Redford

Mounted police officers remove the riot gear from their police horse outside the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, MN, site of the 2008 Republican National Convention.

USA – 2008 Presidential Election – Security at the RNC

Defector Up All Night

They Defunded The Ponies