CULTURE

Footer Column 2

Footer Legal

Footer Main

Nav Bar

OTHER

SPORTS

Subscribe, at any level, to play

Thanks for your interest in Defector Crosswords!

Become a subscriber today to get unlimited access

Thanks for reading!

Plans start at $8/month.

Subscribers enjoy unlimited, ad-free browsing.

Register to continue

Or click here to subscribe for unlimited, ad-free access!

Our gift to you: This year's post is unlocked. Register your email to get even more free articles.

Welcome to the 2025 Hater's Guide!

Just register your email:

This blog is free to read.

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

Staff Writer
Find me on Signal @DefectorChris.19

Chris Thompson

LeBron James smiles and gestures from the stage of some dumb event.

Life's Rich Pageant

LeBron James Wants Your Paycheck To Become His Paycheck, By Way Of Polymarket

Giri Nathan

A huge group of fans mill around at the 2026 U.S. Open

Tennis

The State Of The U.S. Open Is The State Of Us

Tom Ley

Daejon Love Will Go Down As A Scammer For The Ages

Dave McKenna

Close view of gloved hands priming a fine syringe for local anesthesia during surgery in a modern sterile clinic

Reds Week

I’m A Redhead, So Hit Me With Your Best Shot (Of Lidocaine)

marge schott addresses the crowd before game 1 of the 1990 world series

Marge Schott Was A Five-Tool Bigot Who Would Have Thrived In Any Era

Noelle Mateer is a writer in Pittsburgh. Her work appears in Wired, The Baffler, The Guardian and more. Her Substack is <a href="https://pathenewsletter.substack.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://pathenewsletter.substack.com/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1786567070811000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1LOAnbsGrpau8RvDRBu5SF">Pennsylvania: The Newsletter</a>.

Noelle Mateer

Big Boy, the largest operating steam locomotive, arrives in Silver Springs, New York, on its only East Coast tour this month to celebrate its 250th anniversary. (Photo by John Whitney/NurPhoto)

Everybody Loves Big Boy

Sohini Desai

AI Listings Have Made Apartment Hunting Even More Debasing

20-year-old fish sauce spews out of a rupture in a vat at an abandoned plant

Let Me And A Food Scientist Sample The Abandoned Fish Sauce Terrorizing A Small Canadian Town

FIFA President Gianni Infantino directs U.S. President Donald Trump after the team’s victory following during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Final match between Spain and Argentina