defector-orange-no-empty-space

lede_post_card_default

lede_post_card_stacked

lede_post_card_featured_post

lede_post_card_featured_posts_hero

lede_post_card_featured_posts_sidebar

lede_post_card_highlighted_post

lede_post_card_horizontal_a

lede_post_card_horizontal_c

lede_post_card_related_post

lede_post_card_square

lede_article_featured_16x9

lede_article_featured_3x2

lede_article_featured_1x1

lede_article_featured_flexible

lede_article_content

lede_article_content_wide_width

lede_article_content_full_width

lede_byline_avatar_post_card

lede_byline_avatar_highlight

lede_profile_coral_avatar

lede_logo

lede_logo_banner

lede_logo_footer_banner

lede_logo_simple_header

lede_sponsorship_logo

lede_sponsorship_logo_river_card

lede_sponsorship_homepage_card_logo

lede_sponsorship_homepage_card

Footer Legal

Header - Categories

Header Menu

The last good website.

Topics

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-no-empty-space

Defector

VictorPortraitWClaw

David Roth

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of the Oklahoma City Thunder looks to his right, seemingly at The Distraction logo, with a towel over his shoulder, after the team's Game 4 loss in the Western Conference Finals.

Oklahoma City Thunder v Minnesota Timberwolves – Game Three

Podcasts

Activating The Dunk Machine

Jae Towle Vieira [they/them] works as a producer for Normal Gossip. Their fiction has been published in The Normal School, New England Review, Carve Magazine, Passages North, Fairy Tale Review, and elsewhere.

Jae Towle Vieira headshot

Jae Towle Vieira

Normal Gossip logo with cartoon characters gossiping

Normal_Gossip_16-9_V2

The Champagne Socialist And The Espresso Martini Capitalist

Police officers are seen outside the Supreme Court of the United States is seen on Thursday May 15, 2025 in Washington, DC. The court is hearing arguments about lower courts' ability to block President Donald Trump's policy to end birthright citzenship.

Supreme Court – Washington, DC

Notes Of Sparkling Authoritarianism, With Jason Steinhauer

Brie Is A Promise

Honorary pace car driver, Alan Ritchson attends the "Reacher" activation on the midway prior to the NASCAR Cup Series Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on February 16, 2025 in Daytona Beach, Florida. The Distraction logo is at upper right.

NASCAR Cup Series Daytona 500

Hands Like Small Turkeys, With Brandy Jensen

Stewing In Anger

A copy of "The Onion," a satirical newspaper, is seen on a lamppost in downtown Washington, DC on November 14, 2024. The lead headline reads "America Defeats America."

US-MISINFORMATION-THEONION-SOCIAL-MASS-MEDIA

The State Of The Onion, With Ben Collins

Rolling The 20-Sided Dice On Love

Owner Steve Ballmer of the Los Angeles Clippers reacts against the Denver Nuggets during the fourth quarter in Game Three of the Western Conference First Round NBA Playoffs.

steve-ballmer-distraction

I’m Feeling Like Steve, With Patrick Redford

A Run-In With The Mysterious Steve

Shedeur Sanders of the Colorado Buffaloes runs with the ball during the first half against the Oklahoma State Cowboys at Folsom Field on November 29, 2024 in Boulder, Colorado.

Oklahoma State v Colorado

Journey Within The Football Guy Brain, With Mike Tanier

The Fine Line Between A Prank And A Crime

Fruit Plate, Menges Lakeside Hotel and Resort, Livingston Manor, New York, USA, John Margolies Roadside America Photograph Archive, 1978. It looks real messed up. Cottage cheese in the middle and such.

Fruit Plate, Menges Lakeside Hotel and Resort, Livingston Manor, New York, USA, John Margolies Roadside America Photograph Archive, 1978

At Beautiful Mount Airy Lodge

Lit Up On Bleep Island

Elon Musk speaks during a cabinet meeting with US President Donald Trump at the White House in Washington, DC, on February 26, 2025. He's backlit and is doing his Thinking Hands and is wearing a stupid hat. The Distraction logo is at upper right.

US-POLITICS-TRUMP

Beavises In The Code Base, With Tim Marchman

Season 8 Kicks Off With A Couch And A Fuckboy

Paige Bueckers exults in a basket under the basket against the USC Trojans during the Elite Eight round of the 2025 NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament held at Spokane Arena on March 31, 2025.

NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament – Elite Eight – Spokane

Where’d She Go To College? With Maitreyi Anantharaman

Left to right, Jason Narducy, Bob Mould, and Jon Wurster playing a set at Riot Fest in Chicago in 2019.

Riot Fest 2019

Catching The Rain, With Bob Mould

Bruce Pearl yelling with his hand cupped around his mouth, looking pretty insane, during a game against Texas A&M on March 4, 2025.

Auburn v Texas A&M

Through The Transfer Portal, With Ken Pomeroy

New York Jets running back Zonovan Knight (27) catches a pass from New York Jets quarterback Mike White (5) during the NFL game between the New York Jets and the Minnesota Vikings on December 4th, 2022.

NFL: DEC 04 Jets at Vikings

Yearning For The Mike White Era, With Jasper Wang

Vice President JD Vance speaks during a visit to the U.S.-Mexico border on March 5, 2025 in Eagle Pass, Texas. His eyes are closed and he looks like he's singing. Beard looks like shit.

Vice President JD Vance Visits The Border In Eagle Pass, Texas

Live From The Bad Times, With Denny Carter

Twitch CEO Dan Clancy attends TwitchCon 2024 San Diego on September 20, 2024 in San Diego, California.

TwitchCon 2024 San Diego

Streams And Nightmares, With Nathan Grayson

A general view of the atmosphere at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival at Fair Grounds Race Course on April 24, 2016 in New Orleans, with a fried crab po'boy front and center.

2016 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival – Day 3

Some Basketball, Some Sandwich, With Rohan Nadkarni

Patrick Mahomes of the Kansas City Chiefs tries to avoid a sack by DE Brandon Graham #55 of the Philadelphia Eagles during Super Bowl LIX between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday February 9, 2025.

NFL: FEB 09 Super Bowl LIX – Eagles vs Chiefs

How To Describe An Ass-Kicking

Nick Sirianni, head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles, is escorted off the field by thirsty-ass Dom DiSandro following the NFC Championship Game against the Washington Commanders at Lincoln Financial Field on January 26, 2025.

NFC Championship Game: Washington Commanders v Philadelphia Eagles

The Eagles Fan Version Of Personal Growth, With Dan McQuade