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

David Roth

Matt Carpenter of the Padres looking distraught during a road game against the Phillies in July of 2023.

Podcasts

What Are The Padres Trying To Tell Us, With Justin Halpern

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 Point B. Handsomest man in the world.

Drew Magary

xxxx during the NFL game between Indianapolis Colts and Jacksonville Jaguars at Wembley Stadium on October 2, 2016 in London, England.

A Comprehensively Stupid 2023 NFL Season Preview, With Kalyn Kahler

A Minnesota Vikings fan with a painted face and a goofy horned helmet looks contemplative/despondent during the team's loss to the New York Giants in the 2023 NFC Wild Card game.

What Kind Of Vikings Fan Should A Person Be?

Georgia head coach Kirby Smart and his team react incredulously to a call during the 2023 College Football Championship Game.

The Kings Of Shrimp Country, With Spencer Hall

&lt;&gt; at KessPro Studios on August 30, 2015 in Los Angeles, California.

The Hater’s Guide To The 2023 Fantasy Football Season, With Andy Behrens

Kelsey McKinney

Alex Sujong Laughlin

Alex Sujong Laughlin and Kelsey McKinney standing beside Flat Margaret.

Kelsey And Alex’s Big Adventure: Notes From Normal Gossip On The Road

Pete Alonso high-fives his teammates in the Mets dugout after hitting a two-run homer against the Cubs on August 9, 2023.

Pete Alonso Emo Chat, With Lindsey Adler

A stock photo of sausages cooking on a barbecue grill.

The Bib Does Nothing!

Sophia Smith lines up a shot in the US Women's National Team's game against the Netherlands in the Women's World Cup on Wednesday night.

How Much Vlatko Is Too Much Vlatko, With Abigail Segel

Three demonstrators join hands to build strength against the force of water sprayed by riot police in Birmingham, Alabama, during a protest of segregation practices.

The Civil Rights Movement’s Turning Point Was Almost Its Last Stand, With Paul Kix

A group trying to rescue animals from the massive forest fire around Fort McMurray in Alberta wait at a roadblock on May 6, 2016. The Distraction logo is at top left.

To Live And Die In Petroleum Products, With John Vaillant

A photo of people watching fireworks over the Brooklyn Bridge and lower Manhattan.

Perspiring Freely, To Honor America

A stock photo of a man in his thirties sitting at a computer with headphones on, presumably thinking about podcasts.

Let’s Remember Some Podcasts, With Alex Sujong Laughlin

Mr. Met striking a benignly unsettling Mr. Met-style pose on the field during a Mets game.

The Minimum Amount Of Podcast Allowed By Law

A bathroom at Mar-a-Lago positively jammed with boxes full of junk.

Ambitions As A Writer And Bathroom Chandeliers, With Israel Daramola And Dave McKenna

LIV Golf CEO Greg Norman at a press conference during the LIV event in Adelaide, Australia, in April of 2023.

The Money Will Not Shut Up, With Ray Ratto

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

Normal Gossip logo with cartoon characters gossiping

Vibesmithing Via Committee

Gabe Vincent, Bam Adebayo, and Caleb Martin stand together as the team is introduced before Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals.

Eat Culture, With Rohan Nadkarni

The Chill Bride, The Boutonnieres, And The Hair Straightener

Grant Williams of the Boston Celtics holds the ball while Jimmy Butler makes a Jimmy Butler Face in an Eastern Conference Finals game..

Sacred Oafs, Holy Madmen, Culture Wars, Things Of That Nature

We Are Surrounded By Mysteries In Our Own Backyards

Dispatches From The Gulf Of Pain, With David Grann

Welcome To The Chair Saga

A Mariachi Band performs on Cinco De Mayo as writers on strike march with signs on the picket line on day four of the strike by the Writers Guild of America in front of Netflix in Hollywood, California.