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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

Kelsey McKinney

Rachelle Hampton

Podcasts

Welcome To The New Era Of Normal Gossip

David Roth

C.J. Stroud of the Houston Texans adjusts his helmet in close-up before taking the field for Houston's game against Jacksonville on December 1, 2024.

That AFC South Feeling, With Rivers McCown

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

Secret Family Fortune Tellers And Other Deathbed Revelations

Former Duke Head Coach Mike Krzyzewski, his wife Mickie, and Actor Ken Jeong look on in the final seconds of the Terry's Chocolate Vegas Showdown college basketball game between Duke Blue Devils vs Kansas Jayhawks on November 26, 2024.

Staying Up Late And Being Stupid

Bitter Fruit From The Fig Of Deceit

A traveler is reflected in a pane of glass with a paper snowman behind it during travel on Christmas Day at Frankfurt Airport.

Emergency Christmas Protocols And Underwater Hotels, With Sabrina Imbler

Make It A Ham Bag This Holiday Season

NBA and FanDuel online sports betting signage is displayed on the side of a building in Phoenix, Arizona.

Doing Cocaine In An MRI Machine, With Arif Hasan

Something Stinks With The Fishmonger’s Cousin

Closeup of painted Oakland Raiders fans in Black Hole during game vs New York Jets in Oakland in 2003. They've got like weird helmets and skull stuff going on.

A Taste Of That Football-Shaped Bread, With Ray Ratto

Bromance Languages 101

Kamala Harris smiling out at the crowd at her big rally in Washington, D.C. on October 29, 2024. There's a bunch of people cheering behind her and she's wearing a suit.

Watching The Game, With Denny Carter

Night Of The Flying Fruit Snatchers

Giancarlo Stanton of the Yankees grimaces/smirks after a strikeout in the fourth inning against the Cleveland Guardians during Game Four of the ALCS.

There’s No Rutgers Football In The Champagne Room

It’s Always Garbage Man Appreciation Week In Our Hearts

Harrison Bader (left) and Jesse Winker (right) celebrate in the outfield at CitiField after the Mets defeated the Philadelphia Phillies in the NLDS. Bader is yelling; Winker, also yelling, kind of looks like a snake a little bit.

The Hazards Of Beef Tourism, With Rohan Nadkarni

Illegal Casino Night Is For The Children

circa 1955: Studio image of a father flexing his bicep for his young freckle-faced son to feel, 1950s. (Photo by Harold M. Lambert/Lambert/Getty Images)

Let’s Remember Some Dad

All’s Fair In Love And Fanfiction

Artist Yan Chuan paints his figurine creation of Garrosh Hellscream from World of Warcraft on June 8, 2016 in Shenyang, China. Chuan is a fan of Blizzard Entertainment, producer of online game World of Warcraft.

Lost In The Orc Section, With Jason Schreier

Wide receiver Plaxico Burress #17 of the New York Giants warms up for the game with the Arizona Cardinals on November 23, 2008. It looks like he's looking at the Distraction logo at upper right of the frame.

The Plaxico Continuum

So It’s Come To This: The Normal Gossip Updates Episode

Detroit Tigers first baseman Spencer Torkelson (20) gestures as he runs the bases after hitting a two-run home run against the Red Sox at Comerica Park.

Mild Card Season, With Maitreyi Anantharaman

Head coach Mike Norvell of the Florida State Seminoles reacts to a play during the first half of a game against the Boston College Eagles at Doak Campbell Stadium. You can tell from the reaction that the Noles would go on to lose.

How Not To Make It In College Football, With Israel Daramola

Head coach Antonio Pierce of the Las Vegas Raiders stands on the sidelines during the national anthem prior to an NFL preseason football game against the San Francisco 49ers, at Allegiant Stadium on August 23, 2024.