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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

David Roth

Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin walks out of the tunnel before a game against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field on December 15, 2024 in Philadelphia

Podcasts

Los Angeles Is A Football Town, With Diana Moskovitz

A master swordsman named Bernard Ganter uses a saber to open an enormous bottle of Moet & Chandon at a celebration in Denver, Co.

The Fellowship Of The Champagne Saber

Malcolm Gladwell and Carlos Watson speak onstage during OZY Fest 2018 at Rumsey Playfield, Central Park on July 22, 2018 in New York City.

Feeling Like Ozymandias, With Susie Banikarim

A birthday cake is seen for Jess Park of England (not pictured) at St George's Park Futsal Arena on October 21, 2024 in Burton upon Trent, England. It's kind of a saddish cake sitting on what looks like a couch. The Distraction logo is at upper right.

One Hundred Distractions Deep, With Eric Silver

Kelsey McKinney

Rachelle Hampton

Welcome To The New Era Of Normal Gossip

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.