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

A kebab is prepared in the Elbis-Döner restaurant at Berliner Straße 2 in Wilmersdorf. It looks good as hell.

Podcasts

Kebab Juice On The Windowpane, With Rohan Nadkarni

Patrick Redford

Rodman and TOni Braxton at the MTV Music Awards

Associated “Association Update” Update, With Will Anderson Of Hotline TNT

Justin Agu #13 of the Louisville Cardinals catches the ball against the Toledo Rockets during the first half of the 2025 Bush's Boca Raton Bowl of Beans at Flagler Credit Union Stadium on December 23, 2025.

Imagining The End Of College Sports, With Spencer Hall

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - MAY 29: New York Knicks fans react after game five in the Eastern Conference Finals against the Indiana Pacers after the Knicks win at Madison Square Garden on May 29, 2025 in New York City. (Photo by Kent J. Edwards/Getty Images)

New York Or Nowhere, With Will Menaker

PARIS, FRANCE - AUGUST 10: (L-R) NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, IOC President Thomas Bach, President of the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) Sheikh Saud Ali Al Thani and President Gianni Infantino attend the Men's Gold Medal game between Team France and Team United States on day fifteen of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 at Bercy Arena on August 10, 2024 in Paris, France. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)

What Sort Of NBA Does Adam Silver Want To Build In Europe?

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

Fixing Tanking By Making Everything More Confusing, With Tom Ley

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - MAY 12: Dallas Mavericks have officially won the in NBA Draft Lottery with 1.8% pre-lottery chance to win the pick in Chicago, Illinois, United States on May 12, 2025. San Antonio Spurs got the second pick, Philadelphia 76ers got 3rd and Charlotte Hornets got the 4th pick in the lottery. (Photo by Jacek Boczarski/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Tank Me Later, With Ock Sportello And Sam Sheehan

Marc Kennedy and Ben Hebert of Team Canada compete during Men's Round Robin between Team Canada and Team Great Britain on day eleven of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic games at Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium on February 17, 2026.

Across The Hog Line, With John Cullen

INGLEWOOD, CALIFORNIA - FEBRUARY 15: Kevin Durant #7 of the Houston Rockets and Team USA Stripes walks onto the court before the 75th NBA All-Star Game at Intuit Dome on February 15, 2026 in Inglewood, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

Peeking Into The Durant Files, With Eamon Whalen

A Pomeranian is groomed backstage during the Group Judging (Hound, Toy, Non-Sporting, Herding) at 149th Annual Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show in 2025.

Choosing Your Pomeranian, With Kathryn Xu

CHONGQING, CHINA - FEBRUARY 8: In this photo illustration, a person holds a smartphone displaying the Kalshi app page on the Apple App Store, with the Kalshi branding visible in the background, on February 8, 2026, in Chongqing, China. Kalshi, a U.S.-regulated prediction market platform that allows users to trade on the outcomes of real-world events, has surged in popularity and recently climbed to second place on the Apple App Store’s U.S. free apps ranking, highlighting growing public interest in event-based financial markets and outcome forecasting. (Photo illustration by Cheng Xin/Getty Images)

On The Breathtakingly Cynical Giannis Antetokounmpo Kalshi Investment

Alex Sujong Laughlin

They Publish Books By “Women And Weirdos” In Their Free Time

Phillie Phanatic, mascot of the Philadelphia Phillies, pumps up the crowd with some of his signature goofy antics during a game against the Pittsburgh Pirates, August 9-11, 1982, at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania back in 1982. The turf looks crazy. His weird tongue is sticking out.

The Last Mayor Of Philadelphia

BOSTON, MA - OCTOBER 28: Raymond Felton #20 and Gerald Wallace #3 of the Charlotte Bobcats react during a game with the Boston Celtics at the TD Banknorth Garden on October 28, 2009 in Boston, Massachusetts. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Jim Rogash/Getty Images)

Into The Research Triangle Of Sadness, With Jacob Rosenberg

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

How Do You Make A Podcast When The World Is On Fire?

Boston, MA, 05/13/2019 -- Actress Felicity Huffman enters Federal Court. (Jessica Rinaldi/Globe Staff)

The Class Warfare Behind The Varsity Blues Saga

In This House We Believe In Highlights, With Samer Kalaf

U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth (R) and Japanese Defense Minister Shinjirō Koizumi talk between sets during their workout on January 15, 2026 in Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall, Virginia.

Ideologically Opposed To Proper Workout Form, With Patrick Wyman

Michael Jordan #23 of the Washington Wizards on the court during the final NBA game of his career, played against the Philadelphia 76ers at First Union Center on March 30, 2003 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Sixers won 107-87. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

The Good Team Always Wins, With Jeremy Gordon

The Bride’s Last Bribery Fund

Masked ICE agents and demonstrators face off as protests broke out following the shooting of a Venezuelan man by a Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on January 14, 2026.

What It’s Like When ICE Invades Your City, With Arif Hasan

Mom Crimes And Other International Laws

HOUSTON, TEXAS - JANUARY 08: Head coach Jim Harbaugh of the Michigan Wolverines celebrates after defeating the Washington Huskies during the 2024 CFP National Championship game at NRG Stadium on January 08, 2024 in Houston, Texas. Michigan defeated Washington 34-13. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images)

How Michigan’s Man On The Inside Got Caught

Coach John McLendon showing and discussing play strategy to the players on the chalkboard doing basketball practice in the gym. (Photo by North Carolina Central University via Getty Images)

Convening The TrueHoop Ideas Summit, With Henry Abbott

Head coach Pete Carroll of the Las Vegas Raiders speaks with Atonio Mafi #56 prior to the game against the Kansas City Chiefs on January 4. The Raiders actually won this one but fired Carroll shortly after.