Capital

Climate

Margin Of Error

Policing

The Machines

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

Barry Petchesky

FLORIDA, UNITED STATES - NOVEMBER 06: Former US President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump makes a speech during an election night event at the Palm Beach Convention Center in West Palm Beach, Florida, United States, on November 06, 2024.

Politics

This Place Is All Fucked Up


<p>charismatic megafauna (they/them)</p>


Sabrina Imbler

Animals

Everything You Might Want To Know About Peanut, The Squirrel Star Turned MAGA Martyr

<div id="1695913206.579009" class="c-virtual_list__item c-virtual_list__item--initial-activeitem" role="listitem" data-qa="virtual-list-item" data-item-key="1695913206.579009">
<div class="c-message_kit__background c-message_kit__background--hovered p-message_pane_message__message c-message_kit__message" role="presentation" data-qa="message_container" data-qa-unprocessed="false" data-qa-placeholder="false">
<div class="c-message_kit__hover c-message_kit__hover--hovered" role="document" data-qa-hover="true">
<div class="c-message_kit__actions c-message_kit__actions--above">
<div class="c-message_kit__gutter c-message_kit__gutter--compact">
<div class="c-message_kit__gutter__right" role="presentation" data-qa="message_content">
<div class="c-message_kit__indent">
<div class="c-message_kit__blocks c-message_kit__blocks--rich_text c-message_kit__blocks--inline">
<div class="c-message__message_blocks c-message__message_blocks--rich_text c-message__message_blocks--inline" data-qa="message-text">
<div class="p-block_kit_renderer p-block_kit_renderer--inline" data-qa="block-kit-renderer">
<div class="p-block_kit_renderer__block_wrapper p-block_kit_renderer__block_wrapper--first">
<div class="p-rich_text_block p-rich_text_block--inline" dir="auto">
<div class="p-rich_text_section">Tom Scocca is the editor of <a href="http://indignity.net">Indignity</a>, a subscription-supported newsletter of news, essays, and commentary.</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div id="1695913224.677889" class="c-virtual_list__item" role="listitem" data-qa="virtual-list-item" data-item-key="1695913224.677889">
<div class="c-message_kit__background p-message_pane_message__message c-message_kit__message" role="presentation" data-qa="message_container" data-qa-unprocessed="false" data-qa-placeholder="false">
<div class="c-message_kit__hover" role="document" data-qa-hover="true">
<div class="c-message_kit__actions c-message_kit__actions--above">
<div class="c-message_kit__gutter c-message_kit__gutter--compact">
<div class="c-message_kit__gutter__left" role="presentation"></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>


Tom Scocca

A sign reading VOTING AHEAD at an Atlanta, Ga. early voting location.

It’s Time To Vote

Amos Barshad

People walk by a banner outside of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) for the IPO of Flutter Entertainment, the parent company of FanDuel, on January 29, 2024 in New York City. The company, which is already on the London Stock Exchange, will be listed under the “FLUT” symbol. Wall Street observers are watching to see if an upcoming Fed announcement on rate policy and the most recent violence in the Middle East will have any effect on the markets.

Gambling

The Gambling Industry’s Cynical Play For Your Vote

David Roth

They’re Saying It

Samer Kalaf

Nick Bosa appears on the Sunday Night Football postgame interview in a Make America Great Again hat

Nick Bosa Wants The Attention Without The Culpability

<p>David Gardner is a writer based in New York. His work has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, GQ, The Ringer, and other outlets.</p>


David Gardner


<p>Diana Moskovitz is Defector&#8217;s investigations editor. You can contact her at diana@defector.com or dfmoskovitz@protonmail.com. She&#8217;s also on Signal @dmoskovitz.99</p>


Diana Moskovitz

Taylor Swift performs onstage for night one of Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium on July 07, 2023 in Kansas City, Missouri.

How Public Stadiums Keep Some Profits Private

Nate Crudster

This Is So Stupid

No Matter What Happens In This Election, Nobody Is Allowed To Get Mad At Me

<p><a class="sc-1out364-0 hMndXN sc-145m8ut-0 kGbjEv js_link" href="http://demause.net/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-ga="[[&quot;Embedded Url&quot;,&quot;External link&quot;,&quot;http://demause.net/&quot;,{&quot;metric25&quot;:1}]]"><em>Neil deMause</em></a><em> has covered sports economics for more publications than even he can shake a stick at. He’s co-author of the book </em><a class="sc-1out364-0 hMndXN sc-145m8ut-0 kGbjEv js_link" href="https://www.amazon.com/Field-Schemes-Stadium-Swindle-Private/dp/1567511384?ascsubtag=c9dca64cfbbd6c35085d286f4423ee39b8350b2f&amp;rawdata=%5Br%7Chttps%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2F%5Bks%7Cgoogle%5Bt%7Clink%5Bp%7C1800657108%5Ba%7C1567511384%5Bau%7C5722120546910826704%5Bb%7Cdeadspinascsubtag%3D4eba2da0f6cc83fe1f221e8d8ca5894cd93bf2a7ascsubtag%3D33f4f2a16c1eda72859c34ee8aa577410b04a0d8&amp;tag=deadspinamzn-20" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-ga="[[&quot;Commerce&quot;,&quot;deadspin - Baseball Doesn't Need Collusion To Turn Off The Hot Stove&quot;,&quot;1567511384&quot;]]" data-amazonasin="1567511384" data-amazontag="deadspinamzn-20" data-amazonsubtag="[r|https://www.google.com/[ks|google[t|link[p|1831644811[a|1567511384[au|5722120546910826704[b|deadspin[lt|text" data-commerceready="true">Field of Schemes: How the Great Stadium Swindle Turns Public Money Into Private Profit</a><em>, and runs </em><a class="sc-1out364-0 hMndXN sc-145m8ut-0 kGbjEv js_link" href="http://fieldofschemes.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-ga="[[&quot;Embedded Url&quot;,&quot;External link&quot;,&quot;http://fieldofschemes.com/&quot;,{&quot;metric25&quot;:1}]]"><em>the website of the same name</em></a><em>.</em></p>


Neil deMause

Philadelphia skyline with white puffy clouds focusing on William Penn Statue Broad Street area, Pennsylvania. (Photo by: Visions of America/Joseph Sohm/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

Philadelphia Has A Lot To Lose On The New 76ers Arena


<p>Dan McQuade was a founding member of Defector. He died in January 2026.</p>


Dan McQuade

Feasterville-Trevose, PA - October 20 : Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump hands out food while standing at a drive-thru window during a campaign stop at a McDonald's in Feasterville-Trevose, PA on Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024.

Donald Trump Played Pretend In A McDonald’s I Once Knew Intimately

A big campaign sign that is just Kamala Harris's head, in front of a blue sky with scattered clouds.

The Candidates Have Nothing Left To Tell You

Justin Ellis

A look inside the offices of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, a sign for FEMA sits in the foreground as we see the silhouettes of people against large monitors in the background.

It’s Not The Weather Machine That Is Making Life Shittier

Tesla CEO Elon Musk (R) jumps on stage as he joins Donald Trump. You can see Musk's tummy; Trump looks kind of upset.

Check Out These Cool Moves!

A monitor shows the CBS News broadcast of the Vice Presidential Debate between US Senator and Republican vice presidential candidate J.D. Vance and Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz in Harrisburg, PA, on October 1, 2024, at a watch party.

JD Vance Found A Debate He Couldn’t Win

Patrick Redford

Steve Ballmer speaks onstage at the Intuit Dome opening night event held at Intuit Dome on August 15, 2024 in Inglewood, California. (Photo by Michael Buckner/Variety via Getty Images)

Clippers Fans, And Only Clippers Fans, Can Now Buy Alcohol At 3:17 In The Morning In California

New York City Mayor Eric Adams talks to the press outside Gracie Mansion, the official residence of the mayor of New York City, on September 26, 2024, after he was indicted on federal criminal charges. US federal agents raided the official residence of Mayor Adams early September 26 ahead of the expected announcement of criminal charges against the former city cop once touted as a rising Democratic Party star. The search at the residence known as Gracie Mansion began before dawn, and is the latest shock twist in a graft investigation against the Adams administration. (Photo by TIMOTHY A. CLARY / POOL / AFP)

The Most Unbelievable Bits From NYC Mayor Eric Adams’s Indictment

Journalismism

The Truth Is An Inconvenience For Jake Tapper And Dana Bash

A picture taken on September 24, 2024, shows the debris and destruction at the site of an overnight Israeli strike on a neighbourhood in the Lebanese city of Baalbeck

Israel Uses The Same Pretense For New Bloodshed

A splitscreen image. On the left, New York magazine reporter Olivia Nuzzi. On the right, former presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Media Meltdowns

Sending Horny Texts To RFK Jr. Is Not A Public Service


<p>Luisa Rollenhagen is a German-Argentinian freelance journalist based in Berlin. She&#8217;s written for publications such as <em>The Guardian</em>, BuzzFeed News, Deutsche Welle, and <em>GQ</em>. </p>


Luisa Rollenhagen

POTSDAM, GERMANY - SEPTEMBER 22: Protesters gather outside the venue where members of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) were holding their election evening party in Brandenburg state elections on September 22, 2024 near Potsdam, Germany. The AfD entered the election today in a neck-and-neck race against the incumbent German Social Democrats (SPD).(Photo by Michele Tantussi/Getty Images)

What’s Driving The Rise Of The Far Right Among Young Germans?

Red crime scene tape marking off an area outside the Trump International Golf Club sign in West Palm Beach, Florida, as law enforcement investigate an apparent assassination attempt on Donald Trump.

Cope Is A Terrible Way Not To Die

New York Magazine Suspends Olivia Nuzzi Over “Inappropriate Relationship” With Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Donald Trump makes a loony-eyed face while speaking at IAC.

Where Racism Goes To Become Rhetoric

Republican presidential candidate, former U.S. President Donald Trump (L) and Republican vice presidential candidate, U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH) appear on the first day of the Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum on July 15, 2024 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Delegates, politicians, and the Republican faithful are in Milwaukee for the annual convention, concluding with former President Donald Trump accepting his party's presidential nomination

What A Lie Is For

Donald Trump and Kamala Harris debate on September 10, 2024 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.