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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.

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Defector

NYC: Come To Our WNBA Comedy Show On May 16

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Live Event

Staff Writer
Find me on Signal @DefectorChris.09

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Chris Thompson

The Virgin River flows through the valley floor as viewed on November 9, 2019 in Zion National Park, Utah

Zion National Park

Politics

Why Bully The National Park Service?

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Patrick Redford

WASHINGTON, DC - FEBRUARY 28: U.S. President Donald Trump (C) and Vice President JD Vance (R) meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (L) in the Oval Office at the White House on February 28, 2025 in Washington, DC. Trump and Zelensky are meeting today to negotiate a preliminary agreement on sharing Ukraine’s mineral resources that Trump says will allow America to recoup aid provided to Kyiv while supporting Ukraine’s economy. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

President Trump Hosts Ukrainian President Zelensky At The White House

JD Vance Screamed Out Of Planned Ski Vacation In Vermont

A canyon and waterfall in the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming.

Yellowstone National Park Exteriors And Landmarks – 2021

The Great Outdoors

What Are Public Lands For?

Eva Holland is a freelance writer and editor based in Whitehorse, Yukon. She&#8217;s a correspondent for Outside magazine and the author of the books Nerve and <a href="https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/no-sleep-til-fairbanks#/">No Sleep &#8216;Til Fairbanks</a>.

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Eva Holland

Alaskan Dogs In United States –

What’s The Yukon Quest Without The Yukon River?

<a href="http://www.ddavisla.com">David Davis </a>is the author of Wheels of Courage: How Paralyzed Veterans From World War II Invented Wheelchair Sports, Fought for Disability Rights, and Inspired a Nation and Waterman: The Life and Times of Duke Kahanamoku. He lives in Los Angeles.
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David Davis

Photo of Gidget running through the Malibu Pier. Fifty years after Kathy Kohner Zuckerman, aka Gidget, learned to surf in Malibu, the surfing world has accepted her as surfing's early pioneers, mascots and avid promoters. April 27, 2006, (Photo by Ken Hively/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

Photo of Gidget running through the Malibu Pier. Fifty years after Kathy Kohner Zuckerman, aka Gidg

Arts And Culture

Gidget The Survivor

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Capital

The Logic Of Private Equity Explains The Park City Ski Patrol Strike

Lael Wilcox pedaling past a field of poppes in Spain

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Cycling

Trying To Catch Up With Lael Wilcox As She Biked Around The World In 108 Days

Emily Bice is a Brooklyn-based writer. Her work centers on explorations of how we navigate love and life in the 21st century. These investigations have taken her to a fishmonger, inspired meditations on dating, and even led to rollerblading a marathon. You can find more on her Substack, <a href="https://129waysto.substack.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://129waysto.substack.com/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1728739707762000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1SlDWyDATtJJ90_yxFN0B1">129 Ways to Get a Life</a>.

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Emily Bice

Emily skates in the final stretch of the marathon

Sportgraf High Res

The View From The Way, Way Back Of The Berlin Inline Skating Marathon

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Barry Petchesky

BROOKS FALLS, ALASKA - AUGUST 11: A brown bear shakes his fur while fishing for sockeye salmon on August 11, 2023 at Brooks Falls, Alaska within the Katmai National Park and Preserve. The bears feast at the falls between July and September, as millions of salmon swim upstream to spawn. Many of the same bears return to the falls annually, gorging on salmon to fatten up before hibernating for winter. The bears have become something of an internet sensation, as "bearcams" livestream bear activity at and around the falls to viewers worldwide. Commercial salmon fishing in Alaskan waters has often pitted business interests against wildlife conservationists in Alaska, which has more national park and wilderness land than anywhere in the United States. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)

Brown Bears At Brooks Falls Gorge On Sockeye Salmon In Alaska’s Katmai National Park

Animals

Bear Wins Fat Bear Week By Defeating Bear That Killed Her Cub

UNITED STATES - 2013/08/27: Brown bear (Ursus arctos) or grizzly in Brooks River near Brooks Falls in Katmai National Park and Preserve, Alaska, USA. (Photo by Wolfgang Kaehler/LightRocket via Getty Images)

Brown bear (Ursus arctos) or grizzly in Brooks River near

Fat Bear Week Delayed By Bear Killing Bear

Dayna Evans is a baker and writer who got really into surfing recently. She runs Downtime Bakery in Mt. Airy, Philadelphia.

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Dayna Evans

East Coast Surfing’s Rich, Overlooked Legacy Gets Its Due

Heather Chen is a former Defector intern and the managing editor at the Columbia Daily Spectator. She loves hockey, photography, and the good ol’ state of Michigan.

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Heather Wei-Xi Chen

A surfer in a blue wetsuit carries a light blue surfboard with him as he walks into the ocean. He is holding a Palestinian flag in his right hand and wearing a keffiyeh around his head.

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Surfers Show Solidarity At A Paddle-Out For Palestine

The beach

This Is So Stupid

What Would You Do Right Now For A Free Beach Vacation?

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Giri Nathan

A view of the basketball court at JFK International Airport

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Wings Week

Who Was Getting Buckets At The JFK Airport Basketball Court?

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Albert Burneko

Some lovely beefsteak tomatoes, still growing on the vine.

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Another Garden Check!

Owen Lewis is a former Defector intern and co-founded the website <a href="http://popcorntennis.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://popcorntennis.com&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1726234676777000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0PFWw6PL-FUqaCMME5TLqP">popcorntennis.com</a>. He wrote 63,000 words about the Novak Djokovic-Rafael Nadal rivalry that can be accessed for free at <a href="https://thegoldenrivalry.substack.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://thegoldenrivalry.substack.com&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1726234676777000&amp;usg=AOvVaw2OjAHpo4PVIhkx8Xd21lRJ">thegoldenrivalry.substack.com</a>.

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Owen Lewis

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I Hate Running. I Miss Running.

Kenny Moll rips through an impromptu finish line to mark the end of his seventh marathon. Michael-Luca is running to his right, with a crowd of runners behind them. There are trees in the background, and the area is both shaded and sunny.

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If You Run Seven Marathons In Seven Days In Central Park, Does It Make A Difference?

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Garden Check!

Gardening

Elder Wisdom

How To Make (Or Possibly Not To Make) A Vegetable Garden

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Kelsey McKinney

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In Defense Of Chaos Gardening

Stephen Lurie is a writer and facilitator in Brooklyn, NY.

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Stephen Lurie

A box of essentials - body glide, water, bagel, banana, Advil, and Accel Gel. The 116th Boston Marathon starts in Hopkinton in Hopkinton, Mass. on Monday, April 16, 2012.

116th Running Of The Boston Marathon: Pre-race

The Sublime Clarity Of Goo

Red rambling rose plant climbing the wall of a pink thatched cottage, Shottisham Suffolk, England.

Life Lessons

So You Want To Grow Climbing Roses

French mountaineer Christophe Profit climbs on the south face of the Rebuffat Peak on the Aiguille du Midi mountain (3 842 m) in the Mont Blanc massif in the French Alps, on June 2, 2016, during the reconstitution of Gaston Rebuffat and Maurice Baquet's first ascent of the south face of the Aiguille du Midi on July 13, 1956. / AFP / JEAN-PIERRE CLATOT (Photo credit should read JEAN-PIERRE CLATOT/AFP via Getty Images)

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Legendary Mountaineer Christophe Profit On Trial For Removing Safety Equipment On Mont Blanc

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I Have Been Defeated And Humbled By My Hated Foe, The Wind

Hawaiian surfer Mark Healy rides a wave during The Eddie Aikau Big Wave Invitational surfing contest on January 22, 2023, at Waimea Bay on the North Shore of Oahu in Hawaii. - RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE (Photo by Brian Bielmann / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE (Photo by BRIAN BIELMANN/AFP via Getty Images)

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Local Lifeguard Wins Big-Wave Surfing’s Most Prestigious Competition