Hopefully you, like us, have the day off today. And hopefully you, like us, have plans to watch lots of World Cup soccer this weekend. While you do that, feel free to chat away in this open thread.

Here’s A World Cup Weekend Open Thread

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Tom Ley

World Cup fans cheer as one tries to catch a ball

Defector Up All Night

Try To Cool Off In The July 4th Weekend Open Thread

Defector Staff

The cast of Our Gang/The Little Rascals singing, circa 1930.

Hey! Over Here! Come Chat With The Defector Staff

Undated group photo of the original "Our Gang."

Staff Chat

Come One, Come All, And Ask The Defector Staff Some Questions

31st December 1931: New Year's Eve revellers at the Piccadilly Hotel in London.

Here’s An Open Thread To Help Ring In The New Year

A fan dressed in a snowman costume looks on during the Premier League match between Everton and Arsenal at Hill Dickinson Stadium on December 20, 2025 in Liverpool, England.

Have A Wonderful Christmas Time In This Open Thread

Football teams from the schools of Yale and Princeton playing a match on Thanksgiving Day afternoon that ended in a tie score, November 1879. The illustration, a wood engraving, was published in an 1879 issue of Harper’s Weekly newspaper.

Catch Your Breath In The Thanksgiving Open Thread

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LeBron James speaks onstage during The Shop Live panel at Fanatics Fest NYC 2026 at Jacob Javits Center on July 17, 2026.

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<p>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 <em>Point B</em>. Handsomest man in the world.</p>


Drew Magary

Why Your Team Sucks

Why Your Team Sucks 2026: Cleveland Browns

Luis Paez-Pumar

Gianni Infantino, President of FIFA, speaks during the 50th UEFA Ordinary Congress Meeting at Brussels Expo on February 12, 2026 in Brussels, Belgium.

Soccer

UEFA Is Ready To Go To War With FIFA Over The World Cup

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20-year-old fish sauce spews out of a rupture in a vat at an abandoned plant

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Let Me And A Food Scientist Sample The Abandoned Fish Sauce Terrorizing A Small Canadian Town

Sarah Borus

Marvin Miller, executive director of the baseball players association, chats with players here after announcing a settlement has been reached to end the 13-day old players strike and that the season would begin in April of 1972. The other people in the photo are lawyer Richard Moss and MLBPA player reps Joe Torre, Wes Parker, and Gary Peters.