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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

Patrick Redford

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - JUNE 17: Olivia Miles #5 of the Minnesota Lynx looks on during the second half against the Los Angeles Sparks at Crypto.com Arena on June 17, 2026 in Los Angeles, 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 Luiza Moraes/Getty Images)

Podcasts

Liv Takes Miles, With Maitreyi Anantharaman

Kathryn Xu

Nico O'Reilly #3 and Harry Kane #9 of England react after a missed chance during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Group L match between England and Ghana.

Soccer

What On Earth Is “Match Momentum”?

Ben Dowsett is a freelance technology and sports nerd based in Utah. His other recent work can be found at Wired, ESPN and elsewhere.

Ben Dowsett

Scientists look at a digital rendering of a basketball player taking a jumper

Can The Jumper Be Hacked? Inside Basketball’s Next Arms Race

A genreal view of the ball as Filip Misolic of Austria serves against Camilo Ugo Carabelli of Argentina (not picture) in their first round match during day four of the Erste Bank Open 2025 at Wiener Stadthalle on October 21, 2025 in Vienna, Austria.

Tennis

Tennis Deserves Better Than These Worthless Metrics

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

Adam Prentice #46 and Troy Franklin #11 of the Denver Broncos celebrate after Franklin's receiving touchdown in the fourth quarter of a game against the New York Giants at Empower Field At Mile High on October 19, 2025 in Denver, Colorado.

Jamboroo

This Is The Lowest Form Of Analytics And We Must Kill It

David Roth

Travis Kelce faces the media during Super Bowl Media Days in the lead up to Super Bowl LVIII. It's pretty dramatically lit for something happening at a Westin in Henderson, Nevada.

Big Ideas And Big Novelty Slot Machines At The Super Bowl, With Matthew Coller

Ray Ratto

Colorado Rockies relief pitcher Brent Suter high fives fans as he walks around the field with players to end their season at Coors Field on October 1, 2023 in Denver, Colorado.

It’s Time To Fixate On How Your Favorite Baseball Team Will Disappoint You

Russell A. Carleton is an author at Baseball Prospectus and of the forthcoming book <a href="https://www.triumphbooks.com/the-new-ballgame-products-9781637272268.php?page_id=30&amp;cid=434862" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.triumphbooks.com/the-new-ballgame-products-9781637272268.php?page_id%3D30%26cid%3D434862&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1680985638870000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0_Ie5IAhP6DgMCeMB7in79">The New Ballgame: The Not-So-Hidden Forces Shaping Baseball</a> from Triumph Books, available in June 2023.

Russell Carleton

Aaron Judge and Gleyber Torres' high-fiving after a Yankees win on April 2, 2023.

Welcome To Nowhere

Leander Schaerlaeckens is a long-time soccer writer, currently contributing to The Guardian and elsewhere. He is the author of <a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/722130/the-long-game-by-leander-schaerlaeckens/">The Long Game: U.S. Men&#8217;s Soccer and its Savage, Four-Decade Journey to the Top, or Thereabouts</a>. He teaches journalism and sports communication at Marist University. He will cover his fourth World Cup in 2026.

A photo of the author Leander Schaerlaeckens taken by Asha Fuller.

Leander Schaerlaeckens

The handwritten notes of Dick Cramer, back when he was coming up with a stat that would change baseball forever during his spare time.

The Forgotten Men Behind The Ideas That Changed Baseball

How To Ruin An Advanced Stat

Kalyn Kahler

Mike McCarthy’s Decision Looks Even Worse Now

A young woman smiles as she poses at a desk in an office-like environment, one hand on a document and the other on the keys of a Clary adding machine, mid to late 1950s. (Photo by Tom Kelley/Getty Images)