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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

Author Photo_Stratis_Credit Alysha Haugen

Niko Stratis

Jakob Dylan, in 1997, singing in front of a microphone. He has short curly hair, maybe has a little beard, and he's in a long sleeve collared button-front shirt. He's playing guitar. In the corner there's an image of a book cover: The Dad Rock That Made Me A Woman, by Niko Stratis

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Book Excerpts That Don't Suck

Got To Be Something Better Than In The Middle

Hamilton Nolan is a journalist based in New York City. Subscribe to his work at <a href="https://www.hamiltonnolan.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.hamiltonnolan.com/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1687350200913000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0naFbUVOe-5ZgtPDtIM3gz">HamiltonNolan.com</a>.

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Hamilton Nolan

UAW members attend a rally in support of the labor union strike at the UAW Local 551 hall on Chicago’s South Side. UAW president Shawn Fain joined members in solidarity with the ongoing strike on October 7, 2023 in Chicago, Illinois.

Striking UAW Members Hold Rally At Chicago Union Hall

Unions Can Fix What’s Broken

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Brandi Collins-Dexter

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Pro Wrestling

Dusty Rhodes’s “Hard Times” Promo Still Rings The Bell

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Albert Burneko

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Media Meltdowns

The Blog Of The Year Is This Deranged Book Excerpt

Patrick Wyman is the host of the Tides of History podcast, which is currently covering prehistory from the dawn of humanity to the Bronze Age. Prior to that, he was the host of the Fall of Rome podcast, which you might remember from Deadspin back in the day, where he also contributed pieces on mixed martial arts. In previous lives, he wrote about MMA for Bleacher Report and the Washington Post, and completed a PhD in History at the University of Southern California.

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Patrick Wyman

Medieval Arms And Armor

Götz von Berlichingen Had A (Literal) Iron Fist And A Front-Row Seat To The Military Revolution

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Kelsey McKinney

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Who Could Want This Rose?

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Kelly Conaboy

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A Day At The “Largest Festival For Dogs In North America” Where My Dog Was, Quite Frankly, Robbed Of His Accolades

Corey Sobel

The Running Back Who Reads Emily Dickinson

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Jessica Luther and Kavitha A. Davidson

On the right is a photo of Toni Smith-Thompson. On the left is an image of the book Loving Sports When They Dont Love You Back

Loving Sports Book Image

Before There Was Colin Kaepernick, There Was Toni Smith-Thompson

Book Excerpts