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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

Giri Nathan

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

Life's Rich Pageant

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

Ray Ratto

Ernie Clement #22 of the Toronto Blue Jays smiles ahead of playing against the Philadelphia Phillies in their MLB game at the Rogers Centre on June 9, 2026 in Toronto, Canada.

The People Have Spoken: Ernie Clement Is The Best Player In The American League Now

John Chayka speaks to media at a press conference he was announced as General Manager and Mats Sundin is introduced as Senior Executive Advisor of Hockey Operations of the Toronto Maple Leafs .

Everyone Is Already Mad At The New GM Of The Toronto Maple Leafs

Barry Petchesky

Piles of dirty snow and discarded trees, backdropped by a wet, gray sky. One featureless building is visible in the background. On the whole, not a postcard view.

We Asked The Mayor Of Ottawa Why He Keeps Posting Such Grim Photos

David Roth

Marc Kennedy and Ben Hebert of Team Canada compete during Men's Round Robin between Team Canada and Team Great Britain on day eleven of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic games at Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium on February 17, 2026.

Podcasts

Across The Hog Line, With John Cullen

MILAN, ITALY - FEBRUARY 18: Mitch Marner of Team Canada celebrates a goal during the Ice Hockey Men Quarterfinals match between Canada vs Czechia on day twelve of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic games at Milano Santa Giulia Ice Hockey Arena on February 18, 2026 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Stefano Guidi/Getty Images)

Olympics

Canada Took A Czech Beating And Survived

Marc Kennedy of Team Canada competes in the curling men's round robin between Canada and USA during the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games at the Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium in Cortina d’Ampezzo on February 13, 2026. (Photo by Tiziana FABI / AFP)

The Big Canada-Sweden Curling Beef, Explained

Lauren Theisen

Gavin McKenna #9 of Canada reacts after winning best player for Canada during the Group B, Game 14 match against Denmark

Gavin McKenna Refuels The Hype Machine

Kelsey McKinney

Brandy Jensen

Arts And Culture

Some Thoughts On ‘Heated Rivalry,’ Including But Not Limited To: Ahhhh, Mmmm, And [Crying Emoji]

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<div><a href="https://www.bystefanfatsis.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.bystefanfatsis.com/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1759235100786000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1mlCW5_XUY56jklGr11a_z">Stefan Fatsis</a> is the author of four books: <a href="https://groveatlantic.com/book/unabridged/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://groveatlantic.com/book/unabridged/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1759235100786000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0jbw5ZscOBp6w-1um3R6yu"><i>Unabridged</i></a>, <a href="https://bookshop.org/p/books/a-few-seconds-of-panic-a-sportswriter-plays-in-the-nfl-stefan-fatsis/7891278" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://bookshop.org/p/books/a-few-seconds-of-panic-a-sportswriter-plays-in-the-nfl-stefan-fatsis/7891278&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1759235100786000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0MpNNngIOKaj-715hSNVZD"><i>A Few Seconds of Panic</i></a>, <a href="https://bookshop.org/p/books/word-freak-heartbreak-triumph-genius-and-obsession-in-the-world-of-competitive-scrabblep-layers-stefan-fatsis/11648962" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://bookshop.org/p/books/word-freak-heartbreak-triumph-genius-and-obsession-in-the-world-of-competitive-scrabblep-layers-stefan-fatsis/11648962&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1759235100786000&amp;usg=AOvVaw02LL51Wrka0A0lLkwOxYUj"><i>Word Freak</i></a>, and <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Wild-Outside-Renegade-Baseball-Heartland/dp/0802712975" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.amazon.com/Wild-Outside-Renegade-Baseball-Heartland/dp/0802712975&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1759235100786000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1YzbrZGW2KCbIttDDLhkPn"><i>Wild and Outside</i></a>. He&#8217;s also a former cohost of “Hang Up and Listen,” commentator on NPR&#8217;s &#8220;All Things Considered,&#8221; and reporter for <i>The Wall Street Journal</i>.</div>
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Stefan Fatsis

How A Campy 1970s Game Show Became Part Of Canada’s National Lexicon

Shea Patterson #7 of the Montreal Alouettes fumbles the ball at the goal line the 112th Grey Cup game between the Montreal Alouettes and Saskatchewan Roughriders

The Grey Cup Was Decided On A Goal Line Fumble

Luis Paez-Pumar

Head coach of Canada Beverly Priestman gestures during Quarterfinals - 2024 Concacaf W Gold Cup between Canada and Costa Rica at BMO Stadium on March 2, 2024 in Los Angeles, California.

Canada Manager Did Not Realize Writing Emails About Her Drone Spying Plot Was A Bad Idea

Vanessa Gilles #14 of Team Canada celebrates with teammates after scoring her team's second goal during the Women's group A match between France and Canada during the Olympic Games Paris 2024 at Stade Geoffroy-Guichard on July 28, 2024 in Saint-Etienne, France.

Canada Is Proving It Doesn’t Need Drones To Fly

Billy Haisley

A specially trained police officer demonstrates a controlled landing of a drone using a drone jammer during the presentation of the Munich security concept for the 2024 European Football Championship at the Munich soccer stadium.

Canada, Untrustworthy Nation To The North, Accused Of Massive Soccer Cheating Plot

Albert Burneko

A drone flies over a forest with a tree house.

No, Canada!

CALGARY, CANADA - FEBRUARY 25: A view of the exterior of the Scotiabank Saddledome home of the NHL’s Calgary Flames with the city skyline in the background on February 25, 2016 in Calgary, Alberta. (Photo by Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images) *** Local Caption ***

A Useful, Clear-As-Day, Couldn’t-Be-Simpler Guide To Canada’s Hockey Arenas, Places, And Centres

Nick Suzuki steps onto the ice for warm-ups

I Was A Habs Fan For A Night And That’s Plenty

Mary Fowler of Australia celebrates after scoring a goal with her teammates that was later cancelled as a result of VAR consultation during the FIFA Women's World Cup Australia and New Zealand 2023 Group B match between Canada and Australia at Melbourne Rectangular Stadium in Melbourne, Australia on July 31, 2023.

Soccer

Canada And Spain Ate Shit And Deserved It

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<div>Abigail Segel is a contributing writer at Defector. She is also an editor for The IX Soccer and the Equalizer. Her work has been published in the Guardian and the Montreal Gazette.</div>
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Abigail Segel

Republic of Ireland captain Katie McCabe at amid heavy rain during the FIFA Women's World Cup 2023 Group B match between Republic of Ireland and Canada at Perth Rectangular Stadium in Perth, Australia.

It’s Too Bad Canada Was Better Than Ireland

A group trying to rescue animals from the massive forest fire around Fort McMurray in Alberta wait at a roadblock on May 6, 2016. The Distraction logo is at top left.

To Live And Die In Petroleum Products, With John Vaillant

Members of the Canadian womens national soccer team wear "Enough Is Enough" shirts in protest for equal pay ahead of the 2023 SheBelieves Cup soccer match between Canada and Japan at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas, on February 22, 2023.

Canada Needs A Win, And They Might Just Get One

<div>Adam Charles Hart is an author, curator, and archivist who lives in Pittsburgh. His second book, &#8216;<i>Raising the Dead: The Work of George A. Romero, </i>will be out in early 2024 from Oxford University Press.</div>
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Adam Charles Hart

Defector At The Movies

The Most Important Sports Movie Ever Made

Soraya Roberts

17 February 2023, Berlin: Matt Johnson, director, arrives for the photocall of the film "BlackBerry". Berlinale is one of the major film festivals and lasts until February 26, 2023.

‘BlackBerry’ Director Matt Johnson Is Not Wearing An Outfit

Maitreyi Anantharaman

Mitch Bratt #28 of Team Canada looks on in the dugout during Game 6 of Pool C between Team Canada and Team USA at Chase Field on Monday, March 13, 2023 in Phoenix, Arizona.