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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

Dave McKenna

Dublin , Ireland - 26 July 2026; Jordan Flynn, left, and Kobe McDonald of Mayo lift the Sam Maguire Cup after the GAA Football All-Ireland Senior Championship final match between Kerry and Mayo at Croke Park in Dublin.

Gaelic Football

After 75 Years Of Losing, Mayo Shocked The World And Shook A Stadium

Patrick Redford

Fans at Montmartre pictured before stage 21 of the 2026 Tour de France cycling race, a stage of 130km from Thoiry to Paris Champs-Elysees , on Sunday 26 July 2026. The 113th edition of the Tour de France starts on Saturday 4 July in Barcelona, Spain, and will finish in Paris, France on the 26th of July. BELGA PHOTO DAVID PINTENS (Photo by DAVID PINTENS / BELGA MAG / Belga via AFP)

Cycling

Some More Stuff I Saw At The Tour de France

ALPE D'HUEZ, FRANCE - JULY 24: A general view of the peloton compete climbing to the Alpe d'Huez (1835m) while fans cheers during the 113th Tour de France 2026, Stage 19 a 127.9km stage from Gap to Alpe d'Huez 1835m / #UCIWT / on July 24, 2026 in Alpe d'Huez, France. (Photo by Dario Belingheri/Getty Images)

A Day In The Chaos Of Cycling’s Most Legendary Arena

Lauren Theisen

view of a mostly empty ballpark, from low on the third base side, at the FerryHawks play the Rockers

A Front-Row Seat To The Worst Team In Pro Baseball

The Tour de France’s Infernal Present Portends Its Impossible Future

Sarah Borus

Life's Rich Pageant

America’s Birthday, Brought To You By Gas Station Hoagies

Sophie Abromowitz

Life Lessons

Finding Friends, Legacy, And Leather Sluts At New Jersey’s Finest Holiday Inn


<p>Patrick T. Dorsey is the writer of and a producer on the feature film FUTURE DATE, which had its world premiere at the 2024 Cinequest Film Festival and won the Audience Award for Best Comedy Feature. You can hear him Thursdays on Defector Trivia, whenever Diana Moskovitz shouts, “Baaaaaaabe!”</p>


Patrick T. Dorsey

Golf

Nelly Korda Is Really Good At This

Giri Nathan

Knicks fans watch Game 5 of the NBA Finals at Frost Bank Center in San Antonio on Saturday, June 13, 2026. (Katina Zentz/San Antonio Express-News via Getty Images)

The Circus Came To San Antonio

Casa Magazines staffer Mirza Ayan Baig holds up a recent Knicks front page.

The Knicks’ Finals Run Has Even Made Print Media Hot

A large group of hundreds of New Yorkers reveling after Game 4 of the NBA Finals

One Euphoric Night In The City Of OG Anunoby

Samer Kalaf

This Is So Stupid

Victor Wembanyama Sighting Confirmed In Brooklyn

<p>Owen Lewis is a former Defector intern and has written for The Guardian, The Second Serve, The Athletic, and other publications.</p>


Owen Lewis

Carlos Alcaraz celebrates on the court after winning the Australian Open.

Tennis

A Pure Tennis Boy

<div dir="auto">
<div dir="auto">Corbin Smith is a writer and photographer from Vancouver, Washington. His work has appeared in Deadspin, The Daily Beast, and <em>Rolling Stone</em>. He is also the host of <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-pacific-northwest-insurance-corporation-moviefilm/id1712416222"><em>The Pacific Northwest Insurance Corporation Moviefilm Podcast,</em></a> a podcast about movies.</div>
</div>
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Corbin Smith

A booth at The Materials Show in Portland, Ore. in February of 2025. It's an empty couple of tables with a big banner behind it with the word BLOOM on it and some stuff about sustainability.

Capital

The Future Of The Sneaker Business First Requires A Future

David Roth

of the New York Mets heads to home plate to celebrate with teammates after hitting a home run for a walk off win in the bottom of the 10th against the Texas Rangers at Citi Field on September 14, 2025.

How To Go To A Mets Game

Tour de France riders against a lovely mountain backdrop dappled with the shadows of fluffy clouds.

Tour de France riders pass as a blur of color through a narrow cobbled pass between throngs of fans on the Rue Lepic during the final stage of the 2025 Tour de France

The Tour de France’s New, Hardcore Paris Finale Was One For The Ages

Tadej Pogacar celebrates on the podium with the overall leader's yellow jersey after the 20th stage of the 112th edition of the Tour de France cycling race

Tadej Pogacar And The Boredom Of Perfection

A float for the Cochonou brand in the Tour de France caravan, with spectators reaching out to it as it passes.

There Is No Tour de France Without The Tour de Brands

My Tour de France Lunches, Reviewed

Valentin Paret-Peintre of France and Team Soudal Quick-Step and Ben Healy of Ireland and Team EF Education - EasyPost sprint at finish line to win during Stage 16 of the 112th Tour de France 2025.

France Finally Has Something To Smile About At The Tour

Spectators crowd the ascent of Hautacam during the 12th stage of the 112th edition of the Tour de France cycling race, 180.6 km between Auch and Hautacam, in the Pyrenees mountains of southwestern France, on July 17, 2025.

The Tour de France Is For The Polyglots, For Now

Accredited media motorcycles and race direction vehicles precede the pack of riders (peloton) as they cycle during the 14th stage of the 112th edition of the Tour de France cycling race, 182.6 km between Pau and Luchon-Superbagneres, in the Pyrenees mountains of southwestern France, on July 19, 2025.

Media Meltdowns

An Anatomy Of The Doping Story That Has The Tour de France Press Room Buzzing

Julian Alaphilippe of France and Team Tudor Pro Cycling (celebrating wrongly) and Wout Van Aert of Belgium and Team Visma.

Julian Alaphilippe Loses, Celebrates, And Learns To Smile About It

The pack of the Tour de France cross a railway line during a stage of the Great Loop, in July 1933. (Photo by STF / AFP) (Photo credit should read STF/AFP via Getty Images)

SPORTS

CULTURE

OTHER

dispatches

After 75 Years Of Losing, Mayo Shocked The World And Shook A Stadium

Some More Stuff I Saw At The Tour de France

A Day In The Chaos Of Cycling’s Most Legendary Arena

A Front-Row Seat To The Worst Team In Pro Baseball

The Tour de France’s Infernal Present Portends Its Impossible Future

America’s Birthday, Brought To You By Gas Station Hoagies

Finding Friends, Legacy, And Leather Sluts At New Jersey’s Finest Holiday Inn

Nelly Korda Is Really Good At This

The Circus Came To San Antonio

The Knicks’ Finals Run Has Even Made Print Media Hot

One Euphoric Night In The City Of OG Anunoby

Victor Wembanyama Sighting Confirmed In Brooklyn

A Pure Tennis Boy

The Future Of The Sneaker Business First Requires A Future

How To Go To A Mets Game

Some More Stuff I Saw At The Tour de France

The Tour de France’s New, Hardcore Paris Finale Was One For The Ages

Tadej Pogacar And The Boredom Of Perfection

There Is No Tour de France Without The Tour de Brands

My Tour de France Lunches, Reviewed

France Finally Has Something To Smile About At The Tour

The Tour de France Is For The Polyglots, For Now

An Anatomy Of The Doping Story That Has The Tour de France Press Room Buzzing

Julian Alaphilippe Loses, Celebrates, And Learns To Smile About It

How To Watch Cycling