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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

Lauren Theisen

Mistico makes his entrance at Forbidden Door

Pro Wrestling

Go See Your Guys Live

Heather Chen is a former Defector intern and the managing editor at the Columbia Daily Spectator. She loves hockey, photography, and the good ol’ state of Michigan.

Heather Wei-Xi Chen

Kenny Moll rips through an impromptu finish line to mark the end of his seventh marathon. Michael-Luca is running to his right, with a crowd of runners behind them. There are trees in the background, and the area is both shaded and sunny.

The Great Outdoors

If You Run Seven Marathons In Seven Days In Central Park, Does It Make A Difference?

Maitreyi Anantharaman

Angel Reese #5 of the Chicago Sky grabs the rebound during he first half of a WNBA game against the Connecticut Sun

WNBA

Angel Reese Has Genius In Her Fingertips

A photo of the west side of the South Lawn in front of Columbia University's Butler Library at the Morningside campus. This picture, taken right before sunset, depicts an encampment set up by protestors on a lawn with turf and a big event tent. Students are scattered throughout, and there are multiple banners and signs depicting pro-Palestine statements.

Politics

Why Did I Sleep On The Turf?

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

Owen Lewis

Tennis

Tenacity Isn’t Enough Against Iga Swiatek

Suffering Pigeons All Over At Roland-Garros

Diana Moskovitz is Defector&#8217;s investigations editor. You can contact her at diana@defector.com or dfmoskovitz@protonmail.com. She&#8217;s also on Signal @dmoskovitz.99

Diana Moskovitz

A photo of the baseball field and the scoreboard at Meji Jingu Baseball Stadium stadium in Tokyo. The night sky is a dark blue and, despite the rain, the outfield seats still hold a good number of fans. There's also a runner on second base.

The Key To Having Fun At A Baseball Game Is Flying To The Other Side Of The World

Ray Ratto

FC Barcelona women's football team present their Champions League trophy to supporters from the balcony of the Catalan Regional Government headquarters one day after getting their third Champions League triumph, in Barcelona on May 26, 2024. The Catalans finally avenged final defeats by Lyon in 2019 and 2022 yesterday in Bilbao, beating the French giants 2-0 to lift the Champions League for the third time.

Mods Asleep

Buy The T-Shirt, Not The Jersey

Caitlin Clark #22 of the Indiana Fever looks on during the game against the New York Liberty on May 16, 2024 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana.

On The Caitlin Clark Beat, Everyone’s Plotting

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

Music

Electric Callboy Is The World’s Heaviest And Greatest Boy Band

Nick Suzuki steps onto the ice for warm-ups

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

Nicholas Russell is a writer from Las Vegas.

Nicholas Russell

A collection of triangular shapes in Michael Heizer's City installation

Arts And Culture

Art In The Middle Of Nowhere Is Still Somewhere

Dan McQuade was a founding member of Defector. He died in January 2026.

Dan McQuade

David Roth

Split image. Roth stands outside the Stroud Mall holding a CD he purchased. Dan stands inside the Stroud Mall in front of the "Pennsylvania Skill" machine parlor.

Dan And Dave Explore Another Mall

A photo of a brown stationwagon next to the water. It is covered in stickers.

Racing

The Legend Of The Brown Smear In Newfoundland

Kota Ibushi stares down a bloody Jon Moxley

Blood, Guts, And A Glimpse Of God

Sometimes The Best Bands In The World Play Right In Front Of The Toilets

Split image: Dan McQuade (left) wearing an American Dream EST. 2019 hoodie standing next to a cardboard cutout of Shrek at the DreamWorks Water Park inside a mall. David Roth (right) pointing up at the "WINNERS CIRCLE" entrance at the old Meadowlands Arena.

Life's Rich Pageant

Dan And Dave Explore The American Dream (Mall)

Samer Kalaf

A view of the Mets game from the concourse. Pete Alonso is about to hit a walk-off home run.

There’s Something I’ve Never Seen Before

LANDOVER, MD - NOVEMBER 06: Fans clap for the Minnesota Vikings during the game against the Washington Commanders at FedExField on November 6, 2022 in Landover, Maryland. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images)

How Lonely Losing Can Be

Laura Wagner

Starbucks workers on strike in Austin, Texas.

Capital

The Starbucks Strike Is Working

College Basketball

Behold The Glory Of The New And Improved La Salle Pregame Show

charismatic megafauna (they/them)

Sabrina Imbler

A photo of the Bass Pro Shops Pyramid at night

Creaturefector

Every Creature I Met At The Bass Pro Shops Pyramid

Staff Writer
Find me on Signal @DefectorChris.19

Chris Thompson

Golf

A Perplexing Afternoon At The Saudi-Funded Golf Tournament In Trump’s Backyard

Kalyn Kahler

Life Lessons

I Recommend Visiting Luxembourg Even Though The Luxembourgers Do Not

Jordan Eberle #7 of the Seattle Kraken celebrates his hat trick with Jaden Schwartz #17 and Alex Wennberg #21 against Dustin Tokarski #31 of the Buffalo Sabres during the third period at Climate Pledge Arena on November 04, 2021 in Seattle, Washington.