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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

The Defector Crewneck Sweatshirt Is Back In Stock

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Merch v3

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<div class="p-rich_text_section">Tom Scocca is the editor of <a href="http://indignity.net">Indignity</a>, a subscription-supported newsletter of news, essays, and commentary.</div>
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Tom Scocca

A male blue jay, perched on a branch with green foliage in the fore- and background.

Blue Jay

Margin Of Error

The Omens Are Bad

<p>Nicholas Russell is a writer from Las Vegas.</p>


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Nicholas Russell

The Harvard Book Store in Cambridge, MA on October 25, 2021.

The Harvard Book Store

Politics

What Comes After The Post-Crisis Reading List?

<div>Nate Jackson is a former NFL tight end and author of <a href="https://bookshop.org/p/books/slow-getting-up-a-story-of-nfl-survival-from-the-bottom-of-the-pile-nate-jackson/6430451?gclid=Cj0KCQjwpc-oBhCGARIsAH6ote9JzWMngZDpSjF2eoL1_JlyPm2QhDfkNgOzqvaB4n9ic0qqUNQ4iCwaAsasEALw_wcB"><em>Slow Getting Up</em></a>. He lives in Denver.</div>
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Nate Jackson

CHERRY HILLS VILLAGE, CO - OCTOBER 13: Former Denver Broncos head coach Mike Shanahan poses for a portrait at his home on Wednesday, October 13, 2021. Shanahan, who won back to back Super Bowls as Denver’s head coach in the 1990s, will be inducted into the team’s ring of fame during the Broncos’ matchup with the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday. (Photo by AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post)

FORMER DENVER BRONCOS COACH MIKE SHANAHAN

In Search Of The Shanahan Offense


<p>Corey Atad is a freelancer writer based in Toronto with an unhealthy Air Bud obsession.</p>


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Corey Atad

Nathan Fielder and Emma Stone in The Curse

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Arts And Culture

‘The Curse’ Showed Just Enough To Unsettle

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Soraya Roberts

A garden party scene from The Zone Of Interest

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‘The Zone Of Interest’ Is About Cognitive Harmony

<p>A. Andrews is a thirty-something disabled queer/trans writer and illustrator. They spent the majority of their young life sketching in hospitals and experienced their first heartbreak at age 8 during Game 6 of the &#8217;96 NBA championships. When they aren’t writing and drawing their guts out, they’re hanging with their dog, George, and drinking too many coffees. They will probably never tell you “what’s <em>wrong</em> with [them]” and you shouldn’t ask! They were named one of <em>The Advocate</em>&#8216;s 2021 People of the Year, are a 2020 Tin House Summer Workshop scholar, and their debut graphic novel, <em>A Quick and Easy Guide to Sex &amp; Disability</em> topped 2020 lists for the NYPL best books for teens, and YALSA&#8217;s best books for teens, and is available anywhere books are sold. You can find more of their work at <em>Washington Post</em>, <em>Esquire</em>, the Nib, and other fun corners of the internet.</p>


A. Andrews

Art of a person seen from behind wearing a hoodie and shorts, with tattoos on their legs, in the process of lifting a barbell

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Life Lessons

Lost And Found At The Weight Machines

A scene from Tenet in which The Protagonist fights a bad guy

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I Can’t Stop Watching ‘Tenet,’ And I Finally Know Why

<p>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>.</p>


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Hamilton Nolan

NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE - JANUARY 07: Trevor Lawrence #16 of the Jacksonville Jaguars runs off the field during halftime against the Tennessee Titans at Nissan Stadium on January 07, 2024 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Justin Ford/Getty Images)

Jacksonville Jaguars v Tennessee Titans

Jaguars Junction: Week 18

<p>Sean T. Collins has written for The New York Times, Rolling Stone, Vulture, Decider, Pitchfork, and many others. He lives with his family on Long Island.</p>


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Sean T. Collins

TOM WILKINSON as Arthur Edens in Michael Clayton

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Defector At The Movies

Tom Wilkinson And His Baguettes Are Eternal

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How ‘The Wheel Of Time’ Made Great Art Out Of Great Pain

The Patti Smith Group pose for portraits, (L-R) Lenny Kaye, Richard Sohl, Patti Smith, Ivan Kral and Jay Dee Daugherty, in May 1976 in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Patti Smith Group Portraits In Copenhagen

Make Space For The Artist

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<div>Victoria Zeller is a trans writer born and raised in Buffalo, New York, where she still proudly resides. Her debut novel, <i><a href="https://bookshop.org/p/books/one-of-the-boys-victoria-zeller/21775251" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://bookshop.org/p/books/one-of-the-boys-victoria-zeller/21775251&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1735306610555000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0sXpgNMmxpIwmIZOFd-Pnw">One of the Boys</a></i>, is set to be released on May 13th, 2025 by Levine Querido. Her personal website can be found <a href="http://victoria.monster/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://victoria.monster&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1735306610555000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0PrZ7PkO1IykxAodWoMLI_">here</a>.</div>
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Victoria Zeller

Josh Allen #17 of the Buffalo Bills visits on set of the Amazon Prime TNF postgame show after an NFL football game between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Buffalo Bills at Highmark Stadium on October 26, 2023 in Orchard Park, New York.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers v Buffalo Bills

Jamboroo

It’s All Worth It For 17

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<p>Charles P. Pierce is a writer at <em>Esquire</em> and the author of four books, most recently <em>Idiot America</em>, and has been a working journalist since 1976. He lives near Boston with his wife but no longer his three children.</p>
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Charles P. Pierce

New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick chats with QB Bailey Zappe in the first half. The Patriots beat the Pittsburgh Steelers, 21-18.

New England Patriots (21) Vs. Pittsburgh Steelers (18) At Acrisure Stadium

The Patriots Are Reverting To Type

Antique print of whalers harpooning a sperm whale off New Bedford, Massachusetts. The print is from 1910.

Whalers Harpooning Sperm Whale

A Year In Pursuit Of Moby Dick

<p><span style="font-weight: 400">Dennis Young is the news editor at Front Office Sports.</span></p>


Dennis Young

Nick Bawden's cleats advertising Operation Underground Railroad

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Which NFL Players Are Supporting Sketchy Anti-Trafficking Organizations With Their Shoes?

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<p class="sc-77igqf-0 bOfvBY">Vince Guerrieri is an award-winning journalist and author in the Cleveland area. He likes Lake Erie perch sandwiches, Jim Traficant and long walks on the field at League Park. His website is <a class="sc-1out364-0 hMndXN sc-145m8ut-0 kGbjEv js_link" href="http://vinceguerrieri.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-ga="[[&quot;Embedded Url&quot;,&quot;External link&quot;,&quot;http://vinceguerrieri.com/&quot;,{&quot;metric25&quot;:1}]]">vinceguerrieri.com</a>, and you can follow him on Twitter <a class="sc-1out364-0 hMndXN sc-145m8ut-0 kGbjEv js_link" href="https://twitter.com/vinceguerrieri" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-ga="[[&quot;Embedded Url&quot;,&quot;External link&quot;,&quot;https://twitter.com/vinceguerrieri&quot;,{&quot;metric25&quot;:1}]]">@vinceguerrieri</a>.</p>
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Vince Guerrieri

Balloons, 1.5 million of them, curl around the Terminal Tower Building during Balloonfest '86 sponsored by the United Ways Services of Cleveland. The lift off will be entered into the Guinness World Book of Records.(Photo by Bettmann Archive/Getty Images)

Balloons Surrounding Terminal Building

History

Balloonfest Made Cleveland A Laughingstock. Did It Deserve It?

Devin Haney punches Regis Prograis during their WBC World Super Lightweight Title fight at Chase Center on December 09, 2023 in San Francisco, California.

Devin Haney v Regis Prograis

The Fights

Devin Haney Brought The Future To Regis Prograis

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Gary Oldman Is Gross And Loving It

<p>Libby Watson is a journalist who covers healthcare.</p>


Libby Watson

A collage of streamers from Twitchcon photos

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Striving And Streaming In The Desert: A Visit To TwitchCon Las Vegas

<p>Jackie Charniga is a writer, reporter, and bookseller based in Michigan.</p>


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Jackie Charniga

A woman stands behind an oversized book with "#BookTok" on the cover in a colorful exhibit on BookTok at the Frankfurt Book Fair, October 2023

If BookTok Convinces Teens They’re Ready For Erotica, Is It My Job To Stop Them?

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - FEBRUARY 13: Brad Pitt is seen on the set of "Wolves" in Old Howard Beach on February 13, 2023 in New York City.

brad pitt

What Does Dressing My Age Look Like?

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

Art In The Middle Of Nowhere Is Still Somewhere

<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

TOPSHOT - US director Martin Scorsese poses as he arrives on May 8, 2018 for the screening of the film "Todos Lo Saben (Everybody Knows)" and the opening ceremony of the 71st edition of the Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, southern France. (Photo by Antonin THUILLIER / AFP) (Photo by ANTONIN THUILLIER/AFP via Getty Images)

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Martin Scorsese’s Second Life As An Adman

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Abigail Segel

FC Gotham players hug after scoring a goal in the 2023 NWSL Championship game

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NWSL

Gotham’s Batshit Championship Win Caps NWSL’s Season Of Renewal

Felix Kent

CAMBRIDGE, MA - AUGUST 30: A gate in front of Harvard Yard at Harvard University on August 30, 2018 (Photo by Scott Eisen/Getty Images)

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