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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

<p>Libby Watson is a writer, <a href="https://www.twitch.tv/libtron">streamer</a> and <a href="https://www.patreon.com/whatsallthisthen">podcaster</a>.</p>


Libby Watson

Picture shows an adult Halloween dinner party.

Perfectly Fine Dinner Party Club

Let’s Make Dinner For Friends, Like For A Dinner Party, But Normal

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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

Attorney Peter Angelos talks about his law practice and his hopes about buying the Orioles.

Peter Angelos Was The Ultimate Team Owner

Soraya Roberts

Still image of actress Katy O'Brian using gym equipment, taken from the movie Love Lies Bleeding.

Defector At The Movies

In ‘Love Lies Bleeding,’ The Body Scores

<p>Dan Gentile is a writer, editor, and DJ based in San Francisco by way of Austin, TX. He works as the culture editor at SFGATE and has freelanced for publications like The Ringer, Rolling Stone, Texas Monthly, Wax Poetics, and more. Find more of his work at <a href="http://dangentile.net/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://dangentile.net&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1711040620694000&amp;usg=AOvVaw3XTZa73tUKo0JIWhdqylUa">dangentile.net</a> and on that <a href="https://twitter.com/Dannosphere" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://twitter.com/Dannosphere&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1711040620694000&amp;usg=AOvVaw3jvqFxajyG27FDs81Ssg-S">terrible social media site</a>.</p>


Dan Gentile

Arts And Culture

Partying With The U.S. Army At South By Southwest

Felix Kent

Life Lessons

Why Can’t I Turn Off The Game?

<p>Sam Eagan is a freelance reporter and documentary producer based out of Brooklyn, by way of the high plains of Wyoming. He was a Division I wrestler for the University of Wyoming.</p>


Sam Eagan

Wrestlers warm up on the mat during the 2017 NCAA Wrestling Championships in St. Louis.

College Wrestling

The Blood Round Is Where College Wrestlers With Nothing To Lose Have Something To Win

Agents of the Texas National Guard struggle with a migrant man after he crossed across the Rio Grande river to reach the US side, as seen from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico on March 20, 2024.

Margin Of Error

Amy Coney Barrett’s Charm Offensive

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


Nicholas Russell

Wooden and iron spoons lie on the table at the folk museum, Kovpakivka village, Mahdalynivka district, Dnipropetrovsk Region, central Ukraine.

The Fork And Spoon Method To A Better Life

<p>I am a freelance writer who has covered a wide variety of topics over the years. I’ve written about sports, crime, technology, fitness, and entertainment for a variety of outlets.</p>


Trent Reinsmith

The Fights

How Bloody Elbow Lost Its Soul

<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>


Hamilton Nolan

Callum Walsh punches Dauren Yeleussinov during their junior middleweight fight at The Theater at Madison Square Garden on March 15, 2024 in New York City.

Small Nations In Big Wars

TV Personality Jonathan Van Ness attends the Build Series to discuss his new book "Over the Top: A Raw Journey to Self-Love" at Build Studio on September 25, 2019 in New York City.

Of Course My Favorite TV Host Is An Asshole

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<div>Zach Buchanan has covered Major League Baseball for more than a decade, for the <em>Arizona Republic</em>, <em>Cincinnati Enquirer,</em> and most recently The Athletic. He also has been published in <em>The New York Times</em>, <em>Washington Post</em>, FanGraphs and <em>Baseball America</em>. He lives in Phoenix, where he prepares for the inevitable water crisis by living off Dr Pepper instead.</div>
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Zach Buchanan

College Basketball

Terry Francona’s Next Act: Arizona Hoops Superfan

<p>I am an independent writer/journalist based in New Delhi, India. I mainly work on long-form reportage on conflict, gender, climate, culture, intersection of technology and human agency. Published with the Al Jazeera Journalism Review, Aljazeera Digital, Defector, C S Monitor.</p>


Meher Qadri

Two divers jump into the foamy Yamuna River

Climate

The Yamuna River’s Treasure Divers Fight More Than Poverty To Survive

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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>. Subscribe to his newsletter, <a href="https://stefanfatsis.substack.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://stefanfatsis.substack.com/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1786480936396000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0fRpxgEOhbgbpR79WFcozC">Unabridged</a>.</div>
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Stefan Fatsis

Scrabble World Champion Nigel Richards holds up a trophy and shows the final winning board in London in 2018

Games

From TED To PERNOCTATED, Scrabble’s Best Player Knows No Limits


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


Corey Atad

Actress, Vita Vargas, Carla Hernández, Sayaka Yokoyama, Myriam Behar in Claquetazo Braulio Lopez Producer of a Scene from the filming of the film (Nudus) by director Gibran Bazan on October 26, 2020 in Mexico City, Mexico.

Good, Bad, Or Invisible, CGI Makes Movies Unreal

The rostrum of the U.S. House of Representatives, with the entire chamber empty.

My Fellow Americans

<p><span style="font-weight: 400">Danny Sullivan writes </span><a href="https://theunderline.substack.com/"><span style="font-weight: 400">The Underline</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400">, a newsletter covering books, movies, and ideas. He lives in Santa Fe. </span></p>


Danny Sullivan

‘Dune’ Novels, Ranked By Unfilmability

Englishmen in Paris gathered in Galignani’s library, 1820. English gentlemen read books, newspapers and periodicals. Doctor Syntax discovered by his wife in a bookshop. Handcoloured copperplate drawn and engraved by Charles Williams from Doctor Syntax in Paris; or a Tour in Search of the Grotesque, W. Wright, London, 1820.

Interviews

“It Really Matters If Somebody Has Bad Taste”: An Interview With Book Critic Becca Rothfeld


<p>Jay Willis is a writer who covers law and democracy. His work has appeared in GQ, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Atlantic, Slate, and more. He is the editor-in-chief at Balls &amp; Strikes, an outlet for progressive commentary on the legal system.</p>


Jay Willis

Giant portraits of the news anchors at Fox News headquarters building in New York City. Very cursed image.

Journalismism

Tim Burke’s Indictment Is A Political Choice Disguised As A Legal Act

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<div>Casey Taylor is a writer living and working in Pittsburgh. He is currently writing a book for St. Martin&#8217;s Press about cannabis religions, Haile Selassie I, and the Cold War in the Caribbean. He also writes a free newsletter called <a href="https://weedchurch.substack.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://weedchurch.substack.com/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1709306863919000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1mVH2xiID6S0zvlyj6yHco">Weed Church</a> covering foolish spiritual things that occur to him. His work has appeared in The New Republic, WIRED, New York Magazine, and a sports blog he can’t currently recall the name of. You can <a href="mailto:caseyt7@gmail.com" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">email</a> him if you’d like.</div>
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Casey Taylor

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - FEBRUARY 27: A person holds a sign during a vigil for U.S. Airman Aaron Bushnell at the US Army Recruiting Office in Times Square on February 27, 2024 in New York City. Bushnell died after setting himself on fire outside the Israeli Embassy in Washington, DC on Sunday. In a video that was posted to a social media account showing the act, he stated that would “no longer be complicit in genocide," before pouring an unknown liquid over himself and igniting it while yelling “Free Palestine” repeatedly. (Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

Politics

Why Did Aaron Bushnell Burn?

<p>Jen Ramos Eisen is a Central California- and Las Vegas-based baseball labor and economics reporter.</p>


Jen Ramos Eisen

A cartoon of an outfield wall with an encroaching shadow over the player standing looking at it. It feels dark and desolate. The baseball stadium is empty.

The Life Of An International Minor League Baseball Player Has Never Been Simple

<p>Aaron Gordon is a reporter covering transportation, infrastructure, and the environment. Most recently, he was a senior staff writer at Motherboard, VICE News’s tech and science website.</p>


Aaron Gordon

A general overall aerial view of Arrowhead Stadium on December 25, 2023 in Kansas City, Missouri.

Soccer

The Good, The Bad, And The Unreachable: A World Cup Transit Report Ranking

In this photograph a group of townsfolk descend on a disciple after it was discovered that the ritual he participated in left a person dead during an Epoch Event in Toronto on August 6, 2011

Fantasy Convention

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


Dennis Young

Amy Cragg from Portland, Oregon, celebrates at the finish line after winning the US Women's Marathon Olympic Team Trials with a time of 2:28:27 in Los Angeles, California on February 13, 2016. Highlighted Joanna Zeiger behind her, who finished last, the image is a GIF and zooms into her

Olympics

At The Olympic Trials Marathon, DFL Means Pain Over Regret

<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

A football is being balanced on top of a syringe and vaccine vial.

fl