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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

<p>Jen Ramos Eisen is a Central California-based minor league baseball writer.</p>


Jen Ramos Eisen

of Team Japan pitches during the 2023 World Baseball Classic Semifinal game against Team Mexico in 2023.

World Baseball Classic Semifinals: Mexico v Japan

All Of MLB Is Chasing Roki Sasaki

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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

First responders wearing Hazmat gear investigate a Tesla Cybertruck that exploded in front of the entrance to the Trump International Hotel & Tower Las Vegas on Jan. 01, 2025 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

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Margin Of Error

How Crazy Was The Las Vegas Cybertruck Bomber?

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


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Nicholas Russell

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Arts And Culture

‘Nosferatu’ Keeps You Waiting And Waiting

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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

CHICAGO, IL - DECEMBER 22: Detroit Lions defensive end Josh Paschal (93) recovers a fumble and celebrates with teammates in action during a game between the Detroit Lions and the Chicago Bears on December 22, 2024 at Soldier Field in Chicago, IL.

NFL: DEC 22 Lions at Bears

Jamboroo

Go For It

Donald Trump, Elon Musk, and JD Vance attend the Army-Navy football game on December 14, 2024.

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Elon Musk Takes What He Can Get

<p>Owen Lewis is a former Defector intern and co-founded the website <a href="http://popcorntennis.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://popcorntennis.com&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1726234676777000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0PFWw6PL-FUqaCMME5TLqP">popcorntennis.com</a>. He wrote 63,000 words about the Novak Djokovic-Rafael Nadal rivalry that can be accessed for free at <a href="https://thegoldenrivalry.substack.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://thegoldenrivalry.substack.com&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1726234676777000&amp;usg=AOvVaw2OjAHpo4PVIhkx8Xd21lRJ">thegoldenrivalry.substack.com</a>.</p>


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Owen Lewis

Tyson Fury (left) and Oleksandr Usyk during the WBA, WBC, WBO, IBO World Heavyweight championship contest at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Picture date: Saturday December 21, 2024. (Photo by Nick Potts/PA Images via Getty Images)

Oleksandr Usyk v Tyson Fury – Kingdom Arena – Riyadh

Boxing

Someone Got Inside Tyson Fury’s Head For A Change

<p>Julie Kliegman is a writer and editor in Queens, New York. They wrote <a href="https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781538168066/Mind-Game-An-Inside-Look-at-the-Mental-Health-Playbook-of-Elite-Athletes"><em>Mind Game: An Inside Look at the Mental Health Playbook of Elite Athletes</em></a> and are at work on a biography of Renée Richards. Their work has also appeared in outlets including <em>The New York Times</em>,<em> Sports Illustrated</em>, <em>The Washington Post</em>, Bookforum, Slate, The Ringer, <em>Texas Monthly</em>, Vulture, BuzzFeed News, and The Verge.</p>


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Julie Kliegman

a female golfer floats in space, looking down on a giant moon-like golf ball

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Golf

Hailey Davidson Loves Golf, And Golf Wants To Get Rid Of Her

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Alan Kluegel

Denzel Washington looking incredibly sinister and cool in Gladiator II.

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Defector At The Movies

II Decadent II Decrepit: The Politics Of ‘Gladiator II’

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Ben Tippett

India's grandmaster Gukesh Dommaraju (R) reacts after winning against China's chess grandmaster Ding Liren in game 14 of the 2024 FIDE World Championship in Singapore on December 12, 2024. The 18-year-old became "the YOUNGEST WORLD CHAMPION in history", said the International Chess Federation in a post on social media platform X, after Ding resigned in a thrilling endgame that had been expected to end in a draw.

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Chess

Gukesh D Unleashed The Zugzwang To Become The Youngest World Chess Champion In History

<p>A Rockies fan by birth and a White Sox fan by geographic proximity, Annie Howard spends her non-suffering sports moments ardently rooting for the Nuggets and the Orioles.</p>


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Annie Howard

Godspeed You! Black Emperor Perform At The National Stadium

Music

Godspeed You! Black Emperor Works Hard To Hope

President-elect Donald Trump's nominee to be Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth leaves a meeting with Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) with his wife Jennifer Rauchet as he continues to meet with lawmakers on Capitol Hill on December 5, 2024 in Washington, DC.

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What Makes A Scandal

China’s chess grandmaster Ding Liren (R) and India’s chess grandmaster Gukesh Dommaraju (L) compete during the start of the FIDE World Chess Championship in Singapore on November 25, 2024.

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Ding Liren Is Putting Up A Fight

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‘The Village’ Still Has Questions To Ask

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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

The crowded work bench of New York tattooist Charlie Wagner in the 1940's. (Photo by FPG/Getty Images)

Tattooist Work Bench

How Do You Preserve Tattoo History When Skin And Memory Fail?

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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

FOXBOROUGH, MA - OCTOBER 24: A pylon-camera is seen during an NFL football game between the New England Patriots and the Chicago Bears at Gillette Stadium on October 24, 2022 in Foxborough, Massachusetts.

Chicago Bears v New England Patriots

Things We Actually Like

Blessed Be The Pylon Cam

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Soraya Roberts

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Crowd Work Isn’t A Substitute For Comedy

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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

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How The Art Modell Law Could Keep The Browns From Leaving Cleveland

Felix Kent

Simple Hotel Room, Iceland. (Photo by: GHI/Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

Simple Hotel Room, Iceland

Why Does Hotel Art Look Like That?


<p>Luisa Rollenhagen is a German-Argentinian freelance journalist based in Berlin. She&#8217;s written for publications such as <em>The Guardian</em>, BuzzFeed News, Deutsche Welle, and <em>GQ</em>. </p>


Profile

Luisa Rollenhagen

DUSSELDORF, GERMANY - FEBRUARY 12: A parade float shows an effigy of Donald Trump holding a pair of scissors in his hand with a cut-up US flag in the shape of a swastika at the annual Rose Monday Carnival parade on February 12, 2024 in Dusseldorf, Germany. The Mainz and Dusseldorf Rose Monday parades are known for their biting political satire. Cities in western Germany are celebrating the traditional Rhineland Carnival this week, culminating in today's Rose Monday parades. (Photo by Andreas Rentz/Getty Images)

Rose Monday Carnival Parades In Mainz And Dusseldorf

Politics

Donald Trump Is Everyone’s Problem, Even In Germany

<p>Lesley Ryder is a writer and a host covering the Chicago Red Stars. She co-created <a href="https://galpalsports.com/">Gal Pal Sports</a>, a platform that lives to make women’s sports fun for everyone.</p>


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Lesley Ryder

KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI - NOVEMBER 22: NWSL Commissioner Jessica Berman addresses the media ahead of the NWSL 2024 Championship at CPKC Stadium on November 22, 2024 in Kansas City, Missouri.

Orlando Pride v Washington Spirit – NWSL 2024 Championship Press Conference

Soccer

NWSL Commissioner Jessica Berman Keeps Talking Around The San Diego Wave Lawsuit

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


Libby Watson

A roasted and sliced turkey breast with the Chefector badge of a cartoon chef eating a gigantic burger.

turkey with badge

Perfectly Fine Dinner Party Club

The Case For Thanksgiving II

The U.S. Supreme Court building with the low afternoon sun behind it and a pedestrian in the foreground.

SCOTUS

Lapse Of Judgment

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Abigail Segel

Marta #10 of the Orlando Pride celebrates after the Pride defeated the Washington Spirit 1-0 to win the NWSL 2024 Championship Game at CPKC Stadium on November 23, 2024 in Kansas City, Missouri.

Orlando Pride v Washington Spirit – NWSL 2024 Championship Game

Orlando Runs Away With The NWSL, And The Rest Will Have To Catch Up

12 February 2024, Schleswig-Holstein, Wangels: Chess: Freestyle Chess G.O.A.T. Challenge, chess tournament based on the Chess960 variant, quarter-finals, at the Weissenhaus Private Nature Luxury Resort. Ding Liren (China) in action. Photo: Marcus Brandt/dpa

Chess: Freestyle Chess G.O.A.T. Challenge

The Clouds Have Gathered Over The World Chess Championship

A de-aged Tom Hanks and Robin Wright in 'Here'

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