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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

Enter Our Raffle To Win A Visit And Home-Cooked Meal From Drew Magary

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tip jar sweepstakes

<div>Dave Madden is the author of two books, and his essays have appeared in <em>The Guardian</em>, <em>Harper&#8217;s</em>, Lithub, <em>Zyzzyva</em>, and elsewhere. He teaches nonfiction in the MFA Program at the University of San Francisco, and publishes a newsletter named <a href="https://shennymag.substack.com/">Shenny</a>.</div>


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Dave Madden

Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski congratulates UNC forward Brady Manek after his Blue Devils lost in the 2022 Final Four.

North Carolina v Duke

College Basketball

The Family Queer Flies Home For March Madness

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Three Oakland Roots Supporters

Amedspor supporters march to the stadium before a match against Sanlıurfaspor in 2015.

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Soccer

The Scorpions Behind The Barricade

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


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Nicholas Russell

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‘Physical: 100’ Asks What A Body Is For

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Soraya Roberts

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Defector At The Movies

How 1995’s ‘Party Girl’ Became The First Movie To Premiere Online

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


Libby Watson

A single-story ranch house surrounded by a chain link fence. It is pleasant and well-groomed. There is a mailbox in the front of the photo.

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Politics

The Home-Sized Hole In The Safety Net

<p><a href="https://twitter.com/johnwilmeswords">John Wilmes</a> is a writer and professor in Chicago. His work has appeared in The Ringer, <em>GQ</em>, <em>Chicago Reader</em>, and <em>The New Republic</em>, among other places. He is the author of the novella <i>Jad&#8217;s Dad Milo</i>.</p>


John Wilmes

A Compass Group employee works the hot dog concession at Guaranteed Rate Field in Chicago.

Cleveland Indians v Chicago White Sox

Capital

A Fight Is Brewing In Chicago Between A Multinational Concessions Business And Its Workers

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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

Boxing at Dodger Stadium

Boxing

Whoever Killed Davey Moore Also Killed Boxing At Dodger Stadium

<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

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - FEBRUARY 23: Taynna Cardoso of Brazil (black trunks) trades punches with Heather Hardy (white trunks) during their Super Featherweights bout at BoxingInsider Fight Night at Sony Hall on February 23, 2023 in New York City. Hardy won by majority decision.

BoxingInsider Fight Night at Sony Hall

The Fights

In New York, Some Legends Still Fight Underground

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Arts And Culture

AI Art Only Looks Like Art If You Don’t Care

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<div><i>You can follow Nate Fisher on twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/bozomode">@BozoMode</a>. He also does 80 voices on <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/a-closer-look-podcast/id1561306479" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/a-closer-look-podcast/id1561306479&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1676741332975000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0lHbqww1jqCCFc3nPLp5LF">the A Closer Look Podcast.</a></i></div>
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Nate Fisher

NASCAR Cup Series 63rd Annual Daytona 500

Racing

Your Guide To The 2023 NASCAR Season, Which Will Claim Your Mortal Soul

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<div class="gmail_default">Sophie Lewis is a writer based in Philadelphia, and the author of <i>Abolish the Family: A Manifesto for Care and Liberation</i> as well as <i>Full Surrogacy Now: Feminism Against Family</i>. You can support Sophie&#8217;s writing at <a href="http://patreon.com/reproutopia" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://patreon.com/reproutopia&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1676579571242000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0v46ws-benlRFZQr_vtOrj">patreon.com/reproutopia</a>.</div>
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Sophie Lewis

Apple Music Super Bowl LVII Halftime Show

Rihanna Rubbed Her Belly And Broke A Million Brains

<p>Micah Herskind is an organizer, policy advocate, and writer based in Atlanta, GA.</p>


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Micah Herskind

A police car near the site of Atlanta's proposed Cop City

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Abolition Requires Struggle

Hundreds of people gather in streets in freezing temperatures Monday evening to protest the killing of Tyre Nichols, in Chicago, United States on January 30, 2023. (Photo by Jacek Boczarski/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Tyre Nichols protest in Chicago

Policing

The Stories We Tell Ourselves To Live

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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

Justin Jefferson makes a one-handed catch

Minnesota Vikings v Buffalo Bills

Great Hands Are Forever

<p><i>Olivia Craighead is a writer in Brooklyn, New York. </i></p>


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Olivia Craighead

AFC Championship – Cincinnati Bengals v Kansas City Chiefs

Welcome To The Posters’ Bowl

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Susan Elizabeth Shepard

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The Abrupt And Anonymous End Of StripperWeb

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Kelly Conaboy

Rihanna is seen out and about on July 07, 2021 in New York City. And then we photoshopped her purse into a giant NFL football

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This Is So Stupid

If Rihanna Songs Were About Football, Ranked


<p><a href="https://twitter.com/kenpomeroy" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Ken</a> has been cranking out college basketball statistics at <a href="http://kenpom.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">kenpom.com</a> since 2004. He’s written at The Athletic, Slate, the late <em>ESPN The Magazine</em>, and the late Basketball Prospectus. He hopes to live long enough to see the men&#8217;s game start using quarters, like every other basketball league in the world.</p>


Ken Pomeroy

Michigan defender Will Tschetter draws a charge against Minnesota guard Ta'lon Cooper in a Big Ten game in Ann Arbor, Mi.

COLLEGE BASKETBALL: JAN 22 Minnesota at Michigan

College Basketball’s New Anti-Flopping Rules Seem To Be Working

<p>Fran Hoepfner is a writer and teacher.</p>


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Fran Hoepfner

Excitement Grows In Philadelphia As Eagles Head To The Super Bowl

It’s Time To Stop Fucking Around: We Need An Official Super Bowl Dessert

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Andrea Riseborough’s Oscar Nod Is A Nomination For The Past

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Hey It's That Guy

You’ll Never Meet Tilda Swinton Twice

<p>Jonathan Ben-Menachem is a PhD student in Sociology at Columbia University, where he researches the politics of criminalization. He has written about similar topics for the Washington Post, Slate, The Appeal, and more.</p>


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Jonathan Ben-Menachem

Rally And March To Close Rikers Island

Prison Abolition Is Pragmatic

<div dir="auto"><a href="https://twitter.com/nkulw">Noah Kulwin</a> is a writer and co-host of the podcast <a href="https://blowback.show/">Blowback</a>. He lives in New Jersey.</div>


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Noah Kulwin

A photo of Lee Harvey Oswald being taken away by officials. In the corner is the join or die cartoon with the words THE AMERICAN FRIEND on it

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Decades Later, The JFK Assassination Still Keeps Some Secrets

Governor Charlie Baker

Death To The NCAA

Charlie Baker Is The NCAA’s Attempt To Put The Horses Back In The Barn


<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>


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Luisa Rollenhagen

dpatop - 07 December 2022, Hessen, Frankfurt/Main: In a raid against so-called "Reichsbürger" masked police officers, after searching a house Heinrich XIII Prince Reuss (2nd from right) lead to a police vehicle. The Federal Prosecutor's Office had several people from the so-called Reichsbürger scene arrested in the course of a raid on Wednesday morning. Numerous officers were deployed in several federal states, said a spokeswoman for the Karlsruhe authority . Photo: Boris Roessler/dpa (Photo by Boris Roessler/picture alliance via Getty Images)

Raid against Reichsb√ºrger scene – Frankfurt

The Prince And QAnon: How Germany’s Far Right Went From Conspiracy To Coup