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Defector

<p>Keith Paradise is a freelance writer who somehow won a Keystone Press Award during his<br />
decade spent as a newspaper reporter in Pennsylvania, where he covered sports, education, and<br />
the murder of a neighborhood turkey. Originally from Pittsburgh, he is a senior writer for<br />
Billiards Digest magazine and his name has appeared twice in the notable section of The Year’s<br />
Best Sports Writing anthology—including in 2024 for his Defector article on the rise and fall of<br />
sports clothing icon Starter.</p>


Keith Paradise

PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA - SEPTEMBER 4: A general overall interior view of PNC Park in the fourth inning during a game between the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Los Angeles Dodgers at PNC Park on September 4, 2025 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Brandon Sloter/Getty Images)

Why Are There Still Pirates Fans?

<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

Joey Dawejko is knocked down by Damian Knyba

The Fights

Getting Beat Up In A Mostly Empty Arena Is Just A Job

Soraya Roberts

Arts And Culture

The Robe Runner

Jaya Saxena

Food

Tyra Banks Please Explain What The Hell You Mean By “Hot Ice Cream”

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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

USA - CIRCA 1950s: Otto Graham of the Cleveland Browns runs with the ball circa 1950s. (Photo by Sporting News via Getty Images via Getty Images)

The Day The Browns Crafted A Playbook Entirely Out Of Spite

Veronica de Souza

Make It Nice

Make It Nice: Windows And Floors

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<div>Abigail Segel is a contributing writer at Defector. She is also an editor for The IX Soccer and the Equalizer. Her work has been published in the Guardian and the Montreal Gazette.</div>
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Abigail Segel

Jaedyn Shaw #2 of NY/NJ Gotham FC attempts a shot during the match against Portland Thorns at Sports Illustrated Stadium on September 26, 2025 in Harrison, New Jersey.

Soccer

Jaedyn Shaw’s Redemption Arc Is Underway

Jack Hanson

A total lunar eclipse, known as a ''blood moon,'' rises beside the illuminated Parthenon temple at the Acropolis in Athens, Greece, on September 7, 2025.

The Pleasures Of Reading Jane Ellen Harrison

JACKSONVILLE, FL - OCTOBER 06: Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence (16) celebrateswith teammates after scoring a touchdown during the game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Jacksonville Jaguars on October 6, 2025 at EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville, Fl. (Photo by David Rosenblum/Icon Sportswire)

Jaguars Junction: Week 5

Dylan Fugel

This Is So Stupid

Name A 28-Year-Old

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<div dir="auto">Corbin Smith is a writer and photographer from Vancouver, Washington. His work has appeared in Deadspin, The Daily Beast, and <em>Rolling Stone</em>. He is also the host of <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-pacific-northwest-insurance-corporation-moviefilm/id1712416222"><em>The Pacific Northwest Insurance Corporation Moviefilm Podcast,</em></a> a podcast about movies.</div>
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Corbin Smith

A booth at The Materials Show in Portland, Ore. in February of 2025. It's an empty couple of tables with a big banner behind it with the word BLOOM on it and some stuff about sustainability.

Capital

The Future Of The Sneaker Business First Requires A Future

Nick Sturm

Good Riddance To ‘The Best American Poetry’

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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

Worcester, MA - May 11: Opening Day at the new Polar Park for the Worcester Red Sox in Worcester on May 11, 2021. Spectators watch from above home plate as Syracuse Mets and the WooSox line the field. (Photo by John Tlumacki/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)

A Million Lives Lead Back To Worcester

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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

Margin Of Error

What Makes A Loser

To Artistic Freedom: The Cause Of, And Solution To, All Of Life’s Problems

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


Nicholas Russell

Interviews

Grizzly Bear’s Daniel Rossen Talks Old Scenes And A New Tour

<p><a href="https://tomwhyman.com/">Tom Whyman</a> is a British philosopher.</p>


Tom Whyman

MP Zarah Sultana speaks at a Your Party rally in South London

Politics

Surely The British Left Is Taking Full And Strategic Advantage Of This Moment

<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

Denver Broncos Training Camp at their training facility on July 29, 2008 in Englewood, Colorado.

I Played In The NFL. Should I Care If My Son Doesn’t Like Football?

Sarah Puntigam #17 of Houston Dash shoots during the NWSL match between San Diego Wave and Houston Dash at Snapdragon Stadium on September 07, 2025 in San Diego, California.

In A Typically Chaotic NWSL Season, The Only Safe Place Is The Very Top

American actor Robert Redford wearing a grey tweed blazer over a matching waistcoat and a white shirt, with a diagonally striped tie, with a grey fedora, in a scene from 'The Sting', filmed in the United States, 1973.

Robert Redford Made An Art Of The Double Take


<p>Robert Weintraub is the author of four books, including <em>The Divine Miss Marble</em>, now <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Divine-Miss-Marble-Tennis-Mystery/dp/1524745367/ref=asc_df_1524745367/?tag=hyprod-20&amp;linkCode=df0&amp;hvadid=459515946640&amp;hvpos=&amp;hvnetw=g&amp;hvrand=6202131795131082661&amp;hvpone=&amp;hvptwo=&amp;hvqmt=&amp;hvdev=c&amp;hvdvcmdl=&amp;hvlocint=&amp;hvlocphy=9010752&amp;hvtargid=pla-926582175995&amp;psc=1">out in paperback</a>. He has also written for the <em>New York Times</em>, ESPN/Grantland, Slate, Columbia Journalism Review, the <em>Guardian</em>, Football Outsiders, and many other outlets. Follow on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/robwein" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">@robwein</a>.</p>


Robert Weintraub

Bubblegum card (from the Bowman Gum Company) features baseball player Hank Thompson, of the New York Giants, 1955.

Hank Thompson Lived A Wild, Tragic, Forgotten Life In Baseball

Hannah Smothers

Reality TV Dating Enters Virgin Territory

Make It Nice: Why Is This Bathroom So Round?

U.S. President Donald Trump boards Air Force One on September 11, 2025 at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland. President Trump is traveling to New York to attend a New York Yankees game and to stay at his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey for the weekend.