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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

NYC: Come To Our WNBA Comedy Show On May 16

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Live Event

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Jason England

Side-by-side images of Dave Chappelle and Kyrie Irving.

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Politics

The Limits Of Dave Chappelle And Kyrie Irving’s Free-Thinking

Louis Keene is a writer for the Forward and the creator of <a href="http://unstatable.com">Unstatable</a>, a newsletter about the Clippers. He’s on Twitter <a href="http://twitter.com/thislouis">@thislouis.</a>

Louis Keene

The late Malik Sealy and Brent Barry at a Los Angeles Clippers game in the Arrowhead Pond, in 1997.

Nuggets V Clippers

25 Years Ago, The Clippers Came Closer To Moving To Anaheim Than Anyone Knew

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Soraya Roberts

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Defector At The Movies

The Muddy Ethics Of The Thai Cave Rescue Entertainment Machine

Felix Kent

TOKYO, JAPAN - JANUARY 30: A local surfer is seen in action with Mount Fuji in the background from the beach of Enoshima during the build up to the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games on January 30, 2020 in Fujisawa, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. The venue will hold the sailing events. (Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images)

General Views Around Tokyo ahead of 2020 Olympic Games

Life Lessons

As You Know, Jeff, Every Time I Stare Into The Abyss It Stares Back At Me

Claire Watkins is a musician and writer living in Chicago, IL.

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Claire Watkins

Los Angeles Football Club v Los Angeles Galaxy

NWSL

The NWSL Was Working As Intended

Photo of Andrew Bagby and his parents David and Kathleen Bagby at Andrew's graduation from medical school.

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Cold Comforts

‘Dear Zachary’ Is A Greek Tragedy Come To Life

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Israel Daramola

Melvin Van Peebles speaking at the Gotham Independent Film Awards in 2008.

18th Annual Gotham Independent Film Awards – Show

Film Lost Melvin Van Peebles Just When It Needed Him Most

<a href="mailto:tara@taraariano.com" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Tara Ariano</a>&nbsp;co-hosts the podcasts&nbsp;<a href="https://www.extrahotgreat.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Extra Hot Great</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://listentosassy.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Listen To Sassy</a>,&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.againwiththis90210.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Again With This</a>. She is also the co-author, with Sarah D. Bunting, of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Very-Special-90210-Book-Absolutely/dp/1419747460?tag=decider08-20" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">A Very Special 90210 Book: 93 Absolutely Essential Episodes From TV’s Most Notorious Zip Code</a>.&nbsp;Her byline has appeared in the New York Times Magazine, Collider, Vanity Fair, New York, Slate, Mel Magazine, Vulture,&nbsp;Salon,&nbsp;and&nbsp;The Awl, among many others. She lives in Austin.

Tara Ariano

An unusually operatic still image from Netflix's "Floor Is Lava"

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Which Sports-Adjacent Physical Challenge TV Show Is Right For You?

Nicholas Russell is a writer from Las Vegas.

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Nicholas Russell

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James Wan Just Wants You To Have As Much Dumb Fun As He’s Having

<a href="http://Feldman.cool" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Brian Feldman</a> is a software engineer living in Brooklyn.

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Brian Feldman

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At The Turtle Club In The Shadow Of 9/11

Colin Daileda is a freelance journalist in Bengaluru, India, who has written for Longreads, The Atlantic, Atlas Obscura, and others. He used to be able to grab the rim of a basketball hoop, but he can no longer jump high enough.

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Colin Daileda

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Cricket

Why India Lets Kashmiri Cricket Wither

<a href="https://twitter.com/robertfoconnell" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Robert O’Connell</a> is a writer from Kansas living in New York. His work has appeared in Sports Illustrated, The Atlantic, The New York Times, and elsewhere.

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Robert O’Connell

Helmets (and a pair of eclipse glasses) in the dugout of a minor league baseball team in Columbia, SC.

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Minor League Baseball Is Optimized To Exploit

F1 Grand Prix of Bahrain – Practice

‘Drive To Survive’ Cracks Open The Narrow Reality Of Competition

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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

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High School Sports

Bishop Sycamore’s Capital Crime Was Not Being Good Enough At Football

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‘Forbrydelsen’ Seduced The World With A Sweater And A Murder

United States v Australia: Bronze Medal Match Women’s Football – Olympics: Day 13

Soccer

Carli Lloyd Was A Self-Contained Superstar

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Defector Reads A Book

‘The Glassy, Burning Floor Of Hell’ Is A Horror Collection That Will Validate Your Misery

Shane Ryan is the author of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.hachettebooks.com/titles/shane-ryan/the-cup-they-couldnt-lose/9780306874390/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Cup They Couldn&#8217;t Lose</a>, the story of the modern Ryder Cup, which came out on May 10. He lives in Durham, NC, and his writing appears in Golf Digest, Paste Magazine, and elsewhere. Previously, he wrote on Defector about&nbsp;<a href="https://defector.com/online-quiz-league-is-the-future-of-competitive-trivia/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Online Quiz League</a>. He also runs Apocalypse Sports Trivia, which you can join by contacting him on&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/ShaneRyanHere" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Twitter</a>.

Shane Ryan

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Life's Rich Pageant

Online Quiz League Is The Future Of Competitive Trivia

Hallie Lieberman is a historian and journalist. She’s the author of Buzz: A Stimulating History of the Sex Toy, and is currently working on a book on the history of gigolos. Her writing has appeared in The New York Times, Washington Post, Vice, and BuzzFeed News, among other publications.

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Hallie Lieberman

Texas Rangers v Los Angeles Dodgers

The Long, Complicated History Of Trevor Bauer’s “Rough Sex” Defense

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History

Ed Hardy Went To Japan And Brought Back A Myth

Damon Young is a writer in Pittsburgh.

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Damon Young

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Book Excerpts That Don't Suck

Thursday Night Hoops

Alex Pareene is a contributing editor at The New Republic and the co-host, with Laura Marsh, of the podcast&nbsp;<a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/ie/podcast/018-amanda-litman-run-for-something-why-you-cant-see/id1341525125?i=1000444277937" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Politics of Everything</a>.

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Alex Pareene

President-Elect Donald Trump Holds Meetings At His Trump Tower Residence In New York

Funbag

What’s The Point Of Wolf Blitzer?

Jeremy is a Brooklyn-based writer and comedian. He&#8217;s best known for doing Twitter videos with Rajat even though they haven&#8217;t done one in a while.

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Jeremy Levick

Rajat is a Brooklyn-based writer and comedian. He&#8217;s best known for doing Twitter videos with Jeremy even though they haven&#8217;t done one in a while.

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Rajat Suresh

28 Aug 1999:A view of two fans of the Florida State Seminoles who paint their bodies in the school colors for support during the game against the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs at the Doak Campbell Stadium in Tallahasse, Florida. The Seminoles defeated the Bulldogs 41-7. Mandatory Credit: Scott Halleran /Allsport

Fans

What’s The Most Annoying Type Of Fan?

Dvora Meyers is a freelance journalist based in Brooklyn. She writes about gymnastics and other topics in her newsletter, <a href="https://dvora.substack.com/">Unorthodox Gymnastics.</a>

Dvora Meyers

Russian gymnast Viktoriia Listunova competes at the 2021 Olympics in Tokyo

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Gymnastics

The Case Against Sticking The Landing

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The Bleak, Austere, Horny World Of ‘The Piano Teacher’