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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


<p>Claire Watkins is a musician and writer living in Chicago, IL.</p>


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Claire Watkins

Chicago Red Stars v Portland Thorns FC: Semifinal – 2021 NWSL Championship

Soccer

This NWSL Final Is The Result Of Knockout Soccer At Its Best


<p>Lori Teresa Yearwood is a trauma-aware and trauma-sensitive journalist currently covering the U.S. housing crisis for The Economic Hardship Reporting Project. A former reporter for the <em>Miami Herald</em>, the <em>St. Louis Post Dispatch</em> and the Syracuse Newspapers, she has always written stories about people from populations that have been marginalized.</p>


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Lori Teresa Yearwood

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How Are You Coping With That?

A Widow Prepares To Start Living In Her Van

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Israel Daramola

Colin Kaepernick at the Los Angeles premiere of his 2021 Netflix limited series "Colin In Black & White"

Netflix Limited Series Colin In Black And White Premiere

Who Is Colin Kaepernick’s New TV Show Actually For?

Felix Kent

1985: A lady racegoer has a nap during Royal Ascot at Ascot racecourse in Berkshire, England. Mandatory Credit: Allsport UK /Allsport

A lady race goer has a nap

Life Lessons

The Disappearing Girl

<p><a href="https://twitter.com/ericnus">Eric Nusbaum</a> is a writer based in Tacoma, Washington. He is the author of the book <i><a href="https://bookshop.org/books/stealing-home-los-angeles-the-dodgers-and-the-lives-caught-in-between-9781541742222/9781541742215">Stealing Home: Los Angeles, the Dodgers, and the Lives Caught in Between</a></i>. He is also a former editor at Vice.</p>


Eric Nusbaum

Illustration of Chris Ballew, performing as Caspar Babypants, by Adam Villacin

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Dadfector

Chris Ballew Went Platinum On The Way To Becoming Caspar Babypants

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Soraya Roberts

Still image from the movie The Vanishing.

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Cold Comforts

In ‘The Vanishing,’ What Can Kill You Is What You Want To Know

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


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Nicholas Russell

Neighborhood Sports and Social Center Turns Into a Market To Survive During Quarantine

Running Towards Nothing


<p>Kat Brewster is a PhD candidate in Informatics at UC Irvine. Researching the internet (sad parts only).</p>


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Kat Brewster

Workers haul part of a fibre optic cable onto the shore at the Kenyan port town of Mombasa on June 12, 2009. An undersea fibre optic cable bringing broadband Internet connectivity to east Africa, reached the Kenyan coast from the United Arab Emirates on Friday, the president said. The East Africa Marine Systems (TEAMS) fibre optic submarine cable project is a joint venture of the Kenyan government and Emirates Telecommunication Technology (Etisalat) and a consortium of local investors. AFP PHOTO (Photo credit should read STRINGER/AFP via Getty Images)

Workers haul part of a fibre optic cable

Science

How The Internet Works

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


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Fran Hoepfner

Harry Styles Performs On His European Tour At AccorHotels Arena, Paris

Music

We All Came To See Each Other At The Harry Styles Show

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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


<p>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></p>


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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Defector At The Movies

The Muddy Ethics Of The Thai Cave Rescue Entertainment Machine

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

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

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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‘Dear Zachary’ Is A Greek Tragedy Come To Life

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


<p><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"><em>A Very Special 90210 Book: 93 Absolutely Essential Episodes From TV’s Most Notorious Zip Code</em></a>.&nbsp;Her byline has appeared in the <em>New York Times Magazine</em>, Collider, <em>Vanity Fair</em>, <em>New York</em>, <em>Slate</em>, Mel Magazine, Vulture,&nbsp;Salon,&nbsp;and&nbsp;The Awl, among many others. She lives in Austin.</p>


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?

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


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


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Brian Feldman

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At The Turtle Club In The Shadow Of 9/11


<p>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.</p>


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Colin Daileda

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Cricket

Why India Lets Kashmiri Cricket Wither


<p><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 <em>Sports Illustrated</em>, <em>The Atlantic</em>, <em>The New York Times</em>, and elsewhere.</p>


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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

Carli Lloyd Was A Self-Contained Superstar