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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.

Defector

<p>Owen Lewis is a former Defector intern and has written for The Guardian, The Second Serve, The Athletic, n+1, Texas Monthly, Air Mail, and other publications.</p>


Owen Lewis

Linda Noskova of the Czech Republic reacts to defeating Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine in the fourth round on Day 8 of the US Open

Tennis

There’s Still Tennis At The U.S. Open

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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

Arts And Culture

Summer May Be Ending, But We’ll Always Have ‘Sterling Point’

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<div>Rena Behar is a Brooklyn-based writer and editor specializing in responsible travel and various international oddities.</div>
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Rena Behar

Fernando Romero’s “El Sol” exhibition

Art Can Be What You Smell

Vikram Murthi

Defector At The Movies

‘It Ends’ Is The Gen Z Horror Movie Of The Year

Alexandra Eala of the Philippines celebrates defeating Mary Stoiana of the United States in the first round on Day 3 of the US Open

Alex Eala Is The Best Show In Town

<p>Matt Ufford is the head of video and audio at Yahoo Sports.</p>


Matt Ufford

Head coach Sean McVay celebrates after a third quarter touchdown from Puka Nacua #12 of the Los Angeles Rams against the Seattle Seahawks in the NFC Championship game

Why Your Team Sucks

Why Your Team Sucks 2026: Los Angeles Rams

Joel Pinckney

What Do Booksellers Make Of “The End Of Reading”?

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<p>Mike Tanier has covered the NFL for 20 years for Football Outsiders, the New York Times, The Messenger, Bleacher Report, Sports on Earth, and other ancient empires. He&#8217;s a co-author of Aaron Schatz&#8217;s FTN Football Almanac and the author of the Y/A novel for grownups <i>Long Snapper&#8217;s Blues. </i>He lives off Exit 3 of the New Jersey Turnpike with his long-suffering wife, two sons and a 70-pound American Bully named Frank the Tank. <span style="font-weight: 400">His newsletter, <a href="https://too-deep-zone.ghost.io/">Too Deep Zone</a>, has officially launched.</span></p>
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Mike Tanier

Why Your Team Sucks 2026: Houston Texans

<p>Peter Coviello is Professor of English at UIC. He writes about normal things: Walt Whitman, Mormon polygamy, stepparenthood, Prince.</p>


Peter Coviello

Dolly, Josephine, And Me

Kate Wagner

Reds Week

There Is Only One Lesson Of Red Vienna


<p><a href="mailto:tara@taraariano.com" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Tara Ariano</a> co-hosts the podcasts <a href="https://www.extrahotgreat.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Extra Hot Great</a>, <a href="https://listentosassy.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Listen To Sassy</a>, and <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 <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Very-Special-90210-Book-Absolutely/dp/1419747460?tag=decider08-20" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><em>A Very Special 90210 Book: 93 Absolutely Essential Episodes From TV’s Most Notorious Zip Code</em></a>. Her byline has appeared in the <em>New York Times Magazine</em>, <em>GQ</em>, <em>Vanity Fair</em>, <em>New York</em>, <em>Slate</em>, Vulture, Salon, and The Awl, among many others. She lives in Austin.</p>
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It's a photo of Tara Ariano. She has big sunglasses on.

Tara Ariano

The Cozy-Looking Sweaters In ‘Reds,’ Ranked


<p>Amy Schneider is a software engineer, cat owner, and Jeopardy champion who posts about her experiences on Twitter @Jeopardamy. She used to have a podcast, and odds are she will again some day.</p>


Amy Schneider

13 Short Blogs About The Cincinnati Reds

Soccer

The NWSL’s Golden Boot Race Is Red Hot

<p>Mitch Therieau is a writer living in Virginia.</p>


Mitch Therieau

The Red Hot Chili Peppers Beyond Good And Evil

Felix Kent

03 June 2024, Brandenburg, Fürstenwalde: A traffic light at an intersection in the city center shows red and green for vehicles turning right. Photo: Monika Skolimowska/dpa (Photo by Monika Skolimowska/picture alliance via Getty Images)

Every Right On Red Frays The Social Contract A Little Further

Sarah York

Head coach Liam Coen and Trevor Lawrence #16 of the Jacksonville Jaguars stand for the national anthem prior to a NFL football game against the Houston Texans

Why Your Team Sucks 2026: Jacksonville Jaguars

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<p>Robert Rubsam writes fiction and nonfiction. His work has appeared in the NYT Magazine, the Atlantic, the Washington Post, the Baffler, and Liberties. He is a contributing writer for Commonweal Magazine.</p>
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Robert Rubsam

Wild Pink Goes Alt-Country


<div dir="auto">Liz Cook is a freelance writer and recipe developer based in Kansas City. Her work appears in places like Serious Eats, Eater, the BBC, and Condé Nast Traveler. She also writes the experimental food newsletter <a href="https://haterade.substack.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Haterade</a>. </div>


Liz Cook

Turn Your Busted Tomatoes Into Tomato Water

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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

Portrait of, from left, baseball players George Crowe, Wally Post, and Gus Bell, all of the Cincinnati Reds, as they pose at Crosley Field, Cincinnati, Ohio, 1957. (Photo by Transcendental Graphics/Getty Images)

How Cincinnati Ruined All-Star Voting For A Dozen Years

<p>Nina Mandell is a journalist living in Cleveland Heights, Ohio, who has written for Bustle, ESPN, <em>Sports Illustrated</em>, <em>USA Today</em>, <em>The New York Daily News</em>, and NBC Regional Sports Networks. She is the former managing editor of <em>USA Today</em>’s For The Win site and the former digital director/managing editor of NBC Sports Washington.</p>


Nina Mandell

Chamique Holdsclaw #23 of the Washington Mystics gets ready to shoot the ball while Mery Andrade #23 of the Cleveland Rockers guards her

WNBA

Chamique Holdsclaw Made Headlines, Made Mistakes, And Made History

<p>Jen Ramos Eisen is a Central California- and Las Vegas-based baseball labor and economics reporter.</p>


Jen Ramos Eisen

<p><span class="il">Frankie</span> de la Cretaz is an award-winning independent journalist whose work sits at the intersection of sports and gender. They are the co-author of <em>Hail Mary: The Rise and Fall of the National Women’s Football League</em>, and their writing has been featured in the <em>New York Times</em>, <em>Sports Illustrated</em>, and many more publications.</p>


Frankie de la Cretaz

An illustration of a woman baseball player sitting at a desk and waiting for a phone call. A baseball glove, ball, and bat sit on the desk. The phone glows but has no incoming call. The player has her head down and arms crossed in sadness.

Women's Baseball

The New Women’s Pro Baseball League Offers Hope—And Frustrations

<p>Mychal Denzel Smith is the author of <i>Stakes Is High</i>, winner of the Kirkus Prize for Non-Fiction.</p>


Mychal Denzel Smith

Politics

The Crazy Thing About “Woke 1” Was How It Was Exploited

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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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