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The last good website.

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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

Buy a Defector Gift Subscription, Get A (Different) Gift Subscription

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2025 gift subs

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


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Nicholas Russell

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Defector At The Movies

All It Takes To Make A Half-Decent Marvel Movie Is For The Main Character To Be Dead

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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

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History

The Wimbledon Finalist With The Body In His Suitcase


<p><em><a href="https://twitter.com/austinlouisray" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Austin L. Ray</a> is an ATLien who spends most of his time writing, growing, and fundraising. He works for Mailchimp by day and writes for places like Rolling Stone, Tip Top Proper Cocktails, Creative Loafing (RIP), The Outline, Atlanta magazine, GQ, and more on nights and weekends. He loves reading in front of large groups of people, listening to loud rap music, and losing himself in Twitter. Zach Galifianakis once screamed in his face.</em></p>


Austin L. Ray

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The Great Outdoors

Let’s Grow Some Things

Anonymous

An eviction notice is posted and the lock is changed on a residence in the unincorporated community of Galloway on March 3, 2021 west of Columbus, Ohio.

Eviction

Capital

The U.S. Is Failing Tenants, And It’s About To Get Even Worse

Felix Kent

TORONTO, ON - APRIL 7: Mitchell Marner #16 of the Toronto Maple Leafs waits for a faceoff against the Montreal Canadiens during an NHL game at Scotiabank Arena on April 7, 2021 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Maple Leafs defeated the Canadiens 3-2. (Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Mitchell Marner

Montreal Canadiens v Toronto Maple Leafs

The Salary Cap Is A Psyop

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Soraya Roberts

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Cold Comforts

Watching ‘Touching The Void’ Should Qualify As An Extreme Sport


<p>Amy Pedulla is a writer and audio producer. She can be reached at pedullaa@gmail.com.</p>


Amy Pedulla

Yoga_unionize_01

Inside The Fight To Unionize CorePower Yoga


<p><a href="https://jeremygordon.xyz/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Jeremy Gordon</a>&#8216;s writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Nation, and Pitchfork. </p>


Jeremy Gordon

Atlanta Hawks v Philadelphia 76ers – Game Seven

A Grand Unified Theory For Achieving Total Basketball Enlightenment


<p><a href="https://twitter.com/Dwayne_Media" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Dwayne</a> is a baseball fan from Atlanta, Georgia.</p>


Dwayne

An illustration of Braves owner John Malone.

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Better Hate An Owner

John Malone Hasn’t Really Thought About It

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


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Fran Hoepfner

A still image from the set of Taskmaster.

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Watch ‘Taskmaster,’ And Indulge In The Simple Pleasure Of Watching Funny People Do Weird Things


<p>Charles Farrell has spent his professional life moving between music and boxing, with occasional detours. He has managed five world champions, and has played and recorded with many of the musicians he most admires&#8211;Evan Parker and Ornette Coleman among them. Farrell currently resides in the Boston, Massachusetts area.</p>



<p>His new book, <em><a href="https://hamilcarpubs.com/books/lowlife-a-memoir-of-jazz-fight-fixing-and-the-mob/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">(Low)life: A Memoir of Jazz, Fight-Fixing, and The Mob</a></em>, will be published June 29.</p>


Charles Farrell

TOPSHOT - Former world welterweight king Floyd Mayweather (L) and YouTube personality Logan Paul face-off during their weigh-in event in Miami, Florida on June 5, 2021. - Former world welterweight king Floyd Mayweather said May 4, 2021 he will face off against YouTube personality Logan Paul in an exhibition bout at Miami's Hard Rock Stadium on June 6, 2021. (Photo by CHANDAN KHANNA / AFP) (Photo by CHANDAN KHANNA/AFP via Getty Images)

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Boxing

Clown Vs. Clown

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - MARCH 02: Jack Eichel #9 of the Buffalo Sabres stretches in warm-ups prior to the game against the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden on March 02, 2021 in New York City. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

Buffalo Sabres v New York Rangers

Elder Wisdom

How Does Coachspeak Work?

Amos Barshad

Very cool illustration of Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich.

BHaO_Abramovich

Roman Abramovich Owns A Club He’s Not Even Allowed To Watch

Atlanta Braves v Boston Red Sox

All Of A Sudden, The Red Sox Are Too Good To Be Angry With

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‘Love & Anarchy’ Has Liberated The Rom-Com From Its Neoliberal Shackles

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All The Lessons I Didn’t Learn From Watching ‘Seinfeld’

<p><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif">Marc Normandin currently writes on baseball’s labor issues and more at </span><a style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif" href="http://marcnormandin.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://marcnormandin.com&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1758998321491000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1ZpjG5RUFwdpapWqR1u4bd">marcnormandin.com</a><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif">, which you can read for free but support </span><a style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif" href="https://www.patreon.com/marcnormandin">through his Patreon</a><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif">. His baseball writing has appeared at FOX Sports, SB Nation, Defector, Global Sport Matters, Deadspin, Sports Illustrated, ESPN, Sports on Earth, The Guardian, The Nation, FAIR, and TalkPoverty, and you can read his takes on video games at Retro XP and Endless Mode.</span></p>
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Marc Normandin

An employee rolls out the new Sony PS5 in Japan.

Video Games

Gaming’s All-Digital-Everything Future Threatens To Erase The Past


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


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Claire Watkins

NY/NJ Gotham FC v Portland Thorns: Championship – 2021 NWSL Challenge Cup

Soccer

The Portland Thorns Are Ready To Be The NWSL’s Villains

<p><a href="http://www.ddavisla.com"><span style="font-weight: 400">David Davis </span></a>is the author of <i>Wheels of Courage: How Paralyzed Veterans From World War II Invented Wheelchair Sports, Fought for Disability Rights, and Inspired a Nation</i> and <i>Waterman: The Life and Times of Duke Kahanamoku</i>. He lives in Los Angeles.</p>
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David Davis

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Hockey’s Cold War Was The Summit Of Two Photographers’ Careers

<p>Camille Bromley is a features editor at The Believer and a story editor at the Columbia Journalism Review.</p>


Camille Bromley

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Journalismism

What’s Happening At ‘The Believer’ Is About More Than Just A Zoom Incident

Brandi Brown

Presidential Candidates Hit The Soapbox At The Iowa State Fair

Senators Week

We Must Never Forget That Amy Klobuchar Is A Cowardly State Fair Centrist

<p><a href="https://twitter.com/PykeA">Alan Pyke</a> is a former ThinkProgress Leftist Hack turned former Bernie Sanders 2020 Leftist Flack. His writing <em>has</em> appeared but it goes to another school, in Canada, you wouldn’t know it.</p>


Alan Pyke

A trading card commemorating Donald Trump's widely beloved nickname for Sen. Dianne Feinstein, which apparently was "Sneaky."

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Politics

Finally, Trading Cards Commemorating The Dumbest Year In American History

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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

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Torso Murders, An Olympic Sex Scandal, And The Cleveland World’s Fair That Wasn’t

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‘Collective’ Shows Why Newsrooms Will Always Matter More Than Newsletters

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‘The Way Back’ Is Right Where Ben Affleck Belongs