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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

David Roth

John O'Brien of Troy works on a puzzle as the Times Union hosts the inaugural Upstate Crossword Championship tournament Saturday Sept. 22, 2018 in Colonie, NY.

Podcasts

Song Of The Puzzlesmith, With Ian Livengood

Columnist. Author of many <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Drew-Magary/e/B001JS8R52/ref=dp_byline_cont_pop_book_1">fine works of literature</a>, including Point B. Handsomest man in the world.

Drew Magary

Woman plays Wordle on her smartphone at the kitchen table of her home on 26th November 2023 in Birmingham, United Kingdom. Wordle is a web-based word game played by millions of users / players worldwide often on their mobile devices. The game was created and developed by software engineer Josh Wardle, and owned by The New York Times Company since 2022.

Overexplained Lists

New York Times Games, Ranked

Kathryn Xu

By God, I Will Get A Good Grade On Statcast’s Pitch Type Guessing Game

Soraya Roberts

Life Lessons

I Hate Games

Fran Hoepfner is a writer and teacher.

Fran Hoepfner

My Brush With Puzzle Brain

Barry Petchesky

XXX during the first Rock, Paper, Scissors, Lizard and Spock tournament in Australia on December 13, 2015 in Melbourne, Australia. Originally created by blogger Sam Kass, the game was made famous by The Big Bang Theory's Sheldon Cooper. This is the first time The Big Bang Theory fans in Australia will be able to play in a real tournament.