defector-orange-no-empty-space

lede_post_card_default

lede_post_card_stacked

lede_post_card_featured_post

lede_post_card_featured_posts_hero

lede_post_card_featured_posts_sidebar

lede_post_card_highlighted_post

lede_post_card_horizontal_a

lede_post_card_horizontal_c

lede_post_card_related_post

lede_article_featured_16x9

lede_article_featured_3x2

lede_article_featured_flexible

lede_article_content

lede_article_content_wide_width

lede_article_content_full_width

lede_byline_avatar_post_card

lede_byline_avatar_highlight

lede_profile_coral_avatar

lede_logo

lede_logo_banner

lede_logo_footer_banner

lede_logo_simple_header

lede_sponsorship_logo

lede_sponsorship_logo_river_card

lede_sponsorship_homepage_card_logo

lede_sponsorship_homepage_card

Footer Legal

Header - Categories

Header Menu

The last good website.

Topics

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-no-empty-space

Defector

Enter Our Raffle To Win A Visit And Home-Cooked Meal From Drew Magary

let-drew-cook-final

tip jar sweepstakes

Heather Chen is a former Defector intern and the sports editor at the Columbia Daily Spectator. She loves hockey, photography, and the good ol’ state of Michigan.

heatherchen_baby

Heather Wei-Xi Chen

Kristin Merrilees is a writer based in New York covering technology and the internet.

KMerrilees pic

Kristin Merrilees

A Timothee Chalamet lookalike in a Wonka costume showcases an empty briefcase

timotheechalametcontest-scenes-10

Life's Rich Pageant

We Went To The Timothée Chalamet Lookalike Contest And Didn’t See Timothée Chalamet

rachelle-hampton-headshot

Rachelle Hampton

Northern lights are seen across a night sky; in the foreground, there's a telephone tower

Science

It’s Totally Cool That I Didn’t Get To See The Northern Lights. Seriously! I Promise!!

headshot

Barry Petchesky

New York City Mayor Eric Adams talks to the press outside Gracie Mansion, the official residence of the mayor of New York City, on September 26, 2024, after he was indicted on federal criminal charges. US federal agents raided the official residence of Mayor Adams early September 26 ahead of the expected announcement of criminal charges against the former city cop once touted as a rising Democratic Party star. The search at the residence known as Gracie Mansion began before dawn, and is the latest shock twist in a graft investigation against the Adams administration. (Photo by TIMOTHY A. CLARY / POOL / AFP)

US-POLITICS-CRIME-MAYOR

Politics

The Most Unbelievable Bits From NYC Mayor Eric Adams’s Indictment

A surfer in a blue wetsuit carries a light blue surfboard with him as he walks into the ocean. He is holding a Palestinian flag in his right hand and wearing a keffiyeh around his head.

rockawaysurf-heather-01

The Great Outdoors

Surfers Show Solidarity At A Paddle-Out For Palestine

<a class="sc-1out364-0 hMndXN sc-145m8ut-0 kGbjEv js_link" href="http://demause.net/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-ga="[[&quot;Embedded Url&quot;,&quot;External link&quot;,&quot;http://demause.net/&quot;,{&quot;metric25&quot;:1}]]">Neil deMause</a> has covered sports economics for more publications than even he can shake a stick at. He’s co-author of the book <a class="sc-1out364-0 hMndXN sc-145m8ut-0 kGbjEv js_link" href="https://www.amazon.com/Field-Schemes-Stadium-Swindle-Private/dp/1567511384?ascsubtag=c9dca64cfbbd6c35085d286f4423ee39b8350b2f&amp;rawdata=%5Br%7Chttps%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2F%5Bks%7Cgoogle%5Bt%7Clink%5Bp%7C1800657108%5Ba%7C1567511384%5Bau%7C5722120546910826704%5Bb%7Cdeadspinascsubtag%3D4eba2da0f6cc83fe1f221e8d8ca5894cd93bf2a7ascsubtag%3D33f4f2a16c1eda72859c34ee8aa577410b04a0d8&amp;tag=deadspinamzn-20" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-ga="[[&quot;Commerce&quot;,&quot;deadspin - Baseball Doesn't Need Collusion To Turn Off The Hot Stove&quot;,&quot;1567511384&quot;]]" data-amazonasin="1567511384" data-amazontag="deadspinamzn-20" data-amazonsubtag="[r|https://www.google.com/[ks|google[t|link[p|1831644811[a|1567511384[au|5722120546910826704[b|deadspin[lt|text" data-commerceready="true">Field of Schemes: How the Great Stadium Swindle Turns Public Money Into Private Profit</a>, and runs <a class="sc-1out364-0 hMndXN sc-145m8ut-0 kGbjEv js_link" href="http://fieldofschemes.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-ga="[[&quot;Embedded Url&quot;,&quot;External link&quot;,&quot;http://fieldofschemes.com/&quot;,{&quot;metric25&quot;:1}]]">the website of the same name</a>.

WgdqVx0X_400x400

Neil deMause

A rendering of the future Willets Point soccer stadium.

NYCFC-RENDERING-hell-gate

Capital

How NYC Gave Hundreds Of Millions To The Yankees And An Oil Baron Sheikh For The Willets Point Soccer Stadium—No Questions Asked

IMG_5859

Giri Nathan

A view of the basketball court at JFK International Airport

jfk-airport-court

Wings Week

Who Was Getting Buckets At The JFK Airport Basketball Court?

IMG_3819

Tom Ley

New York Mayor Eric Adams gives a thumbs up as he leaves his weekly press conference at New York City Hall on November 14, 2023. FBI agents seized the New York mayor's cell phones and other devices, his campaign lawyer said 10 November, 2023, in an apparent escalation of a federal investigation into campaign fundraising. The seizure appears to be part of a corruption investigation into whether Eric Adams' 2021 campaign conspired with Turkey's government and others.

US-POLITICS-INVESTIGATION-FBI-ADAMS

Eric Adams: The Beauty Of New York Is That There Are Terrorist Attacks And Also Stores That Open

-b9trzb

Lauren Theisen

Sabrina Ionescu and Marine Johannes celebrate on the court

2023 Commissioner’s Cup Championship – New York Liberty v Las Vegas Aces

WNBA

You’re Goddamn Right The Aces Have Met Their Match

VictorPortraitWClaw

David Roth

New York City Mayor Eric Adams sitting at a literal table with some restauranteurs at the Manhattan restaurant Ali Baba. This is not the same as the figurative "table of success" at which his haters are his waiters.

Mayor Eric Adams cuts ribbon for Turkish restaurant in NYC

A Seat At The Table Of Success

Seattle Mariners v New York Yankees

Wemby Takes New York

Mayor Eric Adams during a ceremony as Composer Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber is given the key to the city.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams Special Announcement With Andrew Lloyd Webber On Final Weekend Of “Phantom Of The Opera” On Broadway

To Restore Public Trust, New York Mayor Eric Adams Must Do A Kickflip

IMG_6025-800

Albert Burneko

An NYC subway car with an MTA badge by the door

GettyImages-1486149530

Jordan Neely Just Needed Some Help

GettyImages-1242240474-min

Arts And Culture

Everything You Need To Know About “Dimes Square”

Profile Pic

Chris Thompson

A cartoon possum, raccoon, and skunk huddle around a table.

trash_animal_summit

Trash Animals Send Delegates To Landmark Council Of Garbage Feasters

headshot1

Patrick Redford

Interviews

ESPN’s Tony Reali Tells Us About Helping Rescue A Downed Peregrine Falcon

new york city