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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

Giri Nathan

Media Meltdowns

Oratorical Uncles Bond Over Increasingly Reactionary Views

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

Heather Wei-Xi Chen

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

Kristin Merrilees

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

Life's Rich Pageant

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

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!!

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)

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.

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>.

Neil deMause

A rendering of the future Willets Point soccer stadium.

Capital

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

A view of the basketball court at JFK International Airport

Wings Week

Who Was Getting Buckets At The JFK Airport Basketball Court?

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.

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

Lauren Theisen

Sabrina Ionescu and Marine Johannes celebrate on the court

WNBA

You’re Goddamn Right The Aces Have Met Their Match

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.

A Seat At The Table Of Success

Wemby Takes New York

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