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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

Alex Sujong Laughlin

David Roth

Giri Nathan

Kelsey McKinney

Annie Dillard receiving her 2014 National Humanities Medal

Arts And Culture

Annie Dillard Gave It All

Barry Petchesky

PHILADELPHIA, PA - JANUARY 01: TV personality Barry Melrose speaks during the 2012 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic Practice Sessions at Citizens Bank Park on January 1, 2012 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Eliot J. Schechter/NHLI via Getty Images)

Barry Melrose Brought Hockey Home

Albert Burneko

Tim Curry as Darkness in the film Legend (1985): a big red goat-man with huge horns

Reds Week

Let’s Remember When Tim Curry Played A Huge Scary Red Guy

Defector Staff

Dolly Parton performing live on stage in New York in August 1978

Our Favorite Dolly Parton Performances

Ray Ratto

Coach Nelson meets the press. The Golden State Warriors have named Don Nelson as the team's new head coach, it was announced today by Executive Vice President of Basketball Operation's Chris Mullin. Event in, Oakland, Ca, on 8/30/06.

Don Nelson Followed His Bliss And Changed Basketball

charismatic megafauna (they/them)

Sabrina Imbler

Mona Khalil, a Lebanese ecologist activist looks at a turtle at a coast in the southern Lebanese port city of Tyre 12 August 2002

Science

Mona Khalil, Who Devoted Her Life To Protecting Turtles, Killed By Israeli Airstrike

Claude Lemieux carries the torch in the opening ceremony of Game Three of the Eastern Conference Final of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs between the Montreal Canadiens and the Carolina Hurricanes at the Bell Centre on May 25, 2026 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

The Tragedy Of Appreciating SOBs Too Late

WRITER DAN SIMMONS PUBLISHES 'FIRES OF EDEN'

Defector Reads A Book

Dan Simmons Is Dead, So It’s Time To Read ‘Hyperion’

American director, producer, and actor Rob Reiner gestures near a camera while crew members surround him outdoors on the set of his film, 'North.'

Defector’s Favorite Rob Reiner Credits

Coach John Beam, center bottom, and the Skyline High School football team pose together after beating Oakland High School 19-0 for the championship title at Laney College in Oakland, Calif. on Nov. 24, 1989.

College Football

Coach John Beam’s Legacy Is Everywhere

Former U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney, father of Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY), listens to daughter's remarks during a primary night event August 16, 2022 in Jackson, Wyoming.

Politics

Dick Cheney Departs The World He Made

Soraya Roberts

Diane Keaton’s Solo Act

Singer D'Angelo (born Michael Eugene Archer) performs on stage at the Aire Crown Theater, Chicago, Illinois, April 4, 2000.

The Defector D’Angelo Mixtape

Dan McQuade was a founding member of Defector. He died in January 2026.

Dan McQuade

PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA - CIRCA 1975: Goalie Bernie Parent #1 of the Philadelphia Flyers guards the net during a game against the New York Rangers circa 1975 at the Spectrum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Parent helped the Flyers to two Stanley Cup Championships in 1974 and 1975.

You Couldn’t Drag Bernie Parent Out Of Philadelphia

James Dobson poses for a portrait in 2011 in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

James Dobson Is Dead, Was A Monster

Staff Writer
Find me on Signal @DefectorChris.19

Chris Thompson

Terry Bollea performs as Hulk Hogan at a Donald Trump campaign rally.

Pro Wrestling

Hulk Hogan Is Dead

Dave McKenna

BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND - AUGUST 08: Ozzy Osbourne of Black Sabbath performs during the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games Closing Ceremony at Alexander Stadium on August 08, 2022 on the Birmingham, England. (Photo by Alex Pantling/Getty Images)