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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

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David Roth

Paul Skenes of the Pittsburgh Pirates jokes with Oneil Cruz #15 during the game between the Pittsburgh Pirates and the New York Yankees in 2024.

Pittsburgh Pirates v. New York Yankees

Podcasts

The Hazards Of Bob Nutting Mindset, With Justin Halpern

Jae Towle Vieira [they/them] works as a producer for Normal Gossip. Their fiction has been published in The Normal School, New England Review, Carve Magazine, Passages North, Fairy Tale Review, and elsewhere.

Jae Towle Vieira headshot

Jae Towle Vieira

Normal Gossip logo with cartoon characters gossiping

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The Champagne Socialist And The Espresso Martini Capitalist

Marc Normandin writes about old video games at <a href="https://retroxp.substack.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://retroxp.substack.com/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1618674670611000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHfh-tiUJRghT9MV1BNxbtAOlI5Aw">Retro XP</a>, and on baseball’s labor issues at <a href="https://marcnormandin.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://marcnormandin.com/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1618674670611000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGLkSx4sN271GhHVvriAoLN_UFOKQ">marcnormandin.com</a>, which you can read for free but <a href="https://www.patreon.com/marcnormandin" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.patreon.com/marcnormandin&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1618674670611000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGC_1Zx4sq480759Z-PK-RWn8hF8w">support through his Patreon</a>. He is one of the founding members of <a href="http://pubtbnl.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://pubtbnl.com/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1618674670611000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGs0Hu7YMHRvAsFNZ2kh6CU-Bmwhw">Publication To Be Named Later,</a> and his writing has appeared at Baseball Prospectus, SB Nation, Deadspin, Sports Illustrated, ESPN, Sports on Earth, The Guardian, The Nation, and TalkPoverty.

Marc Normandin

Pittsburgh Pirates owner Bob Nutting speaks during the 2024 Pirates Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony before the game between the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Cincinnati Reds at PNC Park on August 24, 2024 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He is kind of shrugging and looks like he is wearing a disguise somehow.

Cincinnati Reds v Pittsburgh Pirates

Are The Pittsburgh Pirates Really In Dire Straits?

Elon Musk chats with US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick as they walk with White House Communications Director Steven Cheung and White House deputy chief of staff for policy and US homeland security advisor Stephen Miller on the south lawn of the White House. Everyone absolutely looks like shit.

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Politics

Kingdom Of The Biters

A master swordsman named Bernard Ganter uses a saber to open an enormous bottle of Moet & Chandon at a celebration in Denver, Co.

The Fellowship Of The Champagne Saber

Woody Johnson (center) and his sons attend the Super Bowl LVIII Pregame at Allegiant Stadium on February 11, 2024 in Las Vegas.

Super Bowl LVIII Pregame

Report: New York Jets Plagued By Woody Johnson’s Meddlesome Teen Sons

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Ray Ratto

Las Vegas Raiders owner and managing general partner and Las Vegas Aces owner Mark Davis (L) and Tom Brady attend Game One of the 2023 WNBA Playoffs finals between the Aces and the New York Liberty. Brady looks kind of gaunt and pointy; Davis looks like Mark Davis.

2023 WNBA Finals – Game One

As Owner Or Broadcaster, All Tom Brady Has To Do Is Show Up

Gourmet specialty donuts are being displayed at a shop in Unionville, Ontario, Canada, on June 03, 2023.

Daily Life In Unionville

100 Foods To Throw In The Garbage, With Megan Greenwell

A guest wears new Apple Vision Pro outside Bora Aksu during London Fashion Week February 2024 on February 16, 2024 in London, England.

Street Style – LFW February 2024

The Future Doesn’t Work, With Ed Zitron

Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman, seen doing a kind of triumphant here-I-am gesture at the opening of The Sphere in September of 2023.

Sphere Opening Night

Las Vegas Mayor To John Fisher: Maybe Try Staying In Oakland

Investor Bill Ackman, wearing one of those goofy headsets you can rent that play the radio broadcast, watches Emma Radacanu play at the 2021 U.S. Open in Queens, NY.

2021 US Open – Day 11

Hiding And Seeking With The New York Times

Rob Mains is a writer at Baseball Prospectus.

Rob Mains

Baltimore Orioles co-owner John Angelos seen looking into space at the press conference introducing Mike Elias as the team's GM back in 2018.

Baltimore Orioles Introduce Mike Elias – News Conference

John Angelos Speaks, Or Count The Number Of Things Wrong With This Paragraph

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Patrick Redford

David Zaslav, President and CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery, attends the Los Angeles premiere of Warner Bros. "The Flash" at Ovation Hollywood on June 12, 2023 in Hollywood, California.

Los Angeles Premiere Of Warner Bros. “The Flash” – Arrivals

Media Meltdowns

GQ Rolled Over And Showed Its Belly To David Zaslav

Reliever Jeff Brigham leaves the mound after hitting two straight batters to plate the winning run in a Mets loss against the Phillies.

New York Mets v Philadelphia Phillies

Good Teams Make Their Players Better

Cincinnati Reds CEO Bob Castellini and disgraced Reds legend Pete Rose yuk it up at an event honoring Rose's hit record, in 2010.

Pittsburgh Pirates v Cincinnati Reds

What The 2023 Forbes Data Tell Us About The Business Of Baseball

Silicon Valley entrepreneur Marc Andreessen onstage at the TechCrunch Disrupt festival in 2016.

TechCrunch Disrupt SF 2016 – Day 2

The Limits Of The Billionaire Imagination Are Everyone’s Problem

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Kelsey McKinney

Edited in Prisma app with Mononoke

Zillowing Out

An $18 Million Home Where We Can Hear Every Sound

Hugh Freeze runs off the field, accompanied by Mississippi State Troopers, after a home win against Georgia Southern in 2016.

Georgia Southern v Mississippi

College Football

Hugh Freeze Never Really Left

Twitter CEO Elon Musk carries a sink into Twitter headquarters as part of a typically epic jape.

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Capital

Everything Is Silicon Valley Now

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Arts And Culture

Is Everything Really Grayer Than It Used To Be?

Juan Soto of the Washington Nationals, seen here pointing up.

Washington Nationals v Arizona Diamondbacks

What Sort Of Person Wants To Own A Baseball Team Without Juan Soto On It?

A $32 Million Home Where We Can Befriend Some Rays

Michigan quarterback John Navarre, seen here getting ready to do something dull.

John Navarre calls a play

The Bigger Big Ten And The Soul Of A Michigan Man, With Ben Mathis-Lilley

Cristiano Ronaldo looking pensive in a Manchester United game, in May of 2022.

Brighton & Hove Albion v Manchester United – Premier League

Soccer

Cristiano Ronaldo And Kevin Durant Can Choose To Leave, But Not What Comes Next

Phil Mickelson tees off on the third (and final) day of the inaugural LIV Golf event.

LIV Golf Invitational – London – Day Three

Golf

The Saudi Golf League’s Big Bet Is On Gravity

Rich People Things