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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

Annie Berke

Arts And Culture

The Sports Idiot Is Dead, Long Live The Sports Idiot

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

‘Off Campus’ Can’t Sell The Hockey Player Fantasy

Barry Petchesky

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA - JUNE 06: A general view of the San Francisco Giants playing agains the Atlanta Braves at Oracle Park on June 06, 2025 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

Netflix Is Loading Up The Clown Car For Opening Night

Defector Staff

Thomas A. Edison (1847-1931) experimenting with the first motion picture machine. B/W photo,1905.

Year In Review

The Best Things We Saw In 2025

Albert Burneko

The actor David Soul holding a wooden cross and yelling "Bill!"

Bills Week

Bill!

Eva Holland is a freelance writer and editor based in Whitehorse, Yukon. She&#8217;s a correspondent for Outside magazine and the author of the books Nerve and <a href="https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/no-sleep-til-fairbanks#/">No Sleep &#8216;Til Fairbanks</a>.

Eva Holland

‘North Of North’ Is An Arctic Comedy That Will Warm Your Heart

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - DECEMBER 31: Tyler Bertuzzi #59 of the Chicago Blackhawks and Ryan Suter #22 of the St. Louis Blues look to the puck during the third period of the Discover NHL Winter Classic between the St. Louis Blues and the Chicago Blackhawks at Wrigley Field on December 31, 2024 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Brian Babineau/NHLI via Getty Images)

The NHL Has Given Up On New Year’s Day

Screengrab of TBS showing a bad score bug that makes it look like there's always a runner on second.

TBS’s Score Bug Is Dreadful

John Loeppky is a freelance writer and theatre artist currently based in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. His work has appeared for outlets such as FiveThirtyEight, CBC, and Maclean’s.

John Loeppky

Paris , France - 26 August 2024; A general view of the Agito logo on the Arc de Triomphe in advance of the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris, France. (Photo By Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile via Getty Images)

Parasports

Why Aren’t Paralympic Broadcasters Better?

Patrick Redford

LAKE BUENA VISTA, FLORIDA - OCTOBER 04: NBA Commissioner Adam Silver is interviewed before Game Three of the 2020 NBA Finals between the Miami Heat and the Los Angeles Lakers at AdventHealth Arena at ESPN Wide World Of Sports Complex on October 04, 2020 in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

The NBA’s Landmark TV Deal Shows What Matters

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

Funbag

Does Jon Stewart Matter?

The Best Things We Watched In 2023

Jamboroo

A Big Honking TV Is Family

Dave McKenna

Giri Nathan

TOPSHOT - Jumbo-Visma team's Danish rider Jonas Vingegaard wearing the overall leader's yellow jersey (C), Jumbo-Visma team's Belgian rider Wout Van Aert wearing the sprinter's green jersey (C) and Jumbo-Visma team's American rider Sepp Kuss (R) celebrate with champagne as they cycle during the 21st and final stage of the 109th edition of the Tour de France cycling race, 115,6 km between La Defense Arena in Nanterre, outside Paris, and the Champs-Elysees in Paris, France, on July 24, 2022. (Photo by Thomas SAMSON / various sources / AFP) (Photo by THOMAS SAMSON/AFP via Getty Images)

Cycling

What Can Hardcore Fans And Curious Newbies Learn From ‘Tour de France: Unchained’?

Katharine Trendacosta writes about tech policy, the entertainment industry, pop culture, and where those things intersect. In her day job, she&#8217;s the Associate Director of Policy and Activism for the digital civil liberties nonprofit the Electronic Frontier Foundation. (Her writing here reflects her views alone and not those of EFF.) In her spare time, she writes things like this.

A photo of the author, Katharine Trendacosta

Katharine Trendacosta

Actor and writer Daheli Hall, left, joins WGA members as they cheer on the first day of their strike in front of Paramount Studios in Hollywood on May 2, 2023.

Capital

The Writers Are Striking For The Future Of Entertainment

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

Dan McQuade

Amin Khalifa, in a room packed with Philly sports memorabilia, holds up a sign with the Kelce brothers that says SORRY BRO. EAGLES GOT THIS.

Life's Rich Pageant

Philly’s Sign Guy Might Be The Least Thirsty Superfan

The Best Things We Watched In 2022

David Roth

A cosplayer dressed as Dude Vader outside the San Diego Comic Con.