If you listen to a certain subset of the media—not necessarily the sports media—the state of the WNBA is dire. A generational talent is being squandered. Weak leadership has failed a league on the cus...

This past weekend, Ed Sheeran performed his first concert since decrepit Patriots owner Robert Kraft stuck his hand up the singer’s ass and made him respect Israel. The culturally Irish but politicall...

For a brief period two decades ago, Miami was an amazing place to be a fan of women’s professional basketball. The team had a roster full of promise and reached the playoffs in their second season of ...

For a brief period two decades ago, Miami was an amazing place to be a fan of women’s professional basketball. The team had a roster full of promise and reached the playoffs in their second season of ...

It’s being shouted from all corners: The U.S. Open has become an overcrowded, overpriced circus awash in influencers, aspirational influencers, corporate stooges, drunken buffoons, brand activations, ...

The quality of the average tennis broadcast has skyrocketed in recent years. Analysts assume far more curiosity and intelligence on the viewer’s part than I can ever remember, and they’re no longer li...

As the media has covered the NBA’s severe punishment of Steve Ballmer and the Los Angeles Clippers as a result of the Kawhi Leonard investigation, a common idiom has emerged: League commissioner Adam ...

Some people are fans of the Los Angeles Chargers. But many, many more people are NOT fans of the Los Angeles Chargers. This 2026 Defector NFL team preview is for those in the latter group. Read all th...

On the cover of Slam magazine’s October 1998 issue, Chamique Holdsclaw wore a New York Knicks jersey, NBA basketball in hand. Right next to the forward from Queens was a sneaky inversion of the more…

As we approach the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, it has created an opportunity to reflect on what’s happened in the quarter-century since that fateful day, but more importantly, it has created...

After inflaming a culture war and causing her teammates and colleagues to be bombarded with hypothetical questions for weeks due to her transphobic comments published in a national media outlet, Sophi...

As LaMelo Ball gets settled in with the Minnesota Timberwolves, a clip of what appears to be his Charlotte residence has been circulating, due to the interior design choices therein. When I asked the ...

Take capelin, a small silvery fish in the smelt family. Now add salt. Then throw those two ingredients in 110 vats, each of them about 10 feet tall, and let them sit in a defunct factory for over two ...

Covering WNBA games in person is a strange experience. Enriching, for sure: It’s cool to hear directly from players and coaches, to be able to pepper them with whatever questions I’d like. Recently,…

Money can’t buy happiness, and it seems money plus an NBA title doesn’t necessarily buy charisma. The New York Knicks held their championship parade and rally in Manhattan on Thursday, and although no...

Ryan Fournier, the co-founder and chairman of the group Students for Trump, was arrested early Tuesday morning in Washington, D.C., after he allegedly assaulted and threatened a woman, according to do...

Ryan Fournier, the co-founder and chairman of the group Students for Trump, was arrested early Tuesday morning in Washington, D.C., after he allegedly assaulted and threatened a woman, according to do...

The Oklahoma City Thunder are the defending champions, with a talented roster that should set them up for years of success, so it makes sense that they’d have their share of detractors. A team at the ...

Jason Collins, the first openly gay player in the NBA, has died of brain cancer, his family announced on Tuesday. He was 47. Last year, Collins was diagnosed with a brain tumor and later revealed that...

A message of support for my fellow writers

As Bryce Harper rounded the bases on his game-tying two-run homer in the eighth inning of Tuesday night’s World Baseball Classic final, he exchanged a salute with his commanding officer, third base co...

Most “women’s sports novels” are really novels about girls. In them, girlhood is something mourned before it’s over. Like the games themselves, the books are set to ticking clocks. When the high schoo...

A tenant in a Brooklyn building owned by Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo has not had heat in his apartment since Feb. 23, when a blizzard dropped over 19 inches of snow on New York City. Be...

A couple months ago, some friends and I made plans to see the San Antonio Spurs when they were in town to play the Brooklyn Nets. Obviously, we weren’t going for the opportunity to see the Nets’ youth...

When I first heard rumblings that the world had assembled a conclave to elect a new celebrity zoo animal, I felt preemptively wary, partly due to world events and partly because we still don’t know th...

For Cherien Dabis, it all comes back to 1948. Her latest film All That’s Left of You takes place primarily across three different decades, with a brief visit to a fourth at the end, but for her, this ...

As Cardte Hicks leapt toward the hoop, the audience at the Albuquerque Civic Auditorium suddenly hushed. These were the final minutes of the Women’s Professional Basketball League’s All-Star Game on F...

Today is Dan McQuade’s funeral. To celebrate our friend, we wanted to give the people he worked with a place to explain what they loved so much about him. If you would like to support Dan’s widow Jan,...

Dan McQuade, our friend and colleague, died this week at the age of 43. He is survived by his wife and young son. At the end of 2024, Dan was diagnosed with neuroendocrine cancer. The news of his diag...

Dan McQuade, our friend and colleague, died this week at the age of 43. He is survived by his wife and young son. At the end of 2024, Dan was diagnosed with neuroendocrine cancer. The news of his…

After a 30-6 playoff win over the Pittsburgh Steelers, Houston Texans linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair appeared in an ESPN postgame interview and drew national attention for the message written on his eye b...