What does the perfect Indiana Fever game look like? Corner any member of the organization to demand an answer to that question, and they would probably describe something like Tuesday’s 99-89 victory…

Barstool Sports podcaster Ryen Russillo has an urgent message for you: He will be dead in 72 hours unless $12 million is wired to the following bank acc—sorry, my mistake. I just assumed that’s what…

Sisi is a Volvo Ocean 65 racing sailboat. She is fast as hell and built for sickos. She is not a comfortable luxury yacht, I assure you. Sisi is a frightening, angry, 72-foot, 12-ton sea monster.  Sis...

The Protect College Sports Act passed another procedural vote in the Senate yesterday, by a 70-21 margin. It will clear a few more procedural steps this week before going up for a final vote, at…

When I called up my grandfather Irwin Miller last fall, I asked him if he felt his age. “Uh, no, probably 94,” he said, laughing as he shaved off three years. “The body feels 97, the head doesn’t, tha...

Over the weekend, The New York Times published an investigation into DraftKings. The upshot of the investigation is that this obviously exploitative and profit-driven company exploits its customers…

It takes an open mind to engage with China Miéville’s work. A writer for whom the already cliched phrase “genre-bending” is even more banal, Miéville has never opposed the designation of genre writer....

There are few scenarios for a struggling and injury-riddled defense more nightmarish than the one the Detroit Lions’ unit had to face on Thursday night. Just four days after suffering through a 31-30…

Rory Dames—the women’s soccer coach currently banned for life from the NWSL, and who has been accused of abuse by more than a dozen former youth players—is no longer listed in the U.S. Center for Safe...

This week, five sports leagues (MLB, NBA, NFL, NHL, and MLS) and their associated players’ unions sent letters to gambling regulators in 35 states requesting that something be done to curtail the…

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Fair warning: This is a short blog post in which you are going to encounter exhausting behavior from some fellas who will leave you pining for the restoration of our culture’s sense of shame. Texas be...

College football fans who tuned into ESPN’s College GameDay this Saturday were forced to encounter the alarming visage of Texas Senator Ted Cruz. To make matter worse, he monopolized nearly 10…

Name an iconic scene from the first Spider-Man movie, the one directed by Sam Raimi that came out in 2002. You’re saying it’s the upside-down kiss? Yeah, that’s fair. Let me ask my question in a…

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 science fiction author William Gibson’s pithy observation that “the future is already here—it’s just not very evenly distributed” has had different shades of meaning since it was first…

The 35-page report released on Wednesday by the law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, which contains a great deal of evidence that Kawhi Leonard and the Los Angeles Clippers circumvented the NBA’s…

Tom Dundon and the Portland City Council remain in a standoff. In early August, the city approved a $120 million expenditure of public money for renovations of the Blazers’ longtime home arena,…

It did not take a lot of special insight to suspect that recently installed CBS News boss Bari Weiss played some role in the production of a story the outlet ran on Monday, headlined “Michigan…

On Friday, the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals issued a 3-0 ruling against Kalshi, a ruling that in theory gives states the power to regulate the “prediction market” platform. However strong that…

Two things are true about me: I hate rich people and I love architecture. These days, that presents a terrible contradiction because only the extremely rich are able to finance the perpetuation of…

If in the future my daughter develops some kind of Pavlovian response to the musical stylings of Pat McAfee, I’ll blame the editors who “assigned” this review. But this outcome is unlikely. I almost…

A not-insignificant part of my job is fielding phone calls from freelance writers who have questions. The questions can vary—Have you heard of any job openings? Are you interested in this pitch? An ed...

I sat on the aisle at a movie the other day.

Gaze into the eyes of Comrade Redlegs, and let the truth of the situation wash over you: It’s Reds Week. That’s right. You may have survived Senators Week, Rays Week, Wings Week, and Bills Week—but do...

It feels like the World Cup just ended, and yet somehow, some way, the Premier League is already back. England’s top flight kicks off on Friday with defending champi—oops, I mean attacking champion;…

Olivia Miles made her first bucket of Wednesday night’s game against the Golden State Valkyries early in the first quarter. It was a pull-up jumper from the left elbow, and the broadcast camera…

The QB used an LLC to shield his identity.

Some people are fans of the Atlanta Falcons. But many, many more people are NOT fans of the Atlanta Falcons. This 2026 Defector NFL team preview is for those in the latter group. Read all the…

The notice from Don Nelson’s family announcing his death on Sunday at the age of 86 said he “peacefully went to be with the Lord, surrounded by his loving family.” This immediately convinces us that…

The San Francisco Giants don’t get to announce anything fun these days, but it would be too cheap even by the prevailing clearance-sale standards to lump the latest bit of ill news relating to the tea...

Welcome back to Minor Dilemmas, where a member of Defector’s Parents Council will answer your questions on surviving family life. Have a question? Email us at minordilemmas@defector.com. This week,…

A lot of people in and around the WNBA are talking about trans women. In the aftermath of Indiana Fever role player Sophie Cunningham’s negative comments about trans people playing sports in an ESPN…

DETROIT — It’s 2:00 p.m. on a Tuesday, just one week from election day, and Abdul El-Sayed’s Detroit office is standing room only. The front and back of the room are packed with volunteers eager to he...

Some people are fans of the New Orleans Saints. But many, many more people are NOT fans of the New Orleans Saints. This 2026 Defector NFL team preview is for those in the latter group. Read all the…

I started reading Valley of the Dolls for the first time the other night. It opens in 1945, with Anne Wells landing in New York and securing a job as a secretary at Henry Bellamy’s theatrical agency.…

Major League Baseball’s upcoming CBA negotiations have generally been framed around the question of the salary cap. Owners want it. Players don’t. The rest of it—Juan Soto makes $50 million a year, a…

On Tuesday night, a small group of weirdos held an anti-trans rally outside of the Seattle Storm’s home arena. The occasion for their gathering was a game against the Indiana Fever and bench player…

The recently concluded World Cup was the shining example of FIFA president Gianni Infantino’s particular brand of evil. It was nakedly greedy, nakedly corrupt, nakedly ugly, and also totally awesome.…

Listen to enough sports podcasts, and eventually you will hear someone spit the name of every podcaster’s greatest enemy: The aggregators. Oh, how the fellas who talk about sports into a mic for a…

Secretary of State Marco Rubio convened representatives from 66 different nations on July 16 for a “ministerial meeting” on the resurgence of “political terrorism.” The White House described the…