Pipes Feed Preview: Defector

  1. The Colts Are Holding A Fire Sale, And You’re Invited!

    Wed, 28 Oct 2026 14:29:44 -0000

    <p class="wp-block-paragraph">The NFL trade deadline is two weeks from now, but Indianapolis Colts owner Carlie Irsay-Gordon has no interest in waiting that long to blow up her team. At some point during her team’s loss in Minnesota on Sunday, Irsay-Gordon probably wrote “Fuck this” into her notebook, and WHOA HEY. There goes longtime general manager Chris Ballard out the door, followed shortly thereafter by perennial All-Pro guard Quenton Nelson (to Seattle for a 2027 third-rounder and 2028 fifth-rounder), followed immediately by DT DeForest Buckner (to San Francisco for a 2027 fourth-round pick). Suddenly we got ourselves a big ol’ trade party! Which other Colts will get uprooted, and will other middling franchises will now commence fire sales of their own? Folks, Arif and I revel in all of those possibilities on this week’s episode of <em>All Ball.</em></p> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-wp-embed is-provider-art-19 wp-block-embed-art-19"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://art19.com/shows/the-distraction/episodes/d2c042fd-ed58-4bf5-8afe-8cad45944dae </div></figure> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">Of course, there’s plenty more to talk about. Arif and I lead off the podcast with a story about Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed giving our podcast an 11th-hour stiffarm. From there, we segue into talking about the undefeated Vikings, who don’t even respect themselves at this point. We also try to sort out why the Houston Texans’ seemingly all-world defense has fallen off a cliff, we speculate on a potentially lingering cold war between Ravens QB Lamar Jackson and his team’s upper management, and we preview a fairly attractive Week 8 slate. As always, there is ZERO talk of gambling, fantasy football, or any of that other tedious bullshit. This is <em>All Ball</em>, where we only care about the good stuff.</p>
  2. Marissa Mayer Is A True Idiot

    Tue, 27 Oct 2026 19:18:02 -0000

    <p class="wp-block-paragraph"><em>Time for your weekly edition of the Defector Funbag. Got something on your mind?</em> <a href="mailto:funbag@defector.com"><em>Email the Funbag</em></a><em>. You can also read Drew over at</em> <a href="https://www.sfgate.com/author/drew-magary/"><em>SFGATE</em></a><em>, and</em> <a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/authors/232152/drew-magary/"><em>buy Drew’s books</em></a> <em>while</em> <a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B087HC32K2/ref=nav_timeline_asin?_encoding=UTF8&#38;psc=1"><em>you’re at it</em></a><em>. Today, we're talking about sex, tiny shrimp, doinks, and more.</em></p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">Before we get to today’s proceedings, let's all give a warm round of applesauce to Lauren Theisen for <a href="https://defector.com/whats-your-lamest-daydream">guest-hosting this column last week</a> so that I had more time to work on a big feature that I still have yet to finish. Cheers to Lo, jeers to yours truly.</p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">Also, I've yet to plug our new NFL podcast in the Funbag, so let me correct that right now. Arif Hasan and I have <a href="https://defector.com/tag/all-ball">a new podcast</a> called <em>All Ball</em>! It's all about NFL football, with no gambling or fantasy shit getting in the way! So email us all of your serious NFL questions <a href="mailto:allball@defector.com">right here</a>, and get in on that shit. Got it? Nice. Let's get down to business then.</p>