Pipes Feed Preview: Defector

  1. The Gift Of Forgetting

    Wed, 09 Sep 2026 18:56:24 -0000

    <p><em>Drew Magary’s Thursday Afternoon NFL Dick Joke Jamboroo runs every Thursday at Defector during the NFL season (except when the season starts on a Wednesday; kiss my ass, Goodell). Got something you wanna contribute?&#160;</em><a href="mailto:funbag@defector.com"><em>Email the Roo</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>.</em></p> <p>I turn 50 a month from now. Hold your applause. About the only notable thing about hitting 50 is that I will no longer be eligible for a midlife crisis, seeing as how my life will officially be well past its midway point. I can believe in a Singularity-aided immortality all I like, but the facts remain what they are. There’s more behind me than there is ahead of me now, and what’s behind me isn’t always easy to keep track of. It’s getting harder, if I’m being honest.</p> <p>Because there’s a LOT of life to remember when you’re on the cusp of 50. Sometimes I find myself quietly aghast at some of the stats. I’ve been a parent now for 20 years, a stretch of time that defies my comprehension even though I was there for all of it. I’ve been cooking for our household for an even longer period of time, to the point where I can pour out a cup of rice perfectly without even looking at the measuring lines. Ta-fucking-da.</p>
  2. And Now For The Premiere Of ‘All Ball,’ In Which I Am Far Too Nice To The Vile Packers

    Wed, 09 Sep 2026 13:54:38 -0000

    <p>What’s this we have here? Why, it’s the first-ever episode of Defector’s brand-new NFL podcast, <em>All Ball</em>! Every week, the team of myself and <a href="https://wideleft.football/">elite indie blogger Arif Hasan</a> break down every NFL matchup without ANY gambling or fantasy talk. We don’t even cite the Vegas point spreads, even though those lines possess a modicum of analytical value. All Vegas talk is verboten here, in favor of talking pure, hard BALL.</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/6606c675-ab0a-4ea3-8ca3-4f940fd42380 </div></figure> <p>In fact, Arif and I establish this law, plus a few other rules of engagement, early in this first episode. In addition to the whole no-gambling thing, “The Reefer” and I also forbid ourselves from ever detouring into Vikings homerism. As such, we treat Sunday’s Green Bay-Minnesota tilt with a soberness (for us) that, upon further reflection, is a little bit <em>too</em> restrained. Because I fucking hate the Packers, but also because they suck! They have no pass rush without Micah Parsons, no viable cornerbacks, no running backs, no proven wideouts (don’t you even think of trying to make Christian Watson anything more than he is), and no coaches that I respect. That’s not homerism talking. Those are all FACTS you need to hear, and fuck you if you disagree!</p>