Dan McQuade, Defector Journalist Profile

Articles

For A Good Time And Great Laughs, Try ‘The Pitt’!

1 week ago | defector.com | Dan McQuade

I always intend to take my parents recommendations, but I never seem to get around to them. They’ll tell me to watch a movie, or some TV series, and I really do want to. They have good taste and I like talking to them about this sort of thing. Even the bonnet dramas my mom watches tend to be pretty entertaining. They recommended Jury Duty, and that became one of our favorite shows in a long while. But my wife and I have a 16-month old child.
That’s Too Many Baseball Cards!

2 weeks ago | defector.com | Dan McQuade

Spring training was already in full swing when Jason texted me. We mostly talk Phillies, and I figured he wanted to discuss which players would be disappointing us this season. Instead he had a question about baseball cards. He showed me two Topps cards, for the Angels’ Niko Kavadas and the Astros’ Jeremy Peña, from the 2025 set. Each card sparkled in an uncanny way. Kavadas’s card had a reflective blue border, and Peña’s entire card glittered silver.
Philly Fan Hecklers Thwarted By Doors

3 weeks ago | defector.com | Dan McQuade

My Uncle Dave was at the game with his friend Donald. The Phillies were losing. Dave and Donald were walking around a lower-level concourse in the Veterans Stadium outfield. Bullpens at the Vet were behind the outfield wall in left and right. Fans were pretty high up, but they could lean over from the walkway above and get an overhead view of warmup tosses. Or do other things.
Eliminate The Possession Arrow

3 weeks ago | defector.com | Dan McQuade

Michigan State was going to lose, but 6-foot-5 Coen Carr was still hustling. He rushed through the lane, passing three Auburn players to fight for a rebound. Auburn’s Miles Kelly slapped the ball out of his hands, and the two ended up on the ground fighting for it. Eventually, Kelly and MSU’s Jase Richardson had dual possession. The referees signaled for a jump ball. Because this was college basketball, that did not lead to an actual jump ball.
Oh, No! They Made A Likable Duke Basketball Team

3 weeks ago | defector.com | Dan McQuade

Cooper Flagg got the ball at his own free-throw line with 4.6 seconds left. He looked up at the clock and sped down the court. Arizona was out of sorts in transition defense, and Flagg stopped behind the three-point line with a ton of space around him. He beat the buzzer easily. He’d hit a three on the previous possession, too.
One Last Trip To Philadelphia’s Department Store Of Dreams

1 month ago | defector.com | Dan McQuade

My son was on a mission. Simon has been walking since December, and he’s getting more confident each day. He’d spotted something, and was scooting down the aisle as fast as he could towards it. He wanted to play in the clothing racks. They were empty. The store was full of people, but all that remained was plus-size women’s clothing priced at 3-for-$5. Even most of the mannequins had been purchased; rental trucks idled outside as buyers loaded them up with fixtures from the store.
All You Have To Do Is Hold On

1 month ago | defector.com | Dan McQuade

Del Jones drove into the lane and picked up his dribble. He was quickly surrounded by three McNeese State defenders, but moved the ball around his body, spun toward the basket, and threw up a layup. It bounced around before falling through. With that, the fifth-seeded Clemson Tigers trailed 12th-seeded McNeese State by four. It was halfway through the first half, and the Tigers would be trailing by a lot more by the time they hit another shot.
The Tale Of The Early-Round KO Of Muhammad Ali’s Champburger

1 month ago | defector.com | Dan McQuade

It was Dec. 16, 1968, and Muhammad Ali was headed to jail. Ali had been pulled over the previous year and subsequently convicted of driving without a license. He paid his $270 fine, but skipped out on the 10-day jail sentence until then. He didn’t seem too upset about it. “Going to jail may be good for me,” Ali told the press before entering prison. “I’ve never suffered. I’ve never been confined or experienced the loneliness and suffering of some of my fellow blacks.
Eagles Win Loan Of Manet Painting In Super Bowl Bet, Which Is What This Thing Was About All Along

2 months ago | defector.com | Dan McQuade

The Philadelphia Eagles’ Super Bowl parade ends at the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. In a few months, that museum will receive its own prize from the Eagles’ win—an Édouard Manet painting, won on loan from Kansas City’s Nelson-Atkins Museum in a Super Bowl bet. This is the second time the museums have wagered on the Super Bowl; two years ago in April KC’s museum got Thomas Eakins’s 1875 oil painting Sailing from the Philadelphia Museum of Art. It was on display for about two months.
I Want To Go To The Wet, Empty Alley Where Kevin Burkhardt And Tom Brady Called Last Night’s Game

2 months ago | defector.com | Dan McQuade

Last night Fox Sports unveiled a new graphics package, as companies tend to do for the Super Bowl, and I pretty much liked it. The main thing to notice was the score box—minimalist, clean, not too distracting. Sports broadcasts tend to clutter up the screen, and this was a nice change in my opinion. It did clash with the maximalist Super Bowl graphics, but I will be happy if that’s the route Fox is going with next season. I will admit that it is at least a little bit sad that I care about this.