Samer Kalaf

United States

Managing Editor and Co-Founder at Defector

🇵🇸 Managing editor/co-founder @defectormedia | [email protected]

Featured in: Favicon

defector.com Favicon

washingtonpost.com Favicon

slate.com

thedailybeast.com Favicon

bleacherreport.com Favicon

deadspin.com Favicon

jezebel.com Favicon

palmbeachpost.com Favicon

newrepublic.com Favicon

cjr.org + 6 more

Articles

Bill Belichick's Shit Isn't Flying Anymore

1 week ago | defector.com | Samer Kalaf

Because of the widely negative reaction to Bill Belichick's tense and awkward interview on CBS Sunday Morning, he and Jordon Hudson, his girlfriend and managerial-type figure, have attempted to take back control of the narrative. The strategy so far: more open contempt. Let's see how this goes for them.
The Nationals Know What Goes Great Together: Dogs And Fireworks

2 weeks ago | defector.com | Samer Kalaf

Bark at the Park is always a fun promotion. While a dog might not fully appreciate the crack of the bat, the pop of the mitt or James Wood's opposite-field power, they can perhaps enjoy a day outside and a little piece of sausage that fell on the ground. And if there's anything a dog loves more than floor food, it's a barrage of extremely loud, booming noises. The Washington Nationals were happy to accommodate. Fireworks Night is another fun promotion.
Jeff Ulbrich's Dreadful Son Was Behind The Shedeur Sanders Prank Call

2 weeks ago | defector.com | Samer Kalaf

It was a bad weekend for football coaches' zoomer sons. During the early stages of Shedeur Sanders's unexpectedly protracted draft experience, he was faked out by a phone call on Friday from someone pretending to be New Orleans Saints general manager Mickey Loomis. "We're going to take you with our next pick right here, man," the caller said. "But you're going to have to wait a little bit longer, man.
Bill Belichick Brings His Trademark Charm To Excruciating CBS Interview

2 weeks ago | defector.com | Samer Kalaf

Former New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick isn't one for non-mandatory media appearances, but those with a book to sell don't really have a choice. The North Carolina football coach sat down with Tony Dokoupil for a CBS Sunday Morning conversation that started out as routine and then turned agonizing when the interviewer began to ask questions that might actually interest the public. You can sense when the temperature in the room drops.
Aaron Gordon Bails Out Nuggets With Buzzer-Beating Dunk

2 weeks ago | defector.com | Samer Kalaf

Nikola Jokic knew his shot wasn't going in. After the conclusion of Game 4 on Saturday, he shared his thoughts while the ball traveled through the air: "This is gonna be bad." He was correct. But out of nowhere, his teammate Aaron Gordon arrived to turn an airball into a buzzer-beating dunk, allowing the Denver Nuggets to escape with a 101-99 win that guaranteed at least two more games in an incredible series against the Los Angeles Clippers.
Shedeur Sanders's Weekend Of Humiliation Ends With Him Going To The Browns

2 weeks ago | defector.com | Samer Kalaf

Hours before the NFL Draft began on Thursday, Shedeur Sanders expressed his readiness. "I’m built for whatever today may bring," the quarterback prospect tweeted. After the first round ended without a team picking Sanders, the gag wrote itself: What about tomorrow? When nobody selected him in the second or third rounds on Friday, and a prank caller interrupted his live-streamed draft party to deliver false hope, it all became a bit sad. In one word, Shedeur Sanders's draft experience was mortifying.
Seal Up The Pit That Contains Fox Sports 1

2 weeks ago | defector.com | Samer Kalaf

Even by the standards of Fox Corp, Fox Sports 1 seems like a pretty sinister place for an employee. Over the past few months, enough lawsuits, complaints, and allegations have emerged to suggest that the workplace environment is so rotten and sinister that it might be best to raze it and start over. The big story this week is former FS1 and for-now ESPN talking head Shannon Sharpe, who is being accused of rape in a lawsuit filed by a Nevada woman.
Ms. Rachel Is Hamas Now

1 month ago | defector.com | Samer Kalaf

When we previously checked in with Liora Rez, who runs the nuisance group StopAntisemitism, she was trying to get some flight attendants fired over a Palestinian flag pin. Between then and now, she has doubtless complained about many inanimate objects associated with Palestine, but this week she is pleading with the government to take down what she sees as a clear and present threat to national security: Ms. Rachel, the lady who sings songs for children on YouTube.
Local Man Has Far More Opinions On Fast Casual Dining Chains Than You'd Think Possible

1 month ago | defector.com | Samer Kalaf

The sports media industry is an aviary filled with odd birds, especially when it comes to food. Al Michaels claims he's never had a vegetable in his life. Mel Kiper supposedly eats a slice of pumpkin pie each morning, and prefers pizza with mashed potatoes in lieu of cheese. At this point, Skip Bayless is more chicken and broccoli than man.
Mahmoud Khalil Is The Target Of A Desperate Agenda

2 months ago | defector.com | Samer Kalaf

Campus safety is a priority for a lot of people who haven't actually stepped foot on a campus in decades, or possibly ever. Is a campus actually safer after police are permitted to toss around protestors and arrest students? Of course not. But by finding the right face and name to agitate enough racists, it can be presented as a severe issue. Any breach of rights can be justified in service of that goal. In that way, what has happened to Mahmoud Khalil is an expansion of a long-existing logic.