Ben Lindbergh

The postseason’s inherent randomness hasn’t changed, but the strength of the teams at the top of the field has. Welcome to baseball’s parity playoffs, which are even more of a crapshoot than usual.

MLB’s all-time hits leader died Monday at age 83. His legacy is defined more by the hits his reputation took outside the batter’s box.

Team Black strikes back in a dragon-heavy penultimate episode. Where does the hierarchy of characters stand before the finale?

Rarely has a team been as terrible as these Chicago White Sox. And rarely has a terrible team attracted this much interest on the trade market. How did the Sox get so bad? And how did they come to hold the keys to the deadline?

‘The Acolyte’ extended a ‘Star Wars’ streaming slump. But Disney’s dozen years of ownership have been pretty productive … from a certain point of view.

The Case for Widening the MLB Foul Lines

‘Game of Thrones’ reminded us that all men must die; ‘House of the Dragon’ is teaching us that many dragons must die, too. But we don’t have to like it.

Studios are relying on franchises to bolster their bottom lines. But eventually, that strategy has diminishing returns.

Return of the recommendations! The Ringer-Verse and House of R crews wrap up a packed June with the latest installment of their monthly shout-outs to fandom favorites from TV, anime, movies, video games, books, comics, and beyond that were released recently but not yet covered in-depth on a full-length episode. Host: Ben LindberghGuests: Charles Holmes, Joanna Robinson, Van Lathan, Jomi Adeniran, Arjuna Ramgopal, Steve Ahlman, Jonathan Kermah, and Zach KramSenior Producer: Steve AhlmanAdditional…

If I’d filled out a report card for The Acolyte after its first four episodes, the Star Wars prequel’s pacing, set design, dialogue, and character development all would have gotten grades between “needs improvement” and “adequate.” There was only one subject in which the series truly excelled: combat. The fighting was fantastic, if frustratingly brief. I didn’t give out grades. But my previous recaps did offer feedback—and this week, unwittingly, the series took it to heart. Whatever your (nonto…