• Politics

The Cruel Congressional Campaign of Duncan Hunter Comes From a Familiar Playbook

The Trump supporter and incumbent California politician is embroiled in a scandal while waging a racist fight for re-election against Democrat Ammar Campa-Najjar. Hanging in the balance: the fate of Congress.

• Movies

The ‘Halloween’ Exit Survey

Talking bogeymen, body counts, and certainly one of the most incompetent local police departments in the country

• MLB

Why the Red Sox Should Play Mookie Betts, Who Is a Right Fielder, at Second Base

With two or three games in Los Angeles under National League rules looming, Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora has a big decision to make ahead of the World Series. His second-best player, J.D. Martinez, is a designated hitter. How to reshuffle the lineup? He’d be wise to be bold.

• Fights

Dick Slater and the Death of the Old School

With the passing of another territorial-era star, we bid farewell to wrestling’s gritty past

• NBA

Spit Takes: There Were No Winners in the Lakers-Rockets Spat

Suspensions were handed out to Brandon Ingram, Rajon Rondo, and Chris Paul for their roles in Saturday’s ruckus at Staples Center. The penalties were modest, but their absences could do more damage than it seems.

How Frat Rap Became the Biggest Business—and the Biggest Diss—in Hip-Hop

From Post Malone to Lil Dicky, a bro wave has crashed the shores of rap. But not every white rapper is comfortable with the idea. And maybe it needs to go altogether.

• Movies

‘Halloween’ Is a Rare Spotlight for Judy Greer

Not even Michael Myers saw this coming

• NFL

All the Terrible Ways That Teams Lost in Week 7

From a missed extra point to a short Hail Mary to a five-point scorigami, Sunday’s losers found new ways to rip defeat from the jaws of (possible) victory

• MLB

A Defense of Craig Kimbrel’s Ninth-Inning Drama, the Best Part of the 2018 Playoffs

We don’t want to root for players to fail, but the World Series would be a lot more entertaining if the Boston closer were to continue his own high-wire act—and an ignominious postseason tradition

• Movies

The Slasher Film Is Not Dead

The massive opening weekend for ‘Halloween’ is big news for a horror subgenre that’s been dormant for years

• NFL

Benching Blake Bortles Won’t Save the Struggling Jaguars

Jacksonville has accepted that it has a quarterback problem, but doesn’t seem to have any solutions

• NBA

Big Spittle Lies: LeBron’s Lakers Home Debut Turns Into a Fight

Chris Paul, Rajon Rondo, and Brandon Ingram all got tossed in Rockets-Lakers clash that featured clotheslines, spitting, and post-game incidents

• College Football

It’s Not Officially College Football Season Until Ohio State Gets Wrecked by Purdue

The Boilermakers just demolished the Buckeyes in prime time. Welcome to the gloriously chaotic part of the sport’s calendar.

• 2018 MLB Playoffs

The Bat-Flipping, Crotch-Chopping Dodgers Finally Realized They’re Better Than Everyone Else

After a season and a series of fits and starts, the most talented team in the National League played like it, and now they’re going back to the World Series

• 2018 MLB Playoffs

The Brewers Don’t Have to Be a Superteam to Act Like One Again Next Year

Craig Counsell’s squad shocked the baseball world by making it within one game of a World Series berth. Don’t be surprised if they do what’s necessary to return to this point in 2019.

• NBA

Can LeBron’s Lakers Become Showtime 2.0 If They Can’t Shoot?

James’s next chapter started fast and furious, just as he and Magic planned. But a lack of 3-point threats caught up to L.A. in a season-opening loss in Portland.

• Music

Greta Van Fleet Just Want to Impress Their Parents

It used to be that the chief goal of rock ’n’ roll was to piss off mom and dad. Now its greatest purpose is to pay them homage.

• TV

Chili Con Peeps: The Worst Person of the Week on ‘The Good Place’

Faced with apparently irreversible doom, one usually stable member of the Brainy Bunch suffers a debilitating (and shirtless) existential crisis

• NFL

Sacksonville No More?—Why the Jaguars Haven’t Been Themselves in 2018

The team is 3-3, and the defense hasn’t been the historic force it was last season. But there’s still hope for Jacksonville to reclaim the NFL’s defensive throne.

October Amplifies the Worst of Baseball—So Why Are the Games So Good?

The league championship series have produced compelling drama, as well as some warnings of where the sport is going

• NBA

The Thunder’s Role Player Conundrum

OKC played the Warriors tough to open the season, but they still need to find another reliable contributor on offense to have the balance to compete with the best teams in the West

• Soccer

The Premier League Standings Are Lying to You

Sure, there are five big teams within two points of first and three sides tied atop the table. But once you look beyond the results, one thing becomes especially clear: Manchester City aren’t just the best team, they’re even better than they were last year.

• Movies

Are the Podcasters in ‘Halloween’ Good at Podcasting?

Of course Michael Myers is the subject of a true-crime podcast in the latest sequel of the classic horror. The "investigative journalists" making that podcast, though, may not be very good at their jobs.