B League Picayune
Often in error, never in doubt.
Volume 8, Issue 39 – August 10, 2026
Department of Corrections: Dad gum it, if I may quote Rex Horvath: I missed noting a perfect day at the plate Thursday by Jim Foelker, 3 for 3 in the 10:00 game for Maroon versus Purple. The Picayune regrets the error.
Games of Monday August 10:
10:00 a.m.: Gray (5-7) at Red (5-7):
1 2 3 4 5 BUFFET FINAL Gray 1 2 1 0 1 0 5 Red 5 4 2 0 1 X 12 Pitchers: Gray – Jack Kelly; Red – Trent Peacock. Mercenaries: Gray – Daniel Baladez, George Brindley, and Jack Spellman. Umpires: home – Jack Crosley; bases – Steve Browne. Perfect at the plate: Gray – Clint Fletcher (3 for 3 with a triple) and Jack Spellman (3 for 3 with a double); Red – Tim Coles and Tommy Gillis (both 3 for 3 with a double) and Candy Perez (3 for 3 with a triple).
Dave Berra’s weather report: 85 degrees, feels like 93; humidity 67%; wind from the South at 7 MPH; partly cloudy – summer continues.
Red dominated this game from early on, scoring nine of a possible ten runs over its first two at bats (as many runs in the first inning as Trent Peacock allowed Gray in six) and turning three double plays in the first four innings. It wasn’t quite a rout, but it was a convincing Red victory.
Jim Foelker led off the game with a single, but was erased on a 6u., 6-3 double play turned by Ralph Villela on Paul Rubin’s grounder up the middle. Clint Fletcher followed with a single and scored the game’s first run from first base on Daniel Carvajal’s double, which I recall being to right-center and very well struck.
Fittingly on World Lion Day, Red came roaring out of the gate in the bottom of the first, scoring five runs on Ralph Villela’s lead-off triple, five singles, Johnny Lee‘ sacrifice fly to Clint Fletcher in left-center, and Tommy Gillis’s double.
Gray got two runs back in the top of the second as its first four batters singled, Mike Velaney scoring on George Brindley’s hit, Jack Kelly’s pinch-runner (Clint Fletcher, maybe?) scoring on Daniel Baladez’s sacrifice fly to Anthony Galindo in right-center. The rally was snuffed when Ralph Villela started a 6-5-3 double play on Jim Foelker’s grounder, Ralph throwing to Tim Coles for the force at third, and Tim making a strong cross-diamond throw to put out Jim, whose balky knee is slowing him a bit.
Red then scored four runs on six singles in the bottom of the second, the last three – by Anthony Galindo, Tim Coles, and Johnny Lee – all coming with two out and driving in one run apiece. Red led 9-3 through two.
They won the third inning as well. Gray’s Clint Fletcher tripled with one out in the top half and scored on Daniel Carvajal’s double, but Trent Peacock retired both Jim McAnelly and Jack Kelly on pops to shortstop Ralph Villela that sandwiched Mike Velaney’s single. In the home half, Tommy Gillis led off with a single and Candy Perez followed with a triple to the fence in center, I think it was, Tommy scoring. Candy then scored on Rip Wright’s single to left-center, Red extending its lead to 11-4.
Neither team scored in the fourth. Jack Spellman led off the top half with a single, but was erased on another 6u., 6-3 double play turned by Ralph Villela, this on George Brindley’s grounder up the middle. Gray second baseman Mike Velaney made two outstanding defensive plays in the bottom of the frame. He went back and to his left to run down Anthony Galindo’s pop to short right field leading off the inning. Then, after Tim Coles doubled (completing a 3-for-3 game), Mike made a leaping grab of Johnny Lee’s liner and flipped to Jack Spellman covering second to double up Tim, who’d run on contact, thinking there were already two out. The inning ended on the L-4, 4-6 double play.
Gray’s 1-3 hitters, Jim Foelker, Paul Rubin, and Clint Fletcher, singled to start the fifth inning, Clint completing a 3-for-3 game and driving in Jim. But Trent Peacock retired the next three batters: Daniel Baladez on a liner to third baseman Tim Coles, Jim McAnelly on a pop to shortstop Ralph Villela, and Mike Velaney on a grounder to Ralph, who threw to third for the force there.
Red got that run back with singles by its first three batters – Trent Peacock, Tommy Gillis, and Candy Perez – in the bottom half, Tommy and Candy completing 3-for-3 games. Jack Kelly fielded Rip Wright’s comebacker and threw to third for the first out of the inning. Richard Battle’s single loaded the bases, but Jack retired Marvin Krabbenhoft on a liner to shortstop and Ralph Villela on a fly to Paul Rubin in right-center.
Gray trailed by seven entering the buffet, and went down pretty quietly. Jack Kelly grounded back to Trent Peacock for the first out. After Jack Spellman hit a cheap pop-fly double in back of first base, George Brindley also grounded back to the box. Trent then got Daniel Baladez to swing through a two-strike pitch for the final out.
Final score: Red 12, Gray 5
Tim Coles, Tommy Gillis, and, between them, Red mascot Femicular the Speed Maxxer celebrate Red’s victory, National Hair Loss Awareness Month, and World Lion Day,
11:00 a.m.: Orange (6-6) at Purple (2-10):
1 2 3 4 5 BUFFET FINAL Orange 5 0 1 0 0 3 9 Purple 5 1 0 0 2 2 10 Pitchers: Orange – Tommy Deleon; Purple – Ray Pilgrim. Mercenaries: Orange – Tim Coles and Jim Foelker; Purple – Mark Dolan, Anthony Galindo, and Terry O'Brien. Perfect at the plate: Orange – Tim Coles, Matt Levitt, and Pat Scott (all 3 for 3), Jack Crosley (3 for 3 with a double), and Tom Langa (2 for 2 with a walk); Purple – Rick Kahn (4 for 4 with three doubles) and Jimmy Sneed (3 for 3).
Dave Berra’s weather update: Ditto.
Hard-fought game with a number of fine defensive plays. Both teams scored five times while making just one out in the first, then settled into a pitchers duel. Orange got its five runs on five singles and three walks after Ray Pilgrim retired the first batter of the game, Tommy Deleon, on a fly to Jack McDermott in left-center. Purple matched that with eight singles, Tommy Deleon only able to retire Jack McDermott, on a fly to Don Solberg in left field.
Tim Coles led off the second with a single. Jim Foelker made a bid for a hit through the 5-6 hole, but third baseman Terry O’Brien got a piece of it and deflected it to shortstop Jimmy Sneed, whose strong throw to first beat Jim, Tim taking second on the play. Tommy Deleon singled to right-center and Tim tried for home, but was thrown out 9-6-2, Rick Kahn to Jimmy Sneed to Peter Sundquist, Jimmy making a very strong relay to beat Tim by a full step.
Tommy Deleon got two quick outs on balls on the ground to start the bottom of the second, retiring Anthony Galindo on a grounder to shortstop Jack Spellman (Mark Hernandez made a very good stretching scoop of a throw in the dirt) and Mark Dolan on a grounder to second baseman Tom Langa. Rick Kahn followed with a double and scored on Jimmy Sneed’s single, putting Purple ahead 6-5.
Orange tied the score with a run in the top of the third. Pat Scott singled to open the inning and, after Mark Hernandez flied out to Jack McDermott in left-center, a walk to Don Solberg and a single by Matt Levitt loaded the bases. Jack Crosley singled, driving in Pat with the tying run. With the bases still loaded, Hal Darman grounded a ball down the third base side – Terry O’Brien made a good play to his backhand, stepped on third for the out there, then threw home to double up Don and end the inning.
Neither team scored in the fourth. Orange had two on and none out when Tom Langa and Tim Coles singled to open the inning, but Ray Pilgrim got Jim Foelker to ground into a 6u., 6-3 double play, nicely turned by Jimmy Sneed, then retired Tommy Deleon on a two-strike foul. Terry O’Brien singled to start the home half, but Tommy Deleon got both Anthony Galindo and Mark Dolan to ground into 6-4 forces. I will allow that Jack Spellman made a pretty good play on Anthony’s grounder to the 5-6 hole, getting to it on the backhand and making a quick throw to second to put out Terry. Rick Kahn followed with a base hit to right field that resulted in the third out: Jim Foelker couldn’t get to the sinking line drive on the fly, but wound up kicking it to right-center fielder Pat Scott; Pat made a good throw in to shortstop Jack Spellman, and Spellman threw home and just beat Mark trying to score from first, catcher Hal Darman making a good play stretching to his left to corral the throw and complete the 10-9-6-2 relay.
Ray Pilgrim shut out Orange again in the top of the fifth, a near carbon copy (remember those?) of the previous inning: Jack Spellman and Pat Scott singled to start the inning, Pat completing a 3-for-3 game, but Ray retired Mark Hernandez on a fly to left field, a good running catch by Patrick Schmidt, then got Don Solberg to ground into an inning-ending 4-6-3 double play, Rick Jensen to Jimmy Sneed to Shane Hill.
Purple then took the lead with two runs in the bottom of the fifth. Jimmy Sneed, completing a 3-for-3 game, led off with a single, and Jack McDermott followed with a double. Shane Hill singled, Jimmy scoring. Peter Sundquist grounded a ball down the third-base side that Tim Coles fielded cleanly and threw to Tom Langa at second for the force, Tom making a good clean catch of a low throw. Jack held at third on that play, then scored on Ray Pilgrim’s single. Jimmy Sneed ran for Ray. Patrick Schmidt popped out to shortstop for the second out. Rick Jensen then grounded a ball up the middle – shortstop Jack Spellman made a diving play to his left to field the ball and made a quick flip to Tom covering second for the third out (Jimmy wasn’t running hard at first, didn’t think I’d get to the ball), for what Orange manager/scorekeeper Dave Berra generously described as a “spectacular play.” (I’ll allow it.)
As mentioned, it is National Hair Loss Awareness Month.
That limited the damage entering the buffet, Orange chasing two runs. It’s first five batters hit safely, four singles and a double by Jack Crosley, who was one of four batters who completed perfect days at the plate in the sequence – Matt Levitt, Tom Langa, and Tim Coles were the others. Matt, Jack, and Hal Darman’s pinch-runner all scored, Orange taking the lead 9-8. But Ray Pilgrim retired the next three batters, stranding Tom and Tim: he got Jim Foelker to fly out to Anthony Galindo in right field; Tommy Deleon to ground into a 4-6 force, Rick Jensen to Jimmy Sneed; and Jack Spellman to fly out to Rick Kahn in right-center field.
Purple came up needing one to tie and two to end its six-game losing streak, with its three mercenaries due to start the inning. Terry O’Brien popped out to shortstop to start the inning. Anthony Galindo singled. Mark Dolan grounded a ball to the 5-6 hole; Jack Spellman got to it and threw to second, but Tom Langa couldn’t hold on, and both runners were safe. Rick Kahn then stepped up and drove a pitch to right field – Jim Foelker went after it, but it sailed over his head and rolled to the fence in right-center as Anthony and Mark circled the bases and scored the tying and winning runs. It was Rick’s third consecutive double and his fourth hit in as many at bats, and gave Purple its first home victory of Session 3.
Final score: Purple 10, Orange 9
Noon: Blue (5-6) at Maroon (9-3):
1 2 3 4 5 6 BUFFET FINAL Blue 0 3 0 2 0 1 0 6 Maroon 2 1 1 3 1 5 X 13 Pitchers: Blue – Trent Peacock (innings 1-5) and Lawrence Page (inning 5); Maroon – David Pittard. Mercenaries: Blue – Terry O'Brien, Trent Peacock, Steve Sandall, and Patrick Schmidt; Maroon – Jack McDermott, Ray Pilgrim, and Ralph Villela. Umpires: home – Rick Jensen; bases – Peter Sundquist. Perfect at the plate: Blue – Lawrence Page (2 for 2 with a walk and a double) an Terry O'Brien (3 for 3 with two doubles); Maroon – Ken Brown (3 for 3 with a walk) and Ray Pilgrim (3 for 3).
Weather update: 92 degrees, felt like 101; 50% humidity; wind from the SSE at 7 MPH; mostly sunny – hot, but bearable.
Maroon scored in each of its at bats in this one, though good Blue defense kept them from scoring more than three in any one of the first five innings. But it was enough to build a solid lead for David Pittard, who took over in Jeff Stone’s absence to pitch his team to a solid 13-6 victory. He began by retiring the side in order in the top of the first, Alan Phillips at third base making good plays on David Brown’s lead-off liner and Daniel Baladez’s two-out grounder.
Maroon scored twice in the bottom of the first. Steve Browne led off with a speed double on a liner to right field, advanced on George Brindley’s ground out to second baseman Terry O’Brien, and scored on Ken Brown’s single, another liner to right field. Scott Wright grounded a ball past third and into right for a two-base hit, Ken racing to third. Dale Fugate drove Ken in with a single through the 5-6 hole.
Blue briefly took the lead with three runs in the top of the second, on walks drawn by Lawrence Page (forced out at second on Larry Young’s grounder to shortstop) and Larry Shupe, an RBI double by Terry O’Brien, and Steve Sandall’s two-run single. Steve moved up on Trent Peacock’s fly to busy right fielder Jack McDermott and would have scored on a pop-fly hit by Patrick Schmidt, but second baseman Scott Wright made an excellent catch going back and to his left into short right field for the third out.
Maroon tied the game with a single run in the bottom half: Ralph Villela doubled leading off and scored on Ray Pilgrim’s one-out single.
Facing the top of Blue’s order for the second time to start the third, David Pittard again faced the minimum in shutting Blue down. David Brown grounded a single past second to start the inning, but was erased on a 5-4-3 double play, Alan Phillips to Scott Wright to Ray Pilgrim, and David then retired Daniel Baladez on a grounder to Ray at first.
Maroon went ahead with a run in the home half: Ken Brown drew a lead-off walk and scored from first on Scott Wright’s double to right field. Trent Peacock retired the next three batters, stranding Scott.
Blue scored twice in the top of the fourth to go back ahead, albeit briefly. Lawrence Page singled to start the inning. Larry Young hit a short, no-hang-time pop down the first base side that Ray Pilgrim caught in foul territory, just in front of the bag; he then was able to step back and tag the base before Lawrence could get back to it, for an FF-3, 3u. double play. Larry Shupe and Terry O’Brien followed with singles, and Steve Sandall lashed a double to center field that brought them both in, Blue going ahead 5-4.
But Maroon wound up winning the inning, scoring three times in the bottom half. Left-center fielder Steve Sandall robbed the first batter of the inning, Ralph Villela, of extra bases with a fine running catch back and to his left to start things, but the next five batters hit safely: singles by Jack McDermott and Ray Pilgrim; an RBI pop-fly double to short right field by Steve Browne; an RBI pop-fly single to right-center by George Brindley; and a line RBI single to center field by Ken Brown.
Maroon won the fifth inning as well. David Pittard held Blue scoreless in the top half, working around George Romo’s two-out single, and Maroon scratched out a single run after the first two batters went out in the bottom half, thanks to its mercenaries: Ralph Villela walked, took third on Jack McDermott’s single up the middle, and scored on Ray Pilgrim’s single, Ray’s third hit in as many at bats.
There were 23 second left on the clock when the final out of the fifth inning was recorded, so the sixth was played as a five-run inning, making this a seven-inning game and checking off box G-3 on the 2026 B League Bingo card:
| B LEAGUE BINGO 2026 | ||||
| B | I | N | G | O |
| Hit for the cycle (Ralph Villela – May 26) | Mad beef re: infield fly rule (July 30) | Triple play | Ken Brown scores from first on single | Walk-off grand slam |
| Jim Aaron home run for last-place team | Acclaim and adoption of Johnny Lee-created nickname | Batter takes a runner from home, runs past the 1B commit line (April 6) | Both teams score 5 runs in each of the first 3 innings | Spellman plays 5 games (C and B) in one day (July 6) |
| New guy pops a hammy (Trent Peacock – August 6) | Double play, second out at home (March 12) | David Brown makes a great defensive play up the middle | 7-inning game (August 10 – Blue vs. Maroon) | 3-pitch half-inning (Jeff Stone – April 23) |
| 3 Ohtani Awards in 1 day (July 6) | Over-the-fence home run at Krieg 2 (April 16) | Base runner hit by batted ball (March 23) | Don Solberg throws out a runner trying for an extra base | Rick Jensen delivers St. Crispin’s Day speech |
| Line drive hits Jack Kelly, he brushes it off (March 30) | Ralph Villela hits 2 inside-the-park home runs in one game | Team flip-flops opponent but loses game (July 20 – Red d. Blue ) | Inside-the-park home run at Krieg 3 | Shutout (Joe Bernal, Blue vs. Purple, July 27) |
(We wait on David Brown to make a sufficiently impressive play up the middle to complete the third-row-across Bingo.)
Lawrence Page led off the inning with a double to center field and advanced and scored on grounders by Larry Young (to second baseman Scott Wright) and Larry Shupe (to shortstop Ralph Villela). Terry O’Brien lined a double to right field, his third hit (and second double) in three at bats, but was stranded when Scott Wright made a good play on Steve Sandall’s grounder to the right side – Scott charged the ball, fielded it on a short hop, and made a quick, strong throw to Ray Pilgrim for the third out.
Maroon then broke through in the bottom half, effectively putting the game out of reach with a five-run outburst. Lawrence Page, having tweaked a leg muscle, moved from right-center field to the mound and struggled a bit with his control, walking three of the first four batters he faced. He gave up a single to the other, Ken Brown, completing a perfect day at the plate. Dale Fugate’s walk and a single by David Pittard came with the bases loaded and drove in one run each. Alan Phillips hit a hard grounder down the third-base side that George Romo made a good play on, fielding it cleanly, stepping on third for the force there, and firing home to Larry Shupe for the 5u., 5-2 double play.
You know it’s wicked hot out when George Romo decides it’s time to wear shorts.
Lawrence wasn’t able to record the third out. Ralph Villela tripled in two runs, completing a perfect day at the plate, and then scored the fifth run on Jack McDermott’s single to right field.
Blue came up needing seven to tie. Larry Young had to leave, so Jack Spellman entered the visitors dugout as Schroedinger’s right fielder, somehow both in and not in the game depending on whether Larry’s turn in the order came up. (It did not.)
Daniel Baladez and David Brown enjoy Jack Spellman’s simultaneous presence and non-presence, all three celebrating National Hair Loss Awareness Month.
David Pittard retired Trent Peacock on a grounder to second baseman Terry O’Brien to start the inning. Patrick Schmidt and David Brown both singled, offering Blue a glimmer of hope. But David got George Romo to fly out to Ken Brown in right field for the second out, and the game ended on Daniel Baladez’s grounder to shortstop Ralph Villela, who threw to third baseman Alan Phillips for the game-ending force.
Final score: Maroon 13, Blue 6, Maroon tying Green, which had the bye today, for the Session 3 lead.
2026 standings:
| Wins | Losses | Win %: | behind: | for: | allowed: | ferential: | streak: | |
| Green | 10 | 3 | .769 | 0 | 198 | 176 | 22 | W7 |
| Maroon | 10 | 3 | .769 | 0 | 171 | 143 | 28 | W2 |
| Orange | 6 | 7 | .462 | 4 | 168 | 171 | -3 | L1 |
| Red | 6 | 7 | .462 | 4 | 163 | 169 | -6 | W1 |
| Blue | 5 | 7 | .417 | 4.5 | 124 | 116 | 8 | L3 |
| Gray | 5 | 8 | .385 | 5 | 140 | 149 | -9 | L2 |
| Purple | 3 | 10 | .231 | 7 | 139 | 179 | -40 | W1 |
| Home | Visitor | Walk-off | Extra-inning | Flip-flop | 1-run games | Last 5 | ||
| W-L: | W-L: | wins | W-L: | W-L: | W-L: | games: | ||
| Green | 4-3 | 6-0 | 1 | 1-0 | 4-1 | 3-1 | WWWWW | |
| Maroon | 5-2 | 5-1 | 3 | 0-0 | 3-1 | 5-1 | WWLWW | |
| Orange | 4-2 | 2-5 | 3 | 0-2 | 1-1 | 3-3 | LWLWL | |
| Red | 4-3 | 2-4 | 0 | 1-0 | 2-4 | 2-1 | LWWLW | |
| Blue | 2-3 | 3-4 | 1 | 1-1 | 4-2 | 1-2 | LWLLL | |
| Gray | 3-2 | 2-6 | 0 | 1-1 | 2-1 | 1-5 | LLWLL | |
| Purple | 1-7 | 2-3 | 1 | 0-0 | 1-5 | 1-3 | LLLLW | |
2026 total victories (read across) and losses (read down):
| Blue | Gray | Green | Maroon | Orange | Purple | Red | TOTAL | |
| Blue | 4 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 22 | |
| Gray | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 13 | |
| Green | 1 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 19 | |
| Maroon | 2 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 4 | 22 | |
| Orange | 2 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 16 | |
| Purple | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 10 | |
| Red | 3 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 15 | |
| TOTAL: | 11 | 20 | 15 | 11 | 18 | 24 | 18 | 117 |
2026 season home run leaders:
Terry O’Brien – 9
Ralph Villela – 8
Steve Browne – 4
Tony Garcia – 4
Trent Peacock – 4
David Brown – 3
Tim Coles – 3
Mike Garrison – 3
Jack Spellman – 3
Larry Fiorentino – 2
Allen Phillips – 2
Scott Rokita – 2
Paul Rubin – 2
Pat Scott – 2
Jimmy Sneed – 2
Scott Wright – 2
Peter Atkins – 1
Richard Battle – 1
Tom Bellavia – 1
Joe Bernal – 1
George Brindley – 1
Ivan Budiselic – 1
Mark Dolan – 1
Jim Foelker – 1
Anthony Galindo – 1
Tommy Gillis – 1
Doc Hobar – 1
Rick Kahn – 1
Mike Malay – 1
Jack McDermott – 1
Bobby Miller – 1
David Pittard – 1
George Romo – 1
Luis Sanchez – 1
Steve Sandall – 1
Patrick Schmidt – 1
Hit for the cycle:
Ralph Villela – May 26
Ohtani Awards (winning pitcher + perfect at the plate):
Joe Bernal: 8 (March 2, March 19, March 30, April 16, June 22, June 25, June 29, July 9)
Ray Pilgrim: 6 (March 5, March 23, March 26, June 1, July 2, July 9)
Tommy Deleon: 5 (April 6, April 30, June 11, July 6, July 30)
Spike Davidson: 4 (May 4, July 2, July 20, August 6)
Trent Peacock: 2 (March 9, August 3)
Jeff Stone: 2 (March 2, July 9)
Rex Horvath: 1 (March 30)
Jack Kelly: 1 (August 3)
Lawrence Page: 1 (March 26)
Schedule for Thursday August 13:
10:00 a.m.: Purple (3-10) at Green (10-3), Red umpiring
11:00 a.m.: Red (6-7) at Blue (5-7), Green umpiring
Noon: Maroon (10-3) at Orange (6-7), Blue umpiring
Gray has the bye, with priority for its players out of the bucket.
Preview: With just five dates remaining in Session 3, Green and Maroon have separated themselves from the pack and are tied for first. Purple, coming off a walk-off win today, looks to knock off Green at 10:00 Thursday in what could be a very high-scoring game – Green leads the league in runs scored this session, Purple in runs allowed. Green leads the season series 4-1. Surging Red has won three of its last four games and takes on struggling Blue team, which has dropped four of its last five, at 11:00. Red leads the season series 3-2 and can get back to .500 for the session with a victory. Maroon has won its last two, and four of its last five, while Orange has been consistently inconsistent, unable to put together a winning streak, but also not falling into a losing streak. They meet at noon, with Orange leading the season series 3-2. Thursday is National Left-Handers Day – does this guarantee that Trent Peacock and Red will defeat Blue? One thing is certain: Only time will tell.
Keggy’s Korner:
Podcast review: Serial
I subscribe to Serial Productions, which puts in my feed the actual Serial seasons, but also a bunch of not-technically-Serial programs that are Serial adjacent, either in tone or content or by having producers or on-air talent in common. The four Serial seasons have been Adnan Syed and the murder of Hae Min Lee (2014) (outstanding), Bowe Bergdahl and the war in Afghanistan (2015–16) (also excellent), The Cleveland criminal-justice system (2018) (fine, albeit a lesser work), and Guantánamo (2024), also excellent. Sarah Koenig is the auteur, and she’s an outstanding investigative journalist. I’ve also listened to the adjacent seasons S-Town, Nice White Parents, The Trojan Horse Affair, The Retrievals, The Coldest Case in Laramie, The Idiot, The Preventionist, The Kids of Rutherford County, and The Good Whale, and I’m currently listening to The Last 12 Weeks. I’m not really a big true-crime buff, so grain of salt, but Serial does the format better than anyone. I’m pretty brand loyal, and that’s been rewarded with consistently strong content. New England content: Surprisingly little. Canadian content: None at all. Listening speed: 1X. Rating: 🎧 🎧 🎧 🎧 for Serial seasons, 🎧 🎧 🎧 for the Serial-adjacent seasons.