Emmy Nominations = Our Summer Homework

I’ve been following the Emmys since I can remember and writing about them for almost as long. But I have to say this is the first year I, a Canadian who is not a Television Academy voter, have felt like there’s really some impact we can have on the results.Am I delusional? Is this just copium*? I feel as though in previous years, I might have been shouting into the wind about how certain nominations meant you should care about the show, but those shouts would be drowned out by fully

Zack Wheeler Refuses to Go to the All-Star Game
He didn't like being disrespected and being the fifth substitute, so he told MLB “no” last night. Justin Wrobleski will now replace Chase Burns.
The league reached out to Zack Wheeler last night, offering to add him to the NL All-Star team as a replacement. He declined. “I'm not going to be disrespected,” he said.
— Lochlahn March (@lochlahn) July 11, 2026
Speaking of the All-Star Game: Canadian Tristan Peters will be

Many fans are concerned about Kent Hughes' inaction since the start of the summer, while several of the Canadiens' direct rivals have bolstered their rosters ahead of the upcoming season.
It must be said that this summer, demand exceeded supply in both the free-agent market and the trade market, and so far, the Canadiens' general manager has been unwilling to overpay to acquire a player.
However, even though Hughes has been quiet so far, he may well have struck the best deal of the offseason by

Will the Blue Jays be aggressive at the trade deadline? We'll see.
In reality, it's possible that, without making any drastic moves, the team will try to acquire players to continue improving on the field.
After all, so much money has been invested in the team's 2026 season that management will do everything it can to avoid selling players.
That said, if the team keeps losing between now and August 3, it's possible that management will have no choice but to consider the scenario of joining the s

For a late first-round pick, Gleb Pugachyov has been the subject of much discussion since his selection.
The young Russian is known for his physical style of play and his willingness to drop the gloves, and he could be a solid addition to the Habs' second or third line in a few years.
However, what has undoubtedly sparked the most buzz is what he reportedly told Habs executives in an interview: not only would he be willing to fight Tom Wilson, but there would be nothing left of Wilson after the

The Canadiens' 2026–27 season is set to begin in roughly three months. We can't wait to see if the team can have another great season… but most of all, we can't wait to find out where we'll be able to watch the team's games.
Because, as of today, we still don't know where all of the Habs' games will be broadcast next season. We know that RDS will broadcast preseason games and 45 regular-season games (down from 60 previously)… but we don't know who will handle the other 39 gam

The 2026 All-Star Game is just three days away. The game, which will be played in the Philadelphia area, will tip off at 8 p.m. on Tuesday night.
And don't forget that on Monday night, we'll also get to see the Home Run Derby, for which all the participants have now been announced.
The full list is here. https://t.co/X6xcjFHcNU https://t.co/Ut8LTjjuwz
— Passion MLB (@passion_mlb) July 11, 2026
That said, there are still some details to be determined for the game in question. The starting p

Ever since arriving in Montreal, Kaiden Guhle has been going through pretty much the same thing every year. The defenseman puts in solid performances on the ice… but he never plays a full season because of his tendency to get injured.
He has a bad habit of putting his body in risky situations… and if you play with fire long enough, you're bound to get burned.
All of this is frustrating because we know just how much Guhle makes the Habs a better team when he's in the lineup. And yes

There you go. The picture is complete.
With just a few days to go before the home run derby, we now know who the eight power hitters will be competing for the title.
Following Junior Caminero, Ben Rice, Willson Contreras, Jordan Walker, Jac Caglianone, Bryce Harper, and Kyle Schwarber, Munetaka Murakami has now joined the group.
Here's how it looks.
The field for the T-Mobile Home Run Derby is set! pic.twitter.com/UINTBDvfOS
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) July 10, 2026
Murakam

Today is July 11.
Most of the top free agents have already signed with teams… which means the market is a bit thin right now.
Let's take a look at who the best players still available are.
Of course, we'll break it down into two different categories: unrestricted free agents (UFAs)… and restricted free agents (RFAs).
Let's start with the first category… and focus on forwards:  Anthony Mantha (64 points in 25-26)
Patrick Kane (57 points in 25-26)
Vladimir Tarasenko

The Hurricanes won the Stanley Cup 3–4 weeks ago.
The draft and several trades took place about two weeks ago.
And then came the free-agent frenzy. Now there are only a handful of notable players still on the market: Anthony Mantha, Patrick Kane, Vladimir Tarasenko, Evander Kane, Michael Bunting, James Van Riemsdyk, Marcus Johansson…
All of these players could help the Habs to varying degrees, in one way or another.
Personally, as I pointed out two weeks ago, I'd love to see Tarasen

Here we are—the All-Star Game festivities are just around the corner, marking the midpoint of the 2026 Major League Baseball season, even though, mathematically speaking, that point has already been reached.
This also means that today and tomorrow (July 11 and 12) is when MLB teams will draft young prospects. And to give you an idea of what the first round of the draft will look like, here is the final version of Passion MLB's mock draft.
1 – White Sox: Roch Cholowsky, SS, UCLA
2 &nd

Alexander Zharovsky is a talented player.
After all, not every 18- or 19-year-old is capable of performing well in a league like the KHL.
And the Canadiens prospect has truly had a great first full year as a pro. His 42 points (16 goals) in just 59 games are proof of that.
We know the kid has great skills, and Mikhail Grigorenko confirmed that to Kevin Dubé. The former first-round pick of the Sabres faced off against Zharovsky a few times last season… and let's just say Grigorenko

Would you agree that this offseason is really exciting?
Two hostile offers (including one for $18 million per season), massive trades, and astronomical contracts have been the highlights of this not-so-quiet offseason.
There are still some big names who could be on the move, including Dylan Larkin and Zach Werenski. Werenski hasn't come out and said he wants to be traded (like Larkin has), but there's a lot of talk about him.
The rumor that has resurfaced most often (and makes the most sense) is

The Anaheim Ducks have seen a lot of changes since the start of the offseason.
On defense, John Carlsson, Jacob Trouba, Olen Zellweger, and Radko Gudas have all left. On the other hand, A.J. Greer and Nick Jensen have joined the team.
In addition, Leo Carlsson came very close to leaving for another team, and Cutter Gauthier has yet to sign a contract.
The 22-year-old forward had a great season, and after seeing Carlsson land an $18 million-per-season deal, we can expect his salary demands to be

The Montreal Canadiens are still looking to bolster their top-6 offense.
Whether it's a second-line center or a winger (or both) to better support Ivan Demidov, there's certainly room for improvement.
Ideally, the Habs need to add depth—we can all agree on that. However, we shouldn't rule out options to improve the team's offense just because the player in question doesn't have a strong physical presence. Especially when the list of available top-6 caliber players is shrinking right before

Several big names will be missing from the All-Star Game, which takes place on Tuesday. Often, these are pitchers due to their schedules.
But sometimes, injuries also come into play.
That's the case with Shohei Ohtani. The Dodgers announced that the Japanese player won't be heading to Philadelphia in the coming days.
Why? Because his knee is acting up.
Shohei Ohtani: scratched from tonight's start, out of the All-Star Game, soon to undergo “procedures” on his left knee. pic.twitter.c

There isn't much left that's really interesting in the indie game market right now. Most of the big names signed on July 1… and that's not even counting the vast majority of developers who signed before they even hit the market.
It wasn't exactly a walk in the park, let's say.
That said, Anthony Mantha is still available as of today. The Quebec native, who revived his career in Pittsburgh this season, just tallied 33 goals and 64 points in 82 games. But clearly, he hasn't found the right

The Chicago Blackhawks pulled off a major move this summer with Bowen Byram. The team acquired him in a trade with the Sabres (in which they gave up the fourth overall pick)… before signing him to a six-year contract.
And that contract will pay him no less than $12.5 million per year, which is… pretty substantial.
That said, it's interesting to note that according to Elliotte Friedman, who discussed this on the 32 Thoughts Podcast, there was one team willing to offer Byram an even

Tommy Nance Traded to Minnesota
Are the Blue Jays (who are getting a prospect in return) in sell mode? Not necessarily, but…
#BlueJays are acquiring catching prospect Ryan Sprock from the Twins for RHP Tommy Nance, a source confirms. @Alden_Gonzalez was on the story.
The 2025 8th-round pick was hitting the ball out of the park in Single-A to start this year, leading the Florida State League in OBP before his promotion to A+ last week.
— Mitch Bannon (@MitchBannon) July 10, 2026
$112

This morning, we learned that Bogdan Konyushkov was likely about to sign his entry-level contract with the Canadiens. His team in Russia terminated his contract, which suggested he was set to sign a deal with the Habs.
Konyushkov, for those who aren't familiar with him, is a 23-year-old right-handed defenseman who was drafted by the Habs in 2023.
And now the Canadiens have just confirmed the news: Konyushkov has signed his entry-level contract with the club.
It's a two-year deal (the only possib

One of the most consistent celebrity trends of the last twenty years is that Rihanna is a night owl and no amount of settling down or babies has changed that. Like if we ever find out that vampires are real, Keanu Reeves will not be my go-to evidence, it will be Rihanna and her night owl life.Rihanna is still in New York, and last night she rolled up to her hotel—at night, wearing sunglasses, naturally—with the season’s hottest accessory: Burger King. Like actual Burger King, n

Do you remember that famous photo of Jakub Dobes on his mattress?
Last year, the goalie posted photos on his Instagram account showing him on his new mattress. It was part of a sponsorship deal with JumpBed, and his teammates teased him relentlessly in the comments, especially about the second photo.
But in reality, it helped him win several games in a row to start the year… and have a season in which he established himself as the team's No. 1 goalie. So it clearly worked.
 
View thi

Over the next few days, the All-Star Game festivities will kick off in the world of baseball. The game will take place on Tuesday, but we'll also get to enjoy the home run derby the day before.
And the lineup of contenders is starting to look interesting: Junior Caminero, Ben Rice, Jac Caglianone, Willson Contreras, Jordan Walker, and Bryce Harper have all already confirmed their participation.
But last night, Don Mattingly hinted during his postgame press conference that Kyle Schwarber would al

Kristen Stewart married Dylan Meyer in 2025, but now they’re REALLY committed, because they made a whole movie together and they DIDN’T break up. The “couples who make a movie together and then break up” pipeline is real. (Sh-t, I hope I didn’t just curse them.)
Anyway, KStew and Dylan Meyer made a movie, a stoner comedy called The Wrong Girls starring KStew and Alia Shawkat and it looks genuinely funny.The Wrong Girls is co-written by Stewart and Meyer—who is

The Montreal Alouettes returned to practice with confidence after their Canada Day break, but one trend continues to concern Jason Maas's team. Despite an excellent start to the season and a 3-1 record that has them atop the Eastern Conference, the Alouettes are still looking to improve their consistency after halftime.
In their last matchup against the Ottawa ROUGE and NOIR, the Alouettes appeared to have complete control of the game. With a comfortable 21-6 lead after two quarters, however, th

NEW RELEASES1. Warriors Graphic Novel: The New Prophecy,by Erin Hunter, Gibson Twist, Sammy Savos. 2. The Shampoo Effect: A Novel , by Jenny Jackson. 3. Moss’d In Space,by Rebecca Thorne.4. A Marriage at Sea: A True Story of Love, Obsession, and Shipwreck , by Sophie Elmhirst. 5. Katie the Catsitter: Villain Con,by Colleen AF Venable, Stephanie Yue. 6. Six of Crows A Darker Shore: Letters From Ketterdam , by Leigh Bardugo. 7. Love You More: A Novel , by Emily Giffin.8. Whale, That Was Une

1.A False and Fatal Claim: A Lane Winslow Mystery — Iona Whishaw (Touchwood Editions).2. Unceded: Understanding British Columbia’s Colonial Past and Why It Matters Now — George M. Abbott, foreword by Steven Point (UBC Press).3. The Astronaut Children of Dunbar Street: A Memoir— Wiley Wei-Chium Ho(Douglas and McIntyre).4. Dead Bees Still Sting: Tales of Life at the Edge of Nature— Susan Cormier (Greystone Books).5. The Best of Roy Henry Vickers: 80 Selected Works&md

In his first full season in the NHL, Shane Wright scored 19 goals and tallied 44 points.
For a rookie, that's an impressive output.
But the center—who was passed over by the Canadiens in the 2022 draft—saw his performance drop off last season. His 12 goals and 27 points were disappointing…
Now, his name is at the center of several trade rumors.
The Kraken has a strong lineup of centers (Jared McCann and Matty Beniers play on the top two lines), and there may no longer be room

Maren Morris hard-launching Cassadee Pope in a photo slide that includes her heading to the TNT wedding and getting to see Meg Stalter in Oh, Mary!
Someone is having a great summer.View this post on InstagramA post shared by 𝙼𝙰𝚁𝙴𝙽𝙼𝙾𝚁𝚁𝙸𝚂 (@marenmorris)
I simply can’t hate on these two. If you want to make videos hopping around with your man, then be with a man who wants to hop around in your videos.View