Intro for July 13, 2026

Dear Gossips,This weekend marked the 25th anniversary of the release of one of the most iconic films in Hong Kong cinematic history and a comedy that’s well-known around the world. Probably most people who play soccer know this movie: Shaolin Soccer, directed by and starring Stephen Chow.Shaolin Soccer broke box office records in Hong Kong when it was released in 2001, a standard that Stephen surpassed himself a few years later with Kung Fu Hustle. We won’t talk about how dirty Harve

Lance McCullers Jr. in Milwaukee
With just a few months left before free agency, the Astros are moving on. They're also freeing up some salary cap space.
Jadyn Fielder, the son of Prince Fielder, is returning to the Astros as part of the Lance McCullers Jr. trade, sources tell @TheAthletic. Jadyn Fielder is a 21-year-old left-handed hitter with an .813 OPS in A-ball. He signed with the Brewers in 2024 as an undrafted free agent.
— Chandler Rome (@Chandler_Rome) July 15, 2026
Colton Gordon

Over the last few years, Heartstopper has been a staple of teen entertainment, one of Netflix’s series that actually managed to connect with the youths. Kit Connor and Joe Locke became breakout stars, and now they’re saying goodbye via a film, Heartstopper Forever, in which Nick and Charlie try to navigate a future involving college, growing up, and moving on. It looks sweet.The premiere for Heartstopper Forever was yesterday in London, and even though it’s just been four years

David Reinbacher made progress last season.
The defenseman played a total of 63 games in 25-26 (including two with the Canadiens), and even though he was injured a few times, the fact that he played so much is good news.
After all, we remember that he had more health issues the previous season—his first in North America. 
Now, the Canadiens would like to see him make a splash at training camp. The goal for Montreal's front office is to see the player—who was selected fifth overa

Patrick Kane is nearing the end of his career.
At 37, he doesn't have much gas left in the tank… but he still had a solid 2025–26 season, racking up 57 points (16 goals) in 67 games.
His offensive talent is still there. And there's no doubt about that either. But right now, we're all asking the same question: where will he play next season?
Chris Chelios, on American radio, provided more details about Kane's next destination.
Basically, the former Hawks (and Canadiens) defenseman op

It’s mid-summer, which means the countdown to back to school has begun because time is our enemy, but it is most violently the enemy of youth, but it also means we’re counting down to the fall festival season. After the Hollywood studios sat out Cannes, I have no idea if that will extend to the fall festivals, which have a huge role to play in awards season, but assuming the fall fests continue as usual, I fully expect to see Tony Gilroy’s Behemoth! at some combination of Venic

The All-Star break across several leagues reminds us that the season is moving along quickly. The beauty of the sport is that there's still plenty of baseball to be played on fields across Quebec.
For junior-level players, it's the trade deadline that will be the main focus. Through next Monday, teams across the league will be trying to strengthen their rosters for the final stretch of the 2026 season. The Voyageurs and Diamants organizations kicked things off with a major trade on Tuesday. The

Eastside Arts Festival When: July 17-27Where: Eastside Arts District, including MacLean ParkTickets and info:eastsideartsfest.ca 1. Theremin Man at Eastside Arts Festival Concert & Art (July 25, 3-8 p.m., MacLean Park, 710 Keefer St.). The otherworldly sounds of Theremin Man, a.k.a. longtime Vancouver musician Stephen Hamm, will set heads a-spinning as part of this year’s main concert. The lineup also includes DJ Jody Glenham, the alt-country stylings of Big Rig, neo-dance psychedelia

For the past three decades, The Eastside Culture Crawl has been a popular event on Vancouver’s fall arts and culture calendar. So, it only made sense for the event to expand into other times of the year.The Eastside Arts Festival is the summer season’s celebration of East Van’s dynamic creative community. The summertime version turns six this year and runs from July 17 to 26 across the Eastside Arts District , an area roughly running from Chinatown to Commercial Drive from the

Lily Allen is moving her North American tour venues from arenas to theatres. It looks like her team overshot on demand.View this post on InstagramA post shared by Lily Allen (@lilyallen)
I’m kind of into Timothee Chalamet being at every major sporting event because he gets so into it. He’s not hiding in a box, trying to go unnoticed, shielding his face from the cameras. He is a fan, loud and proud. He looks like he’s having a good summer. First he’s freed from Club Chalam

In recent weeks, there have been rumors involving Kirill Marchenko and the Montreal Canadiens.
Whispers suggested that the Habs had put a crazy offer on the table for Don Waddell for the player, which makes sense for two reasons.
First, because Kent Hughes wanted to improve his team for next season… and second, because Kent Hughes said he was willing to overpay to land a quality player. 
We don't know what the offer in question looks like, but Jean-Luc Grand-Pierre, who was a guest o

We’ve seen the women of The Odyssey show up and show out for their final premiere, now let’s turn our attention to the gentlemen, who certainly…showed up. Let’s start with Tom Holland, because he is always a ray of sunshine. He wore an all-black suit by Fear of God, and his hair is especially curly. The heat and humidity is getting to everyone this summer, I swear. Tom Holland attends "The Odyssey" New York Premiere at AMC Lincoln Square Theater on July 14, 2026 in

Time is running out if the Blue Jays want to make the playoffs.
Is it impossible? No. After all, right now, John Schneider's team is 2.5 games out of the playoffs. And when you look at it that way, it's a realistic challenge.
MLB
But let's put things into perspective.
As journalist Mitch Bannon (The Athletic) noted in an article, the Blue Jays might need about 85 wins—if everything goes well—to make the playoffs.
The American League is weak in 2026. Last year, it took 87 wins.
To get

When you ask your GM to trade you—or let him know you don't want to sign another contract with your current team—sometimes it works out and you get traded. See Brady Tkachuk…
But most of the time, things can get messy before it all works out. If it ever does work out!
Just ask Patrik Laine, Connor Hellebuyck, Trevor Zegras, and Dylan Larkin. In fact, I can't wait to see how the Larkin story unfolds now that Steve Yzerman is no longer the Red Wings' GM…
And what about Za

Having been sidelined for several years, Jon Gruden continues to look for a way to reclaim a prominent role in the NFL.
Although no team offered him a head coaching position during the last offseason, the former Las Vegas Raiders head coach is nevertheless set to return to the world of football through a new role in television.
According to reports by journalist Ira Kaufman, Gruden will participate in the broadcast of an NFL preseason game this summer. The identities of the teams involved, as we

The Odyssey opens on Friday, and the New York premiere was last night, the last big blow out red carpet before what is sure to be one of the biggest films of the year opens. You know what that means, every famous person showed up, because every famous person is in this movie, and it was a major fashion event. So major, in fact, I’m breaking it up into two parts.
First up, the goddesses of The Odyssey, led by Zendaya, who showed up in actual wings.View this post on InstagramA post shared by

A month ago, Boston Red Sox reliever Aroldis Chapman issued an ultimatum to the New York Yankees, stating that they would have to apologize for the events that occurred at the end of his time as a closer in the Bronx if they wanted to bring him back to the city.
Of course, that was all it took for the story to go viral, just as his name was surfacing in trade rumors ahead of the trade deadline, with the Yankees looking to bolster their bullpen.
Speaking in St. Petersburg, Chapman told ESPN Depor

We now know when the 32 teams will play their first home game of the 2026–2027 season.
For the Montreal Canadiens, the season will kick off at the Bell Centre with a game on October 6 (a Tuesday) against the defending champions, the Carolina Hurricanes.
Here are the 32 home opener dates.The NHL has unveiled the 2026–27 home openers for every team: pic.twitter.com/yrqWye5pLy
— Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) July 15, 2026Looking elsewhere, we see that the season will begin on Tu

The Canadiens haven’t improved their roster for the upcoming season.
Yes, they've acquired some players from the minors… but the same issues keep coming up when it comes to the Habs, who have lost the services of Brendan Gallagher and Joe Veleno.
The second-line center position, a top-6 winger, a right-handed defenseman, or a physical player: we're talking about several needs that haven't been met. And the more time passes, the harder it will be to address them, since there will be

Montreal Alouettes linebacker Micah Awe could face disciplinary action following a tackle that has caused quite a stir in the Canadian Football League (CFL).
According to reports from TSN, the veteran will have to appear before the disciplinary committee following his hit on Calgary Stampeders quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. during Week 6 of the season.
The incident occurred at the very end of the game. As Vernon Adams Jr. began to slide to protect his position after earning a first down, Micah Awe

Big news this morning.
The Detroit Red Wings have announced that Steve Yzerman is no longer the team's general manager. The search for a new head of hockey operations begins now.
Hmm…An update from the Detroit Red Wings.
Read more » https://t.co/sBjMqnwnJh pic.twitter.com/wOKf92ZrXK
— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) July 15, 2026It's important to note that Yzerman has not, officially, been fired. He is “transitioning” from his role as executive vice president

Dear Gossips,The fakakta Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery merger is in the news again, because of court proceedings culminating at the end of the week, so let’s check on the state of things. In short: bad! A dozen state attorneys general, including the one from California, which we will come back to, have filed for a temporary restraining order to at least pause the merger while the states’ various anti-trust lawsuits work their way through the justice system.Which probably won&rsquo

The Smilin’ Buddha Cabaret has been closed for decades, but its legend lives on. In the 1960s, it was a rhythm and blues hotspot where a teenage Jimi Hendrix supposedly played. In the 1970s and ‘80s it was Vancouver’s premier punk rock venue.Even people who never went inside knew its elaborate neon sign, an orange neon buddha with a bulging belly that bursts out of a green neon robe. The jolly figure reclines on blue neon that reads Smilin’ Buddha and red neon that reads

The Anthony Mantha saga is over.
The Quebec native has chosen to sign with the New Jersey Devils. He'll earn $4.75 million per year, which isn't exactly an outrageous contract.
And according to Elliott Friedman, it's a two-year deal.Anthony Mantha to the New Jersey Devils
2 x $4.75M
— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) July 15, 2026Could the Canadiens have offered him a contract like that? It's safe to assume they could have. Did Mantha choose to look elsewhere, or did Kent Hughes not go tha

Last night at Phillies Park, quite a bit happened. There were some positives, but also some negatives.
Aside from the fact that Mike Trout was cheered as part of a charm offensive by Phillies fans, what stands out?
1. The American League pitchers were excellent. The game ended 4-0 in favor of John Schneider's team.
It's not ideal for the show, but still: it's the first shutout in the All-Star Game since 2013.
2. Dylan Cease struck out three batters and earned the win. Cristopher Sanchez gave up

Yesterday, Scott Wheeler released his list of the top 100 NHL draft prospects. Three players from the Canadiens' organization (Michael Hage, Alexander Zharovsky, and David Reinbacher) made the list.
The reason Jacob Fowler wasn't on the list is that Wheeler always ranks goalies separately. That's a good thing: evaluating goalies is so different from evaluating skaters.
So we had to keep an eye on his list of goalies to see where he would rank the Canadiens prospect.
And upon reading his article

The family of legendary former NFL coach Bill Belichick is once again in the media spotlight.
Jen Belichick, the wife of Steve Belichick—the eldest son of the former New England Patriots head coach—is the subject of an arrest warrant in North Carolina.
According to the British newspaper Daily Mail, Jen Belichick was scheduled to appear in court in Brunswick County following a speeding ticket issued on May 21.
She had received an official summons to appear in court on July 10. However

The selection of Gleb Pugachyov in the first round continues to be a topic of discussion.
At the time of the draft, many fans were hoping the Canadiens would select a different prospect. Since then, the discussions have continued, and opinions remain divided.
Grant McCagg is among those who have revised their view of the situation.
On his HabsCast podcast, the former director of amateur scouting for the Canadiens reflected on the selection of Pugachyov and explained that he now better understand

You only have to take a quick look at the list of the NHL's highest-paid players for next season to notice something quite striking.
The Western Conference completely dominates.
Leo Carlsson now tops the list with an annual salary of $18 million. Behind him are Kirill Kaprizov ($17M), Leon Draisaitl ($14M), Jack Eichel ($13.5M), Nathan MacKinnon, Connor McDavid, Kyle Connor, Mikko Rantanen, Mitch Marner, and Elias Pettersson.Highest-paid players and their conferences this season:$18.0m — L

Yesterday, at the home run derby, it became clear that Phillies fans were going to live up to their reputation.
Kyle Schwarber's opponents were booed loudly…including Jordan Walker.
Today, Walker was booed during the player introductions before the All-Star Game. But he wasn't the only one.
In fact, every player not wearing a Phillies uniform was booed. Sometimes the booing was mild… but not always.
There were, however, some exceptions. Freddie Freeman (a respected former player in