MC’s MUSIC LOUNGE: A HUGEL Summer

I’m still riding high off such an incredible release week for Madonna’s Confessions II, and as a result, my playlists have been extremely dance-heavy. I’m craving the sweat from a long night out and the thrill of a flashing strobe light making me feel a little dizzy in the most euphoric way. In simpler terms, all I want to do is dance. Two of this week’s tracks are remixes of classic songs, while French DJ and record producer HUGEL continues his world domination with a ne

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

There are weeks that change your life.
For Alexandre Carrier, this is definitely one of them.
The Canadiens defenseman and his wife, Alicia Lessard, welcomed their first child on July 7—a baby girl named Olivia. The couple shared the wonderful news on social media.Just a few days later, Carrier was already back on the ice.
Number 45 was in the Manmade lineup tonight in the LSHL, a 3-on-3 tournament. He played alongside his Habs teammates Jake Evans and Jayden Struble.The lineups for tonigh

Anthony Mantha is currently the name everyone is watching on the free-agent market. Coming off a season in which he scored 33 goals and tallied 64 points, the Quebec native is still without a contract as of mid-July.
The reason? It seems teams are reluctant to sign him to a long-term deal.
We know that the Canadiens, at least, are in that position. The club is reportedly interested in Mantha (who would fill a need on the second line), but isn't ready to sign him to a long-term deal.
But accordin

Aaron Judge hasn’t played since May 31. The Yankees star is dealing with a rib injury, and fans are wondering when we’ll see #99 back on the field.
Because as things stand, there's no indication that Judge is anywhere near a return.
Last week, Brian Cashman noted that Judge will undergo further tests during the All-Star break to see how his recovery is progressing. And in fact, that could change a lot of things in the Bronx.
Ken Rosenthal, who provided an update on the situation, exp

Last week, the Anaheim Ducks decided to match the hostile offer signed by Leo Carlsson. As a reminder, the young center had initially signed a five-year, $90 million deal with the Flyers, but the Ducks decided to keep him despite the hefty price tag.
They will therefore pay him $18 million per year… and the vast majority of that money will come in the form of (hefty) annual signing bonuses.
And now that Carlsson is back, the team must turn its attention to Cutter Gauthier. He, too, needs

Vancouver film producer Chris Ferguson and his studio Oddfellows have signed a first-look deal with the Warner Bros. Picture Group.Founded in 2013, Ferguson’s Oddfellows was behind the director Osgood Perkins’ horror hits Longlegs and The Monkey. Ferguson was also part of the producing team behind the hugely successful Vancouver-shot film Backrooms.Since its May 29 release, Backrooms , which was made for $10 million, has brought in a whopping $375 million in box office receipts maki

“I love Philadelphia”
Mike Trout also reiterated that he's in control of his own destiny.
Would Millville native Mike Trout ever want to play for the Philadelphia Phillies?
“I hear this a lot. Like I said,
I enjoy coming to Philly. I'm an Angel, obviously. I have a no-trade clause, so it's ultimately my decision. But, like I said, I love… pic.twitter.com/gM7xdOZgAT
— Dave Uram (@MrUram) July 13, 2026
The 2028 All-Star Game in San Francisco?
Eventually, it'll be the

Adele was photographed the other day in Sardinia, hanging out with Tom Ford. She’s been spending a lot of time with him lately, not only because they are friends but because, for a while there, he was also her boss.Tom’s next film is Cry to Heaven, based on Anne Rice’s book, set in the world of 18th century Italian opera, with a stacked cast led by Nicholas Hoult and Aaron Taylor-Johnson. Colin Firth, Ciarán Hinds, Paul Bettany, Thandiwe Newton, and Mark Strong are also

Over the past two years, Macklin Celebrini has proven that he is already one of the best players in the NHL. The young man, who just turned 20, has just completed a season in which he scored 45 goals and 115 points in 82 games.
No other Sharks player scored more than 59 points.
In 2026–27, Celebrini will be in the final year of his entry-level contract. But in reality, he has been eligible to sign a contract extension since last July 1… and he opened up about this in an interview wi

If there's one young player making waves this year, it's Jacob Misiorowski.
The Brewers' starting pitcher, who made his MLB debut last season, is one of the favorites to win the Cy Young Award this season, after more than half a season of action.
He impresses everyone every time he takes the mound. After all, he's so good that he's a tough opponent for opposing batters to hit.
Let's just say the Milwaukee team is lucky to have him on the roster.
That said, one has to wonder if the Brewers—

Hailey Bieber x Gap, this will be a hot collaboration.
Oh and if anyone is interested in the Victoria Beckham x Gap collection, some of the pieces are back in stock. Debating the sweatshirt and the trench. I have the anorak and the white denim zip-up, really like both.View this post on InstagramA post shared by Gap (@gap)
Hilary Busis’s new piece in Vanity Fair, “You’re Not a Therapist, Stop Talking Like One”, is a very enjoyable read, though I suspect it will make some p

The Dallas Cowboys will have to cope with a significant absence at the start of the 2026 NFL season.The league announced that defensive lineman Charles Snowden will be suspended for the first three games of the regular season due to a violation of the personal conduct policy.
This suspension follows an incident dating back to late 2024. At the time, Snowden was arrested in Nevada after being found asleep in his SUV. According to authorities, his blood alcohol level was well above the legal limit

A few months ago, it was reported that a plan was in place to sell the BPM Sports station, which was owned by RNC Media. Arsenal Media, led by Sylvain Chamberland, wanted to acquire it.
Rumors about the station's future had been circulating for quite some time before then.
And last February, our colleague Maxime Truman revealed that the purchase price would be around $1.8 million. The majority of that amount was for the station itself, but a few hundred thousand dollars would go toward purchasin

Tyson Philpot’s excellent start to the season continues to draw attention in the Canadian Football League (CFL).
Thanks to a remarkable performance in the Montreal Alouettes' most recent victory, the Quebec-born wide receiver was named one of the league's Players of the Week.
Against the Calgary Stampeders, Philpot once again demonstrated why he has become one of the Montreal team's primary offensive targets. The 24-year-old caught nine of the ten passes thrown his way, finishing the game

Baseball will return to the Olympic Games with a six-team tournament to be held at Dodger Stadium in 2028. The United States, Venezuela, and the Dominican Republic have already qualified, but the participation of MLB players will be in jeopardy if the league and the Players Association fail to reach an agreement.
According to Jeff Passan of ESPN, the current disagreements center on hotel accommodations, tickets, and a mandatory participation agreement.
The MLBPA has an issue with mandatory parti

The Rocket has found its new head coach.
Yesterday, the Montreal Canadiens announced the hiring of Daniel Jacob, a man who was already familiar within the organization.
After all, Jacob spent five years behind the Rocket's bench as an assistant coach (2018–2021 and 2024–2026). And the more we hear about him, the more we realize that the Habs seem to have made a good choice.
I say this because there's been a lot of positive feedback about him.
Jacob's hiring seems to be met with unani

American actor Josh Duhamel took to social media to show a little love to B.C. this week.The film and television star, whose credits include Transformers and Las Vegas, shared a selfie video standing on the slim strip of bridge at Hell’s Gate in Boston Bar.‘British Columbia, baby! Hell’s Gate,” Duhamel declares in the clip over the sound of the rushing river in the background as he panned the picturesque span of the Fraser Canyon. “Come on!” View this post on

Anne Hathaway, Zendaya, and Tom Holland were all seen coordinating but separately yesterday in New York on various press commitments to promote The Odyssey, opening this coming Friday. The film has already broken IMAX sales records. I saw it in IMAX and loved it in IMAX – I mean it’ll be great however you screen it but this movie in particular is in its purest form in IMAX. Oppenheimer I could take it or leave it in IMAX but with The Odyssey, here’s where I can say, in my opini

Thomas Chabot is one of the Ottawa Senators' key players.
The Quebec native has quickly become one of the faces of the team's defense, and at 29, he plays a crucial role on his team.
But the defenseman's situation could get complicated rather quickly—especially for the Sens…
Here's what you need to know: Chabot still has two years left on his contract. He'll be a free agent as of July 1, 2028, and the catch is that the Sens might be forced to let him go.
Because according to David P

About a month ago, Duana sent me a text asking me, “Have you heard about du bist gut genug?” I tapped back a question mark, huh? Her reply: “The new hit with the kids. German.” With a video of an impossibly catchy and borderline annoying beat. “Du bist gut genug” = you are good enough and as Duana continued over text, it’s “such a sweet message in all the hearts of the 13 year olds”.So, like so many parents out there, she was hearing it over

The New England Patriots are heading into the upcoming season with a wave of optimism.After several years of transition, the organization believes it has laid the groundwork for a true return to prominence thanks to a major restructuring of its coaching staff.
At the helm of this project is Mike Vrabel, who has assembled a group consisting of former head coaches, experienced coordinators, and young coaches known for their teaching skills. This approach aims to create a stable and high-performing