MLB in Brief: Munetaka Murakami Makes Progress | Tarik Skubal Feature

Munetaka Murakami is making progress
He'll be playing in Triple-A this week.
White Sox star Munetaka Murakami joins the Charlotte Knights on an MLB rehab assignment this week! pic.twitter.com/ap6avjb9Y2
— Charlotte Knights (@KnightsBaseball) July 6, 2026
We imagine the Pope will be keeping an eye on this.
Pope Leo XIV told @AJPierzynski12 that he's paying attention to the White Sox this year.pic.twitter.com/bK1GKjczLz
— Foul Territory (@FoulTerritoryTV) July 6, 2026
The All-Star Game

It’s not hard to understand why Vidura Bandara Rajapaksa is a rising star on the international comedy circuit. From his rock-star dandy dress to his deadpan deconstructions of the state of the world and how we got there, the Sri Lankan comedian radiates a confident, detached cool.Rajapaksa makes his local debut on July 9 at the Vancouver Playhouse opening this year’s Indian Summer Festival, running J uly 9 – 19 . Tickets are on sale now at indiansummerfest.ca .Fans are into a

Dear Gossips,In 2019, BTS became the first South Korean act to sell out Wembley Stadium, one of London’s most iconic venues, in just over an hour. On June 2, 2019, during the second show, ARMY surprised RM, Jin, Suga, j-hope, Jimin, V, and Jung Kook, pulling off a secret plan to sing “Young Forever” back to them and bringing all seven members to tears.I still cry when I watch this video – and I’ve watched it an embarrassing number of times, especially during COVID,

Volunteering has its privileges. Especially if you, like Audrey Zaharichuk, have been with the same arts organization for 35 years.Among other things, the Bard on the Beach volunteer gets to sit in on the table reads.“I get to hear the cast read the script together for the first time,” Zaharichuk said.“It’s amazing how prepared some of them already are. Some have huge portions practically memorized before rehearsals even begin. Watching the amount of work that goes into

Four years ago, when Kirby Dach was acquired by Kent Hughes, the player was offered a four-year contract.
The thinking was this: his contract wouldn't take him all the way to unrestricted free agency (he is currently a restricted free agent), but would bring him one season closer to unrestricted free agency.
This gave everyone a chance to reassess the situation.
But over the past four years, things have taken a turn that no one expected. The player's performance, injuries, and attitude have prev

There's now less than a month left until the MLB trade deadline. This means we should increasingly expect to see trades in the Manfred era.
And, at the same time, teams will have to decide whether they want to buy or sell.
This is particularly true for the Toronto Blue Jays, who still have a real chance of making the playoffs as a wild-card team. Many teams in the American League are struggling, and that opens the door for the Jays.
And Jim Bowden, in an article for The Athletic, has identified

Last Friday, the Flyers set off a firestorm by making a hostile offer to Leo Carlsson. They took advantage of the Ducks' precarious situation to offer the young center a golden opportunity… and to put Pat Verbeek in a very difficult position.
The word on the street right now is that it would be surprising if the Ducks didn't match the offer. But in any case, the Flyers have shown that they're not afraid to go for the big win.
Could they set their sights on Adam Fantilli if things don't wo

Big news from Ottawa tonight.
One of the last big names on the free-agent market, Claude Giroux, has finally made his decision for the upcoming season.
The veteran, who has spent the last few years with the Senators, was being courted by the Flyers and the Maple Leafs, among others.
But in the end, Giroux decided to stay in Ottawa: he'll be back with the Senators next year.
Elliotte Friedman confirmed the news just minutes ago.He will return to Ottawa—it's a done deal https://t.co/LotkjuqK

It's been a year now since Zachary Bolduc was traded to the Canadiens. In his first season with the team, the Quebec native scored 12 goals and 30 points in 78 games before adding three goals and seven points in 19 playoff games.
He started the season on fire, but things got tougher after that. That said, we still saw some promising moments.
This summer, Bolduc and the Habs will need to reach an agreement so the forward can secure a contract for next season. Because one thing is clear: he's stil

One story to watch in the short and medium term is that of Baltimore Orioles catcher Adley Rutschman. The All-Star is currently playing under a one-year contract worth $7.25 million. He has no contract with the Orioles beyond this season. It should be noted, however, that he will still be under the team's control through 2027. Starting in 2028, he will become a free agent and will be able to continue his career with the team of his choice—which, of course, includes the Orioles, if he makes

Over the past few days, two hostile offers have been submitted (and signed) in the NHL. The Devils offered Barrett Hayton a one-year, $4.775 million contract, while the Flyers offered Leo Carlsson a five-year deal worth $18 million per year.
Obviously, the second one is generating a lot more buzz than the first.
That said, the deadline for decisions is approaching in both cases. The Mammoth have until Wednesday to make their decision, while the Ducks must do so by Friday. However, Andy Stricklan

Oliver Kapanen had a pretty remarkable rookie season. The young center scored 22 goals playing alongside Ivan Demidov at center… but he completely ran out of steam toward the end of the season.
And in the playoffs, he was benched more often than not.That makes it hard to fully assess his season. While some see him as a player who could hold down the fort at center on the second line, others view him as a player whose production was almost entirely dependent on Ivan Demidov's talent.
And i

Although winning the division is the preferred route to the playoffs, the New York Yankees still sit atop the American League wild-card standings and hold a three-game lead over the Cleveland Guardians.
All this despite the Bronx Bombers' recent slump. In fact, the Yankees are heading to Tampa Bay to face the Rays on the back of nine losses in their last ten games.
They've posted a record of just four wins against a staggering 13 losses in their last 17 games, which has cost them first place in

Kirby Dach declined the Canadiens’ qualifying offer ($4 million) for the 26-27 season.
The result?
The player will have to go before an arbitrator to determine his next annual salary in the NHL. But as ironic as it may seem, Kirby's decision may not be based entirely on the salary of his next contract…
The thing is, the Canadiens' qualifying offer to Dach was… a two-part offer.
Usually, qualifying offers made to National Hockey League players are single-part, but…
But

There’s a lot of synergy happening between BTS and the World Cup on the European leg of their Arirang World Tour. The tour kicked off a couple of weeks ago in Madrid, when Spain was playing Uruguay. The following week they were in Brussels performing when Belgium played that crazy ass match against Senegal when they were down two goals past the 80 minute mark and ended up winning. Since then they’ve been in London and last night England advanced to the quarterfinals. Munich is where

Brady Tkachuk was traded to the Florida Panthers a few weeks ago.
The Senators felt it was time to move on, and that's no coincidence either.
We know the Sens' locker room reportedly pushed for his departure… but it goes even deeper than that. And there's a reason why the team's captain wasn't universally liked in the locker room.
Elliotte Friedman talked about it on his podcast: the players were simply… fed up with Brady Tkachuk.
The guy may be a really good hockey player, but we

It is one of the lines I’ll always remember from my Greek mythology course in universe – said by Athena but also often used to describe Athena: that she is famous among the gods for her wisdom but also for her cunning, which is why she was partial to Odysseus, the wily Greek.Who but Zendaya, then, to play Athena in Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey, opening next Friday and the press tour now underway. Shameless self promotion: I was in New York last week to cover the junket for E

There's still some time left before summer ends.
Today is July 7… and we're still in for several more weeks of summer heat, which is good news in itself.
But I'm saying this mainly because the Canadiens still have time to make a move ahead of next season. And no, I'm not talking about signing a KHL defenseman…
We're all (eagerly) waiting for Kent Hughes' next move, and on that note, Elliotte Friedman threw a few names out there in the latest episode of his “32 Thoughts”

My colleague Pascal Harvey recently wrote an article about how Juan Soto clearly seems to be missing the Yankees. And he's right.
The Mets missed the playoffs in 2025, and it'll be the same story in 2026. The lack of leadership in Queens is absolutely glaring.
And it starts with the relationship between Juan Soto and Francisco Lindor.
For months, there have been rumors of a strained relationship between the two men. It was said that there was tension between the two stars in 2025.
Everyone in th

The NFL draft often holds its share of surprises, and Carnell Tate experienced this firsthand.The young wide receiver didn't expect to hear his name called so early in the draft and had instead believed his professional career would begin with the Washington Commanders.
When asked recently to reflect on that memorable day, Tate explained that he had a pretty clear idea of which team seemed most interested in him. According to him, several conversations suggested that Washington would select him

I kind of like that the TNT wedding has kicked up some conversation around weddings in general because there’s such a wide range of opinions. The guest list is massive but I’ve been to multiple weddings with 500 guests and a few with 700-800 guests. I’ve been a bridesmaid 8 times, including one bridal party where I was one of 26. A large wedding is very cost-prohibitive, so I don’t know if Taylor will start a trend there, but I did notice some guests were in white.
OK I&r

I went to bed much later than I intended to last night because I was too wired after that wild World Cup match between England and Mexico. Everything about it was entertaining, from the dramatics on the pitch to what was happening before the game to Scotland hilariously entering the chat.Everyone in Scotland has suddenly discovered their Mexican ancestrypic.twitter.com/yfWAkQUIdZ— Shaun 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🇺🇸 (@shaunvlog_) July 5,

There's an interesting rumor circulating on social media right now.
According to player agent Jeremy Garrett of 2112 Hockey Agency—who has sources in Russia—the Canadiens are reportedly close to reaching an agreement with Reilly Walsh on contract terms for next season.
Garrett states in his tweet that this isn't confirmed, but that we can expect an announcement from the Canadiens on the matter. He also mentions that it's reportedly a one-season, two-part contract:I can confirm this n

Northern Venezuela was rocked by two earthquakes on June 24. The quakes, which measured 7.2 and 7.5 on the magnitude scale, respectively, caused severe damage throughout the region, with the cities of La Guaira and Caracas suffering the most extensive destruction.
Since then, the death toll has continued to rise, with more than 3,000 people reported dead and more than 16,000 injured.
And this has had repercussions even in Major League Baseball. In fact, Los Angeles Dodgers rookie Eliezer Alfonzo

This morning, a few Canadiens players practiced in Brossard.
Who was there?
Our colleague Patrick Guillet, who was on site, spotted players like Ivan Demidov, Alexander Zharovsky, and Owen Beck on the ice at the CN Complex. The offseason is in full swing, but it's still interesting to see the young players training in town.A few Canadiens players, including Ivan Demidov, Alexander Zharovsky, and Owen Beck, are on the ice this morning under the supervision of Adam Nicholas. @DLCoulisses #GoHabsGo

I admittedly wasn’t following the TNT wedding as closely as I could have been this weekend so I did not see any pap shots of Jennifer Lopez either on her way to Madison Square Garden or leaving after the event, and if you have, please let me know.
The reason I’m talking about this has to do with how we know she was there. I know she was there because she shared it on Instagram.View this post on InstagramA post shared by Jennifer Lopez (@jlo)
She doesn’t name them but like so ma

Kent Hughes needs to give himself the means to make moves. And to receive, you have to give.
Of course, players like Michael Hage and Alexander Zharovsky are, by necessity, names that come up often in discussions on this topic.
We'll see how this plays out.
But one thing you can't take away from him is that he's once again managed to convince a top young prospect to take a pay cut compared to market value in order to sign him to a long-term deal.
We're talking about Ivan Demidov and his $9.15 mi

After their dismal first half of the current season, the New York Mets are expected to join the ranks of the sellers by the Major League Baseball trade deadline.
A catcher could then find himself in a new place. But which one?
According to Will Sammon of The Athletic, Luis Torrens could remain in Queens after the Mets granted him a contract extension earlier this season. However, that extension also makes him a more attractive prospect to other MLB clubs than Francisco Alvarez.
Even though Torre

Bad Bunny was not at the TNT wedding this weekend in New York, because he’s on tour and was performing in France over the weekend and continuing to make history on the Debí Tirar Más Fotos World Tour. At nearly every stop he’s broken records for ticket sales by a Latin artist, including in Paris, just after doing the same in London.
It was on stage in London when he shared his sympathies with the people of Venezuela after the devastation from the earthquakes.But Benito

While Travis Kelce is still playing for the Kansas City Chiefs, many observers believe the veteran is already planning his future off the field.Speculation has intensified following a highly publicized event over the Fourth of July weekend, where several influential figures from the world of sports television gathered.
According to several analysts, the notable presence of executives, hosts, and commentators from the NFL's major broadcasters was no coincidence. Representatives from Fox, Amazon,