The World Cup, that is.

Spain vs. Holland for the world's most prestigious sports trophy.

A refreshingly MacLean-free CBC at 2 p.m.

And it should be a dandy. Join us here for live blogging this afternoon.

And to warm up (as though that were needed in Montreal's weather), check out The Guardian and  The Onion

• Gazette sports editor Stu Cowan has questions about the Halak trade

• Such a cute couple! Mike Fisher marries Carrie Underwood

• Top 10 remaining UFAs

• How Kovy II misread the market

Please God, let this not be true.

Larry Brooks of the New York Post, who's well plugged-in, is reporting there may be a LeBron James knockoff television special focused on Ilya Kovalchuk's decision.

On the other hand, you can see the possibilities of a commercial tie-in:

Glad bags strong enough for whatever chunks we'll be blowing.

• Must reading: Bill Simmons and Scott Raab on the James special

Shout-out to SeriousFan09 for this very apropos video.

Now that the Sharks have hit the Hawks with a little playoff payback, you don't suppose there's a Carey Price offer sheet being cooked up somewhere, do you?

Nah .....

• Sharks sign Niklas Hjalmarsson to offer sheet. Eric Duhatschek's take

• P.K. takes nothing for granted

• Gui! is a happy hockey player

• Bob Probert laid to rest. To commemorate Probert, a fight at the Tour de France

• Pierre LeBrun on Shea Weber

• Mark Stuart stays in Boston

• Steve Eminger to the Rangers

• Mike Modano to Minny?

Not exactly what we do here, but here's a tip of the Habs Inside/Out helmet to the group of loyal Habs and HIO fans I encountered tonight at Le Manoir in Pointe-Claire.

These guys wanted to talk about the Canadiens - contracts, roster, the season past and the one to come. A brasserie isn't the place to take names, unfortunately, but as promised them in parting, here's a quick shoutout to an enthusiastic group whose support of HIO we appreciate very much.

Hope to see you again, guys.

Have y'all recovered from the spine-tingling excitement of watching The Decision?

LeBron to Miami.

Now back to hockey:

• Pat Hickey on pint-sized prospect Brendan Gallagher

• P.K. honoured by AHL

• Ian Schultz wants to emulate Milan Lucic

• Juniors eye Louis Leblanc

• Mike Cammalleri has been watching the World Cup

• La Presse reports extra police for the playoffs cost $2 million

• The indefatigable Robert L sizes up the team

• Why not Quebec City?

• Darryl Sutter does something right

• Josh Gorges' Kelowna D partner becomes captain of the Predators

And before we close the book on LeBron James, check out this open letter by Cavs majority owner Dan Gilbert blasting a "shocking act of disloyalty."

Hey, 838 Comments yesterday? Canadiens fans are crazy.

But we knew that.

In a one-hour special, Maxim Lapierre announces where he'll be playing this season.

Informed sources say the choice has been narrowed to Montreal or Montreal.

• Hockey's Future assesses the Canadiens' draft (shout-out to SeriousFan09)

• Matthias Brunet on draft-day screw-ups

• In Pat Hickey's column, Paul Kelly defends college hockey

• A Jarred Tinordi feature at ruefrontenac.com

• Four Habs Fans has home video from camp

• Kovalchuk komedy kontinues

• Down Goes Brown summer reruns

• Glen Sather orders a pizza

• A must-read: Homophobia and Discrimination in Hockey

• Pat Hickey checks in from development camp

• Hickey on the choice of Price

• Arpon Basu on the likely lineup

• Gauthier goes with youth

• Gauthier video from RDS

• Boston has a cap problem

• Whither Avtsin?

• Whither Guerin?

• Whither Modano?

Great Tweet from Larry Brooks of the New York Post: Ilya Kovalchuk will be announcing his decision on Versus. What? He already did but no one was watching?

General manager Pierre Gauthier confirmed today that Dominic Moore, Marc-Andre Bergeron, Paul Mara and Glen Metropolit are not in the Canadiens' plans for next season. Gauthier said he informed the four unrestricted free agents that the team was not interested in negotiating with them. Gauthier said he thanked the four for their contributions last season but said the players didn't fit in the Canadiens' plans.

Gauthier also said he would not be making a contract offer to David Fischer. The Canadiens' first-round draft choice (20th overall) in 2006 will become a free agent on Aug. 15.

The Canadiens will receive a compensatory second-round draft choice next year ... which is good, because Gauthier sent his second-round pick to Florida for Dominic Moore.

Speaking on the opening day of the Canadiens' development camp, Gauthier said negotiations were ongoing with two restricted free agents, goaltender Carey Price and forward Maxim Lapierre. He said the team would review any further personnel moves after those players were signed.

The camp, which runs through Friday in Brossard, brings together 23 players including their five picks from last month's draft as well as some AHL players like P.K. Subban, Ryan White, Ben Maxwell, Yannick Weber and Aaron Palushaj. Also on hand is Russian Alexander Avtsin, who played last season with Moscow Dynamo. He isn't signed but Gauthier said Avtsin is interested in playing in North America and contract talks are under way.  

According to CapGeek, the Canadiens have $5.6 million available to sign Price and Lapierre.

• Gauthier, in French, on CKAC .... and the kids: Lars Eller and Jarred Tinordi

Who knew Sergei Kostitsyn was a country-music fan?

The Canadiens' former problem child squelched those rumours that he was heading to the KHL when he signed a one-year deal to play for the Nashville Predators. Kostitsyn became the Predators' property in a deal last month for the NHL rights to goaltender Dan Ellis and forward Dustin Boyd.

Kostitsyn will make a bit more than the minimum wage at $550,000 but he'll get a chance to renegotiate next summer if he can deliver on his largely untapped talent.     

The Canadiens playoff hero is locked up for four seasons at $15 million  in St. Louis.

That's a nice raise on the $800,000 Jaro Halak was paid last season.

• Pat Hickey on the succession

• François Gagnon's take and Arpon Basu's

• Bert Raymond saw it coming

• Hickey on the "other" Kovy

• Demers' hernia operation a success

• Why not Canada? series begins

• Eric Duhatschek on Bob Probert

• An Elliote Friedman piece on Probert

• Probert's Top 5 (not goals)

• List of players who filed for salary arbitration

The Canadiens have just announced that Pierre Boivin will step down as the president of CH Group on Jun 30, 2011 and turn the reins over to majority owner Geoff Molson.

In other news, Jacques Demers is in the hospital and Bob Probert has died.

• Forgotten but not gine: BGL whines about Guy Carbonneau and Jacques Martin not liking tough guys

And who's going to give it to him?

• L.A.? Nyet!

• Two teams still in the hunt

• Elliotte Friedman's take

• The lessons of this year's market

• Souray clears waivers

• Brian Burke keeps his promise

Let's give hockey a rest.

• The template for nurturing, developing and USING young talent: Germany at the World Cup

• Speaking of promising young 'uns: Alexander Avtsin

• Nine teams – including the Canadiens – face cap penalties

• Ryan McDonagh to sign with the Rangers

• Mario Tremblay may hand up his coaching whistle

• UFA winners and losers

The Alexander Avtsin highlight reel

The Islanders?

Really?

This is turning into Son of Sundin.

• Auld looking forward to working with Price

• Sather's miscues continue – Pat Hickey