Austin Says Let’s Get Weird

What does TNT Sports look like without the NBA? Quite the smorgasbord. TNT has locked in the broadcast rights to Unrivaled’s 3-on-3 women’s basketball league, the Savannah Bananas, and the French Open in the months since it lost its NBA package. We know Sir Charles will still be running the show, but Kenny Smith says he’s enjoying free agency. We’ll be watching!

Watch culture in the NBA is absolutely unmatched. Let Moses the Jeweler break down the wristwear of the best players in the league. Be warned—you will leave this video jealous.

Four years after his untimely passing, Kobe Bryant might still be the most influential athlete on the planet. Case in point—Stefon Diggs is now rocking Kobe cleats on the NFL field. Talk about a crossover.

New York’s hottest club is…the Barclays Center, where fans of the Liberty prove game after game that they’re some of the best dressed in all of sports. You gotta pull out all the stops if you’re getting your photo taken next to Ellie.

Peacock is looking to grab more cord cutters by offering local sports in a few markets. The great streaming revolution is upon us, all we can do is watch (as long as you’re subscribed that is).

OffBall was inspired by so many creators building things worth bringing attention to independent of what the algos demand, and we like to bring forward those whose commentary helps shape ours. So over the next couple of days, we’re turning it over to a creator who obsesses about college football and F1. Maybe he knew this weekend was always coming and decided to carve out this very unique lane, or maybe he’s just following his passions, like all of us. Regardless—he’s tapped into the two worlds that are set to collide in Texas.

Meet OffBall’s first guest curator: Adam Faris

Everyone is leaning into the mashup and already surfacing some iconic crossovers, but how might the rest of the weekend go? Is this the week that college football goes lux, with Texas rolling up to Darrell K Royal Stadium in Ferraris and McLarens? Or will the F1 crowd try on a pair of cowboy boots and get a bit rowdy?

@mclaren

🏎️ @Oscar Piastri 🤝 @Texas Longhorns 🏈 #McLaren #F1 #TexasLonghorns

In F1, the biggest action before the race takes place in the parking lot. Which driver pulls up in the best car?

Right off the bat there’s two teams, four drivers to keep an eye on—McLaren (Lando and Oscar) and Ferrari (Charles and Carlos). The Ferrari team in particular, as Ferrari just launched their brand new Ferrari F80 ($3.9M). I can’t imagine either driver would roll up in this, but the team / OEM could look to make a splash with drivers this race weekend.

Leclerc pulled up to the race in Monza in a new Ferrari Purosangue, while Carlos Sainz was seen driving a Ferrari 296 GTB at the Miami GP earlier this year. My money is on Lando pulling up in something special—he’s already teasing something big.

Can Texas top Cal and Oregon as recent hosts of ESPN’s College Gameday?

This edition of Gameday will absolutely be something special, and may very well top the past few weeks. They’ve got the pieces between Austin, epic matchup, and great guest picker Scottie Scheffler. This is the biggest game of the CFB season and I can’t wait to see if Texas can beat THIS. Or THIS.

Who takes on Daniel Ricciardo’s role as master of ceremonies at the US GP?

There’s a race within a race here for who can fill the massive gap in personality of Daniel Ricciardo no longer racing. The people need a champion! I would break down the contenders as:

• Favorite: Lando Norris—he’s already rocking a Texas Quinn Ewers jersey, and Ricciardo was notorious for repping the Longhorns at the event.

• Sleeper: Valterri Bottas—never one to step away from a bold fashion choice, rocking everything from cowboy hats to cycling gear. When it comes to his helmets, he certainly goes all out.

• Dark Horse: Yuki Tsunoda—Yuki has a hilarious personality and has seemingly “been under the wing” of Danny Ric while they’ve been teammates. Time to step up!

Will Austin ever be louder (literally)? 

This is a fun one to play out. Obviously we know how loud Formula 1 cars are, but comparing the decibels from that of a college football stadium packed with rabid fans, they’re not far off at all. This is me now, going deep on sports science. 

In this video from @theatguygarf, a stadium filled with 110,000 Texas fans reached 116.1 decibels against Wyoming. Meanwhile, this video shows that a Red Bull F1 car reached about 120 decibels. Given the stakes of this game, I actually think Darrell K Royal Stadium has a chance to surpass that—which is saying something. 

POLL: Which event brings out the more impressive Celeb Row?

Some possible celeb sightings we might see at either event over the weekend include Glen Powell, Matthew McConaughey, Elon Musk, Kevin Durant, and Joe Rogan.

Last year, I attended the USGP and it was wild to see the wide range of celebs there—fighter Anthony Joshua, actor Patrick Dempsey, golfer Rory McLroy, and THE Prince Harry just to name a few. I imagine there will be some heavy hitters in the paddock.

But will they be outmatched by the Texas sideline? How deep does McConaughey’s rolodex go?

Let’s hear your vote:

Adam is going to be providing commentary through the weekend on OffBall’s Instagram. The conversation doesn’t stop here. We’ve got you covered.