...The Round of 32 is set. All but one African qualifier has advanced to the knockout stage. That's 9/10, no notes. This is a moment, folks!

In his New Yorker essay on Lionel Messi, Jordan Salama describes watching Messi in the World Cup as akin to a life event. A longform essay in one of the world's most acclaimed literary publications is affirmation enough of that. Then there’s the story of the former railway worker who, already having built a statue of Jesus, has moved on to what the New York Times calls “Argentina’s Living God.” (The memes are having a divine time with this one.)

Wimbledon’s hottest club? This not-so-secret gifting suite, which boasts the biggest ballers in tennis, the best courtside creators and the swaggiest swag that any Wimbledon fan could ask for. If you see a player missing from Centre Court, you know where to find them. 

Did you, like I, wake up from a Marina Mabrey dream this weekend? Mabrey’s 53 points tied a single-game WNBA record and set a new tempo for all the hoopers in Toronto. She was blowing up the timeline so much that even CNN had to get in on the action and help explain why she couldn’t stop, wouldn’t stop trending. 

A propos of nothing especially sports — other than thank goodness the World Cup isn’t taking place in sweltering Europe — air conditioning (or lack thereof) on the other side of the Pond is a symbol of continental suffering and sacrifice. In America it is a very well-done thinkpiece by The Atlantic's Thomas Chatterton Williams. And Chapter 32 of my yet-be-written memoir. 

I was lucky enough to be courtside at the Wings-Lynx game yesterday, and I saw most-likely-Rookie-of-the-Year Olivia Miles get T’d up when things got a little too contentious. She and Paige Bueckers exchanged words, too — something you don’t see happen with Paige often. We got innumerable (and very loud) boos hurled at Olivia, who loved it, and even asked the crowd to pump up the volume (already pretty loud if you ask me). Here’s how the internet reacted. 

The internet is excited to get negative. 

And the Paige stans are a strong army. 

Since I was there, I can confirm it was as loud as it seems. The crowd was all-in.

And the Olivia Miles sickos were too. 

I’m backing both of them. Just happy to have a new rivalry. 

And if you’ve seen this person, let me know. 

Sorry if you’re behind on Love Island (like me) and these are spoilers, but, they’re perfect. 

I’ve enlisted the help of OffBall Editor Terence Scott to tell us about his week at Nike Toma, the youth-driven street tournament that connects soccer culture with culture, period. Take it away, Terence! 

I will admit I arrived in NYC as not the biggest soccer buff, but that quickly changed. The energy and passion of so many talented young ballers on the pitch could not be denied, and I am now officially a 100 percent footy guy. 

The Swoosh got it right with this one. Dropping a soccer fútbol stadium (fútbol because I am an expert now) in the heart of New York was one of the coolest spectacles I’ve ever been able to experience. From the 4v4 matches to the 1v1 tournaments, the atmosphere was out of this world. The winners of the matches landed brand deals with Nike. How cool it must be as a high schooler, to be able to flex to your peers that you are a brand ambassador? Personally, if that were me at that age, I would never shut up about it.

I would be remiss not to mention that Jordan Brand also hosted a 1v1 soccer tournament inside the New York City Public Library Research, in a cage. Yes, you read that right, these Gen Z ballers were breaking ankles and scoring goals in a soccer cage. It was no shushing the kids to be quiet in the library that night.

 Don’t even get me started on the musical performances. A Boogie kicked off Night 1, followed by DJ Zulan, who had the pitch jumping with her signature style. Then, Nike called in Cactus Jack to finish up the tournament, and he did not disappoint, in true Travis Scott fashion. He had the crowd going bananas. It felt like we were all experiencing a Coachella-like moment, but way more intimate, with how close the music performers were to everyone in the crowd.  

While I wasn’t there to just catch a vibe, that’s indeed what I did. I got to ask USWNT head coach Emma Hayes what her Mt. Rushmore of Beyoncé songs was, and she said the whole Cowboy Carter album; if that’s not taste, then I don't know what is. Also, shoutout to New York Giants linebacker Brian Burns (he is a very large human), but that guy loves him some football and fútbol.

To sum it up, Nike Toma was an insane experience in the best way possible and left me somewhat sad/hating (I’m joking... kind of) because where was this cool s**t when I was in high school?

Thank you, Nike, for the invite, I now expect (hope) to get invited back for Season Two next year: 10/10 experience, no notes. The Swoosh cooked. They know what they’re doing with this.