…Just kidding, but her shoe sold out. Though the campaign for Nike’s Caitlin 1 has been “Nothing Special,” the shoes certainly are a hit. As are the many accompanying activations, like this donut shop, and these customization stands. (All good news for The Swoosh, which can use it). In selling her shoes out so quickly, Caitlin has joined the rarefied signature shoe sellout ranks of A’ja and Angel. Plus, she’s just nice.
My friend and budding women’s sports media star Christiana Cromer had me on their podcast “Good Sport NYC” where we talked about our e-haters, what it was like to #randomly love Priest Holmes as a child (I wouldn’t say I was normal), and what’s missing from women’s sports media. Plus, for the millions of Oregon State Beavers fans who read this, I also filled in on the premier OSU pod, Belligerent Beavs, to talk about swag surfing.
OffBallFC writer-slash-professional soccer player (it never gets old saying that), Madison Hammond, interviewed one of our favorite fashion content creators, Jessica Black, about her disdain for houndstooth (the pattern) and her love of Arsenal (the club).
The world revolves around sports. Fashion retailer Revolve launched a print magazine. The first annual edition features hoopers Cameron Brink and Dwyane Wade. We are intrigued.
Anne Hathaway is still reliving the Knicks championship (aren’t we all?), and Jimmy Fallon knows it. He gave her a signed OG jersey and gift basket on “The Tonight Show.” Then she told him she’d rather see her hometown team win another chip than win another Oscar herself. I have to say I’d take the Oscar, because that sure would surprise a lot of people.
Forward this to someone who’s into Mike Tomlin and/or Jack and Jill bedroom concepts.
You probably know that Mike Tomlin’s new day job is full-time media darling analyst on NBC’s “Football Night in America” every Sunday. After Tomlin (with his 25-year-old son, Dino) revealed his Minecraft city on his YouTube channel, we’re petitioning “FNIA” host Maria Taylor to go rogue and ditch the highlight packages in favor of a Minecraft fan mail-only segment.
Mike Tomlin developed an impeccable reputation as the head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers before stepping down in January. His 19 Steelers teams never had a losing record, and his weekly streak of adding a new “Tomlinism” to the American lexicon is ongoing, to much applause.
Even with all that winning and memery, we all sold Tomlin woefully short. His Super Bowl ring is nice and all, but away from football, he was secretly building his true legacy. He recently told Craig Melvin of the ‘Glass Half Full’ podcast he’s been working on a Minecraft city for… 12 years!
(We can’t go any further without noting an [extremely important] aside: With Melvin, Tomlin outed himself as “a big ‘Jersey Shore’ guy” who also loves “Naked and Afraid.” Multifaceted King.)
Tomlin’s EQ (that’s Emotional Intelligence, for anyone not emotionally intelligent enough to know) was always his calling card as an NFL coach, and his EQ truly manifested through Minecraft. At first, he just wanted to connect with his kids. But when his kids aged out of Minecraft, Tomlin came to find it was “therapeutic” for him to keep playing.
We’re gonna need a whole new addendum to the Book of Tomlinisms after his YouTube reveal.
“I apologize for my lack of stick control.”
“Lighting was a challenge, 12 years ago.”
“I started spawning people.”
“I got into Jack and Jill bedroom concepts.”
“I didn’t necessarily like the paintings, but I just wanted to represent interior design. There’s one painting that’s a silhouette of a person. That’s my favorite painting. If you look around town, you’ll see that more than anything.”
“I wanted to build around bodies of water, but sometimes the spawned topography didn't work with me.”
By the end of Episode 1 of “My 12 Year Minecraft City Build”, (stay tuned for the aquarium and stadium tours!), the internet was mesmerized and genuinely moved. Who says appointment television is dead?
It registered high on the heartwarming meter when Tomlin disclosed that he’d use the world around him to get inspired. After dropping Dino off at the University of Maryland, he built a replica version of a famed building near campus.
If we’re being totally honest, we should all re-evaluate the past 12 years of our lives and ask whether we’ve ever devoted ourselves to anything as much as Mike Tomlin has to Minecraft.
Yes, it’s objectively hilarious that Mike Tomlin built a CVS (no word on whether or not the deodorant and razors are locked up behind glass or not) and an aquarium-themed residential building we’re all dying to live in. But in the age of AI slop and brain rot, it’s sweet and stirring to see someone commit to a creative pursuit in the name of hobbyism.
After watching (live) all of the first episode, we compiled a list of additional thoughts and questions:
Now that it’s done, what does Mike Tomlin think of La Sagrada Familia?
Did he Build This City On Rock and Roll or on something else entirely?
What are his top five architectural cities?
How does an NFL coach have time for this? What other obscure hobbies are NFL coaches hiding?
Is it true they don’t teach young architects to build ornate, Gothic cathedrals anymore?
Anyway, we’ll see you there for Episode 2, which is appointment viewing, of course. Sort of the “Game of Thrones” of our strange, new times.
Who’s got the time for all these TIME lists? I mean, I guess I do, because I went through all of them. You probably have a real job where you fix plumbing or trade stocks or erect buildings on Minecraft, but at OffBall, our job is knowing what is cool, who is cool, posting about them, and watching everyone nod their assent shortly thereafter. The following athletes are on TIME’s “100 Most Influential People of the Year” and “TIME100 Next 2026: The World's Most Influential Rising Stars,” and we agree with their inclusions.
We fell in love with Olivia Miles and her fits and her rivalry with Paige Bueckers, and anyone with eyes can see that “The Spectacle” is here to stay. She got the Sue Bird Stamp of Approval here.
You heard it here first that Folarin Balogun actually hates when people call him “Flo” and would prefer “Balo” or Balogun.” Influence means nothing to him if it doesn’t result in an invitation to the Neverland Ranch, as he told us this summer.
After a whirlwind summer for Alex Eala, it’s impossible to quantify just how groundbreaking Eala’s rapid ascension has been in the “Golden Age of Filipino Athletes,” as explained by our very own Bellas Santos.
It’s been a few months, but Alysa Liu’s blind anime ranking still lives rent-free in our heads. Get in line, Bowen Yang.
We — ok, most of the credit goes to Suni Lee — have been Chloe Kim stans from the jump. Myles Garrett deserves some of the credit, too. She’s on the list here.
Lando Norris won the 2025 F1 World Drivers’ Championship, and subsequently won OffBall’s heart. TIME flexed and got Paris Hilton (!) to write his profile essay, so now he can eternally throw around “it’s not my fault if people are still obsessed with me.” It’s called the transitive property. Look it up.
Play 18 holes. Everyone is doing it.
Don’t forget to turn your monthly calendar page. You know what, fill in the whole month while you’re here.
Make your new friend — USMNTer Julian Hall.
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