New Sports Earworm Just Dropped

…From the Golden State Warriors organization. It turns out that if you send an email stating your frustrations with the team, the owner himself, Joe Lacob, will respond. And he may or may not shade players or coaches in the process. Unsure. Regardless, he hears you, he sees you, and he’s putting in the work. 

Everybody was really mad about the cost of FIFA World Cup tickets. To which the federation said, “Oh yeah??? Well, we’re gonna make some of them way lower! How about $60?? See how you like that!” and everyone was like, “yeah, that sounds great actually.”  

Watching IG reels on TV? It’s more likely than you think. Soon, you’ll be able to watch your teams’ arrivals on IG reels before you turn the game on YouTubeTV or  Prime or Hulu or Prime or Tubi or Blupo or whatever. 

Defector’s Liz Cook hit up Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce’s steakhouse, “1587,” and gave us a full review. Athlete-owned restaurants are always a fun idea, in my opinion. Then again, my taste is questionable when it comes to gimmicky bars—I go to Margaritaville by choice. 

James Madison University alums turned journalists are having a fun little back-and-forth with Oregon on social media ahead of their College Football Playoff game. Their account, JMU  Sports news, has doubled its following this week. Idea: JMU changes its mascot to be a troll.  

When the perfect TikTok audio comes around, it pops off in a way that could turn even the best record execs in the early 2000s green with envy. I don’t really understand why this is—perhaps it’s just that we are all desperate to pop in on trends and go viral, or perhaps there’s a secret recipe to the ones that do go viral. 

“Linger” by the Cranberries is a favorite of mine (and everyone else’s). Bonus points if it’s a Russ edit, of course. And in my non-professional opinion, I’d say that’s because it’s 1. nostalgic (we’ve really let it Linger) and 2. Includes haunting vocals. 

One we’ve been seeing a whole lot of this year, in particular, is ”Now or Never by TKANDZ.” This one is obviously beat-driven and lends itself well to depicting the perfect climactic moment in an edit. Football (soccer) really loves it. Another one football’s been big on this year is this ”How Deep Is Your Love” remix. A lot. This one feels specifically British in a way I can’t explain but that I presume would have my colleague Daniel-Yaw Miller half laughing and half rolling his eyes. 

Strangely, many of them feel British, actually. UK rappers basically have a monopoly on sports TikTok sounds, at this point. But this one, which the Orlando Magic uses frequently, is of the Italian Brain Rot family (which I learned by typing “song that goes ‘toom toom toom sahuuuu’” before learning those are absolutely not the lyrics). And although it definitely feels brain-rotty, it’s catchy as hell. 

Don’t go down the Paige Bueckers fan edit rabbit hole if you know what’s good for you, or you’ll find many many many many many thirsty videos with semi-scandalous Christmas songs. Speaking of Christmas, Unrivaled’s Vinyl gave us this absolutely unhinged mash-up. 

And then obviously there are the sounds that are perfectly suited for one to two days out of the year. The players even know this one. 

In closing, here’s a definitive ranking of the best TikTok earworms. 

@tristen

we lettin bro rank again? ik i left some off the list, these are just the ones i see the most fr #nba #nfl #lebronjames #sportsedit #nbaed... See more

I’m kind of obsessed with the content coming out of Team USA’s training camp this past weekend, and I want everyone else to be, too. 

USA Basketball invited 17 players to work out in preparation for the 2026 FIBA World Cup in Berlin (and also the 2028 Olympic World Games), and it’s no surprise due to their ages and social followings, but this group is basically a content factory. 

The 10 players who are new on the Team USA scene, the ones that fit the Gen Z bill, include big names like Caitlin, Paige, Rickea, Lauren — and even JuJu — and so many others. Paige has given them a nickname that sort of sums it all up: the “young and turnt corps.” 

@espnw

#PaigeBueckers and #TeamUSA youngsters are bringing the vibes to training camp 😂 #basketball #USA

Plus, their managing director is pretty turnt when it comes to content, too. Maybe you’ve heard of her: Sue Bird? Ring any bells?

And after facing the harsh reality that we won’t see Angel in an Unrivaled jersey this year, it’s good to see her here.