Take Five With Christen Press and Tobin Heath

…It’s more likely than you’d think. This superstar comedian has been a Red Devils stan for years. Now, we just need to see how Substitute Teacher Mr. Garvey says Kevin De Bruyne.

It’s a hard knock life trying to make the next ‘Hard Knocks’. The streamers want more sports, but the doors from leagues and teams are closing, giving indie producers a new drive to survive. 

When’s the last time you thought about the Roman Empire? Whenever it was, you probably weren’t thinking about sports, but the Romans could straight up ball. 

F1’s rise has become so astronomical, brands can’t afford to advertise with them. Meaning it’s mostly luxury brands and tech corporations that can pay to ad play. Fan Prix, a fan fest in Las Vegas, will be smaller brands’ chance to lap the others.

If you see us playing EA CFB 26 at work, just be cool about it. The college football game is making its return for its revamped sophomore season, and fans are in for a treat with new mascots and traditions. Can we start the tailgate already?

Welcome back to Take Five, a series where our community taps in to curate the music, style, trends, and influencers that have caught their eye. From the things that inspire them to what or who we should all be paying attention to.

You’ve seen our past Take Fives, featuring big names like tennis champion, friend, and OffBall advisor Naomi Osaka, NBA funny man Blake Griffin and hoops legend, Allen Iverson.

Christen Press and Tobin Heath have been soccer’s favorite couple since they got caught kissing under a tree. But they’re also everyone’s favorite podcasters. Their show, The RE—CAP Show covers all the latest happenings in pro women’s soccer. It’s been a mega hit, and their reward for all that hard work is a new partnership with Audacy—which will handle distribution and global sales, but will also open them up to new brand partners. “…We owned this business like we ran it. We made the decisions. We created a safe space. We built diversity into our teams. We did all the things that, you know, big media wouldn't allow us to,” Press said. 

“And we're excited to be able to deliver an even better version of TRS. We're in a new awesome studio. We have a new production team, new hires for our business on the media side,” Heath, who also shocked the world when she announced her retirement yesterday, told us.

These big moves are exciting for everyone,  but we wanted to get to know Christen and Tobin on an every day level, too. 

OffBall: Who's your dream podcast guest?

Tobin: “Rihanna.” 

Christen: “I was going to say Cynthia and Ariana together.” 

OB: Who is the most underrated player on the women's national team? 

Tobin: “It's not fair because they haven't even had time to really become rated. I guess I feel like the most underrated player is Cat Macario. I think she's even better than everyone knows she is.” 

Christen: “Alyssa Thompson.”

OB: Song or artist you’ve got on repeat? 

Tobin: “Ben Harper.”

Christen: “Billie Eilish.”

OB: What is a hill that you will die on? 

Tobin: “A lot.”

Christen: “Oh, gosh. Only flying business class.” 

Christen: “Tobin, you die on every hill.” 

Tobin: “I know, that's what I was thinking. There's just, like, Tobins just mutilated everywhere.” 

OB: What’s a sports fashion or culture trend you love? 

Christen: “Tobin, what are those big jeans that I wear?” 

Tobin: “This is a sports trend.” 

Christen: “No, she said fashion.”

Tobin: “That’s just Christen fashion…They're like, um..barrel jeans!” 

Christen: “Barrel jeans!”

OB: Tobin, do you have one?

Tobin: “Um, sports things….Rapid fires aren't my best…” 

Christen: “Tobin and I are really bad with this, so this is going to take one hour.” 

Tobin: “I'm really into, um, this brand. Uh, it's kind of a cycling and running brand. Ciele hats.”

Christen: “Oh, I started wearing toe socks when I play. Boots are like a coffin for your feet. And it's really bad for your feet, like feet binding. So, spreading out your toes, like yoga toes, so that you have a little bit more space and balance. And all your little muscles have space to move.”

Thanks so much to Christen and Tobin for chatting with us

Love Island USA is not sports. But actually, isn’t it? A competition predicated on alliances and strategy (and sometimes bluffing) to win America over. Whether it is or it isn’t, your favorite athletes are watching it. And since the finale is upon us (this Sunday night), let’s take one last look at the chokehold it has on the American sports arena.

Forget sports bars, all over the country those are being rebranded as Love Island bars. 

Stadium Swim, a swim-up pool complex and sports bar in Vegas is hosting the finale watch party of the summer, thanks to their 143 foot screen. 

And the memes and social formats are still in full swing, too. If Tara and Hunter Woodhall were on Love Island, they’d be immediate fan favorites. And so would Tara’s suggestion to play music at track meets. 

Somehow the dream date meme hasn’t overstayed its welcome. Sorry, Kylian.

The New York Liberty will probably be having their own watch party, since they’re all stans. How did Jonquel do with her rankings? Izzy Harrison, Jaylyn Sherrod, and Natasha Cloud think Amaya’s taking it (though Natasha wants Nic and Olandria), but Nyara Sabally said this is a game no one deserves to win. Probably true for a lot of things these days. 

Go shop for your favorite team merch, from a site you may not know about—but definitely should! 

Watch Megan and Sue throw out the first pitch at an AU softball game. 

Try strawberry pasta—a dish fueling a tennis star at Wimbledon. Yeah, it’s exactly as it sounds.