Starstruck Is An Understatement…

…When it comes to how athletes feel about Olivia Miles. The W Rookie Of The Year aka “The Spectacle” was the “Celebrity Photographer Of The Week” at Monday’s Bills-Vikings game, and she captured frame-worthy shots of Justin Jefferson and Scott Van Pelt. Jason McCourty and Randy Moss even fanboyed out and asked for selfies. Streets are saying Kirk Cousins was traded back to Minnesota merely to experience Olivia Miles’s aura for himself. 

“The Spectacle” may be the best athlete nickname, but the PWHL just rolled out an exceptional batch of expansion team identities: the Detroit Clutch, the Hamilton Havoc, the San Jose Sea Lions, and the Vegas Vanguards. I will not pick a favorite, and you can’t make me, but the history behind the San Jose Sea Lions is worth reading about. (Though San Jose will also always be the Fighting Laila Edwardses in my heart.)  

What were you doing as a teenager? I can confirm I was NOT setting NBA records over and over again like 19-year-old Cooper Flagg. How does he do it? His in-game PB&J routine (grape jelly and smooth peanut butter, for anyone wondering, I report the hard-hitting news). Uncrustables, let’s collab. Also, we’re assigning ESPN’s Baxter Holmes to pen the sequel to his 2017 magnum opus on the NBA’s PB&J addiction, which won a gosh darn James Beard Foundation Award.

While the rest of you argue over whether Patrick Mahomes is still GORN (Greatest Of Right Now), I’m focused on the QB ranking that actually matters: Who has the best taste? Mahomes is making a case that he’s at least top 5 in music taste. Thanks to the Chiefs, we have evidence of a mic’d up Mahomes bragging about introducing his 3-year-old son, Bronze, to “Walk Thru” by Rich Homie Quan. 

Bella Hadid must subscribe to Madeline Hill’s Impersonal Foul Substack (as we all should), where Madeline brilliantly outlined “The Sports PR Playbook” as it relates to Karlie Kloss randomly attending a Chiefs game with Taylor Swift last Sunday. Bella, meanwhile, used a Colorado Avalanche game to hard-launch her new relationship. Who’s next (wrong answers only)? 

“Go Off” is a special edition of our daily newsletter, featuring my thoughts, takes, and general vibes, presented to OffBall readers every Wednesday. 

Every morning, like so many of us, I open my eyes, pick up my phone to make sure no one I love died and called me right before it happened, and then find myself scrolling on one of the apps. 

For God knows how many hours a day (keeping that between me and my screen time app and God), I’m hit with video after video after video. This brand collab’d with that person, this person invented a new tequila (is it really new? I don’t know), here are five things in this person’s Linktree that you need to buy or someone you love will die and you’ll miss their call right before. Maybe that last part is just my potential undiagnosed OCD talking, but you get what I mean. It feels equal parts overwhelming and uninspiring. 

And, to be clear, it’s no one person’s fault we’re in this situation, but more often than not, content tends to feel the same these days. Unoriginal. Uninspired. Just Un-. In the age of brain rot, it feels like we’ve seen everything, and we’ve done everything. So, I’ve compiled a list of “brain rot Avengers” as my colleague, Megan, coined them. Please note: This is not an exhaustive list. In fact, it’s a running list. I will be updating and adding to it here and there, whenever I feel particularly inspired. And if you have any submissions, feel free to make your case in an email to [email protected].  

Anyways, here are the people I think are on the frontlines of the Originality Wars, still fighting the good fight. 

Jude Bellingham feels like he is exactly 100% himself at all times. Yes, he’s still sneakily plugging his latest project of being in underwear, but you can tell when he’s unafraid of appearing feminine in a space that rewards masculinity. 

Unrivaled Basketball has set the tone for originality in all the content they produce. Only two seasons in, the league has already forced other leagues to think outside the box. Everything they’ve done is original. From the on-site glam room to their live roster release show to taking the league on tour, no one is doing it like them. 

If you don’t know NBA Res Dev, click here immediately. They’re an NBA content arm dedicated to answering the important questions like: should every WNBA player wear goggles? And is LeBron a deep autumn? 

Everything Horace Gold does, I am a fan of. There aren’t many content creators that find a way to make even the most simple videos interesting. But when someone has a voice worth listening to, their content stands out. He’s a captivating storyteller in a sea of monotony. 

Charles Barkley needs no introduction. Let’s watch some clips recent anyway. Another one here.  

Gabby Williams is full of spirit, tattoos, perfect quotes, and love. My friend Alan Chazaro chatted with her for GQ and it’s one of my favorite conversations in a while. 

Mack Hollins is…Well, I’m not sure we have a word for Mack Hollins. The Patriots WR recently came back from injury (barefoot as usual), but he never stopped being totally himself on IG. 

I’m fairly sure we wouldn’t have much to talk about, but I cannot deny that man is one of one. 

Megan Armstrong gives the latest on the NWSL below. 

If you haven’t watched the NWSL Playoffs yet, I will refrain from judging you. We’ve all got a lot going on and way too many things inundating our poor, tired attention spans. I will not, however, stand by and let your sports palette suffer. 

Let me catch you up. OffBall’s very own (and the best pen in the league) Madison Hammond and the Utah Royals are in the semis, where 2026 NWSL MVP nominee Trinity Rodman and the Washington Spirit (and this Spirit fan who paints in the stands) await. 

Meanwhile, KC Current’s (Most Swaggy Player, if you ask me) Temwa Chawinga and diva with the PK celly, Michelle Cooper, will give us some more grade A content as they face defending champs, Gotham FC.

And while the NWSL champion won’t be crowned for a couple of weeks, it’s never too early to celebrate the goated (or GORNed, as we coined up top) fashion icons. 

There’s Gotham’s Jaedyn Shaw, we all need to be talking about more, even if just for her tunnel fits. I’m constantly jealous of her closet, if I’m honest. And I would never lie to you.

Meanwhile, Gotham’s Mandy Freeman has “footy + fits + fun” in her IG bio, and boy does she deliver. “The Indivisa Show” did the lord’s work and asked Mandy to rank her fits here. 

Jennifer Hudson’s Spirit Tunnel better watch its back, because the Washington Spirit’s tunnel consistently features some of my favorite looks.

Plus, back over at OffBall FC, we’ve given you every reason to fall in love with KC’s Croix Bethune, but if that’s somehow not enough, you’ll love her bedazzled, customized Current jacket and commitment to the art of the mirror selfie. 

And yes, that is a fashion-only finsta of Croix’s that you’re seeing there. Something Houston Dash forward, Messiah Bright, has, too. And a concept I’ve become obsessed with since I learned they were categorizing their insta accounts by topic. We stan an organized queen.

Now, if you don’t watch the semis this Saturday/Sunday, I will officially start judging you.