Unrivaled, Still Unhinged, Only In Philly!

…One day you could just say, “I think I want to be on the broadcast for Lakers-Knicks,” and everyone would be like, “Sounds good!” Mark your calendars for February 1 to catch her join NBC’s Basketball Night in America. She rocks.  

What’s better than watching movies with your friends? Watching movies with Eli Manning, probably. He has a new show where he, well, watches movies with his friend. Kyle Brandt is his first guest, so give it a watch. Also, please watch his impeccable Nicole Kidman impression.

Does San Francisco have its own fashion week? Because it does now. The Super Bowl is just Fashion Week in pads, says Daniel-Yaw Miller in Sportsverse. I mean, he didn’t say exactly that, but between the Thom Browne GQ Bowl and Abercrombie’s exclusive fashion presentation, Super Bowl week has become a runway. 

Commanders’ defensive tackle Jalyn Holmes sees things through a new lens now that he’s in showbiz. He produced a comedy called “Freelance” (been there) to be screened at Sundance (yeah! That Sundance!). Read his Q&A here. Then get on a plane to Utah ASAP.

Starting next month, each U.S. Olympian and Paralympian will be gifted $200,000 by billionaire Ross Stevens, as part of his personal initiative to help cover costs for athletes who don’t make NBA/NFL, etc. money. We need more of this. I got $5 on it! Who’s with me?

The women of Unrivaled are still as much fun to watch as ever. And they actually might be having more fun than ever. And this weekend, they’ll be doing it in a whole new city. Unrivaled will head to Philly this weekend for a special one-day-only event, (of basketball games) so if you live in the area, do not miss it (like I have to). 

Here’s whats up in the league right now, to give you an idea of what to expect. 

Marina Mabrey has created a Crash Out Jar, because, well, she is kind of constantly crashing out. Note that it says “bigger,” which implies the existence of a regular-sized jar at some point. 

The Phantom dropped special crop tops in honor of everyone’s favorite teacher and papi, Natasha Cloud. The video is so worth a watch — some of these women could also be in Hollywood, I’m just saying.

Nothing’s changed with the StudBudz. They’re as crazy as ever (positive) except they’re getting bags now — hello brand deals! 

Aliyah Edwards is still recording her pod from Miami, where Kelsey Plum had to defend her infamous popcorn moment, saying she “ruined it for white women.” Which, by the way, I contend is funny, but you know, I am technically a white woman, so I will own that. 

And the Mist’s Li Yueru and the Development Pool are in their K-pop bag. 

I’m about to admit something so embarrassing, you’re gonna shudder. I didn’t know what the World Baseball Classic was until a few months ago. The truth is, I’ve only recently been watching MLB. I’ve been a college watcher for a while because my alma mater goes to Omaha pretty frequently (fair-weather fan, much?), but that’s really it. 

As I dip my cleats into pro baseball more, I’m most excited about the upcoming World Baseball Classic. The tourney begins March 5 and will be played in Tokyo, San Juan, and Miami. Here’s the very important research I’m doing to gear up for it. 

Watching this Netflix Japan promo.

Watching this nearly exhaustive historical perspective on the tournament that silences the haters. I can’t believe it has haters, by the way, looking at you, New York Mets. 

Learning the basics (in case anyone challenges me to beginner-level WBC-themed trivia). Twenty teams from five continents vie for the title, something only three teams (Japan, USA, and the DR) have actually accomplished. Aaron Judge is Team USA’s captain, Juan Soto will fill the role for Puerto Rico, Shohei is Japan’s captain (obviously), Travis Bazzana is at the helm of Team Australia. 

The tournament is probably most exciting if you’re an LA Dodgers fan from Japan, because the rosters are pretty much the same. I mean, that’s not true, but there are two major players on both the Dodgers and Samurai Japan (Roki Sasaki will not participate). Plus, call Japan the SEC because over there it #justmeansmore. 

Alright, back to my research cave.