What’s Goin’ On In The Last F-1ng Race Of The Year?

…Courtside. Cosmopolitan has named the finalists for the Best New Couple of 2025, and their go-to date spots just so happen to be at the game. Congrats to ball-knowing couples like Nick and Olandria, Meg and Klay, Aaron and Teyana, Sean and Minnie for being hot hot hot. 

Ilona Maher is the blueprint. The world-class rugby player talked to Betches about not calling herself an influencer, having nothing in her drafts folders, and fighting back against a culture “obsessed with thinness.”  

Every time JuJu Watkins is in the news, it’s something like, “She has this new documentary. She’s building generational wealth in this new way. She’s setting a trend in this way.” Maybe that’s because she says she doesn’t think much about what could go wrong; she just acts. Read Erica Sloan’s Self profile on JuJu here. 

Malika Andrews, get ready to learn ESPN’s WNBA studio host, buddy. Reports say she’s most likely to replace Elle Duncan, who departed to become the first face of Netflix sports. Good idea, in my opinion.  

Odell Beckham Jr. has had a big week in the news. First, Players did this lovely profile on him in their latest issue. Second, he said it’s hard to make $100 million last forever. I will be pleading the fifth on that. 

I am on the record (many times, in fact) saying I don’t do math. So if you are to ask me how each F1 driver in the running (Oscar Piastri, Lando Norris, and Max Verstappen) can win it all this weekend at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, I am not to respond. Here’s an article though. As far as I’m concerned, Lewis Hamilton won already, just for being cool and nice and stylish. Sadly for me, that’s not how any of this works. 

@f1

chat, what’s your one-word summary of 2025? #f1 #formula1 #abudhabigp #abudhabi

I don’t know a lot about the UAE, if I’m honest. I mean, I know some things, the things we all know, but I don’t know how its residents (just learned only 11% of the population are actually citizens) gear up for the race. What else are they watching? What else will they be doing this weekend? Are they building all the F1 Lego sets, too?

They’re probably going to be at the Benson Boone, Katy Perry, Post Malone extravaganza. While the drivers themselves will be busy racing (duh? How did you not know that?), they made sure to have their traditional pre-last-race drivers' dinner already. 

Tourists and race spectators are making themselves at home. 

And the WAGs had theirs, too! 

And the frontrunners have had some uncomfortable pressers. Featuring uncomfortable questions about each other. While in the same room.

Not nearly as uncomfortable as last year’s drivers’ dinner, where Max and George Russell were outwardly beefing and sat as far away from each other as possible (by the way, Lando clarified no blood was shed and no food was thrown this year).

But, ultimately, as they’ve shown when they backed Kimi Antonelli after last week’s race, the drivers are all here for each other. Now let’s just go out there and have some fun (don’t tell Joe Mazzulla I said that). 

The following is a condensed excerpt of Daniel-Yaw Miller’s OffBall25 spotlight on Nigel Sylvester. Read the full write-up here. 

New York native Nigel Sylvester commands a vast empire spanning professional sports, fashion, the arts, and culture.

Sylvester’s inroads into the sneaker industry are all the more impressive considering his trade — BMX — is not typically a sport that yields athletes who go on to become major cultural crossover stars. It’s a testament to his work over the years in building both his own profile in culture and expanding his collaborations with Nike and Jordan that he’s become one of the creative world’s most valued and hands-on athlete collaborators.

This respect for Sylvester has long crossed over into the luxury fashion world, where the Queens-born athlete has become a valued muse for several designers and has walked in Paris Fashion Week shows for prestigious brands including Hermès. We caught up with Sylvester to hear about his evolution from professional athlete to a streetwear figurehead and everything in between.

OffBall: How has it helped you as a professional athlete to pursue creative avenues outside of or adjacent to sport?

Nigel: BMX riding made me more than an athlete, it trained my overall life process. On the bike you learn timing, patience, and reading terrain. Those lessons transfer directly to my creative expressions. For directing and content creation, I rely on rhythm and pacing. When I design, I obsess over materials, fit and micro-decisions. With my philanthropy efforts, I focus on consistency and building community. The sport gave me the framework, the discipline, detail and the service mindset. I apply it across every ambition.

OffBall: Your relationship with Nike and Jordan over the years has yielded so many sneaker and fashion grails. Which of these moments stands out to you the most?

Nigel: My relationship with Jordan Brand and Nike is definitely one of the most fulfilling partnerships I’ve ever been part of. If I had to choose one, it’s the creative trust from the brand, being valued and seen as more than just an athlete, being trusted to help shape storytelling around products, being looked at as a trusted leader in my industry and belief in my vision as we continue to mold the future of sport. That respect is the real grail.

Watch the NCAA volleyball tournament. That’s all I have to say about that.

Eat a balanced breakfast, then fix college football.  

Take music recs from your favorite FC Barcelona footballers.