This may be different in the US but in the UK, I would say that small talk about sports, especially football, is much more common among men than women and I was surprised that the article didn't mention this. I've spent a lot of time in female company the last few years and sport is very rarely mentioned, whereas working for a tech company as nearly the only woman, I ended up learning lots about football just to not feel completely left out.
We also have sports such as cricket which are probably a topic of conversation for the middle classes more than the working classes, but then class division is something that we've had centuries to refine!
I'm in the US and not a sports fan and I regularly find myself in groups where the topic of conversation is sports. It's a little uncomfortable for me because it's assumed that all men are sports fans in my city (Boston).
My girlfriend recently cultivated an interest in sports so that she could fit in better with her predominately male colleagues. It seems to have worked for her. I can't tell for sure how much she actually enjoys it vs. how much she enjoys watching some play that she knows she'll will be a topic of conversation at work.
We also have sports such as cricket which are probably a topic of conversation for the middle classes more than the working classes, but then class division is something that we've had centuries to refine!