Celebrate Nikola Jokić, The Big Boy Who Can Pass

We should revise our initial appraisal of Nikola Jokić: Denver’s second-year center can pass the ball, and deserves that reputation. Coach Mike Malone attributes the 21-year-old’s buttery playmaking to his past as a “fat point guard,” and though that chub has since been stretched thin over a 6-foot-10 frame, the skills remain: he posted 27 points, 15 rebounds, and 9 assists in last night’s win over the Mavericks. Here’s his slickest dish of the night, a no-look bounce pass to hit Gary Harris on a backdoor cut:

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Real Madrid's Transfer Ban Reduced To One Window

Real Madrid’s appeal of a FIFA-imposed two-window transfer ban for violations in the signing of foreign youth players has been successful, as the Court of Arbitration for Sport today reduced that initial penalty to a single window, citing errors in FIFA’s investigation as justification for why they reduced the sanction.

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Odell Beckham Jr. And Le'Veon Bell Have Some Gripes Over Arbitrary NFL Fines

Let’s get this out of the way: Ezekiel Elliott’s kettle hop was fun, kinda cute, and made for great internet content for this very blog and others. It’s also great that the NFL has said they won’t fine him, and that Elliott will donate a hefty sum to the Salvation Army.

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Thank God, Rogue One Made Darth Vader A Proper Villain Again

Rogue One: A Star Wars Movie is a very good blockbuster—does it provide an apt commentary on the modern state of warfare or secure every loose end George Lucas left untethered in his two runs at the helm? No. The plot is fine, I cared about the characters I was supposed to care about, the robot is Good, and the non-human visual effects are once again so great, you’ll think you’re smacked. I didn’t go looking for a Best Picture nominee; I went for 45 seconds in a dark hallway with Darth Vader.

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Attila The Hun Did Far More Than Just Leave Charred Bones In His Wake

Nearly 16 centuries after he lived and died, the name of Attila the Hun still carries overtones of wanton destruction and senseless slaughter. The Huns, unlike the Franks or the Anglo-Saxons or the Goths, have no modern politicians claiming them as glorious ancestors for a shot of cheap nationalism; the Huns embody the stereotype of the barbarian as rampaging looters, destroyers who left in their wake nothing but charred cities full of bones.

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