MZT defend the title against Kumanovo, and the Super League counts 10 teams

The basketball federation held a working meeting with the Super League clubs and drew the competition numbers. The first round is played on the first weekend of October, 3 and 4 October, with champions MZT Skopje Aerodrom beginning their title defence at home against Kumanovo. In Bitola the rebuilt Pelister face TFT. The new season counts 10 teams: Stip are the debutants and Strumica return to the top flight. The federation also announced that its partnership with the general sponsor continues. Ten teams is more than last year and that is genuine news - the question that remains is how many of them will finish the season with the same players they start it with.

Clippers under federal investigation: the Kawhi Leonard scandal has become a criminal case

The salary cap circumvention through which the Los Angeles Clippers paid Kawhi Leonard outside NBA rules is no longer just a league matter. According to the New York Times, federal prosecutors have opened a criminal investigation, led by the US Attorney's Office in Brooklyn. Investigators are examining whether Steve Ballmer and the club's management used hidden sponsorship arrangements - among them the notorious deal with Aspiration, an environmental startup that has since gone bankrupt, for which Leonard did not have to do anything. The investigation began before the NBA issued its own penalty and at least one subpoena for evidence has already been served. When a league punishes somebody, that is discipline. When the state gets involved, that is something else.

Jokic: "I do not think they should look up to me"

Appearing on a podcast, Nikola Jokic refused to accept the role model label for young people - and said it without a single layer of gilding. "Some people may not like this, but I do not think they should look up to me. I had both good and bad examples, but somehow deep down I always knew what was right," the Denver centre said. He added that he does not believe a public figure genuinely influences children and that the role belongs to friends and family. Jokic also talked about his beginnings in Denver, where Wilson Chandler, Jameer Nelson and Mike Miller were in the gym every day, and their mentality was simple - show up and work. The best basketball player on the planet says he does not want to be an icon. That is a rarer answer than a triple-double.

Rabotnicki at 80: debt down by 70 percent, Vojvodina coming to Skopje

The club marking its 80th anniversary is celebrating the jubilee at home, with Vojvodina travelling to Skopje. Executive director Branko Radevski admitted they wanted a EuroLeague side for the jubilee, but all the big clubs have their schedules agreed a year in advance, so the choice fell on the ambitious Serbian outfit. The figure that genuinely says something came afterwards: the club's total debt has been cut by 70 percent, with a few more months needed for full stabilisation. President Aleksandar Stojkoski was direct about where they had been - last season the club was fighting for survival instead of trophies, which was the signal to form a new board. Legends and trophies get mentioned at every jubilee. A 70 percent debt reduction is the only sentence in the whole celebration that carries a measurement.

Fuenlabrada becomes Partizan de Fuenlabrada - 35 years later

Spanish second-division club Fuenlabrada has officially changed its name to Partizan de Fuenlabrada, in recognition of a 35-year connection with Partizan. In its statement the club recalled how it all began: because of the war, Belgrade's Partizan was taken in by the town as a home team, and that season ended with a European title. The two clubs now work together on player development, institutional initiatives and brand value. It is rare for a club to write somebody else's name over its own. The story underneath it - a team fleeing a war and becoming European champion in someone else's city - is bigger than any transfer this week.