It’s perfectly in Nikola Jokic’s right to delay signing a contract extension until next summer. With the inability of the Nuggets ownership and front office to attract a star free agent, Jokic may be forced to go  elsewhere in the NBA to get another ring.

— D.J., cross-fading and scratching

Kiz: Unlike you, Mr. Worrywart, everyone knows I’m a sunny optimist. I do believe Jokic loves Denver. Rather than walking away as a free agent in 2027, waiting to sign an extension could commit him to the Nuggets through his 37th birthday. So what’s there to worry about? Well, now that you mention it …

Jokic delaying his commitment to the Nuggets? I’m anxious, for sure. I won’t feel like it’s only a strictly business decision until he signs the extension.

–  D.N.F., Denver

Kiz: Let the tampering begin. How much trolling will Lakers fans do to Denver during the next 12 months? How many times will we be reminded Luka Doncic and Joker are twin basketball brothers from different mothers? Every time the Nuggets visit L.A. to play a game, how much effort will go into the homemade signs waved in the Crypto.com Arena that tell Jokic that life’s better at the beach?

The 4-1 loss to Belgium allowed us to see that soccer ranks fifth among sports chosen by American youth. The athletic skill from Belgium was better than the USMNT. But it was a good tournament run, and we can hope this World Cup encourages more boys to choose soccer.

— M.M., born in the USA 

Kiz: Although more U.S. kids play basketball than soccer, when you check participation levels in youth sports, soccer ranks right alongside football and baseball. So the problem isn’t the size or quality of the U.S. talent pool. The problem is how we develop our young male soccer players. For 25 years, there has been a false assumption that our bigger, faster young boys can be taught how to become soccer players. That’s round-peg, square-hole thinking. Yes, athleticism matters. But the 40-yard dash isn’t nearly as reliable a predictor of innate soccer ability as simply watching how many times a kid can juggle a ball with his feet.

Kiz, soccer isn’t cool in the United States. The biggest studs in middle school or high school aren’t playing soccer. It’s not fun to play at all.

— S.D., the “S” stands for studly

Kiz: If soccer isn’t cool, explain why 33 million Americans tuned in to the USMNT’s loss to Belgium, while 24.5 million U.S. viewers were glued to their televisions when the New York Knicks won their first NBA championship since 1973. You are right about one thing, though. Soccer is a pain to play for a husky kid who can find a home on the offensive or defensive lines with his middle school football team.

And today’s parting shot takes exception with my assertion that a wretched World Cup performance revealed Christian Pulisic as the most overrated player in USMNT history.

You don’t know anything, Kiz. Agree Pulisic didn’t play well. But the most overrated? OK, crazy man. Geez. Thought you were better than that. But I guess not.

— Erik, Mukilteo, Wash.