Welcome to Finkel's Fast Five #145. Thanks for reading and subscribing! ONE  MOVIES - Sean Connery passed away earlier this week and if you read one thing about him, it should be this Twitter thread by Brian Koppelman, the creator of Billions and writer behind Rounders, Ocean's 13 and more.  It's a thread about the one time he got to develop a movie with Connery as a neophyte screenwriter in NYC, how Connery was in real life, and especially the way he handled Hollywood. It's short and awesome. Here it is.

TWO

 BOOKS - Incredibly, after ditching the dinosaur phase for like two years, my seven-year-old is now back with a vengeance. It's all dinosaurs all the time and I don't know if we're headed to a full-on, Ross Geller paleontologist career, or it's just a second wave, but I thought it was time to find out.  So I ordered a big boy, endorsed by Nature and Scientific American 400 page adult dinosaur book that I told him we'd read every night before bed...and he loves it. Also, I love it, too. It's like a well-written, clever, conversational biography of dinosaurs that is easy to read and moves quickly like fiction. It's called The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs by Steve Brusatte.

THREE

 HOOPS- I've been neck deep in research for my next book and there's a chapter on the '96 NBA Draft. While talking with my buddy Chad Finn from the Boston Globe on Twitter, he uncovered this amazing photo of Kobe from the pre-draft workouts that year.  It's a 17-year-old Kobe Bryant being bodied up on a workout by Dennis Johnson. Best of all, Bryant, for the one time in his life, was wearing a great Celtics t-shirt. I never knew this photo existed. Pretty cool time capsule to see. Check out young Kobe with a little Celtics Pride.

FOUR

 TRICK SHOTS - I love trick shots. You love trick shots. But what about trick shots from a punter using a football???? As a former punter myself, this is trick shot nirvana.  Check out my new favorite follow, Marquette King, as he boots a football across two outdoor basketball courts and knocks it in the hoop. On a double rim no less! Punters, bro. Punters.

FIVE

 A great quote comparing writing to magic:  "Words and magic were, in the beginning, one and the same thing, and even today words retain much of their magical power."  - Sigmund Freud

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"The basketball brotherhood in Seattle is just different. There's such a deep connection with each other and their city. I really enjoyed that feeling and I was happy to be apart of it. This story of the culture of basketball in Seattle is so pure."   - Kevin Durant, 10x NBA All-Star, 2x NBA Champion   "The fans are so loyal and so dedicated in Seattle. They give you a feeling of warmth and family. So many guys made it to the NBA from the area because of that feeling of family. Hoops Heist is the story of generations of NBA guys lifting each other and their community up".  - Gary Payton, Pro Basketball Hall of Famer, NBA Champion

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