Learn Russian: Баскетбол — очень быстрый спорт.

In Russian, the present tense of the verb "to be" (am, is, are) is almost never used. When you say that one noun is another noun, you use a long dash instead. Here, it stands in for "is" to connect Баскетбол (basketball) and спорт (sport).

Why does the adjective быстрый (fast) end in -ый?

Russian adjectives have to match the gender of the noun they describe. Because the noun спорт (sport) ends in a consonant, it is a masculine noun. Therefore, the adjective takes the standard masculine ending -ый, making it быстрый.

Баскетбол and спорт sound just like their English equivalents. Is this common?

Yes! Russian has borrowed many sports terms directly from English. Words like футбол (football/soccer), волейбол (volleyball), and теннис (tennis) are called loanwords and will be very easy for an English speaker to recognize and memorize.

How does the ь (soft sign) change the pronunciation of очень (very)?

The ь (soft sign) doesn't make a sound of its own. Instead, it tells you to pronounce the consonant right before it—the н (n)—softly. To do this, press the middle of your tongue against the roof of your mouth when making the "n" sound, almost as if you are about to say the "y" in the English word "yes".