The four-time NBA MVP gives you all the first-hand glimpses into his professional and private lives that you’d expect from a Nike/Powerade/Beats by Dre/McDonald’s/State Farm/Kia pitchman on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram during the regular season. Then, just before the playoffs begin, he shuts it all down and goes into stealth mode. Access to James from those outside his inner-circle is limited to pregame interviews and postgame news conferences as he zeroes in on the utlimate prize — an NBA championship....

The Lakers star took a few moments early Thursday to respond to a tweet by reigning NFL MVP Patrick Mahomes, who had an up-close view of James’ one-footed dagger 3-pointer against the Pelicans on Wednesday night. King James, who was a pretty fair football player in his younger days, recognized Mahomes’ breakout season in 2018 with the Kansas City Chiefs: MORE: Mahomes SN’s 2018 NFL Offensive Player of the Year...

Through three games, James is averaging 40.1 points per game. He’s scored a Finals-record 123 points in his first three games, while leading the Cavs to a 2-1 lead against the favored Warriors. MORE: Matthew Dellavedova, Iman Shumpert will play in Game 4 | James leaves court after slurs yelled at him While the rest of the world stands in awe of what he’s doing, he chooses to stay oblivious to it....

James caused a stir on Twitter when user @kanyecobain noticed the Cavs superstar was no longer following his team’s Twitter account. MORE: LeBron’s best Finals performances | Cavs favor health over No. 1 seed Panic in the streets! He’s leaving Cleveland! Here comes another letter! LeBron follows Victor Cruz, so is he going to play for the Giants? He also follows Bun B. Time to start that rap career....

In an interview with The Athletic’s Jason Lloyd, Lakers star LeBron James didn’t shut down the idea that he could rejoin the Cavaliers before the end of his NBA career. The four-time MVP, who played for the Cavs from 2003-2010 and 2014-18, told Lloyd “the door’s not closed” on a return to Cleveland. NBA LEAGUE PASS: Sign up to unlock live out-of-market games (7-day free trial) “I’m not saying I’m coming back and playing, I don’t know,” James said ahead of the 2022 NBA All-Star Game, which will be held at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland....

A waterfront city just 20 minutes north of Seattle ditched its initially preferred choice for police chief simply because he is white. Instead, the city hired a less qualified person, who happens to be non-white, to take on the position. Normally, I would join you in dismissing the preceding sentences as shamefully bigoted commentary based upon flawed assumptions. But in this case, it’s not just tendentious commentary. Officials in Edmonds, Washington aren’t even bothering to hide their motives; they’re embracing condescending tokenism and framing their hiring decision on race, rather than qualifications....

How surprised those women would be to discover the amount of maintenance the human face requires today. Exfoliation, antioxidizing, moisturizing, revitalizing and toning. Retinol, alphahydroxy acids, plant estrogens and herbal peels. This is why the cosmetics business had sales of almost $7 billion last year, because a sizable number of us, in tending our bodies, have lost our minds. Simple self-reliance has given way to a team approach: stylists, colorists, trainers, facialists, waxers....

On Tuesday morning, Blount is a former Steeler after the team announced his outright relase. MORE: Who your fan base hates | NFL playoff picture | Lynch doesn’t join Seahawks at halftime As the Steelers featured Bell for 33 carries and he ran for 204 yards in the 27-24 comeback win at Tennessee, Blount was in the game for only two plays and didn’t touch the ball once. According to multiple reports, that prompted Blount to leave the field early, head to the locker room, dress and get out of there before his teammates went there after the victory....

Shakespeare was relieved of his duties at the King Power Stadium at a meeting on Tuesday following a 1-1 draw with West Brom on Monday. Shakespeare took over from Claudio Ranieri when the Italian was sacked in February with Leicester in the midst of a relegation battle and rumours of a dressing room revolt. Leicester, shock title winners the season before, subsequently finished 12th with improved performances in the latter months of the campaign, leading to Shakespeare being rewarded with a three-year contract in June....

The Foxes have endured a forgettable defence of the top-flight crown they secured in remarkable circumstances 12 months ago. Kane tops 2017 PL goal chart A relegation dogfight has been avoided, but a bottom-half finish now looks likely. Craig Shakespeare’s side were second best throughout in their most recent outing against Tottenham, as they suffered a similar fate to United in a derby date from October 2011. United’s thrashing by Manchester City is probably best remembered for Mario Balotelli’s ‘Why Always Me?...

Miles thanked former Nebraska coach Mike Riley and new Cornhuskers coach Scott Frost in his note and said the decision was because the team was no longer a fit “schematically.” The former three-star recruit was brought into Nebraska as a fullback in the 2017 class out of Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Miles chose the Big Ten program over LSU, Boston College, Michigan State, Purdue and Navy. Miles joined Nebraska when Riley ran a pro-style offense, but Frost’s offense does not have a fullback position....

According to ESPN, McCoy was reunited with Chiefs head coach Andy Reid after penning a one-year, $4 million deal. He will get $3 million guaranteed, the report noted. The Bills announced they were releasing the running back Saturday and the Chiefs were one of a handful of teams interested. The Eagles, Chargers and Patriots also emerged as potential suitors, according to an earlier report from the NFL Network. McCoy, however, went with Kansas City and Reid most likely had something to do with it....

Although Biden has repeatedly said he plans to seek a second term as president, Trump has not officially confirmed whether he will run again. Regardless, less than a third of voters say they want either candidate to campaign for the presidency in the 2024 election. New polling published Thursday by the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research asked U.S. adults if they’d like to see Trump or Biden run again in 2024, or not....

Lessons learned: After the Revolutionary War, Washington knew the British remained a serious threat. As president, he signed an unpopular treaty that kept the country safe from British invasion. Andrew Jackson Top military rank: Major general Presidential term: 1829-37 Lessons learned: Jackson stood up against a strong British Army and won. That David-vs.-Goliath battle gave him the courage to take on foes like the Second U.S. Bank. Theodore Roosevelt Top military rank: Colonel Presidential term: 1901-09...

Since 1960, violent crime has increased 500 percent. A 1987 Justice Department study found that eight out of 10 Americans will be victims of violent crime in their lifetimes. Six million violent crimes were measured by the Justice Department in 1990. Based on what we know about the criminal histories of the two young men who allegedly killed Mr. Jordan, this crime should never have happened. We have a right to be outraged that they were not in jail or prison, instead of staking out a roadside spot in Robeson County, N....

In late June the Republican-controlled House of Representatives passed its proposal by a 221-208 vote, largely along party lines. Beginning in 2005, the plan would subsidize drug purchases for the 65-and-over population at an estimated cost of $320 billion for the first eight years. Democrats say the Republican plan is unworkable and too stingy. The Democratic-controlled Senate is expected to consider a more expensive plan, whose projected costs exceed $400 billion for seven years....

“You gotta understand,” he had explained, “what I’ve been through this month. A friend of mine is sick, my girlfriend and I are having problems and I’ve been through an earthquake.” He was referring to the Northridge quake, which devastated parts of the San Fernando Valley, felled a freeway overpass and killed more than 50 people. But to this actor–and I suspect he’s not the only person in the entertainment industry who felt this way–everything is personal....

As my Indian driver steers our golf cart down a path from the Burj’s partner hotel, the much cheaper Jumeirah Beach (where I’m staying), we’re accosted at three checkpoints by stern-looking guards in white uniforms, who demand to see identification proving I’m a guest at the seaside resort complex. Just ahead, the 1,000-foot-tall tower looms like a fantasy from the Arabian Nights: silver laser beams cascade down its sleek white facade, illuminating the helicopter pad and the 50th-floor sky bar....

The site was designed to be parent-friendly. Users can put a teacher’s last name—or a particular school district—into a search engine and within a few seconds get a list of the teachers who have been found guilty of misconduct—even crimes—and a description of the punishment meted out to them. Some of the infractions seem minor; one teacher in Miami-Dade was convicted of submitting a cribbed essay as part of a licensing exam....

Now some people are wondering whether that’s once a century too often. While the Facebook strategy does break new ground, it’s also been sending off alarms among some privacy advocates. But the scheme’s biggest problem may be in its very ingenuity: Facebook may have so skillfully addressed the desires of advertisers that it oversteps its relationship with its users. Those members, of course, are what Facebook is all about. They use the service to keep up with their friends, family members and associates....