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LeBron not ready to reveal his decision

NEW YORK — If LeBron James knows where he will play this coming season, he’s still not saying. The NBA’s career scoring king and current free agent spoke publicly for the first time in weeks Thursday afternoon, indicating that a decision is close — though stopping short of revealing which team he’ll choose to play for this fall, despite at least one cry from someone in a jampacked room shouting for him to “pick a team.” “I won’t hold you guys up too much longer,” James said. The four-time NBA champion had a pair of appearances Thursday: He recorded an episode of ...

Silver says Clark has become ‘political football’

NEW YORK — Conversations about WNBA officiating and Caitlin Clark have now expanded to include NBA commissioner Adam Silver. Silver said Thursday that Clark has become a “political football” amid debates about officiating and physical play in the WNBA, spurred by a recent play involving ...

Stacks of wax packs summon the joy of baseball card childhoods

NEW YORK — The anticipation. The chase. The powdery, sugar-coated board of gum! For generations of baseball card fans, there was nothing like scrounging up some change and sprinting to the store to buy a wax pack. Some tore the slightly tacky paper wrapper open and flipped through the cards in an insatiable instant (hence the popular phrase “ripping wax” for opening card packs even today, about 35 years since use of actual wax wrappers ceased). Others did the slow reveal: one card at a time, peeking out of a corner of the pack, or maybe upside down and reversed. However you did ...

Argentina's late rally robs England

ATLANTA — No “Hand of God” this time. Argentina didn’t need it. Instead it was the hallowed feet of Lionel Messi and the unbreakable spirit of a team that has repeatedly fought back at this year’s World Cup that is now one step away from back-to-back titles. Trailing 1-0 going into the 85th minute, Argentina rallied for a 2-1 victory over England on Wednesday with goals from Enzo Fernandez and substitute Lautaro Martinez. “I dreamed it, I swear. I told Alexis (Mac Allister) that I was going to score. I told him that I was going to come on and I was going to win it,” ...

Fleetwood the hometown hero for British Open

SOUTHPORT, England — As a kid growing up in Southport, Tommy Fleetwood regarded Royal Birkdale as virtually off limits — except for those rare occasions he sneaked on to hit some shots while accompanying his father on evening dog walks. “Hallowed turf,” is how a young, wide-eyed Fleetwood viewed the course in this golf-crazed corner of northwest England that, every few years, would welcome the world’s best players for the British Open. His dream of making it there himself one day and lifting the claret jug — a scenario which, who knows, might just happen on the 18th green ...

WNBA All-Star starters selected

Four-time MVP A’ja Wilson was selected first in the WNBA All-Star draft for the exhibition game that will be played on July 25 in Chicago. Acting as honorary general managers, WNBA greats Cynthia Cooper and Teresa Weatherspoon each drafted All-Star teams Wednesday from players that ...