Friday’s four first-round games in Brooklyn feature eight teams whose coaches have combined for 85 appearances in the Big Dance, with 81 of those split between six men: Michigan’s John Beilein, Notre Dame’s Mike Brey, Temple’s Fran Dunphy, West Virginia’s Bob Huggins, Iowa’s Fran McCaffery and Villanova’s Jay Wright. MORE: Tournament’s first round, in photos Of those half-dozen coaches, it was Wright, at 54 the youngest of the group, who has noticed the most change....

Before a hiccup in Pittsburgh on Tuesday, the Nationals had won seven of their past eight games and, entering play Wednesday, own the first NL wild card spot and are six games back of the Braves in the NL East. The success raises a question we’ll get to in a moment. MORE: Nationals sit in top 10 of SN’s latest MLB Power Rankings First, let’s look at the rather incredible turnaround....

West, who played in 150 games over three seasons with the team, told the Northeast Ohio Media Group that LeBron James, on two occasions, helped redirect him from a self-destructive route and “the love LeBron and my teammates showed me is an extension of the city” of Cleveland. MORE: 5 reasons to watch the NBA Finals | Why LeBron is already better than Jordan Both instances involving James happened in the 2009-10 season, West’s last with the Cavaliers, when he was in the thick of battling depression and a severe stress disorder compounded by a pending weapons charge that weighed on him on a nearly constant basis....

“Government must support equitable access to the ballot to ensure that all eligible voters can exercise their rights,” the companies’ statement said. “Government must avoid actions that reduce participation in elections — particularly among historically disenfranchised communities, persons with disabilities, older adults, racial minorities and low-income voters.” The statement was signed by top leadership at General Motors, Ford, all four Detroit professional sports teams, as well as auto suppliers, banks and other businesses, according to the Associated Press....

Mark Anthony Rodriguez had just become the latest victim of a rapidly widening safety crisis that has already taken the lives of 88 Americans and driven fear into the hearts of motorists who viewed the sport utility vehicle as the ultimate family car. Even as the Rodriguez family planned Mark Anthony’s funeral, top executives from Ford Motor Co. and Bridgestone/Firestone were summoned before congressional panels last week to explain their role in a crisis that has mushroomed into a legal, public-relations and regulatory nightmare that threatens to consume both companies....

Ahead of an eagerly-anticipated fixture at Old Trafford, much of the pre-match attention has focused on Pep Guardiola’s free-scoring Premier League leaders. City have been in inspired form so far in 2017-18, with results dug out on the rare occasions in which opponents are not blown away. De Gea, though, believes that United – who sit eight points off the title pace at present – are equally as strong and feels Jose Mourinho’s side will ask plenty of questions of their own on Sunday....

Leo Hindery Jr. rejected Trump’s claims to sparking the “so-called best economy ever” and instead wrote in the Des Moines, Iowa-based The Gazette newspaper that the state’s small businesses and farmers have been “stiffed” by he and Republicans’ Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. Hindery detailed the “glaring inequity” of the Trump tax plan and how “the richest one percent of Iowans” are the only ones enjoying the president’s promise of bountiful tax benefits....

While Tampa Bay police haven’t confirmed the victim is Patterson, multiple family members told the Tampa Bay Times the 26-year-old was the one shot. According to police, the victim’s roommate woke up around 5 a.m. local time Saturday to a racket in the living room. When he went out to investigate, he saw his roommate lying on his back and another person fleeing the residence. The shooting victim died in the hospital....

The two-time former FIFA World Player of the Year appeared to bring his playing career to a close when on Sept. 28, 2015 he reached a mutual agreement to depart Fluminense after less than three months with the club. Now 36, the ex-Barcelona and AC Milan superstar never formally retired from football and made an appearance in the Match for Peace charity game organized on behalf of Pope Francis on Oct....

MORE: Why are Briles’ assistants still on staff? | Briles admits mistakes In an emergency motion filed Thursday, Briles accused the school of wrongful termination, according to the AP, and has indicated he has no interest in settling a federal lawsuit filed against him and the university by a woman who was raped by a Baylor football player. This is contradictory to what lawyers representing the university told the judge last week....

The new deal will see Joshua’s fights showcased on DAZN worldwide, with a deal reported to be around $100 million. This comes before Joshua challenges Oleksandr Usyk in a rematch for the WBA (Super), IBF, WBO, and IBO titles. The fight will take place in Saudi Arabia on August 20. “I am entering a new phase in my career with a new training environment, new coaches, and now a new broadcaster,” Joshua stated in a release....

Brennan’s comments came in an interview with MSNBC’s Hardball on Monday, in which the ex-director of the CIA was asked about the Louisiana Republican’s comments on NBC’s Meet the Press.Kennedy claimed Sunday that former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko was actively working with Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton in 2016 to stop President Donald Trump being elected, despite this claim previously being debunked. “Firstly, Senator John Kennedy is a great discredit to his name,” Brennan said in response to Kennedy’s comments....

U.S. District Judge Emmet G. Sullivan sentenced 46-year-old Kendra Coles to 78 days in jail to be served on weekends and ordered her to pay $6,000 in restitution on Monday, according to the Department of Justice (DOJ). Coles will also be required to serve three years on probation and forfeit the $40,000 she took in bribes. Coles pleaded guilty to bribery of a public official and conspiracy to commit insurance fraud in March 2019....

Alexander Assefa, a Democratic assemblyman from Las Vegas, was indicted by a grand jury Thursday on multiple felony accounts, the most serious of which could carry a 20-year sentence. The charges are the latest for the former lawmaker who resigned from office shortly after overwhelmingly winning a second term in 2020. “Mr. Assefa’s actions ran directly against the conduct that we both expect and demand of those in public office,” Attorney General Aaron Ford, a Democrat whose office brought the charges, said Thursday in a statement to the Las Vegas Review-Journal....

Frank Figliuzzi said the attorney general had a “consistent ability to ignore facts” on MSNBC Monday night, and suggested he could “disgrace his office.” The NBC national security contributor made the remarks about Bill Barr on the network’s 11th Hour show in response to reporting that the attorney general is at odds with the Justice Department inspector general over a report on his investigation into the Russia investigation. The Washington Post reported Monday night that Barr had told “associates” that he did not agree with a key finding in Michael Horowitz’s soon to be released report, namely that the FBI had reason to open an investigation into Donald Trump’s presidential campaign in July 2016....

Johansel Moronta and three other men were accused of using drones to fly items such as drugs and cellphones into the prison, then selling them for profit to other inmates. Moronta, 29, who was an inmate from April 2018 to March 2019, accepted the drone deliveries from inside the prison and sold the contraband items, according to a U.S. Justice Department release. Adrian Goolcharran and Nicolo Denichilo were accused of piloting the drones that dropped the packages....

Friday night saw the release of the “files,” which new Twitter owner Elon Musk hyped as a series of internal messages showing how previous leadership at the company suppressed a New York Post story about Hunter Biden prior to the 2020 election. Released via former Rolling Stone writer Matt Taibbi in a long series of tweets, the messages showed leaders at Twitter uncertain about the source of the story, opting early on to suppress the story in its recommendation algorithms and then blocking links to it under the company’s policy on hacked materials....

The New York Times reported on Sunday that it had reviewed nearly two decades of the president’s tax returns and found that Trump—a billionaire—paid just $750 in federal income taxes in 2016 and 2017. Trump has also reportedly received a federal tax credit of more than $72 million as well as more than $21 million in state and local funds. The president has dismissed the report as “fake news.”...

Hollins is ready to move past that and make a return to coaching, he told the Portland Tribune (via ProBasketballTalk). Hollins, who has six years of experience as a head coach, wants to revisit the sidelines. MORE: Lakers leaning toward keeping D'Antoni | Sampson agrees to five-year deal with University of Houston “Of course,” Hollins told the Portland Tribune. “I miss coaching. What I miss is the teaching ... the development of the team and the players....

Detroit’s WXYZ-TV, citing anonymous sources, reported Appling was inside the Pantheon Club with the weapon but few details were proved by local authorities. Other news outlets confirmed the arrest. MORE: Worst crimes connected to athletes Appling, a Detroit native who’s third all-time in Michigan State history for games started, was in custody at a Dearborn jail as of Tuesday morning. The arrest came Sunday evening. Appling played briefly for the Orlando Magic last season along with 35 games in the D-League after a highly acclaimed career with the Spartans....