James is AP Male Athlete of Decade

LeBron James, who played in eight straight NBA Finals, is The Associated Press male athlete of the decade. He was a runaway winner in a vote of AP member sports editors and writers, easily outpacing runner-up Tom Brady of the Patriots.

Usain Bolt of Jamaica was third for dominating the sprints at the 2012 and 2016 Olympics, soccer superstar Lionel Messi was fourth and Michael Phelps — the U.S. swimmer who retired as history’s most decorated Olympian with 28 medals, 23 gold — was fifth. …

Mikaela Shiffrin earned her 43rd career World Cup slalom win, beating Petra Vlhova by 0.61 seconds at Lienz, Austria. It matches the 43 downhill wins Lindsey Vonn collected before retiring last season.