Sports Highlights: Major Deals, Signings, and Updates

This sports news update covers various topics, including Mike Brown’s contract extension with the Sacramento Kings, Angel City's valuation milestone, MLB playoff excitement, and the massive police presence planned for the Paris 2024 opening ceremony. Additionally, it includes NBA and NFL updates, such as the USA vs. Serbia exhibition game and new NBA flopping rules.

Following is a summary of current sports news briefs.

Sacramento Kings head coach Mike Brown signed a reported three-year, $30 million contract extension Wednesday, a full month and a half after the deal was first revealed by multiple news outlets. "I love being in Sacramento and I am excited for this next chapter," Brown said in a release.

Angel City is set to become the world's most valuable professional women's sports team after finalising a landmark new ownership agreement with Walt Disney CEO Bob Iger and his wife Willow Bay, the Los Angeles-based club announced on Wednesday. Iger and Bay, dean of the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, will become the controlling owners of Angel City in a sale that will value the club at $250 million.

ARLINGTON, Texas -- The All-Star festivities always provide a nice respite for players and fans alike amid the regular season grind. The Home Run Derby delivered an entertaining battle in the finals between champion Teoscar Hernandez and runner-up Bobby Witt Jr.

Some 45,000 police will secure the Paris Olympics' July 26 opening ceremony, with over 100 heads of state and government set to attend, a senior official said on Wednesday, adding no changes were planned after the weekend attack on Donald Trump. The ceremony, staged for the first time outside a stadium, will involve around 80 boats ferrying international athletes on a six km (3.7 mile) route along the river Seine towards the Eiffel Tower, said the official, Lambis Konstantinidis.

Team USA ran away from Serbia for a 105-79 exhibition game victory on Wednesday in Abu Dhabi to improve to 3-0 on the team's pre-Olympics tour. Bam Adebayo scored at will -- inside and out -- and helped Anthony Davis make life difficult for Serbian star and three-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic. Davis had six blocks, including a pin off the glass at the 8-minute mark in the fourth quarter that preceded a standing ovation.

Milwaukee Bucks forward Khris Middleton is recovering from arthroscopic surgeries on both ankles this offseason, The Athletic reported Wednesday. The three-time All-Star is expected to be ready for the start of the 2024-25 season, per the report.

Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes and several rookies reported to training camp as Kansas City sets the course for a bid at history. Mahomes and the Chiefs are chasing a Super Bowl three-peat and clocked in for the 2024 season well before the official start of Kansas City's training camp at Missouri Western in St. Joseph, Mo.

Basketball legend Cheryl Miller was named head coach of the WNBA All-Star team that will take on the United States' women's national team in a game set for Saturday at Phoenix. The showcase game is designed as a tune-up for Team USA in advance of the Paris Olympics.

The Houston Texans have signed free agent wide receiver Quintez Cephus, according to his agents. SportsTrust Advisors announced the deal on Tuesday but did not disclose any contract terms.

The NBA is officially cracking down on flopping, as the league's board of governors permanently implemented a penalty for the action into the playing rules on Tuesday. In-game penalties for flopping were handed out during the 2023-24 campaign, but the NBA was using this past season as a trial year for the rule.

(With inputs from agencies.)