The Philadelphia 76ers and star Ben Simmons have agreed to a five-year, $170 million maximum extension, Simmons' agent Rich Paul confirmed to ESPN's Brian Windhorst.

The sides had until mid-October to finalize the extension of Simmons' rookie deal, but Paul and Sixers general manager Elton Brand completed the deal significantly sooner.

ESPN reported earlier this month that the Sixers had offered the max $170 million extension to Simmons, the NBA Rookie of the Year in 2017-18. The Athletic first reported Monday that the sides had reached an agreement.

Simmons, the 2016 No. 1 overall draft pick, is one of the cornerstone stars for the 76ers. His teammates, including All-Star center Joel Embiid (five years, $150 million), Tobias Harris (five years, $180 million) and Al Horford (four years, $109 million), have been secured with long-term deals.

Simmons, who will turn 23 on Saturday, averaged 16.9 points, 8.8 rebounds and 7.7 assists for the Sixers last season. At 6-foot-10, he has one of the NBA's most unique skill sets as a playmaker and finisher at the rim.

As Kokomo (Ind.) Speedway owner Kent Evans pondered the upcoming racing season, he struck on an idea he felt could spice up the 1996 schedule.

Indiana Sprint Week, a collaboration of Hoosier state short-track promoters, had worked passably well for eight years. The car counts had always been solid and the crowds weren’t bad either. Still, Evans felt this event had untapped potential. Taking the initiative, Kent spearheaded a meeting at a Martinsville, Ind., restaurant to discuss his idea.

Attendees included Paragon Speedway owners Keith and Judy Ford, Bloomington Speedway’s Mike Miles, USAC Vice President Bill Marvel and USAC Communication Director Dick Jordan. In retrospect, it was one of the most important gatherings in USAC history, and a turning point in a new era for traditional, non-winged sprint car racing.

As a result of an agreement forged by the aforementioned participants, Indiana Sprint Week became a USAC-sanctioned affair for the first time in 1996. The pact created a modest three-race slate with events at Bloomington, Paragon and Kokomo Speedways.

Kevin Thomas and Jon Stanbrough topped the first two rounds and in a memorable moment, Brad Marvel scored his lone USAC national series victory in front of his proud father to conclude the series at Kokomo.

Within a few short years, the series exploded, augmented by the appearance of stars from the West Coast-based Sprint Car Racing Ass’n. In a time when non-winged sprint car racing, once moribund, was showing signs of renewed life, this event was a godsend.

The uniting of the best traditional sprint car racers in the land added luster to this series within a series.  Not surprisingly, as the cars and drivers migrated from east and west in droves, the stands filled to capacity. Soon, what once seemed like a risky proposition was now viewed as a masterstroke.

Not wanting to be left on the sidelines, other tracks were anxious to join the fun. Now, as the 2019 edition of Indiana Sprint Week looms, this year’s edition of the event is scheduled to include eight races over a 10-day stretch during July.

The slate features stops at Gas City I-69 Speedway, Plymouth Speedway, Lawrenceburg Speedway, Bloomington Speedway, Terre Haute Action Track, Lincoln Park Speedway and the finale at Tri-State Speedway.

Today, Indiana Sprint Week is no longer a regional phenomenon but has become a destination racing vacation for sprint car fans.

This must-see event tests the stamina of spectators and participants alike. Yet, for those who race for a living, it can be the pivotal moment in the campaign. From a logistical perspective, the June swing through the East can prove to be a greater challenge. For teams based in the Indianapolis area, finding the parts and the space to work is challenging when disaster strikes miles from home.

However, timing is everything. When the schedule turns to mid-July, those in contention for the USAC crown know they have reached winning time. The pressure grows exponentially.

Nothing underscored the importance of every single race more than the 2018 USAC championship tussle. In the end, Tyler Courtney and Kevin Thomas Jr. ended the year tied in points, and Courtney walked away with the top prize by virtue of his edge in feature victories.

Unquestionably, Thomas had quiet moments during the offseason in which he pondered where a stroke of bad luck or a quick decision in traffic thwarted his night. Just one more point would have made all the difference.

Chris Windom, the 2017 USAC sprint car champion, deems Sprint Week “the turning point of the season. When you come out of sprint week, you know who is going to be in the chase for the rest of the year.”

The 2019-20 season is just a month away and some of the biggest names in football go into the campaign with question marks over their future, both on and off the pitch.

Where will they be playing, and when they get their boots on, can they deliver and live up to their reputations?

- When does the transfer window close?
- All major completed transfer deals

NEYMAR

Wherever the Paris Saint-Germain forward is playing his football next season -- and the most likely outcome is that he remains at PSG due to the sheer cost of trying to sign him -- he simply has to get back to being a footballer first and a celebrity a distant second.

At 27, the Brazilian should be at the peak of his career, but he has endured two injury-hit seasons in Paris since becoming the world's most expensive player following his €222m switch from Barcelona in 2017. He has also had issues off the pitch, having been accused of raping a woman at a Paris hotel in May (which he denied) and was criticised by PSG chairman and CEO Nasser Al-Khelaifi for his lifestyle away from football.

PSG signed Neymar to take the club to the next level in the Champions League, yet they have not gone beyond the round of 16 since he arrived. A three-match ban hangs over him after last season's exit against Manchester United, when he was sanctioned for insulting match officials on social media while injured, so if he stays in Paris he really needs to start delivering.

PHILIPPE COUTINHO

Little has gone right for the Brazilian since his £142m move from Liverpool to Barcelona in Jan 2018 and this summer's arrival of Antoine Griezmann at Camp Nou is more bad news for the 27-year-old.

Booed by his own fans last season, Coutinho has cut an unhappy figure with the Spanish champions and a move would appear to be the best solution for player and club.

Barca are making it clear that Coutinho is not for sale, but with potential of interest from the Premier League before the English window closes on Aug. 8, there is a chance that the forward will get the chance to rebuild his career elsewhere.

A loan move looks most likely for Coutinho unless Barca are prepared to take a huge loss on their initial outlay.

PAUL POGBA

Paul Pogba's future at Manchester United has now been a rumbling saga for over a year, with the midfielder upping the ante this summer by admitting recently that he wants a new challenge elsewhere.

United are determined not to sell and value him at over £150m anyway, so with potential buyers such as Real Madrid and Juventus committing their transfer funds elsewhere, there is an increasing likelihood that Pogba will still be at Old Trafford next season.

If he does stay, Pogba must show what he is capable of on a more consistent basis, otherwise the big clubs will look elsewhere and the United supporters, who have already started to lose patience, could become hostile towards their £89.3m star signing.

JOHN STONES

The Manchester City defender was signed by the club for £47.5m in 2016 to become the long-term replacement for Vincent Kompany, with Pep Guardiola comparing the England man to a young Gerard Pique.

But while Stones has since helped City to two Premier League titles and both domestic cups in England, the 25-year-old has seen his development stall at the Etihad, with Aymeric Laporte moving ahead of him as the cornerstone of the defence.

Kompany's departure at the end of last season has opened up a vacancy alongside Laporte at the heart of the defence, but with Guardiola still to be convinced by the former Everton defender's consistency, Stones faces a make-or-break season at City.

ALEXIS SANCHEZ

Having scored just five goals in 45 appearances for Manchester United since arriving from Arsenal in January 2018, Sanchez has been a huge disappointment at Old Trafford.

Injuries, Jose Mourinho's tactics and a general loss of form by the Chilean have all conspired against him in a United shirt, but with striker Romelu Lukaku likely to leave for Italy this summer and few, if any, takers for Sanchez due to his £400,000-a-week wages, the 30-year-old will get the chance to prove his worth under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

But the big question about Sanchez, and the one that only he can answer, is whether he still has the desire and energy to turn his situation around at United. If the answer is yes, United will have a world-class forward to call upon.

DELE ALLI

Remember when Dele Alli was being billed as English football's next thing -- a goal-scoring midfielder destined to end up at Real Madrid or Barcelona? Still only 23, the Tottenham player faces a big season in 2019-20 because his progress has slowed alarmingly for his club, and he is no longer certain of his place in the England team.

Having hit 10 and then 18 goals in his first two Premier League seasons with Spurs, Alli scored 9 in 2017-18 before netting just five last season, so it is clear where his game has deteriorated.

He still has time on his side to rediscover the form that made him one of the most sought-after players in Europe, but Alli needs to perform.

GARETH BALE

It is the same old story every summer for Gareth Bale. His Real Madrid future is always the subject of intense speculation, but with coach Zinedine Zidane making it clear that the Welshman will not be a central figure in his plans, this time around might finally signal the end of his six-year spell at the Bernabeu.

But Bale is 30 on Tuesday and is on huge wages at Real, so potential buying clubs will not be prepared to spend a big fee to land a player who, while clearly a world-class talent, has been plagued by injury problems in recent seasons.

Bale has vowed to fight on in Madrid, yet a loan move elsewhere looks the most likely outcome, and it could be a last-minute deadline-day deal that finally resolves his future.

ANTHONY MARTIAL

A player with undoubted talent, Anthony Martial must prove he belongs in the Premier League with Manchester United.

The 23-year-old enjoyed his second-best season in terms of Premier League goals at United last term, hitting 10 in 36 appearances, but he always leaves the impression that there is so much more to come.

When he signed for United in 2015, he was touted as one of the most exciting young players in Europe, but he has since been eclipsed by the likes of Kylian Mbappe and Ousmane Dembele, so can Martial become a 20-goal-per-season forward, or have we already seen the best of him?

MESUT OZIL

The Arsenal midfielder divides opinion like few others. Many regard him as a luxury player who is out of place in the modern game, while others point to his ability to turn a game with a pass or moment of brilliance.

Arsenal coach Unai Emery appears to have a foot in both camps, although there were many times last season when the Spaniard's patience with Ozil looked to have run out.

Still, in 166 Premier League games for Arsenal, Ozil has scored 32 goals and racked up 52 assists, so his numbers deserve respect. But can he still do it, and more pertinently, does he want to?

JORGINHO

The Chelsea midfielder was key figure in Maurizio Sarri's passing style last season, but Premier League opponents quickly realised the Italy international was too slow and lightweight to inflict real damage.

Sarri stuck with him, however, and towards the end of the season, Jorginho began to win over the Chelsea fans and show signs of being able to make a difference in English football.

But he now faces perhaps the biggest challenge of his Chelsea career: persuading new manager Frank Lampard that he can fit into his system. It is not just a make-or-break season for Jorginho -- it could be make-or-break in the opening month of the campaign.

BCB director Khaled Mahmud is "close" to becoming Bangladesh's temporary head coach for the upcoming three ODIs against hosts Sri Lanka, according to his colleague Akram Khan, the chairman of the cricket operations committee.

Mahmud will replace Steve Rhodes who was removed from the head coach's position last week through "mutual consent" after the BCB reviewed his performance following their World Cup campaign.

"Khaled Mahmud is close to becoming the senior team's temporary coach. The board will confirm the decision in a couple of days," Akram said but didn't comment on whether Mahmud continues to be a board director at the same time.

This is the second time Mahmud will become a director-coach after he took over in a temporary role (called the team's technical director) following Chandika Hathurusingha's resignation in October 2017. Mahmud has several roles in the BCB and within Bangladesh cricket, including that of the senior team's manager and selector, vice-chairman of the cricket operations committee, chairman of the game development committee and vice-chairman of the high performance committee

Mahmud is also the coach of Dhaka Premier League side Abahani Limited and the BPL's Dhaka Dynamites franchise, as well as head coach of Bangla Trac Cricket Academy. He recently said that he wouldn't mind leaving the BCB directorship if given a long-term coaching role with the Bangladesh team.

Meanwhile, Wasim Jaffer and Champaka Ramanayake, currently working as the BCB's high performance batting and bowling coach respectively, will be the senior team's batting and bowling consultants for the Sri Lanka tour. Both places in the team's coaching staff became vacant after the board didn't renew Courtney Walsh's contract after the World Cup while Neil McKenzie, the team's white-ball batting coach, is currently on leave.

"We have given charge to Wasim Jaffer and Champaka Ramanayake in these two roles. Since the series was arranged much later, McKenzie had already asked for a leave during the same time," Akram said.

Ramanayake had rejoined the BCB two years ago as a bowling coach, while Jaffer joined in May after he had impressed his Abahani coach Mahmud with his batting performance as well as the time he spent with the other batsmen in the nets.

The Bangladesh team is leaving for Sri Lanka on July 20, but with BCB chief Nazmul Hassan unlikely to return until the day before, the decision to appoint Mahmud and the rest of the temporary staff is looking like a last-minute call.

Fakhar Zaman, the Pakistan opener, has signed for Glamorgan for the first half of their Vitality Blast campaign as a replacement for the injured Shaun Marsh.

Marsh was ruled out of the closing stages of the World Cup with a fractured forearm, suffered while batting in the nets against Pat Cummins, and the club hope he will be available for the final six group games.

Zaman underwhelmed in the World Cup with 186 runs in eight innings, and only one score above 50, but has an impressive T20 record. He was Lahore Qalandars' leading run-scorer in an otherwise underwhelming PSL campaign this year.

The move will be Zaman's first stint in county cricket, though he briefly signed for Somerset in 2017 only to be recalled by the PCB for a training camp the day before he was due to fly to the UK.

Glamorgan will start their Blast campaign with only one overseas player, with their other signing - Mitchell Marsh - part of Australia's 25-man preliminary squad for the Ashes, though Colin Ingram rejoins on a Kolpak deal as captain.

Zaman holds fond memories of playing at Cardiff, which date back to his debut tournament for Pakistan, the 2017 Champions Trophy. Then, he made 57 off 58 in a partnership of 118 in their semi-final victory against England at the ground, the game before his memorable century in the final against India.

Glamorgan's director of cricket, Mark Wallace, said: "It is disappointing to lose Shaun Marsh for the start of the competition but to secure the services of Fakhar on short notice is great news for the club. He is a fantastic cricketer and one of the most destructive batsmen in the world who has a history of performing in big matches."

Glamorgan start their campaign on Thursday night against Somerset, before travelling to play Gloucestershire at Cheltenham the following afternoon.

Gary Stead, New Zealand's head coach, has suggested that the possibility of sharing the World Cup was something that "should be considered" after his side were denied in a heartbreaking finish at Lord's on Sunday. The teams could not be separated after 100 overs and also tied the Super Over, but England lifted the trophy after winning on boundary countback.

Having slept on the result, Kane Williamson described the manner in which the final was decided "a real shame". New Zealand had further cause to be disappointed, after it transpired that England should almost certainly have only been awarded five overthrows, rather than six in the final over of regulation time.

"Make sense of it? I think that'll take quite a bit of time actually," Williamson said. "Such a fine line. May be the worst part is there is so much you can't control in those situations and it still sort of eventuates the way it did. All in all it was a real shame that the tournament was decided in the way it was after two teams went at it. And two good teams were playing a cricket game, but it was still a tie.

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Stead and Craig McMillan, New Zealand's batting coach, agreed that allowing England and the Blackcaps to share the World Cup would have been an ideal finish. Asked during a media interaction at the team hotel whether he would have preferred New Zealand being declared joint winners, Stead was open to the suggestion.

"Perhaps when you play over a seven-week period and can't be separated on the final day, that is something should be considered as well," Stead said. "But again that's one consideration over a whole lot of things that went on over the World Cup. Everything will be reviewed, and I think that it's a good time to do it now. But probably just let the dust settle for a while."

However, McMillan, whose contract finished with the World Cup, was more straightforward, saying sharing the trophy would have been the "right thing" in contrast to the tie-breaker in the form of the Super Over, a rule adopted last year by the ICC. "It is not going to change yesterday's result. But what is probably fair to say at the end of seven weeks in a big tournament like this, when you have two teams can't be separated after a 50-over match and then a Super Over and neither team did actually lose in many ways in terms of runs scored.

"Then perhaps sharing the trophy would be the right thing to do. Wasn't to be yesterday, which we all are disappointed with. But it is sport and those were the rules."

There were a number of turning points during England's chase, with several occurring one after the other in the final half hour. The biggest was when Martin Guptill's return throw from deep midwicket hit the back of Ben Stokes' bat and ricocheted for four overthrows, thus reducing England's target to a mere three runs from two balls. The on-field umpires Kumar Dharmasena and Marais Erasmus consulted the TV umpire before declaring the six runs.

Subsequently, as reported by ESPNcricinfo, it seems England were actually wrongly awarded an extra run. Simon Taufel, a former ICC Elite Panel umpire, said the match officials had "goofed up". New Zealand remained unaware of exact wording of the rule even the day after.

Williamson said he trusted the match officials' word and refused to complain about how things turned out. "I actually wasn't aware of the finer rule at the point in time," Williamson said. "Obviously you are trusting the umpires in what they do. You throw that into the mix of few hundred other things that may have been different that we wouldn't be just talking about one thing.

"Two great campaigns. From our side of things, we are really proud of the ay the guys went about their business. And am sure the English were as well, they had a great campaign. It sort of showed - we went toe-to-toe and it was the fine print that decided it."

Watch on Hotstar (India only) - The final overs of the chase

Stead, too, tried hard to be realistic. He felt New Zealand could do nothing but accept their fate. He felt Super Over probably was currently the only way to pick a winner until the ICC devised a better solution. "That is one," he said of the idea of having several Super Overs, again and again, until there's a winner. "I guess a valid way as well. The hard thing I find is a 50-over competition being decided on a one-over bout, just doesn't seem quite right, but then I don't write the rules. That's the way it goes."

Both Stead and McMillan were confident the ICC would review whether the Super Over was indeed the best way to deal with the scenario like a tie in a World Cup final. But for New Zealand, as McMillan said, nothing would change now.

"Small margin this, isn't it? I don't know that rule to be perfectly honest. I have played a lot of games of cricket, watched a lot of cricket - overthrows have just been added to what has been run as opposed to the point of the throw coming in. So, again, it will be something that will be something debated, discussed, but again it doesn't change the result."

The two-time Paralympic champion tells Jessica Whittington how his love for athletics is back with a vengeance

The saying goes that absence makes the heart grow fonder and that is certainly the case for Jonnie Peacock, who has regained a real hunger for athletics following a break from the sport.

Since storming to Paralympic success as a 19-year-old in 2012, the sprint star has remained in the spotlight thanks to his further global gold medal-winning achievements as well as a stint on television dance contest Strictly Come Dancing but, at the end of 2017, he decided it was time to refocus.

His year out did the trick and now the two-time world champion says his enjoyment is “back with a bang” ahead of a big couple of seasons featuring the World Para Athletics Championships in Dubai and the Paralympic Games in Tokyo.

“Taking that mental break was a big thing,” says the 26-year-old, who retained his Paralympic T44 100m title in Rio. “That real desire is back – the hunger, I guess, and I can’t see it going any time soon.”

It’s similar, he adds, to the feeling he had when just starting out in the sport in 2012.

“I guess the difference now is I know a little bit more about what I can achieve and I am super excited to train at the moment,” he says. “It’s my love, it’s my passion. I feel like I’ve rediscovered that, it’s been relit. Every night I’m sitting there excited to see what I’ve got the next day.

“I’m just enjoying it all again. I’m really looking forward to going to train, for the next speed session, the opportunity to race. I’ve always had that to a point but it’s really back with a bang this year.”

“That real desire is back – the hunger, I guess, and I can’t see it going any time soon”

In 2012, under the guidance of American coach Dan Pfaff, the single-leg amputee sprinter improved his 100m PB from 11.47 to 10.85. In 2017 he went even quicker, clocking 10.64, and Peacock is excited to see what the next couple of summers hold as the Loughborough-based athlete, who is also guided by Michael Khmel, is back on the same training programme that they used seven years ago.

“This is something I know works so hopefully we’ll pick up where we left off,” says Peacock. “I’m still really dying for that massive race where it all goes down. I don’t feel like it’s happened yet. I feel like there’s going to be a race at some point where we’re going to see a good six or seven guys run sub-11 and it’s going to be close.”

On his major medal ambitions, he adds: “I’ve got confidence in my team that whenever it comes to a major championships we’re always in good shape, so we’ll just have to pray that the same thing happens again.

“It’s not ideal for Dubai being insanely late,” he continues, with this year’s World Para Athletics Championships taking place from November 7-15. “It’s hysterical when you’re around Loughborough and you hear all the able-bodied guys going ‘our Worlds are so late this year’ and you just look at them like ‘really?!’

“Ours are in November, so it doesn’t help us because then we take a break and before you know it, it’s December and there’s seven/eight months to the Paralympics. But obviously it’s a world championships, it’s a major title and that’s something that we want to go out there and we want to defend.

“It’s also an opportunity to go and run fast. Dubai will be a good track, it will be perfect conditions.”

Before that comes a return to the London Stadium, scene of Peacock’s Paralympic success in 2012 and world gold in 2017.

However, his record at the Müller Anniversary Games doesn’t quite match his major championships achievements in the same stadium – a fact he hopes to change this weekend.

“It’s great (going back to the London Stadium for the Anniversary Games) but the only issue is I’ve never actually won there if it’s not been a championships! I’ve lost every other race!” he laughs.

“I feel like whatever I do this year, it’s going to be better next year. It’s about getting the body back into good shape, getting some consistency this year, and then next year I feel like we can really build on it. I’ve got a good feeling about where the body is going to be at.”

MOSCOW -- Former Los Angeles Kings defenseman Slava Voynov has signed a one-year deal in the Kontinental Hockey League as he sits out the final months of his NHL suspension.

Russian KHL club Avangard Omsk says it signed Voynov to a one-year deal. His NHL suspension, imposed after the league determined he committed acts of domestic violence, will end midway through the season.

Voynov was suspended indefinitely in October 2014 after being arrested and accused of abusing his wife. He pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor, left the United States to go back to Russia and last year had the conviction dismissed by a judge in Los Angeles. His most recent suspension was imposed in April after he applied for reinstatement.

Voynov won an Olympic gold medal at the tournament last year which didn't have NHL players. He didn't play any pro hockey last season as he focused on his NHL appeals process.

"Experience, skill, reliability, scoring. That's how Vyacheslav Voynov is known to all hockey fans,'' said Avangard president Maxim Sushinsky, using Voynov's full first name. "In our case you can add Voynov's huge motivation to prove to everyone and most of all to himself that he can reach the very highest targets with a top club.''

Avangard didn't comment on Voynov's NHL situation.

Voynov won the Stanley Cup with Los Angeles in 2012 and 2014. Los Angeles still holds Voynov's NHL rights, but has said it won't sign a new contract with him.

Voynov previously played three KHL seasons with SKA St. Petersburg between 2015 and 2018, lifting the KHL's Gagarin Cup in 2017.