NFL owners unanimously approved allowing players to participate in flag football for the 2028 Olympics.

The vote at the spring meetings Tuesday authorized the league to negotiate safety provisions and scheduling logistics with the NFL Players Association and relevant international and national team governing bodies before it becomes reality during the Summer Games in Los Angeles.

No more than one player per NFL club would be permitted. Olympic rosters will be selected by the national committee for each country.

Hall of FAmer Woodson joins Browns ownership group >> Former NFL great and Ohio native Charles Woodson has joined the Cleveland Browns as a limited partner, the club announced.

The non-controlling minority interests were approved at the league’s spring meetings in Eagan, Minnesota. Jimmy and Dee Haslam are majority owners.

Woodson won the 1997 Heisman Trophy at Michigan, played 18 years in the NFL for the Raiders and Packers and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2021. He is an NFL analyst for Fox Sports and lives in Orlando, Florida, where he is an assistant on his son’s high school football team. He also works in the wine and spirits business.

Bears extend two-time All-Pro Thuney >> Two-time All-Pro guard Joe Thuney and the Chicago Bears have agreed to a two-year, $35 million contract extension, agent Mike McCartney announced.

The extension is for $17.5 million per season. Thuney is due $51 million over the next three years with $33.5 million guaranteed, McCartney said.

General manager manager Ryan Poles said last month he hoped to get a deal done. Thuney was entering the final season of a five-year, $80 million deal he signed with Kansas City.

College basketball

Arizona, UCLA to play in intuit dome to honor Walton >> Former Pac-12 basketball rivals Arizona and UCLA will play each other in the Hall of Fame Series at Intuit Dome.

The game between the men’s teams will be Nov. 14 and will honor late Hall of Famer Bill Walton. Besides starring for the Bruins in college, his son Luke played for the Wildcats and the elder Walton broadcast games involving both schools.

The teams most recently met in December, when UCLA won 57-54 in Phoenix.

Former Arkansas player Fland commits to Florida >> Former Arkansas standout Boogie Fland, widely considered the top guard in the transfer portal, chose to play for defending national champion Florida.

Fland committed to coach Todd Golden following a two-day visit to Gainesville, according to a person familiar with his decision. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because neither side has announced Fland’s decision publicly.

The 6-foot-2, 175-pound Fland averaged 13.5 points, 5.1 assists, 3.2 rebounds and 1.5 steals in 21 games with the Razorbacks last season. The freshman from New York averaged nearly 32 minutes a game despite missing time with a right thumb injury that required surgery.

Racing

Busch, Grant and Hendick voted into NASCAR hall of Fame >> Drivers Kurt Busch, Ray Hendrick and Harry Gant were voted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame, while executive Humpy Wheeler was named the Landmark Award winner for his contribution to the sport.

A ceremony will be held to officially induct the Class of 2026 into the Hall of Fame.

The 46-year-old Busch, a first-ballot selection, held off Jimmie Johnson to win the 2004 Cup Series championship and went on to win 34 Cup races, including at least one in 19 of 21 of his full-time seasons on the premier circuit before retiring in 2023.

Indy 500 officially sold out >> The Indianapolis 500 has sold out its grandstands for the first time in nearly a decade, and the local TV blackout that has been in place since 1951 has been lifted so fans in central Indiana will be able to watch the race live.

Indianapolis Motor Speedway president Doug Boles said that while its roughly 230,000 grandstand seats had sold out, general admission infield tickets were still available. He expects a crowd of about 350,000 race fans — or about 1 for every 1,000 people living in the U.S. — will be at the track Sunday for the 109th running of “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.”

NBA

Castle leads All-Rookie teams >> Stephon Castle gets one more accolade from his rookie season: The San Antonio guard was the only unanimous first-team selection on the All-Rookie team.

Castle — the league’s rookie of the year — was the only player to get first team votes from all 100 members of the global panel of sportswriters and broadcasters who cast ballots to decide most of the NBA’s annual awards.

He was joined on the first team by Atlanta’s Zaccharie Risacher (who was one vote away from unanimous status), Memphis teammates Jaylen Wells and Zach Edey, and Washington’s Alex Sarr.

The second-team selections were Miami’s Kel’el Ware, Chicago’s Matas Buzelis, New Orleans’ Yves Missi, Portland’s Donovan Clingan and Washington’s Bub Carrington.

College golf

Stanford Women defeat Virginia >> Paula Martin Sampedro rallied from 3 down with five holes to play to win her opening match as top-seeded Stanford overcame a sluggish start to beat Virginia in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Women’s Golf Championship.

Stanford, the No. 1 seed after a record score to finish 27 shots ahead of Oregon to qualify for match play, trailed early in two other matches before going to a 3 1/2-1 1/2 victory.