Wilson wins extended Honda Classic

Mark Wilson made a birdie to beat Jose Coceres on the third playoff hole and win the Honda Classic at PGA National on Monday in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., the 32-year-old player’s first PGA Tour victory in 111 career tries.

Wilson won a four-man playoff that began Sunday, was interrupted by darkness, then ended when he hit from 10 feet on the par-3 17th hole.

College Sports

Illinois players released

Illinois football players Jody Ellis and Derrick McPhearson – accused of stealing wallets, cell phones and laptop computers – were kicked off the team just hours after pleading not guilty to felony burglary and theft charges in Urbana, Ill.

•South Carolina quarterback recruit Stephen Garcia admitted keying a professor’s car and asked the victim and football coach Steve Spurrier to forgive him.

Garcia, a highly touted recruit who enrolled early, has been arrested twice since arriving in Columbia, S.C., in January.

•Illinois State University fired basketball coach Porter Moser, citing a lack of progress in his four seasons at the school.

•Harvard did not renew the contract of basketball coach Frank Sullivan, who coached the Crimson for 16 seasons and went 178-245.

Miscellany

Steroid probe widens

Eleven people connected to a Florida pharmacy at the center of a nationwide investigation into the illegal sale of steroids pleaded not guilty.

People in three states have been arrested so far and as many as 24 could face felony charges.

•Curtis Jay Mullen, 23, appeared in provincial court in Moose Jaw, Sask., where he admitted to dangerous driving causing bodily harm in the Oct. 22 crash that hurt Garrett Robinson of the Western Hockey League’s Moose Jaw Warriors.

•The chairman of the ATP took responsibility for the confusion on a ruling that eventually led to top-seeded James Blake being removed from last week’s round-robin tournament in Las Vegas despite a victory.

•Boxer Omar Nino-Romero was suspended for nine months and fined $18,750 for testing positive for methamphetamine.

•An appeals committee in Charlotte, N.C., upheld penalties levied against Matt Kenseth and Kasey Kahne after NASCAR caught their teams cheating at the Daytona 500.

The crew chiefs for both drivers were suspended four races and fined $50,000 each, while both drivers were docked 50 points.

•Ian Wooldridge, one of the most influential and popular British sports journalists of his generation, has died. He was 75.

He died in a hospital Sunday night in London after a long illness.

•Two of the largest racetrack owners in North America – Churchill Downs Inc. and Magna Entertainment Corp. – have joined forces in an attempt to reach more fans.

As part of the deal, races at CDI-owned tracks will be shown on Horse Racing TV.

•The international cycling federation and organizers of next week’s Paris-Nice race reached an agreement that will allow the major teams to compete in the ProTour opening event, staving off a possible split in the sport.