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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Fast Break

Basketball

Curry commits to the NBA

After three seasons and plenty of records at Davidson, Stephen Curry is taking his game to the NBA, presenting more intrigue in how the skinny, baby-faced guard with the great genes will fare at the next level.

The nation’s leading scorer announced at an on-campus news conference Thursday that he’s skipping his senior season to enter the NBA draft. His father, former NBA player Dell Curry, attended the announcement, along with his mother, Sonya, and Davidson coach Bob McKillop.

Curry said he will hire an agent, ending any chance that he’ll return to campus.

“I think I’m mentally and physically ready to make that jump,” said Curry, who believes he’ll be selected somewhere between seventh and 20th overall.

Basketball

Olynyk signs GU letter

Kelly Olynyk, a 6-foot-10, 215-pound forward/guard from Kamloops, B.C., has signed a letter of intent with Gonzaga, the university announced.

Olynyk had made an oral commitment to Gonzaga in January.

The South Kamloops High senior was named the Basketball B.C. outstanding high school player.

“Kelly is an exceptional shooter and ball handler and will provide both an inside and outside presence for us,” GU coach Mark Few said in a school press release. “He played point guard in high school and has great court awareness. He continues to develop his game and improve his skills.”

Polo

Concoction likely killed horses

Unable to legally bring a supplement into the U.S. to make its horses more resilient, a Venezuelan polo team used another way to get ready for a champion match: Have a pharmacy mix up the concoction.

What happened next, though, was disastrous. The chemicals were mixed incorrectly, and 21 horses given the brew died in rapid succession, some collapsing just before taking the field in a championship polo match in Wellington, Fla.

The Lechuza polo team had hoped to get a compound similar to a name-brand supplement used safely around the world to help horses with exhaustion but hasn’t been approved by the Food and Drug Administration.

Veterinarians commonly turn to compounding pharmacies for medications that can’t be found on shelves, but the dispensaries can only recreate unapproved drugs in limited circumstances.

A Florida pharmacy that mixed the medication said Thursday that an internal review found “the strength of an ingredient in the medication was incorrect.” Jennifer Beckett, chief operating officer for Franck’s Pharmacy in Ocala, Fla., would not say whether the incorrect amount was specified in the order from a Florida vet.

Lechuza said the order was for a compound similar to the supplement Biodyl.

Associated Press Associated Press