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

Newsmakers

From Staff And Wire Reports

Chosen Stanford’s Chiney Ogwumike and Baylor’s Odyssey Sims are among the finalists for the John R. Wooden Award, given to college basketball’s top female player. The other members of the Wooden All American team announced Wednesday are Kayla McBride of Notre Dame, Breanna Stewart of Connecticut and Alyssa Thomas of Maryland.

• St. Lawrence senior forward Greg Carey, St. Cloud State senior forward Nic Dowd and Boston College junior forward Johnny Gaudreau have been chosen as finalists for the Hobey Baker Memorial Award, given to the top player in college hockey. The winner will be revealed April 11 in Philadelphia, the site of this year’s NCAA Frozen Four.

Signed The Los Angeles Sparks have signed free agent guard Candice Wiggins, who has averaged double-figure scoring in four of her six WNBA seasons. Wiggins played last season with the Tulsa Shock after playing for Minnesota from 2008-12.

Extended Georgia men’s basketball coach Mark Fox has been given a two-year contract extension following a season in which athletic director Greg McGarity says he saw “very encouraging” improvement. Fox is 85-77 in five seasons at Georgia, including a 20-14 record in the 2013-14 season. The Bulldogs tied for second in the Southeastern Conference at 12-6.

Banned FIFA has banned Barcelona from signing any players until the summer of 2015 because of rule violations. FIFA’s disciplinary committee found the Spanish champion breached the rules “relating to the international transfer and registration of players under the age of 18.”

Favored Colt California Chrome is the early 6-5 favorite for the $1 million Santa Anita Derby this weekend. The West Coast’s major prep for the Kentucky Derby drew a field of eight 3-year-olds. California Chrome was assigned post No. 5 at Wednesday’s draw.

Recovering The New York Mets say former pitcher Frank Viola is resting comfortably after open-heart surgery.