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Chris Spielman's wife succumbs to cancer battle

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COLUMBUS -- Stefanie Spielman, the wife of NFL and Ohio State star Chris Spielman who led a public fight against breast cancer, died Thursday after a lengthy battle with the disease. She was 42.

Stefanie Spielman died at the family's home in Upper Arlington, surrounded by her family, said WBNS radio in Columbus, where Chris Spielman co-hosts a show.

"Stefanie has gone home to be with the Lord," Chris Spielman said in a statement released by the station. "For that, we celebrate, but with broken hearts. I want to thank everyone for their support over the last 12 years. Together, with your help, hopefully we made a difference in this fight."

Stefanie Spielman was 30 years old and three months pregnant in 1998 when she detected a lump in her breast. She later miscarried and discovered she had cancer. She survived four bouts with cancer before a fifth recurrence in March.

Chris Spielman was playing linebacker with the Buffalo Bills when he decided to give up football for a year to stay home with his wife and children. When his wife lost her hair because of chemotherapy treatments, he shaved his head.

* Baseball

Heilman dealt: Reliever Aaron Heilman was acquired by the Arizona Diamondbacks from the Chicago Cubs for two minor league prospects. The 31-year-old right-hander was 4-4 with a 4.11 ERA in 70 appearances last season, striking out 65 and walking 34.

Chicago gets 24-year-old left-hander Scott Maine and 23-year-old infielder Ryne White. Maine, a sixth-round draft pick in 2007, was a combined 4-5 with seven saves and a 2.90 ERA with Double-A Mobile and Triple-A Reno last season. White, a fourth-round draft pick in 2008, hit .266 with 58 RBIs for Class A Visalia.

Lose money: Some teams lost money in 2009, baseball commissioner Bud Selig said after the final owners meeting of the year. Major League Baseball's average attendance dropped 6.7 percent last season from an average of 32,528 in 2008 to an average of 30,350. Total attendance of 73.4 million was baseball's fifth-highest.

* Soccer

Donovan MVP: Los Angeles forward Landon Donovan was named the 2009 MLS most valuable player after helping lead the Galaxy to the MLS Cup finals for the first time since 2005. Despite all the accolades he's garnered for being the best player in the U.S., this is the first time Donovan has won the award.

Replay rejected: FIFA ruled out the possibility of replaying the disputed France-Ireland World Cup qualifier today, rejecting an Irish appeal to stage the playoff again after Thierry Henry handled the ball to set up the deciding goal in extra time.

* Elsewhere

Jackets victorious: Rick Nash scored on a power play and Kristian Huselius added a short-handed goal for Columbus in the final seconds of the fight-filled opening period in a game the Blue Jackets went on to beat Dallas, 4-1.

Huselius and Raffi Torres added goals during a 5-minute power play in the second period, Steve Mason made 24 saves, and the Blue Jackets went on to win their third straight and improve to 6-1-1 in their last eight games.

To plead guilty: Former NBA star Jayson Williams is expected to plead guilty today in the fatal 2002 shooting of a hired driver, weeks before he faced a second trial for reckless manslaughter.

A person with knowledge of the case told The Associated Press that Williams will plead guilty to aggravated assault. The person wasn't authorized to talk about the case and spoke on the condition of anonymity.

Plan called off: An Olympic housing plan in which thousands of visitors would have stayed on cruise ships has been called off because of the rough economy. As many as seven ships would have been used for fans and sponsors as part of the multimillion-dollar plan by the DEAP Group. But there was not enough financing to go forward.

No drugs: Final autopsy results show that three college softball players who drowned when their sport utility vehicle went into a North Dakota pond had not been drinking or using drugs, authorities said. Toxicology tests came back negative for 22-year-old Kyrstin Gemar of San Diego; 20-year-old Afton Williamson of Lake Elsinore, Calif.; and 21-year-old Ashley Neufeld, of Brandon, Manitoba.

Power hired: Penske Racing has hired 28-year-old Australian Will Power to drive full time next year after giving the Indy Racing League driver a part-time gig last season. He will drive the No. 12 Verizon Wireless Dallara/Honda.