Newsmakers

Signed The Phoenix Coyotes have signed goalie Mike Smith to a six-year deal that averages around $5.7 million per season.The 35-year-old Smith spent most of his career as a backup before signing with the Coyotes in 2011. He had a superb first year as Phoenix’s No.1 goalie, winning 38 games with a 2.21 goals-against average while leading the Coyotes to their first NHL division title and to the Western Conference finals.

Named Former Carroll College basketball player and University of Montana graduate assistant Kurt Paulson has been named an assistant men’s basketball coach for the Grizzlies. Paulson returns to UM after two years as athletic director and boys’ basketball coach at Bigfork High School. Paulson, a Whitefish native, played helped Carroll College to the 2005 NAIA semifinals and the 2006 quarterfinals. He was an assistant at Carroll from 2007-2009 and was a graduate assistant at UM from 2009-2011.

Hired The U.S. Olympic Committee has hired Stanford’s Jon Denney to become chief development officer and president of its new fundraising arm. The USOC recently created the United States Olympic and Paralympic Foundation to increase the level of contributions directed toward Olympic athletes. Denney is a former All-American swimmer at Stanford. He is leaving the school’s development office after 11 years. Before that, he worked in Stanford’s athletic department.

Honored A women’s rights campaigner from Qatar has received the International Olympic Committee’s top award honoring women in sports. Ahlam Salem Mubarak Al Mana was awarded the annual World Trophy for her work as president of the Qatar Women’s Sport Committee. The award for the Americas went to Marlene Bjornsrud of the United States, who co-founded the Bay Area Women’s Sports Initiative with soccer stars Brandi Chastain and Julie Foudy.

Cleared NASCAR driver Denny Hamlin was checked and cleared to drive morning before taking his No. 11 car onto the 2.5-mile oval at Indianapolis for testing. Hamlin complained of headaches following a hard crash during Sunday’s race at Kentucky. Neither Hamlin nor members of his team took questions from reporters after the test.