Lightning's Ryan Malone arrested for DUI and cocaine possession

Tampa Bay Lightning left wing Ryan Malone was arrested Saturday morning on charges of driving under the influence and cocaine possession.

Malone's BAC was .112 and .116 according to his booking information, which is over the legal limit in Florida of .08.

"We are aware of the situation concerning Ryan Malone this morning," general manager Steve Yzerman said in a statement. "Ryan will not travel with the team to Washington today, but beyond that we cannot comment further at this time."

According to a Hillsborough County Sheriff's report, Malone, 34, was arrested at 5:40 Saturday morning on Platt Street and Rome Avenue S in Tampa. There were no other immediate details. Malone was being held on $2,500 bond.

It has been a difficult season for Malone, who has just five goals, 15 points in 57 games, has been demoted to a fourth line and has been a healthy scratch in the past three games.

He has one year left on his contract. If Malone was looking to catch on with another team as a free agent he didn't help his cause.

California eyeing Xavier's Chris Mack to lead their program

California reportedly is looking to Xavier's Chris Mack to lead their basketball program. The Golden Bears are looking to replace Mike Montgomery who retired after the Bears' NIT loss to SMU.

Mack has just finished up his fifth year with the Musketeers with a loss in the First Four of the NCAA tournament to North Carolina State. Mack sports a 111-57 record and is fourth on the school's all time wins list. The Musketeers have made the NCAA tournament four times during his tenure.

Mack was linked to the Wake Forest opening before Tulsa's Danny Manning took the job in Winston-Salem.

This is nothing new for Xavier as the basketball coaches have had success and have went on to high major programs.

"It Girl" of the week: Heather Bianchi

The Just Sports & Just Us "It Girl" of the week is Heather Bianchi.

Oregon point guard Jonathan Loyd will return to the gridiron

Following in the footsteps of Greg Paulus and a few others, Oregon point guard Jonathan Loyd will try to make the transition from the hardwood to the football field.

Loyd will join the Ducks' football team as a wide receiver. Loyd will use a provision that allows college athletes  five years of competition. Since Loyd never redshirted, he has one more season of eligibility.

The 5-foot-8, 163-pound Loyd had offers to play college football after graduating from Bishop Gorman High School in Las Vegas in 2010 but instead signed on as Dana Altman’s first recruit for the Oregon basketball team.

Loyd played in all 144 games for the Ducks during his career, of which 97 were victories. He had his best year as a senior when he averaged 7.0 points and 4.7 assists while helping the Ducks reach the third round of the NCAA Tournament before losing to Wisconsin on March 22.

Loyd attended an Oregon football practice last week and put the pads on for the first time Monday.

He was a first-team all-state returner after running back five punts for touchdowns and averaging 32.6 yards per kick return. He also played defensive back.

Oregon’s football program has had success in the past with wide receivers off the basketball team. Jordan Kent was Oregon’s second-leading receiver in 2006 when he caught 44 passes for 491 yards and four touchdowns, and Tony Hargain had two 100-yard receiving games from 1987-90 and also played basketball.

With Loyd's size he could compete as a slot receiver or returner. My guess is that if he sees the field he'll be a jack of all trades type.

Tigers' Evan Reed being investigated for sexual assault

Reliever Evan Reed is being investigated by the Detroit Police Department after allegations of involvement in a sexual assault, according to reports.

MyFoxDetroit.com broke the story Monday evening, reporting that the alleged assault took place the day before Opening Day.

The Tigers issued a response to the report, saying: “The organization is aware of the very serious allegation that has been made against pitcher Evan Reed. This allegation is concerning and we are aware of an on-going investigation. It would be inappropriate for the ballclub to comment further at this time.”

Reed’s attorney, David G. Gorcyca, the former Oakland County prosecutor, also issued a statement, which read:

“I was informed this morning that the Detroit Police Department has opened an investigation involving Evan Reed. We are very confident that once a thorough and full investigation is completed, Mr. Reed will have nothing to fear.

“During the infancy of this investigation, no one should formulate any conclusions that a crime has been committed. Mr. Reed is currently on a seven-day West Coast road trip and has not been contacted by the Detroit Police Department. We plan on cooperating with the investigation when the time is appropriate. Until then, no further comment will be made by me or Mr. Reed.”

The Tigers released a statement Monday night saying the organization is aware of the "very serious allegation," made against Reed, adding the allegation is "concerning," and that it would be inappropriate to comment further at this time.

Reed appeared in the Opening Day win over the Royals, pitching the seventh inning. He went 1 1/3 innings in the Tigers’ win over the Orioles on Friday.

Iowa State's Percy Gibson will transfer

 Iowa State says that junior center Percy Gibson is leaving the program.

Cyclones coach Fred Hoiberg says Gibson intends to transfer to another school following the end of the spring semester.

Gibson, a 6-foot-9 native of Detroit, played in just 14 games for Iowa State last season despite the team's occasional struggles inside.

“I’d like to thank Coach Hoiberg and the rest of the coaches for the opportunity to play at Iowa State,” Gibson said. “I will take with me the memories and friendships created with my teammates. I also want to thank Iowa State’s fans for their support the last three years.”

The Cyclones also gave post player Daniel Edozie playing time over Gibson after forward Georges Niang broke his foot in the opening round of the NCAA tournament.

Iowa State will add promising junior college transfer Jameel McKay next season, a move that likely would have further cut into Gibson's playing time.

Gibson's departure will free up an extra scholarship for the Cyclones to use next season.

One has to wonder where Gibson will land. He was a high major prospect coming out of high school. Will he transfer closer to home or will he try and land at another major conference program? Gibson does have the skills to flourish in the right situation.

Ron Washington calls out Prince Fielder for baserunning mistake

The lasting image of Prince Fielder with the Detroit Tigers was him committing a baserunning blunder in Game 6 of the Tigers' ALCS loss to the Boston Red Sox.

Fielder's nonchalant reaction towards the loss and his playoff performance ultimately contributed to his trade to the Texas Rangers. 

Early on in the 2014 baseball season, Fielder's baserunning gaffes are coming back to rear it's ugly head. Rangers manager Ron Washington called out Fielder for a baserunning mistake that killed a Rangers rally in an 8-1 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays on Friday.

Washington said Fielder "blew it" after Fielder stopped at third on a hit by Mitch Moreland. He failed to read coach Gary Pettis coming into third, got himself hung up between third and home and eventually tagged out, effectively squashing a brewing rally.

“Prince just blew it,” Washington said. “(Third base coach Gary Pettis) was winding, but Prince went back to the bag. … It's a different situation with runners on second and third with one out and a run in instead runners on second and third with two. You never know what would have happened. We might have only scored that one run right there, but I would have like to have seen what would have happened.”

Fielder's reaction wasn't anything dramatic even though it seems like Washington threw him under the bus.

 “I didn’t get a good jump and I didn’t pick up Gary in time. It was one of those days. We played hard, but we made a couple of mistakes. We just have to come back and be sharper,” said Fielder.

If Fielder continues making mistakes like this and has an attitude that says there's always tomorrow, Rangers fans will run out of patience with the big man in a hurry.