Kings assistant coach Hardy arrested

Prosecutors in Washington are planning to raise a sexual abuse charge against former NHL defenceman Mark Hardy to a felony.

Police arrested the Los Angeles Kings assistant coach on a charge of misdemeanour sex abuse involving a woman in her 20s on Thursday.

Hardy, 51, was scheduled to make an initial court appearance Friday in D.C. Superior Court. Details of the allegations were not immediately available, and it was unclear what felony prosecutors would charge him with.

"We are aware of the charge," read a statement from the Kings. "Due to the legal nature of this matter we will not have any additional comments at this time."

According to ABC news, Hardy was arrested at the Mayflower hotel in downtown Washington.

He played in L.A. from 1979-88 and again in the 1992-93 and 1993-94 seasons, and is in his second stint as an assistant coach.

Hardy played in 915 career NHL games over 15 seasons, including parts of 11 seasons with the Kings, posting 62 goals and 368 points.

He was a member of the Kings club that lost to Montreal in the 1993 Stanley Cup final.

Hardy served under former head coach Andy Murray from 1999-2006, and returned in 2008 to work for Terry Murray.

Prior to his second stint with the Kings, Hardy was an assistant coach with the Chicago Blackhawks.

NBA player Chandler charged with drug possession

Law enforcement officials say New York Knicks guard Wilson Chandler has been charged with minor drug offenses after police found marijuana in his car. Police say they stopped Chandler on Tuesday night, March 18, 2010, in Queens because he was driving a 2010 Mercedes Benz with the headlights off at around 11

Broncos DT Fields arrested on weapons charges

According to multiple reports by the Denver media, Denver Broncos starting defensive tackle Ronald Fields was arrested on Saturday in Houston on weapons charges.

It was reported that Fields had carried a gun into a night club.

Fields was released after he posted $1,000 bond.

Fields started in all 16 games for the Broncos last season. It was his first season with the Broncos.

Former NFL star Lawrence Taylor charged with third-degree rape

Pro Football Hall of Famer Lawrence Taylor was arrested Thursday on rape and prostitution charges in an assault on a 16-year-old runaway who police said was brought to his suburban New York City hotel room against her will.

The formerNew York Giantslinebacker was arrested early Thursday at a Holiday Inn in Suffern, said Christopher St. Lawrence, supervisor of the town of Ramapo. The victim was 16, one year below the legal age of consent in New York, St. Lawrence said.

Ramapo Chief of Police Peter Brower said Taylor was cooperative when police woke him up around 4 a.m. Taylor was to be arraigned later Thursday on charges of third-degree rape and patronizing a prostitute.

Brower would not comment on whether Taylor knew the girl's age but added, "Ignorance is not an excuse to an individual's age."

An attorney for Taylor, Kenneth Gribetz, said, "We're confident his innocence will be proven."

Rasheed Davis, a 36-year-old parolee, was arrested in the case on charges of unlawful imprisonment, assault and endangering the welfare of a child.

Police said the girl was reported missing by her family in March and had been staying with Davis in the Bronx for a few weeks. Early Thursday morning, he beat her up, drove her to the hotel and told her she had to have sex with Taylor, police said. When she refused, Davis handed her over to Taylor, who sexually assaulted her, they said. Taylor paid her $300, which she gave to Davis, police said.

Davis "struck the young girl with his fist, kicked her and brought her to the Holiday Inn against her will," NYPD spokesman Paul Browne said.

On the way back from Suffern, the girl sent text messages to her uncle spelling out what had happened, Browne said. The uncle then went to the NYPD, he said.

Davis was sentenced in April 1994 to eight to 25 years in prison for first-degree manslaughter. He was paroled in March 2008.

There was no phone number listed at the address provided by police for Davis and it wasn't clear if he had an attorney. His relationship with the girl was unclear.

The Bronx district attorney's office refused to comment.

Police said no drugs were found in Taylor's hotel room on Thursday, but a bottle of alcohol was found.

A quick, fierce and athletic linebacker who redefined his position, Taylor anchored the Giants' defense and led New York to Super Bowls titles in 1987 and 1991. He was selected to the NFL's 75th Anniversary All-Time Team.

A 10-time Pro Bowler, he was the NFL Most Valuable Player in 1986 and the NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 1981, 1982 and 1986. He recorded 132 1/2 sacks, which doesn't included his 9 sacks in 1981 when the statistic wasn't official.

In 2001, Taylor was convicted of possessing drug paraphernalia in New Jersey. The conviction stemmed from the September 1998 discovery in a hotel room of a butane torch and other materials commonly used to smoke crack.

In 1996 and 1997, he was arrested in South Carolina and Florida on drug charges. In those cases, he either admitted his guilt or agreed to enter a pretrial intervention program.

In 2000, he drew five years of federal probation for filing false tax returns and for tax evasion.

Bengals' Purify arrested after Kentucky club scuffle

- Cincinnati Bengals receiver Maurice Purify has been arrested on a misdemeanor charge of disorderly conduct following a scuffle at a northern Kentucky night spot.

Police say Purify was arrested early Tuesday morning after they broke up a fight at the night spot, located directly across the Ohio River from Cincinnati. He was released later in the day on $500 bond. He's due in court for an initial hearing on Friday.

The Bengals had no comment. They signed Purify last year as an undrafted free agent from Nebraska. He appeared in five games, mainly on special teams. He didn't catch a pass.

UVA men's lacrosse player charged in slaying

University of Virginia men's lacrosse player George Huguely, 22, was charged Monday with first-degree murder in the death of Yeardley Love, 22, a player on the women's lacrosse team.

Charlottesville Police Chief Timothy Longo said Love's roommate called police around 2:15 a.m. concerned that Love may have had an alcohol overdose, but police found her dead with obvious physical injuries.

Longo said Huguely quickly became the focus. He wouldn't say what led investigators to Huguely or detail the extent of Love's injuries. Love and Huguely were in a relationship at some point, Longo said. (AP)

LSU's Hebert suspended from football team after arrest

LSU center T-Bob Hebert has been suspended from the football team following his arrest Friday night, head coach Les Miles announced Monday.

The school did not specify why Hebert was arrested, but The Times-Picayune of New Orleans reported that he was arrested for driving while intoxicated.

"This is a very serious charge," Miles said. "We have a high level of expectations for the players in our program and this type of behavior is not acceptable. T-Bob made a poor decision and it will not be tolerated.

"I've met with T-Bob and he understands the magnitude of this charge. He made a mistake. Now he's going to have to suffer the consequences and do those things that insure that this type of incident doesn't happen again."

Hebert will be suspended from all football-related activities indefinitely and will not be reinstated until he fulfils certain obligations, as prescribed by Miles.

Hebert started 11 games for LSU in 2009, when he was a sophomore, though suffered a broken bone in his lower leg during a spring scrimmage. He is the son of former NFL quarterback Bobby Hebert.