Mustain is arrested in alleged sale of drugs

Former USC quarterback Mitch Mustain was arrested on suspicion of selling prescription narcotics, police said Wednesday.

Mustain, 22, was arrested Tuesday at 8:10 p.m. and was booked on the felony charge at the West Valley-area station, said Los Angeles police officials. He was released Wednesday evening on $10,000 bail and is to appear in court Feb. 25.

The arrest came as the result of a sting operation, law enforcement sources said. Police had been monitoring advertisements posted online, and Mustain was taken into custody after allegedly attempting to sell Adderall to an undercover officer, the sources said.

Although Mustain was booked on felony charges, a person with information on the case said he probably would be charged with a lesser count because it would be his first criminal offense.

Mustain did not return phone or text messages seeking comment.

Mustain, who started one game in three seasons after transferring from Arkansas in 2007, had been preparing for USC’s “pro day” workout before NFL scouts, which will be held in March.

-- Gary Klein and Andrew Blankstein

ETC.

Frost could delay start of Phoenix Open

The little patch of ice on the sidewalk outside the front entrance at the Phoenix Open was easy to step over. There was no way to miss the frigid temperatures and biting wind.

“You get cold mornings and you get some frost, but this is a legitimate winter day today,” Scottsdale, Ariz.-based Geoff Ogilvy said after his pro-am round was canceled Wednesday because of frozen turf at TPC Scottsdale.

The temperature was in the high 20s early in the morning Wednesday, when the players started arriving and only 35 around 11 a.m., when the pro-am was called off.

“The greens are still frozen,” said Slugger White, the PGA Tour’s vice president of rules. “The approaches are frozen. And it just would do a tremendous amount of damage if we walked on it, just tracking everything up with the greens being frozen.”

With overnight temperatures well into the 20s, frost was expected to lead to long delays before play can start Thursday and Friday.

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The LPGA has scrubbed this year’s $1.3-million Tres Marias Championship in Mexico because of concerns about violence linked to the drug trade, officials said.

“We hope to return next year, but would need to see significant improvement from a safety perspective,” an LPGA spokesman said, adding that the tour was concerned about the safety of the players.

The tournament had been scheduled for April 21-24 in Morelia, located in north-central Mexico, where violence linked to drug cartels has been an ongoing problem.

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Hong-Chih Kuo and the Dodgers have avoided a salary arbitration hearing, as the two sides agreed to a one-year deal worth $2.725 million plus incentives.

When Kuo and the Dodgers exchanged salary figures last month, the left-hander asked for $3.075 million and the club offered $2.55 million. Kuo, who set a franchise single-season record by posting a 1.20 earned-run average last year, won’t be eligible for free agency until after the 2012 season.

The Dodgers have one remaining player who is eligible for arbitration: James Loney. If Loney and the Dodgers don’t reach terms on a new contract, his salary will be decided in an arbitration hearing later this month.

-- Dylan Hernandez

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Lou Piniella, who retired last season as manager of the Chicago Cubs, told the Associated Press he has agreed to a one-year contract with the San Francisco Giants to work as a special assistant for the World Series champions. He will report to General Manager Brian Sabean.

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The Sparks signed former USC standout Ebony Hoffman to a free-agent contract and re-signed guards Noelle Quinn, who averaged a career-best 10.2 points and four rebounds last season, and Ticha Penicheiro, the league’s all-time leader in assists (2,398) and steals (728). The team also added to its roster guard Natasha Lacy, who played 16 games as a rookie with the Tulsa Shock in 2010, and forward LaToya Pringle, a member of the Sparks’ training camp roster last season after spending the 2008 and ’09 seasons with Phoenix and Minnesota, respectively.

Hoffman, a 6-foot-2 forward, played seven seasons with Indiana, where she averaged 6.4 points and 4.8 rebounds in 232 career regular season games. A source close to the team said the Sparks are also expected to sign former New York Liberty point guard Loree Moore, who played with Hoffman in high school. The pair led Harbor City Narbonne High to a California state title in 2000.

-- Melissa Rohlin

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Milwaukee Bucks forward Drew Gooden will be sidelined four to six weeks because of lingering problems with plantar fasciitis in his left foot.