Maxwell Treated for Irregular Heartbeat

Guard Vernon Maxwell of the Houston Rockets was hospitalized Friday after complaining of an irregular heartbeat. He was listed in stable condition.

“When you hear heart you’ve got to be concerned, but from all the feedback I’ve gotten, we’re not at a point of being in a panic situation,” Coach Rudy Tomjanovich said.

The six-year NBA veteran was undergoing examinations Friday and might remain hospitalized for two to three days for more tests.

Teammates said Maxwell had complained of a rapid heartbeat since suffering a chest bruise in a game Dec. 23 against Denver.

Teammate Hakeem Olajuwon was on the injury list from Nov. 23-Dec. 6, 1991, because of an irregular heartbeat.

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Isiah Thomas confirmed that he has a lifetime job with the Detroit Pistons. Exactly what he will be doing is uncertain.

At an Auburn Hills, Mich., news conference, Thomas ended a week of speculation by acknowledging that team owner Bill Davidson had offered him an unspecified job in the Pistons’ front office when his playing days end.

Baseball

Shortstop Walt Weiss, after reportedly turning down a $5.6-million, three-year contract offered by the Florida Marlins, agreed on a $2.2-million, two-year contract with the Colorado Rockies.

Weiss, a Marlin last season, was among several free agents who faced a Saturday deadline to re-sign with their former clubs. Players who don’t re-sign can’t go back to their old teams until May 1.

Right-hander Jack Armstrong and the Texas Rangers agreed to a $1.15-million, one-year contract. . . . Outfielder Hubie Brooks re-signed with the Kansas City Royals. Brooks, who got a minor league contract, will get $350,000 if he makes the team. . . . Left-hander Randy Tomlin and the Pittsburgh Pirates agreed to a $975,000, one-year contract.

Tennis

Petr Korda defeated Bernd Karbacher, 6-3, 6-4, to lead the top-seeded Czech Republic to victory over Germany in the final of Hopman Cup play at Perth, Australia.

Korda’s victory gave the Czechs an unbeatable 2-0 lead after Jana Novotna had defeated Anke Huber in the opening women’s singles, 1-6, 6-4, 6-3.

Lindsay Davenport, the 17-year-old No. 2 seed from Palos Verdes, beat Shi-ting Wang of Taiwan, in a semifinal match Saturday at the $150,000 Australian Women’s Hardcourt tennis tournament in Brisbane.

Davenport will play No. 11 Florencia Labat of Argentina in Sunday’s final. Labat advanced when top-seeded Magdalena Maleeva of Bulgaria was forced to concede their semifinal because of dehydration.

Australian Pat Rafter and Yevgeny Kafelnikov of Russia won quarterfinal matches in the rain-plagued Australian Men’s Hardcourt tournament at Adelaide. Rafter beat South Africa’s Grant Stafford, 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7-5), and Kafelnikov defeated David Rikl of the Czech Republic, 5-7, 6-3, 7-5.

Stefan Edberg and Goran Ivanisevic moved into the semifinals of the Qatar Open with victories at Doha, Qatar. Edberg easily defeated Frenchman Henri Leconte, 6-4, 6-2, and Ivanisevic ousted Stefan Pescosolido of Italy, 6-4, 6-4.

Winter Sports

Two-time World Cup overall freestyle champion Trace Worthington of Park City, Utah, injured his right knee in training and will miss up to five weeks of skiing, the U.S. ski team announced. . . . Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean, skating their first amateur competition in nearly 10 years, earned eight 5.9s for composition and four perfect 6.0s for presentation in the original dance at the British Ice Dance Championships at Sheffield, England.

College Football

Mario Bates, who gained 1,111 yards as an Arizona State redshirt sophomore last season, said he will give up his last two years of college eligibility to make himself available for the NFL draft.

Also declaring for the draft were junior Corey Sawyer of Florida State, a two-time All-Atlantic Coast Conference cornerback and one of the Seminoles’ career leaders in interceptions, and All-American defensive lineman Sam Adams, who will skip his senior season at Texas A&M.;

Hockey

The NHL suspended New York Islander forward Mick Vukota for 10 games and Coach Al Arbour for five for an altercation Tuesday night against New Jersey. Arbor was also fined $1,000 and the Islanders $10,000. . . . Gary Roberts of the Calgary Flames and Jean-Jacques Daigneault of the Montreal Canadiens are under suspension for slashing and elbowing incidents, the NHL announced.

Miscellany

Italy, which reached the finals of the 1992 America’s Cup, couldn’t raise enough money to sustain another effort and is officially out of the 1995 regatta, it was announced in San Diego. . . . Cliff Ellis, the winningest coach in school history, resigned after 10 years as Clemson’s basketball coach, saying he needed new challenges. . . . Ron Meyer, the former UNLV coach who went on to coach the New England Patriots and Indianapolis Colts, will return to Las Vegas to head a new entry in the Canadian Football League.