Johnson Will Miss Zurich Track Meet

Michael Johnson, who won gold in the Olympic 200- and 400-meters, will miss the Weltklasse Grand Prix track meet in Zurch because of an injured hamstring.

The Weltklasse event is one of the largest payoffs in track and field. Event winners get between $5,000 and $7,000--with $50,000 and a kilo of gold offered for a world record. Points--awarded according to event finishes--will determine how $3.8 million is divided in the Grand Prix final Sept. 7 at Milan, Italy.

Pro Basketball

The Houston Rockets re-signed free-agent guard and forward Mario Elie to a two-year contract on Tuesday. Terms weren’t disclosed.

Elie, 32, averaged 11.1 points, 3.4 rebounds and 3.1 assists for Houston last season. He missed 35 games because of a fracture in his right forearm last January.

Jerome Williams, Detroit’s first-round draft pick in this year’s NBA draft, signed with the Pistons. Terms of the multiyear contract were not released. Williams, a 6-foot-9 forward from Georgetown, was the 26th overall pick. . . . The Atlanta Hawks, looking to improve their outside game, signed former Georgia Tech star Jon Barry to a one-year contract. Barry, a four-year veteran, averaged 4.6 points and 1.7 assists during three years with Milwaukee and one season with Golden State.

Olympics

Hundreds of Tongans walked, biked, taxied and rode on the back of trucks to Fukuamoto International Airport to greet boxer Paea Wolfgramm, whose silver medal was the South Pacific’s first Olympic medal.

The usually shy Tongans roared their approval of the man who has been the talk of the island since he beat Cuba’s Alexis Rubalcaba in the super heavyweight quarterfinals at Atlanta in only his 12th international fight in five years.

While his relatives danced to a brass band, Wolfgramm, 26, sat on a throne, surrounded by dignitaries, politicians and to his left, Prime Minister Baron Vaea, who presented him with a mobile phone, a gift from the people.

Jurisprudence

Former Philadelphia and Houston guard Vernon Maxwell has been ordered to pay $1,350 monthly support for a daughter born a year ago.

Lisa Ann Henry, 22, filed a paternity suit last year that said Maxwell had fathered her child, who was born July 4, 1995.

Texas District Judge Annette Galik ordered Maxwell to pay support until the girl turned 18 and to pay $9,600 in back child support. He has visitation rights.

Harvey Martin, a former star defensive end for the Dallas Cowboys, was arrested in Dallas after fighting with his girlfriend and will be observed for mental illness.

The arrest, on misdemeanor harassment and assault charges, was the second time in six months the 45-year-old former All-Pro faced assault charges involving Debbie Clark, 37.

After Martin posts bond on the assault charge, he will be taken to Parkland Memorial Hospital for observation on a temporary mental illness warrant on the order of a county magistrate.

Willie Rush, a Philadelphia boxing trainer, filed a breach of contract lawsuit this week against WBC heavyweight champion Mike Tyson and fight promoter Don King in U.S. District Court. Rush alleges Tyson, King and two of King’s agents reneged on a March 1995 deal for Rush to train Tyson following the fighter’s release from prison.

Tennis

Tour newcomer Tommy Haas pulled an early upset in the RCA Championships at Indianapolis, beating eighth-seeded Renzo Furlan of Italy, 6-1, 6-2.

Making his first ATP tour appearance, the 18-year-old German, a wild-card entry in the $1 million field, used a strong service game in the second-round victory that took just 56 minutes.

Boris Becker withdrew from next week’s du Maurier Open at Toronto, citing a wrist injury sustained at Wimbledon.

Gustavo Kuerten of Brazil upset second-seeded Alberto Berasategui of Spain, 6-3, 6-4, in the first round of the Croatian Open.

In other matches, top-seeded Alberto Costa of Spain beat Italian Omar Camporese, 6-2, 7-5.

Soccer

Argentine soccer star Diego Maradona, 35, will undergo treatment for a recurring drug problem at an unidentified private clinic near Geneva.

The 35-year-old Maradona, leader of Argentina’s 1986 World Cup championship team, arrived in Geneva late Tuesday, accompanied by his manager, Guillermo Coppola.

“I’m going to get some help,” Maradona said before leaving Buenos Aires. “This will help me to feel better and to deal with a problem everyone knows about, my struggle against drugs.”

Maradona drew two 15-month suspensions from international soccer after testing positive for drug use.

Miscellany

Columnist Norman Chad will join TNT’s “Pro Football Tonight” show this season.

Roller Hocky International announced that the 1996 regular-season attendance has exceeded one million spectators. The Anaheim Bullfrogs lead the four-year-old league with an average attendance of nearly 10,000.