Heart disease forces Mobley to retire

Knicks guard Cuttino Mobley retired yesterday because of heart disease that he said has gotten worse. Mobley said doctors told him he faced significant risks if he kept playing. The 11-year veteran said by walking away now, he could live a long life. The former University of Rhode Island star confirmed he has hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. The condition causes the heart muscle to thicken, making it harder to pump blood, and the 33-year-old Mobley said he had no choice but to end his career. "The specialists I've seen made it clear that my heart condition has gotten worse and I couldn't continue to play professional basketball without putting my health and life in serious danger," Mobley said. Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is the leading cause of sudden cardiac death in people under 30 years old and was linked to the deaths of former Celtic Reggie Lewis and Loyola Marymount's Hank Gathers.

Rockets forward Ron Artest will sit out the next two games with a sprained right ankle. Houston is already without forward Tracy McGrady (sore left knee) and center Yao Ming (cold) . . . Oklahoma City forward Chris Wilcox is expected to miss 10-14 days after dislocating his left ring finger . . . Former Celtic Dirk Minniefield has been charged in an alleged $10 million mortgage scheme in the Houston area. The 47-year-old former University of Kentucky star was arrested Tuesday at his home by FBI agents after a federal indictment was unsealed . . . Cavaliers center Zydrunas Ilgauskas is expected to miss at least two games after spraining his left ankle in a win at Philadelphia Wednesday . . . Chris "Flash" Richardson, a member of the Harlem Globetrotters, died in his sleep Wednesday while on tour at a US military base in Sasebo, Japan. He was 28. Although the cause of death was not yet confirmed, Richardson likely died of natural causes, said team spokesman Brett Meister.

Florida quarterback Tim Tebow won the Maxwell Award for the second year, edging Texas quarterback Colt McCoy and Texas Tech QB Graham Harrell for the honor given to the nation's best all-around player. Oklahoma's Sam Bradford won the Davey O'Brien Award, beating out Tebow and McCoy as the nation's best quarterback. McCoy was chosen the 2008 Player of the Year by the Walter Camp Football Foundation in New Haven. Texas Tech's Michael Crabtree won his second straight Biletnikoff Award for best wide receiver. Shonn Greene of Iowa won the Doak Walker Award as the nation's best running back. The Outland Trophy (best interior lineman) was won by Andre Smith of Alabama. Matt Fodge of Oklahoma State won the Ray Guy Award (best punter) and Graham Gano of Florida State the Lou Groza Award (best kicker). The Jim Thorpe Award (best defensive back) went to Malcolm Jenkins of Ohio State . . . Saints offensive coordinator/offensive line coach Doug Marrone has accepted the head coaching position at Syracuse, according to a report on ESPN. Marrone has deep ties to Syracuse. He was a three-year letterman in the 1980s and returned to finish his degree in 1991.

Annika Sorenstam started the final tournament of her career with a 2-under-par 70, four shots off the lead at the Dubai Ladies Masters. The defending champion closed with back-to-back bogeys. She double bogeyed the 18th, but had seven birdies at the season-ending tournament on the Ladies European Tour. Johanna Head opened with a bogey-free 66 to lead Anja Monke by two shots . . . Len Mattiace and Michael Jonzon fired 7-under 65s to share of the lead at the first round of the Dunhill Championship in Malelanie, Australia. Lee Westwood, Robert Rock, Johan Edfors, and Rafael Cabrero Bello each shot 66 . . . Australia's Stephen Dartnell shot a 4-under 68 (11-under 133) to take a two-stroke lead over Mathew Goggin (70) during the suspended second round of the Australian Open in Sydney. John Daly was 1 under through nine holes when play was stopped and 5 over for the tournament.

Bobby Labonte has been released from his contract with Petty Enterprises, which is trying to negotiate a deal with Gillett Evernham Motorsports that would solidify the future of its famed No. 43 Dodge. Petty Enterprises has been unable to find sponsorship for Labonte, a former NASCAR champion, and is in danger of eventually closing its storied organization if it can't work out a merger with GEM. Petty will run the No. 43 as a single-car team in 2009 if a merger with GEM is not completed . . . The Dallas Stars placed defenseman Sergei Zubov (hip) on the injured list . . . Belarusian hammer throwers Vadim Devyatovskiy (silver) and Ivan Tsikhan (bronze) were stripped of their medals from the Beijing Olympics because of high levels of testosterone. The IOC also disqualified Polish canoeist Adam Seroczynski, who tested positive for steroids after finishing fourth in the flatwater K2 event. The three cases bring to nine the number of athletes caught for doping in Beijing . . . Ruslan Chagaev, the World Boxing Association "champion in recess," will make his comeback against Carl Davis Drumond Feb. 7 in Rostock, Germany. Chagaev had two scheduled title defenses against Nikolai Valuev fall through because of injuries . . . Joseph Agbeko (26-1, 22 KOs) won a 12-round majority decision over William Gonzalez (21-3) to retain his International Boxing Federation bantamweight title in Newark. On the same card, Tomasz Adamek (36-1) beat champion Steve Cunningham (21-2) in a 12-round split decision to take the IBF cruiserweight title.