I’ll have to admit that the case against former NFL placekicker Tony Zendejas, who went to trial on four felony rape and sodomy charges last year, looked fairly compelling. As well as gruesome. But once the judge in the case began throwing out some of the charges, we knew that an acquittal might be in the air, and indeed, Zendejas was found not guilty in March. Now he’s suing the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department for harassment and deprivation of civil rights.

Zendejas, a native of Mexico, made name for himself as a kicker with four NFL teams from 1985-’95, most notably the Houston Oilers and LA Rams. But he has continued to be a household name in the Los Angeles area, where his Zendejas Mexican Restaurant — one of seven LA-area restaurants owned by his family — has thrived. Well, it was thriving until the rape charges surfaced. Read more…

Sports fans in St. Louis spend an inordinate amount of time telling anyone and everyone who will listen that they are the “best fans in baseball.” Unfortunately, with all the time they spent patting themselves on the back in baseball over the past few years, they didn’t notice that their football team, the St. Louis Rams, has been up for sale since the death of owner Georgia Frontiere in early 2008.

(Say hello to your Cleveland Los Angeles St. Louis Los Angeles Rams!)

Frontiere’s children, who inherited the team (and a hefty estate-tax bill) from their late mother, have been unable to find a local buyer for their 60% stake in the team and are now preparing to put the team on the open market to any and all bidders - even those who have no interest in staying in Missouri (i.e., everyone). Los Angeles Rams - where have we heard that before?

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A former NFL kicker has been brought in on charges that he drugged a woman at his restaurant and later raped her.

(Vince Ferragamo must be so ashamed)

TMZ has the “Exclusive!“ that ex-L.A. Rams booter Tony Zendejas was arrested on Thursday for the alleged assault that took place last January.

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Since the last 24 hours in Vegas Playboy Club has had us a little distracted, we’re behind on our Valentine’s Day gifts. Thank goodness Apryl at PEOPLE JAM is here to help us out with last-second, sports-themed suggestions for the big day! She has five stone-cold, lead-pipe locks to make today a poignant, romantic one for your partner.

Our favorite: “For the collector: For example, I went on Ebay and got an avid Los Angeles Rams fan a Merlin Olsen trading card. Get a piece of their favorite team’s history. Be creative!”

Ourselves, we had to pass on that one, since last year we gave our significant other a signed Ray Malavasi martini glass. But with all you L.A. NFL fans alive and well (sorry, Georgia), we wanted to help make your V-Day Ram-tastic!

And for those of you flying solo today, we’ve got just the thing to raise your spirits after the jump. Read more…

• WITH LEATHER wants to know if you know how to Ram it:

• MR. IRRELEVANT is disturbed by the way the media thinks Sean Taylor had it coming.• THE GHOSTS OF WAYNE FONTES hits the bookshelves to find literary help for these sports figures.

• Some drunk Ole Miss gals give their thoughts on the dearly departed Coach Orgeron:

• 100% INJURY RATE tries to cure itself of Olympic fever, as they run down past mascots of the Games:

• FOOTBALL JESUS LAS VEGAS takes a fond look back at all the College GameDay signs at last week’s Kansas-Missouri game.• CHICAGO BULL finds the Illinois football and basketball coaches are exact opposites.