The past few weeks have put a significant dent into the personal credibility of Dwyane Wade. A former business partner is suing him, claiming that Wade was a pothead who staged sex parties at his house, while his divorce from his wife Siohvaughn has gone from ugly to “War of the Roses” with her claiming (among other things) that he was a habitual cheater who gave her an STD.

At least that was her claim last month; she’s since quietly withdrawn it from the court proceedings. Apparently that wasn’t enough for Dwyane - imagine someone being upset for being accused of spreading STDs. So now the AP reports that he’s suing her and her two lawyers for defamation of character and asking for $50,000 from each. In a statement, he told the AP that the lawsuit was the only way to set the record straight:

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I want to congratulate Jim Tressel for ensuring that his Buckeyes still have a chance to play in the BCS Championship game. Since the pollsters didn’t bury the Bucks (#13?), by holding out Beanie Wells in what now turns out to be a somewhat meaningless game, Tressel’s team will have a better chance to run the table in the Big 10 - and then benefit (again) from the creaking, maddening machinery of the BCS.

With a healthy Wells, even after Saturday’s SoCal shellacking, the rest of the Big 10 is probably no match for OSU. So long as UGA, UF and Okla. lose, you can almost guarantee the Bucks a return trip to the BCS’ big game (and another rout at the hands of the Trojans). I can already hear people firing up their CPAP machines in South Beach.

(Right before I called in the airstrike to escape the fourth quarter)

That whole scenario is far-fetched, you say? Then you haven’t been paying attention to the dark ages of a once-great sport. Yes, the pageantry and atmosphere of games like OSU-USC at the Coli is what defines college football, especially when you’re there to experience it first-hand.

But Saturday as I settled into my seat at the game (thanks to My Boy Barry), I couldn’t help being pissed about Tressel not allowing Beanie to play.

Safe to say, Wells could’ve beaned up and done more than the entire Buckeye backfield that day. But Tressel & Co. are gaming the BCS to perfection. They know that to risk further injury to Wells would be to eliminate the Bucks from BCS Championship Game contention.

(Those eyes smoked me out of the ESPN 710 VIP Tent)

Now, isn’t that what the great college game is all about? Sandbagging in front of a hundi-thousand in the most-anticipated college football clash in years?

DEADSPIN Editor A.J. Daulerio spent Saturday with me, and provided the day’s only excitement. On our walk to the stadium, A.J. accidently dropped his ticket. He didn’t discover this fact until he had until we’d walked five minutes down the road.

After backtracking about 1000 feet, we found the ticket, still somehow sitting on the sidewalk. (If only the fine citizens of Watts had been more considerate, and prevented us from attending the game.)

Now onward, to some of my fun pics from the Coli collection (Rick Reilly, Billy Bush, anonymous hotties!): Read more…

As Yankee and Shea Stadiums both come to a close, the NEW YORK DAILY NEWS reports that hardcore fans are looking for keepsakes. And we’re not talking about a picture at the game or a overpriced souvenir soda cups.

Apparently, these fans have been listening to Rick Reilly and taking whatever isn’t nailed down. Among the pieces stolen is outfield bunting and a toilet seat from Yankee Stadium. I just hope that fan didn’t try to steal the toilet seat during the singing of “God Bless America”: he’d be in real trouble for sure then.

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Interesting photo (with my goofy inset) of Erin Andrews I hadn’t seen before:

(‘Should’ve never told Tebow the interview was uncut and uncensored. Nuts!’)

Nice to see The Grip™ is back! And of course, The Grip™ takes on a whole different meaning depending on the context.

BTW, leave your own caption in the comment thread if you please.

From the I’m-Not-Making-This-Up-Dept.: SPORTS BUSINESS DAILY reports that Stats LLC today unveiled “a joint venture with Naveen Aranha, CEO of India-based Sportz Interactive, to create Stats Middle East.

“The operation will be headquartered in Dubai, and the move continues a marked global expansion for the sports data provider that last year opened a European operation and also has made significant inroads into India, China and Japan.”

STATS Middle East? That no doubt means President Bush is soon to be confirmed as the only man on the planet with a lower save percentage than Joe Borowski.

As you know, we’ve quite the homeless problem here on the westside of Los Angeles.

And then there’s the bums.

Oh man, DEADSPIN’s A.J. Daulerio today has a deconstructive dissertation that unloads on Rick Reilly - much like Rick Majerus after unscrambling Cinemax at the local La Quinta. Read more…

As we all know, this is the final season of venerable old Yankee Stadium. But before the grand ol’ ballpark gets bulldozed, Rick Reilly rallies Yankee fans to swipe a sign or steal a seat before it’s too late.

In his latest column for ESPN THE MAGAZINE, Reilly writes that fans should, nay, “must!” take what they can from a sporting venue he elegantly refers to as “our Roman Coliseum, our sports Louvre, our Delphi“:

…Next week’s All-Star game sets up as a kind of Final Viewing, and, like any good funeral, grievers will be trying to slide a wristwatch or a set of cufflinks off the corpse on the way by. This might turn into a pickpocket convention: armrests, pieces of façade, maybe even turnstiles will go missing.

But it shouldn’t be just spectators grabbing a piece or three of baseball history. The Yankees players want in on the action, too. And here’s what they plan on poaching: Read more…

The HARTFORD COURANT quietly notes an ESPN request of the City of Hartford to change zoning on land the Worldwide Leader has rights to purchase. ESPN hasn’t announced what it plans to do with the property if the rezoning and purchases go through.

We have reason to believe there is a plan for this property that coincides nicely with recent changes at ESPN. A photo mockup of possible use of this land has been supplied to us by sources inside… somewhere, we’re sure. At great personal risk (and possibly jeopardizing our newfound mutual affection society with tWWL), here is that mockup:
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• Inspired by very special “Saved By The Bell” episode, Clay Travis of CBS SPORTS suggest sports bloggers & the mainstream media end their feud once & for all with a quiz bowl showdown.

(Buzz Bissinger & Will Leitch butt heads in a Battle of Brawny Brains! With special guest referee - Mr. Belding! [OK, maybe not.])

• THE 700 LEVEL proudly presents pics of “The People’s Champ” Freddie Mitchell living it up royally among some female subjects.

• Tom Ziller of AOL FANHOUSE is happy to share all the things Doc Rivers did wrong in Game 3.

• HOME RUN DERBY is so bored with the San Francisco Giants, they’d rather spend their time at AT&T Park watching the wind try to tip over a full beer.

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Brooks will soon be heading cross-country, and we found his perfect vehicle.

• Is Kevin Garnett still cuddling up with an ex-T-Wolves cheerleader?

• Rick Reilly takes his women to the nicest places - like the press box.

• Sexy softball star Taryne Mowatt wants Erin Andrews’ job.

• Bill Parcells isn’t mad, he just didn’t hear Jason Taylor come in.

• A high school girls basketball coach is charged with having a little extra one-on-one with one of her players.

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HG of YOU BEEN BLINDED pulls an all-nighter in covering an ESPN party in L.A. that featured Rick Reilly and Chad Johnson.

I’m happy to report that ESPN’s new $17M man didn’t disappoint, noting with distinct displeasure a post about his girlfriend by EVERY DAY SHOULD BE SATURDAY: “There’s a site, Every Day Should Be Saturday, that wrote some bull—- about us (gesturing to his girlfriend) that was just wrong. They didn’t double check, they didn’t call me, they just printed it.” Read more…

• Chris Olds of the ORLANDO SENTINEL deals up some kooky baseball cards, including one of Arnold Schwarzenegger as President.

• KTRE reports on a high school basketball coach accused of having sex with student - the twist being that both coach & student are female.

• Rick Reilly devotes his debut ESPN column to his drunken dad.

• AOL FANHOUSE serves up notice that Michael Jordan has requested a restraining order on the woman who keeps bugging him about her baby.

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