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D-Wade’s former business partner throws him under the bus

Dwyane Wade seems like a stand up guy, so I loathe to pass this along, but his former business partner, Richard Von Houtman, is making some serious allegations. Keep in mind that anyone with the word “Von” in their name is generally not to be trusted, and he might very well be making this all up.

Richard Von Houtman claims he provided a condo to Wade that the Miami Heat star soon turned into a personal party bungalow. Wade and his friends held numerous gatherings there, which featured sex with random women and marijuana use. Van Houtman said he twice saw Wade smoking a joint in the house but wasn’t in attendance for the orgies that Wade allegedly helped arrange.

“They (Wade and childhood friend Marcus Andrews) both made it clear to me how their goal in life is to have sex with as many women as possible,” Von Houtman said.

The two also went in together on a restaurant chain bearing Wade’s name. Needless to say, things didn’t end well.

“Dwyane and Marcus would show up in the Fort Lauderdale location and round up the waitresses they thought were pretty. They’d disappear with them, leaving the restaurant short-staffed,” Von Houtman said. “They were sexual harassment lawsuits waiting to happen.

“Dwyane wanted us to built a VIP room in the Aventura branch (which never opened) that would be totally segregated, with its own bathroom and chaise-lounges. For what? We were serving food, not sex.”

I’m not sure what to make of this, so I’m not going to try. Let’s see if Wade responds.

Luke McCown to be starting quarterback for Bucs in 2009?

Luke McCownCould Luke McCown be the Buccaneers starting quarterback in 2009? The team re-signed him on Monday, leaving only McCown, Brian Griese and Josh Johnson under contract for next season.

With $42 million in cap space, Tampa could sign a free agent signal caller this offseason, but the market is bare. Kurt Warner is expected to return to Arizona, which would leave Jeff Garcia, Rex Grossman and Kyle Boller as the top quarterbacks on the market. Yikes.

Although the aging veteran Griese might have a slight edge to start next year for the Bucs, there’s a strong chance that McCown could win the job in preseason and line up under center come Week 1. And although he has flashed signs of potential at random times throughout his career (mostly in two performances in 2007), McCown certainly isn’t a long-term answer. Hell, he might not even be the short-term answer. (Although to be fair, I am the idiot who questioned the Cardinals for going with Warner over Matt Leinart last year, so maybe McCown can be the answer at quarterback for Tampa.)

Tampa has gone through some radical changes since the season ended, firing head coach Jon Gruden, losing defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin to the University of Tennessee, and naming Raheem Morris as Gruden’s successor. Even though the free agency period hasn’t even started and the scouting combine is yet to be conducted, the Bucs look like a strong candidate to take a major step back in ’09.

Boldin to agent: Don’t accept any contract offer from the Cardinals

Disgruntled wide receiver Anquan Boldin reportedly told his agent Drew Rosenhaus not to accept any contract offer the Cardinals make him this offseason.

Anquan BoldinAfter watching Anquan Boldin talk at the Pro Bowl yesterday, it sounded like he wasn’t quite as steadfast in his thoughts he didn’t want to be in Arizona. Apparently, I was wrong, and Q was just doing it for the cameras. Because XTRA’s Mike Jurecki, who said he talked to Boldin over the weekend, said Boldin instructed his agent to tell the Cards he would not sign any new contract (the Cards are expected to still make a new proposal) and that he wants to be traded.

I guess it really shouldn’t be a shock. Agent Drew Rosenhaus was spotted outside the team’s Tempe facility today so I would guess he relayed a handful of news to the team. Profootballtalk.com already reported the team was told Edgerrin James — another Rosenhaus client — was asking to be released ASAP. Oh, and Rosenhaus also represents Darnell Dockett, so I wouldn’t be shocked if Darnell’s contract status was brought up.

But it is the Boldin situation that will be front and center. Again, he is under contract for two more years, so if he declines to sign any new deal, the Cards could just hang on to him and not trade him. Boldin’s only recourse will be to disappear for the entirety of the offseason — not a great deal with a new offensive coordinator coming in. We’ll see how it develops.

Here’s what would be smart. Boldin wants out and it doesn’t look like the Cards can do anything about it. So Arizona needs to go to Boldin, tell him to shut his mouth and play along until they can deal him. He’s not doing the team or himself any favors by repeatedly reporting that he’s done in Arizona and wants to be traded. The least he can do is be quiet so the Cardinals can get max value for him in a deal.

Either way, Anquan Boldin’s time in Arizona looks like it’s up.

Bedlam in Mizzou

College basketball is heating up, people, and there is no better example than tonight’s Border War between #16 Kansas and #19 Missouri. The atmosphere at Mizzou Arena was electric even though the home team only scored 16 points the entire first half (and trailed by 14 at halftime). Bit by bit, the Tigers chipped away at the lead, and after trailing for the previous 30 minutes, J.T. Tiller’s bucket with 0:50 remaining gave Mizzou the lead, 60-58. Twenty seconds later, Mario Little made a rainbow jumper from the baseline to tie the game, 60-60. The Tigers ran the clock down and with just 0:02 remaining, Zaire Taylor got a very friendly bounce to put Mizzou ahead for good, 62-60.

One of the biggest differences between college hoops and the NBA is the energy of the home crowd. The fans in Columbia stuck with the Tigers even when things were going badly and gave them that extra boost when they needed it most. With the Jayhawks up two, Sherron Collins (who is an 84% free throw shooter on the season) missed two crucial shots at the charity stripe due in no small part to the fact that he was shooting into the teeth of the student body.

It’s Rivalry Week and ESPN has a number of great Top 25 matchups over the next few days. Mizzou and Kansas got us off to a great start.

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