Dwyane Waaaaaaaaade!

During an instant message conversation between yours truly and your Daily News sports editor, Scott Barrett, we began to argue (as is often the case during these discussions) about the value and talent of Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade. 

It all began when Scott opined that Rajon Rondo is a consistent jump shot away from being one of the top five players in the NBA. I replied that, even with a solid J, there's no way he's better than Kobe, LeBron, Chris Paul, Wade or Dwight Howard. Not even close. 

He said he'd take Rondo over Wade. I said, "You're nuts."

Wade has had a career year this season, averaging 30 points, 7.5 assists and 5 rebounds per game. At 6-foot-4, he also led Miami in blocks with 1.3 a game. 

It is true that, even if he and the Heat survive Friday's Game 6 against the Hawks and come back to win the first-round playoff series, Miami isn't winning an NBA title this year. Once Wade's supporting cast, led by rookie Michael Beasley, matures, maybe it'll be a different story in Miami.

Some of you, however, might recall that Wade already has a ring, that he won with an aging Shaquille O'Neal in 2006.

But the bottom line is, if it weren't for the Lakers and Cavaliers, and their respective superstars, having the ridiculous seasons they are, Wade would be the runaway league MVP. And no matter what Rondo does with his game in the coming years, he'll never be in the same league as Wade.

"Tweeting" is for the birds ...

I think this whole Twitter phenomenon is ridiculous, and professional sports figures seem to have taken it to a new level of absurdity.

During a critical March game against the Celtics, Milwaukee Bucks forward Charlie Villanueva updated his page during the halftime, using his 140 characters to say “In da locker room, snuck to post my twitt. We’re playing the Celtics, tie ball game at da half. Coach wants more toughness. I gotta step up.”

Needless to say, coach Scott Skiles wasn’t pleased when he heard the news.

Last weekend, the New England Patriots announced their draft picks via the social networking site, and Jim Courier, who will bring his Outback Champions Series back to Newport this summer, will go even further to bring fans closer to the action.

This weekend at the Turning Stone Resort and Casino in Verona, N.Y., Courier will “tweet” during changeovers in his match against loudmouth John McEnroe.

“I have been using Twitter for the last few months and find it an excellent way to communicate directly with fans,” said Courier, who can be found at twitter.com/jimcourier. “It will be quite a unique experience to use Twitter on changeovers and provide fans and followers some unique perspectives on in-match thought processes and perspectives.”

Forget Courier, I’d like to see McEnroe do some “tweeting” after one of his patented on-court explosions. Still, you have to wonder if Courier, or any other player, will be updating their pages this summer at the Hall of Fame Champions Cup?

What the Favre is going on?

Just when we all thought (again) that Brett Favre was out of our lives and out of the public eye for good, he’s back … maybe.

The legendary quarterback, as everyone will recall, sullied his name and reputation over the course of the past year with his flip-flopping about retirement and subsequent awful play at the end of last season with the New York Jets.

Favre asked the Jets to release him from the reserve-retired list this week, and the Jets obliged, making him a free agent, should he choose to come out of retirement again.

In this situation, Favre can do one of three things, and fans’ long-term view of him will depend on which path he chooses.

1. He can sign a symbolic, one-day contract with the Packers so he can officially retire as a member of the team with which he built his legend. Jerry Rice did this with the 49ers in 2006, and other athletes have gone the same route. This simple act could absolve him of all the bad will he accumulated with Packers fans since his first retirement in March, 2008.

2. He can join another team (early speculation involves the Minnesota Vikings, since that’s where he reportedly wanted to go when the Packers were looking to trade him last year). If he does, he will be dead in the eyes of Packers fans for years to come.

3. He can simply stay retired, and stay quiet.

Sadly, I’m not sure he’s smart enough to go with 1 or 3.

The big hurts ...

Professional athletes are a different breed. They’re bigger, faster and stronger than most of us, and make a lot more money. But there are times when they simply look human.

Chicago Bears linebacker Lance Briggs recently was spotted at signing appearance with a big white bandage on his right hand. This is the same Lance Briggs who, two years ago, walked away unscathed after wrecking his Lamborghini, but apparently a straight razor proved to be his undoing. According to the Chicago Sun-Times, Briggs, who is 6-foot-1 and 235 pounds, told autograph seekers that he cut himself while trying to give himself and old-fashioned shave.

This got me thinking about other pro athletes who have injured themselves doing everyday things:

First there’s pitcher Adam Eaton of the Baltimore Orioles. Attempting to remove the plastic around a new DVD with a knife, the tall right-hander sliced his hand open. Perhaps using "On Demand" would work a bit better?

How about Marty Cordova, who won the 1995 AL Rookie of the Year with the Minnesota Twins? He “injured” himself when he fell asleep in a tanning bed. When he awoke, he was burned so badly that doctors told him to stay out of direct sunlight. The Twins must have been away from the Metrodome that week.

But taking the cake is New England Patriots punter Chris Hanson. In 2003, when he played for the Jaguars, Hanson gave himself a gash in the leg after swinging an ax, which was placed in the team's locker room by coach Jack Del Rio as a motivational tactic. After losing the first three games of the season, Del Rio’s mantra was “keep chopping wood,” and players were to take a swipe at a large tree stump.

He didn’t mention, however, that punters should refrain.