Tiger Woods could make 2009 debut in Arizona. A nearly year-long layoff resulting from knee surgery could end when Tiger Woods returns to the golf course next month — or the month after, depending on who’s correct. The Associated Press reports that Tiger will likely hit the green at Arizona’s WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship near the end of February. But USA Today says he’ll probably sit things out, at least, until the Arnold Palmer Invitational in March. Woods has publicly said that he wants to compete in the Masters in April, but hasn’t given a definite date for his comeback. He does, however, plan to wait until his wife gives birth to their second child, due next month.

NBA star’s reps deny that he broke his end of deal. Spokesmen for NBA scoring powerhouse Dwyane Wade deny the accusations in a new lawsuit by former partners in a planned restaurant chain named after the Miami star. The plaintiffs, who filed their first claim against Wade last year, now say that he changed his original agreement to accept 10 percent of the business, insisting on 30 percent. They claim the star also became so difficult as to insist that his dad be hired at $50,000 a year with no clear job duties, and that a childhood friend get an even bigger salary. But a D-Wade handler denies the allegations, telling a Miami publication: “We would’ve helped with anything they wanted. I was going to be Dwyane’s eyes and ears in the restaurants. They were real jobs. Plus, they initiated everything and now they turn it around. They’re trying to make Dwyane look like the bad guy who’s shaking them down. That’s not the truth.”

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