Dirk a boozer as a loser

IT'S A GOOD THING for Dirk Nowitzi - and his liver - that the Mavericks beat the Heat for the NBA title.

When Dallas lost to Miami in the 2006 Finals, Nowitzki said he was so distraught he drank a bit too much.

The Mavs' star told radio station KCTK in Dallas that he went "on a 3-week drinking binge just to forget everything."

Now Dirk's no teetotaler. He said he's been celebrating since winning the title in Miami on June 12. But nothing like the bender he went on 5 years ago.

"I am a little older now than I was then," he said. "I actually think we partied harder in '06 when we lost, just to forget about it, than we did now . . . This year, we had a couple of good nights, but I'm 33 now. My body can't recover, so you have to party one day, and the next day has to be off. You can't go back-to-back when you're that old."

Really? Has anyone ever mentioned that to other professional athletes?

Maybe Mike Tyson forgot he was already married. Or maybe he simply decided to make the same mistake twice.

Either way, TMZ reported Iron Mike remarried his wife, Lakiha, after inviting hundreds of friends to celebrate their joint birthdays in Las Vegas. The party was a ruse, however, for the main event.

According to TMZ, Mike and Lakiha renewed their vows in a traditional Muslim ceremony. The website reported the pair wanted to have a do-over because the first time they wed it was a small, secret affair in Vegas in 2009.

- Tom Mahon

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