Dwyane Wade wins custody of sons

AP reports:

MIAMI -- When the Miami Heat ended practice Sunday, Dwyane Wade went home to his sons.

That will be a regular event going forward.

Ending a long and often-vengeful fight, a Chicago court has awarded Wade sole "care, custody and control" of his two sons. The boys arrived in Miami on Friday, shortly after the ruling was filed, and Wade told The Associated Press that "a huge weight is off my back."

“Mentally, I've been preparing for it for over a year now. To me, it's bigger than that. For me, it shows a lot of people that you need to fight to be in your kids' lives sometimes. You fight until you can't fight any more. That's all I was trying to be, a father in his kids' lives.” -- Dwyane Wade

"My life changed in a huge way," Wade told the AP. "Mentally, I've been preparing for it for over a year now. To me, it's bigger than that. For me, it shows a lot of people that you need to fight to be in your kids' lives sometimes. You fight until you can't fight any more. That's all I was trying to be, a father in his kids' lives."

Wade did not immediately announce the decision after receiving word Friday, trying to make sure that his sons fully understood what it meant first. Teammates, informed of the ruling in a locker room meeting on Saturday after Miami's victory over the Memphis Grizzlies, gave him a rousing ovation.

Wade had one of his finest all-around efforts of the season Saturday: 28 points, nine assists, five rebounds and five blocked shots.

It may not have been a coincidence.

"I heard the best news I could possibly hear," Wade said. "So I was like, 'I'm going to go out there and play free and enjoy it.'"

This should not be a news story. It should be an everyday event.

Still, the 102-page ruling had some sharp words for Wade's ex-wife.

"This court finds that [Siohvaughn Wade] has embarked on an unstoppable and relentless pattern of conduct for over two years to alienate the children from their father, and lacks either the ability or the willingness to facilitate, let alone encourage, a close and continuing relationship between them," read a portion of the ruling entered by Judge Renee G. Goldfarb.

Wade's attorney, James Pritikin, said the custody trial "was one of the longest ever in Cook County history." ...

He and his ex-wife separated in August 2007 ...

More claims against Dwyane Wade followed during the custody case, including that he was abusive to his children. The court found them all to be baseless.

Longest case ever? It was just 3.5 years. Mine has been 7.5 years, and counting. My ex-wife's baseless abuse allegations have gone on for the last 3.5 years, even tho all three court psychologists testified that her accusations were baseless.

My case for custody is probably stronger than Wade's was, but I don't think that I am going to get a 102-page decision like he did. My guess is that he lucked out by getting a basketball fan as a judge.

Update: A reader points out that the Chicago judge is the same one that ruled last year:

Judge Renee Goldfarb said Tuesday that Joseph Reyes can take his daughter to "church services during his visitation time if he so chooses." The judge also ordered that Joseph have visitation with his daughter every year on Christmas and Easter.

I had written about that case on December 16, 2009, February 04, 2010, February 17, 2010, February 26, 2010, and April 14, 2010. It is nice to see that there is an occasional sane judge in a land of corruption. It reminds me of the new TV crime show, The Chicago Code, where a few good cops take on a corrupt establishment in Chicago.