Because hitting him in the face with a shovel is highly illegal? Forbes’ Nathan Vardi reports ESPN.com’s Chris Sheriden is suing the New York Post and Hall Of Famer Peter Vecsey over the latter’s December 14, 2010 column that tweaked Sheridan in typical Poison Pete form.

Vecsey’s article argued that the New York Knicks did not have a good chance of obtaining basketball player Carmelo Anthony from the Denver Nuggets and called Sheridan’s reporting the “latest fairy tale” derived from the “same fountains of misinformation that frequently play make-believe with ESPN’s Chris Sheridan.” Sheridan had reported on ESPN.com two days earlier that if Anthony were to be traded from the Nuggets, he would only agree to sign a contract extension if he was traded to the Knicks. Sheridan cited an anonymous source.

Anthony was indeed traded to the Knicks in February, an event that Sheridan’s lawsuit humbly describes as “one of the most important stories in New York City basketball over the past forty (40) years.”

Sheridan claims that Vecsey was motivated by his “historic malice towards Mr. Sheridan” and “fabricated an entirely false and sustained tirade against Mr. Sheridan.” Sheridan claims he demanded a retraction from Vecsey and the New York Post on April 7, but that they did not respond.