Reports that Yankee Alex Rodriguez and Madonna have become close just as their marriages are disintegrating have the celebrity gossip industry and the sporting world abuzz.

A third boldface name was added to the saga when Rodriguez's wife fled from New York to the Paris home of rocker Lenny Kravitz, who denied anything improper had happened.

A-Rod didn't take questions from reporters before yesterday's game vs. the Red Sox at Yankee Stadium.

The backstory:

Last week, tabloids reported that Madonna, who is married to British filmmaker Guy Ritchie, had consulted a high-profile London divorce attorney. On Tuesday her publicist issued a statement saying Madonna's marriage was not in jeopardy. Then Us Weekly magazine reported that Rodriguez, 32, has been making late-night visits to the Manhattan apartment of Madonna, 49. The magazine termed the relationship a “hot new friendship.”

Madonna's publicist, Liz Rosenberg, acknowledged the two know each other after meeting at a charity event, but denied any romance.

Yesterday, the New York Daily News reported that Rodriguez and wife Cynthia have separated, citing an anonymous source. Then came news that Cynthia visited Kravitz in Paris.

“Cynthia is a friend . . . she came here to escape from everything happening in New York City,” Kravitz said in a statement. “I opened my home to her as a friend and I find it extremely hurtful that I am now being referred to as an adulterer.”

A copy of a local tabloid with the front-cover headline “Split!” was on a table in the middle of the Red Sox's clubhouse yesterday, The Associated Press reported.

“New York, it's like Us Weekly meets the fun bunch,” Sox first baseman Sean Casey said.

The sports blog Deadspin wondered how Rodriguez would be greeted by fans at Yankee Stadium during the Sox series: “Will there be any cone bras in the stands? Sean Penn masks? The theme from 'Evita' being sung by a heavenly choir of visiting Red Sox fans?”

TRIVIA TIME

Only two current franchises have played in one World Series and won it. The Angels are one. Name the other.

THE NEWEST BIG WHEEL

The last time Randy Moss made this much auto-related news, he was bump drafting a female traffic control officer a half-block or so in Minneapolis with his Lexus.

Moss said yesterday he has bought a 50 percent stake in a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series team. Morgan-Dollar Motorsports will be renamed Randy Moss Motorsports, and the truck's number will be changed from 46 to Moss' 81. The 81 truck will make its debut July 19 in Kentucky.

Moss said he got hooked on NASCAR while growing up in West Virginia.

“I just met Dale (Earnhardt) Jr. and I felt like a kid,” he told reporters in Daytona Beach, Fla., site of this weekend's NASCAR races.

TRIVIA ANSWER

The Diamondbacks (2001).

FROM NEWS SERVICES, ONLINE REPORTS