the buzz log

As Dan Rather would say, this lawsuit was enough to make his fingernails sweat.

But the suspense is over. The former anchorman lost his $70 million lawsuit against CBS. The newsman sued the network after he was removed as anchor, then dumped from CBS completely.

The dispute centered on a story Rather reported on "60 Minutes II" months before the presidential election between Bush and Kerry back in 2004. The controversial report detailed how Bush was given special treatment while he served in the Texas National Guard during the Vietnam war. But the sources turned out to be inaccurate, and the show had to step back from the story.

Rather claims he was the scapegoat for the report and that his rep suffered after the network shelved him. CBS said they were within their rights. The appeals court sided with CBS. One reason: The court didn't buy the argument that the living legend had trouble finding work after the nasty ending with CBS: He is anchor of a cable news show now.

Again, to put it Rather style: "It was always a big rock up a high hill. The rock just got bigger and the hill just got higher."