Jose Canseco's ex-GF tells TMZ ... she believes J.C. is COMPLETELY INNOCENT ... and claims the woman accusing the former MLB star of rape is nothing more than a lying publicity whore.

We spoke to Leila Knight -- who dated Canseco for more than 4 years -- and she tells us she's spoken with Canseco at length about the sexual assault accusations that have been made against him in Las Vegas.

"I've been talking to him all day ... it's obvious that it's a publicity stunt, I mean -- the girl's an aspiring actress," Knight says.

Knight also says Canseco is a "gentle person" who always tells the truth -- "If anything, he's too honest."

For his part, Canseco has denied any wrongdoing ... despite the fact he's named as a suspect in a sexual assault investigation stemming from an alleged incident on May 10.

Jose Canseco is under investigation in Las Vegas after a woman filed a report accusing the former MLB star of sexual assault ...  but Jose says it's all BS, TMZ has learned.

Law enforcement tells us ... the 48-year-old retired baseball player has been named as a suspect in a police report filed with the Las Vegas Metro Police Department.

We're told ... the person who filed the report says the incident went down on May 10.

Canseco went to his Twitter page moments ago and said, "[The accuser] told police that I druged [sic] her and then raped her. hmmmmm. lets find out what really happened."

The accuser appears to be a fitness instructor who lives in Vegas.

Story developing ...

This could get bloody ... a design company has sued Eli Roth's Goretorium, saying the Las Vegas haunted house and its business partners have been dragging their feet on a $50K bill ... TMZ has learned.

The "Hostel" director opened the horror attraction in September and hired The Uprising Creative to create all kinds of promotional materials -- logo design, branding, videos, the like ... this according to the lawsuit filed today in Los Angeles.

Uprising says it was paid more than $134,000 over several months ... but the checks stopped coming with $50,853.93 still unpaid. They're alleging breach of contract and fraud ... and want the $50K plus interest and legal fees.

The Goretorium corporation is being sued ... not Roth. So far, no one's returned our calls to the office in LV.

Interesting side note ... in the suit, Uprising says one business partner recently told them to be patient -- because March was the Goretorium's first break-even month since October ... and that if Uprising sued, he would just file for bankruptcy.

Now we'll see if he was bluffing.

Attention West Beverly High alumni: Steve Sanders is jacked.

Former "Beverly Hills, 90210" star Ian Ziering is getting pumped for his upcoming gig stripping with the yoked man panty crew of Chippendales ... by working out -- with a photographer on hand -- in Studio City on Thursday.

While the 49-year-old's shirtless Vegas stint doesn't start until June ... he's already showing off his peach pits.

Johnny Manziel may still be riding high on his Heisman win -- but insists the trophy is no pothead ... despite a photo circulating on the Internet.

The Texas A&M quarterback was photographed kissing his hardware this past weekend in Vegas, and it looks like Heisman is carrying a big fat blunt.

But Johnny says the photo's a fake! He just tweeted: "ABSOLUTELY PHOTOSHOPPED. People are always out to get me...sorry for kissing my trophy."

We had our photo experts here at TMZ take a closer look, and they do see some fishy stuff  in the image -- so Johnny may have a point.

Then again ... Johnny football does like to party hard.

So, we've gotta ask ...

 

In the world of 90210 ... if Tori Spelling were a stripper, Ian Ziering would be her male counterpart ... and this scary fantasy has become real because he's heading to Vegas baby!

Ian is the latest celeb to join the infamous Las Vegas Chippendales revue for a guest dancing stint -- following in the footsteps of Joey Lawrence, Jake Pavelka and 98 Degrees star Jeff Timmons.

Ian will be taking most of it off at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino during most of June ... allowing hoards of 30-something women to feebly cling to their Steve Sanders fantasy.

And lest you forget, Ian CAN dance -- he made it to the semi-finals on "Dancing with the Stars" back in season 4.

Waltzing, stripping ... it's all the same right?

They've each made a SOLID case to be considered the greatest athlete of all time ... and this weekend, Michael Jordan and Michael Phelps finally battled it out ... on the golf course.

Mike and Mike grabbed their clubs and hit the links in Vegas for the 12th Annual Michael Jordan Celebrity Invitational at Shadow Creek in North Las Vegas.

So, which Mike emerged victorious?

PHELPS ... by a stroke!!

The Olympic swimmer shot a 72 ... while Jordan shot a 73.

In the meantime, another celebrity power game was underway in L.A. -- Justin Timberlake vs. Kiefer Sutherland.

No word on who won that matchup. Sorry.

"Pawn Stars" pays BANK ... just ask Chumlee ... who dropped thousands of dollars on an expensive new pair of boobs for his girlfriend, TMZ has learned.

Sources close to Chum tell us, the perky new breasts were a recent birthday gift for his gf Tanya -- but that wasn't all he got her.

We're told Chumlee also rented out a penthouse suite for him and his lady at the D Casino hotel last weekend, paid for several lavish dinners at the hotel's Andiamo steakhouse -- including one attended by Tanya's 11 girlfriends -- and even arranged fancy limo rides through Vegas for her and her family.

And get this ... after dinner Saturday night, Chum hit up the high-limit blackjack table ... where the minimum was $500 per hand.

Chumlee tells us, "I wanted it to be the best birthday ever for her and was happy to be a part of a great party, celebration, and special gifts."

Hehe ... special gifts.

If you've been DREAMING of a half-naked Bret Michaels shaking his ass in a bowtie and cuff links, it's time to find a new dream ... 'cause the rocker just turned down an offer from Chippendales, TMZ has learned.

Sources close to Bret tell us ... the legendary all-male review recently approached the 50-year-old about a guest hosting gig for their show at the Rio in Las Vegas ... a la Jake Pavelka, Jeff Timmons and Ronnie from "Jersey Shore."

We're told Michaels was flattered by the proposition, but sadly had to turn down the show because he's already committed to a series for the Travel Channel called "Rock My RV."

But if you REEEEEALLY want to see Bret in his skivvies, just wait outside his tour bus -- he'll get to you eventually.

"Thrift Shop" rapper Macklemore is still looking for a come-up ... because Friday morning he caught a flight on America's favorite bargain airline Southwest ... and TMZ has the pic.

Mack -- real name Ben Haggerty -- boarded the discount flight from Burbank to Las Vegas stuntin' in dark shades, a black jacket, and a hoodie ... and he looked incredible.

We're not judging, but it's always pretty incredible to see famous people on Southwest ... guy really lives up to his reputation.

Now THAT'S a cold ass honkey.

Rob Gronkowski is SORRY -- sorry for putting his busted forearm in danger last week in Vegas while partying like a dumbass ... just ask Gronk's tank top.

A Patriots fan posted the photo on Twitter this weekend -- showing Gronk wearing a tank that reads, "Sorry for partying." According to the fan, the photo was snapped Sunday at Universal Studios in Orlando. 

The shirt's obviously a reference to the video TMZ posted last week, in which Gronk body slams his friend on stage at XS nightclub in Vegas ... and lands hard on his broken left forearm, which was wrapped in a support sleeve.

Patriots fans were outraged over the clip, pissed that Gronk -- one of the best tight ends in the league -- would risk re-injury by acting like an idiot. 

So, here's your apology, New England. Satisfied?