HoopsHype.com Rumors

"I hope your family gets murdered," tweeted one muttonhead toward Blake's wife. Mrs. Blake responded brilliantly, of course. She didn't hide under the bed or shudder in fear. Instead, she exposed the half-wit sicko. She re-tweeted the threat, adding, "Wow." And sure enough, the offender was so buried by the public response that he backed down, said he was kidding, and offered a "Go Steve!" in response. To that, I say, "Go away." Oregonian

Los Angeles Lakers, Twitter, Steve Blake 

I once asked an NBA player why he didn't vote in elections and he said he didn't want his home address accessible via public records. Basically, the guy was well aware that if he exercised his basic democratic right and registered to vote (unless he successfully sought an exemption to keep his record private) he was potentially placing his family, his home and himself in danger. Minimally, he was inviting unwanted contact from angry fans if he ever missed a shot. I've spent the better part of a week listening to people say things such as, "Twitter is out of control." It's not Twitter, people. We live in a barnyard. Always have. The issue is us. Twitter has just given us an immediate and ugly look into the darkest, ugliest corners of the human psyche. Oregonian

Los Angeles Lakers, Twitter, Steve Blake 

Steve Blake said he reported death threats his wife received via Twitter to Lakers security personnel, who had an increased presence during Game 3 at Staples Center. "We took what we feel are appropriate measures," team spokesman John Black said. Los Angeles Times

Los Angeles Lakers, Twitter, Steve Blake 

Blake's family was threatened after the shooting guard missed a potential go-ahead three-pointer with 3.9 seconds left in Game 2, a two-point Lakers loss. Brown teared up when asked about the threats before Game 3, calling them "a doggone shame." "That gets me emotional right now," Brown said. "I just feel bad for his family, I feel bad for him. That shouldn't be a part of life, to have somebody want to do stuff like that or attack your family, your kids. I don't like that." Blake's wife, Kristen, tweeted her gratitude Friday to those who have supported the couple. "I am deeply grateful & humbled by the outpouring of love, support, & most of all prayers for our family in light of recent events-THANK YOU!" she tweeted. Los Angeles Times

Los Angeles Lakers, Twitter, Steve Blake 

Dave McMenamin: Mike Brown become very emotional - both saddened and angered - when asked about the threats Steve Blake received: "It's a doggone shame" Twitter

Los Angeles Lakers, Twitter, Steve Blake, Mike Brown 

GS Warriors point guard Stephen Curry will take over NBA TV’s official Twitter account @NBATV on Saturday, May 19 for Game 4 of the series between Oklahoma City and the Lakers. During the takeover, Curry will provide analysis and chat with fans. To interact with Curry via @NBATV twitter account, use the hashtag #TWITTERTAKEOVER. Sulia

Golden State Warriors, Twitter, Stephen Curry 

Lakers guard Steve Blake and his wife have been attacked online since he missed a possible game-winning 3-pointer against the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 2 of their Western Conference semifinal. The Twitter accounts of Blake and his wife, Kristen, were deluged with a range of criticism after the loss Wednesday night. "I hope your family gets murdered" read one post that Kristen Blake re-tweeted with the comment, "Wow." NBA.com

Los Angeles Lakers, Oklahoma City Thunder, Twitter, Steve Blake 

Kobe Bryant took to Twitter early Friday to chastise those attacking the Blakes, saying "Lakers fans who said bad things to Blake and his wife on twitter - you should be ashamed of yourself." NBA.com

Los Angeles Lakers, Oklahoma City Thunder, Kobe Bryant, Twitter, Steve Blake 

We’re still more than a few weeks away from some team claiming the Larry O’Brien trophy, but we can go ahead and crown the undisputed champ of professional sports leagues on Twitter. The NBA wins in a runaway. The NBA’s Twitter feed has a robust 5 million-plus, and counting, followers (5,011, 814 as of this morning). That dwarfs the National Football League’s 3,332,082, Major League Baseball’s 2,044,861 and the National Hockey League’s 1,166,503. NBA.com

Twitter, NBA, NFL, NHL, MLB 

It's been six years since Suns' guard Steve Nash won the second of his back-to-back NBA Most Valuable Player Awards. But at the age of 38, Nash is still collecting hardware. Hoopshype.com, a popular basketball website, has named Nash its "Tweeter of the Year" for the second straight season. "It ranks high," Nash said in an interview with Hoopshype when asked how prestigious this honor is. "To be able to go back-to-back and beat people like Jared Dudley and Kevin Durant - there are some great tweeters out there. So to be able to out-tweet those guys, it means all those hours of boredom have paid off." Arizona's Sports Page

Oklahoma City Thunder, Phoenix Suns, Kevin Durant, Steve Nash, Jared Dudley, Twitter 

Suns guard Steve Nash says winning back-to-back HoopsHype Tweeter of the Year awards is one of the biggest accomplishments in his career – although probably tongue in cheek. HoopsHype

Phoenix Suns, Steve Nash, Twitter 

The NBA has launched a series of T-shirts featuring players' Twitter handles. The shirts, available at www.NBAStore.com, feature a hashtag with the team's logo on one side. On the other, the player's Twitter handle appears above his uniform number. metronews.ca

Twitter, Merchandising 

Arash Markazi: I trust @Jeanie Buss will let Phil Jackson know he's trending on Twitter. Twitter

Los Angeles Lakers, Phil Jackson, Twitter, Jeanie Buss 

JR Smith said Friday night that he “regrets” posting a photo of a naked woman on his Twitter account. Smith, whose sometimes inappropriate social media content has gotten him in hot water before, hinted that Knicks officials had addressed the issue with him but that the NBA has not contacted him. “No, not yet,” Smith said. “I’m sure they will. I haven’t heard from anybody yet.” New York Daily News

New York Knicks, Twitter, JR Smith 

The Knicks are on the road, with a game tonight in Milwaukee, but it's pretty safe to say J.R. Smith is not a lonesome traveler. Last night, in the midst of tweeting and re-tweeting praise for his younger brother, Chris, a senior guard at Louisville, which defeated Marquette in the Big East quarterfinals, Smith tweeted the photo you see above, part of which has been obscured. The full version of it, which is obviously NSFW, can be seen here. Deadspin.com

New York Knicks, Twitter, JR Smith 

Smith posted the picture of the model Tahiry reportedly lying on his hotel room bed late Thursday night. Deadspin.com linked to the photo on its website. “I mean, I didn’t know it was going to be as big a deal as it is now,” Smith said. “I definitely regret it. Anytime I do anything that takes away from our team I’m definitely going to regret it.” New York Daily News

New York Knicks, Twitter, JR Smith 

In conclusion: Wanna welcome @TheRealJRSmith to the social media world... He had no idea. Viral!!!! I had no clue my self 2yrs ago. *shrugs. — Tahiry (@TheRealTahiry) March 9, 2012. And: One of those days I wish I would have went to college! — JR Smith (@TheRealJRSmith) March 9, 2012. Deadspin.com

New York Knicks, Twitter, JR Smith 

Royce Young: Last time Russell Westbrook tweeted was Dec. 29 after that Memphis game. Asked him if he was done with with Twitter and he said, "Yeah." Twitter

Oklahoma City Thunder, Twitter, Russell Westbrook 

DeRozan was the focus of attention from the start after a somewhat intemperate note he sent out via his Twitter feed in the aftermath of Tuesday’s three-point loss in Houston. Either displeased with the fact he sat the entire fourth quarter or with another tough loss (that was Wednesday’s message), the tweet — “straight bull----” — was up for a couple of hours before it disappeared. Casey said he had a word with the third-year swingman about the wisdom of making his frustration known in such a manner. “We’re all frustrated but we have to turn that frustration around into another opportunity (Wednesday),” Casey said before the game. “It’s part of growing up, part of being a professional and, again, it was one of those things out of frustration.” Toronto Star

Toronto Raptors, Dwane Casey, Twitter, DeMar DeRozan 

But Casey suggested it was better that DeRozan lash out rather than accept a bad finish to a close game that he was forced to watch from the bench. “It shows everybody cares,” the coach said. “It shows you care and that’s why I didn’t make a big deal out of it. It was a good thing.” But a public declaration might not be the wisest move. “We handle it internally and that’s the way it is. . . . We want to be a team that’s about discipline, about doing things the right way and we’re going to be,” said the coach. Toronto Star

Toronto Raptors, Dwane Casey, Twitter, DeMar DeRozan