PHOENIX - And you thought the Diamondbacks-Pirates series was the best Phoenix-Pittsburgh showdown going on.
Not even close. That honor goes to the Coyotes' Paul Bissonnette and Pittsburgh resident Matt Hogue, who engaged in an epic social-media war this week until Bissonnette dropped the gloves and delivered a nasty cyber-hit on the bully.
Dare I say it? It was awesome.
And also a sign that social media in the sports arena has arrived at a critical juncture.
Here is how it unfolded:
Bissonnette, also known as "Biznasty," is huge in the Twitter-verse. He has close to half a million follows and is well known for his funny and outrageous tweets. He is more than happy to engage his audience.
On Wednesday, he received an endless stream of ugly tweets from someone with the Twitter handle @matthoagie.
Some were sophomoric: "Is that nose as big in person? I bet you could fill up a sewer with that nose scum of yours."
Some were predictable: "Dude is old dog dirt on my shoe."
Most were downright offensive.
Bissonnette, who happily deals with the online haters, found this barrage over the top. After taking a few shots at Hogue, he took it a step further. He researched the "troll" and found evidence of a criminal past — including allegedly lying to police about the theft of city property — in newspaper articles, which he posted links of on his Twitter account.
Ouch.
Before long, Hogue shut down his Twitter account.
Around the world, other professional athletes silently applauded.
Now that the enthusiasm regarding social media has reached a less hysterical phase, objective analysis has taken over. And what we see is a collection of athletes abandoning their tolerance of inconsiderate fans and coming back swinging.
It's understandable.
Social media has entered a new stage.
Too bad it has come to this.
Twitter in particular has allowed fans a rare opportunity to connect with athletes in ways the growing chasm between them has prevented it. It might be as simple as exchanging pleasantries, or sharing personal information that humanizes the athlete. There was much to celebrate at the start.
As time passed, an increasing number of fans felt as if the invisible shield gave them license for bad behavior. They were empowered by their insults, amused at taking on Goliath, even though Goliath never did anything to them.
Too bad. Twitter often serves as a fantastic conduit between player and fan.
Chad "Ochocinco" Johnson, before his recent legal troubles, embraced the social-media experience. Last year, after college student Chad Gonzalez tweeted that for two years he had reached out to Johnson without a response, the player flew him from Florida to a game, had dinner with him and gave him all kinds of gear from the New England Patriots, his team at the time.
Several months later, Johnson invited to his wedding a woman who had recently shared with him through Twitter her sadness about the loss of her husband.
"Turn Up Ms. Cheryl, bring ya smile, dancing shoes and appetite... let me know when you receive confirmation... Turn up..." he wrote.
She did and had a great time, according to reports from the wedding.
Those exchanges seem to be happening less. More common are athletes deleting their accounts because they are tired of the battles.
Of course, some have left Twitter because they never appreciated the fact that the forum doesn't mean you can say anything. Even if it is promoted as a personal account, athletes are still representing the organization that pays them, like it or not.
Paging Gilbert Arenas.
The three-time NBA All-Star deleted his account for a while after a string of tweets he found funny others found misogynistic. His account came back to bite him when a judge ruled Twitter undermined his attempt to ban the mother of his children from appearing on VH1's "Basketball Wives."
Most athletes enjoy the experience of the Twitter-verse.
A paper published recently in the International Journal of Sports Communication found that some athletes check their Twitter accounts hundreds of times a day, some even during halftime of their games, to connect with followers and find out what others were saying about them.
Social media is a great way to bridge the gap between athlete and fan.
Let's not ruin it, people.
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