Below are the Twitter Athletes Awards. These are just a few of the athletes worth following if you have finally gotten over the "Twitter is creepy" mentality.
Cleveland Cavaliers center Shaquille O'Neal
Twitter address: twitter.com/THE_REAL_SHAQ
Twitter followers: 2,806,801
Shaq’s Twitter bio reads "VERY QUOTATIOUS, I PERFORM RANDOM ACTS OF SHAQNESS." O'Neill is a no-nonsense guy, sticking to that very summation on Twitter. As one of his "random acts of Shaqness," he promotes causes such as Shaq-A-Claus around Christmas. He also interacts with his followers and responds to them by the minute. Twitter has made the superstar a very accessible guy both in the Twitter domain — and literally. THE_REAL_SHAQ is the No. 1 resource for stalkers. He Tweets: "I feel like partying tonite meet me at liquids 1212 w 6th street. Party n da snow." O'Neal wins the award "Stalker-Prone Tweeter."
Boston Celtics small forward Paul Pierce
Twitter address: twitter.com/PAULPIERCE34
Twitter followers: 1,502,755
Aside from asking the Twitter world questions such as what to buy his daughter of 20 months for Christmas, Paul Pierce primarily uses his Twitter feed to raise awareness for events and raffles that raise money for his foundation, "The Truth Fund.” Congrats, Paul, you are awarded the "Community Tweeter."
Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard
Twitter address: twitter.com/dwighthowARD
Twitter followers: 1,488,929
Dwight Howard gives fans exactly what they want — a play-by-play of his every move off the court. If Howard has nothing new to report, he does not let his followers wait in vain. He solves this problem by filling up the 140 characters with "heeeeeeeyyyyyyyyy wooooooooooooorrrrllllllld." In the past week there were seven DH-style greetings, and thank goodness — how else could followers get through a day? Howard is awarded the "Sticky Keys Tweeter."
New York Yankees outfielder Nick Swisher
Twitter address: twitter.com/nickswisher
Twitter followers: 1,214,200
Nick Swisher takes a less personal approach to Twitter. In fact I know nothing more about him after following him. While I find the minute-by-minute, mundane updates useless, Swisher's handle, although updated often, offers a very small glimpse into life as Nick Swisher. Swisher encourages his fans to Tweet with the promise of him retweeting. What more could you want? When he is not on his RT-ing rampages, he is posing questions. Questions that are sure to get the wheels churning as soon as it pops up on the newsfeed. Nick Swisher, do you really care how I am doing today? And I am not sure what I would like to see on your new Web site, but thanks for asking. This Yankees player gets the awards for "Most Selfless Tweeter."
Former New England Patriots wide receiver Donte Stallworth
Twitter address: twitter.com/d_stallworth18
Twitter followers: 29,930
Donte Stallworth is an interesting person to follow on Twitter. He retweets and tweets interesting articles and posts such as State of the Union coverage for a recent example. Most notably, Stallworth used Twitter this past month to raise money for Haiti. He tweeted: “I'm donating $1 to PROJECT MEDISHARE for each follower I have by midnight. PLEASE RT follow & let's help the people of Haiti together today!" He got Cleveland Browns receiver Josh Cribbs to get involved in the project, and Wes Welker also matched the donation. Stallworth receives the "Humanitarian Tweeter" award.
Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Chad Ochocinco
Twitter address: twitter.com/OGOchoCinco
Twitter followers: 720,621
Chad Ochocinco is the most dedicated user. I tried counting how many tweets he had in a day. When I got to 45, I had to stop. Within those 45-plus tweets daily, he responds (@) to followers, talks about his family, discusses his football projections, invites his followers to various places and promotes his music. With the amount he posts, it would be impossible to settle on one topic or theme. One of his more recent posts that made me "lol" was: "http://twitpic.com/1032b6 – How cute-my daughters homework and look at the last name Chadé used." No. 85 wins the "Avid Tweeter" award, just ahead of the second-place Lance Armstrong.
New York Jets safety Kerry Rhodes
Twitter address: twitter.com/kerryrhodes
Twitter followers: 351,502
Much like Ochocinco, Kerry Rhodes tweets so much that it is hard to believe he could ever play on a field without a BlackBerry or iPhone in hand to document every move. Rhodes, however, takes the idea of "microblogging" to an extreme. About 80 percent of his tweets are "thx," "good," "lol," "yup," and other such gems. Although Rhodes' feed is less than riveting to read because of these one-word posts, he is still a top Twitter-user because he uses the site to converse with fans. Good work, Mr. Rhodes, you get the "Most Attentive Tweeter" award. But don't worry, no need for a "@NESN.com Thx."
New York Giants wide receiver Sinorice Moss
Twitter address: twitter.com/Humble83
Twitter followers: 13,029
Sinorice Moss uses Twitter to respond to his fans and offer quotes and advice to followers. Reading Moss's Twitter page invokes an involuntary "aw." If you are feeling down, just visit @Humble83. It is oozing with positivity: "Be Productive, Be Positive & Be Great" messages, his congratulatory posts to opponents in the league and his status updates about charitable visits to motivate kids. Moss deserves the "Saintly Tweeter" award.
New Orleans Saints running back Reggie Bush
Twitter address: twitter.com/reggie_bush
Twitter followers: 948,237
Although preparing for the Saints' first Super Bowl appearance, Reggie Bush does not forget about the Twitter world and is worthwhile to follow. The Saints’ star is the best athlete to follow if you are looking to make a new song play list or find something new to watch on TV or see in the theaters. Of course, he posts about the sports world, but his repertoire is not limited to NFL updates. I guess you have to be up on entertainment if you are dating Kim Kardashian. Bush wins the "E! Tweeter" award.
Please post any other athletes you enjoy following.
