Steve Nash played soccer in his youth, puts together celebrity soccer games in the NBA offseason and comes from a family that loves the sport so it’s no surprise that he’s fired up for the World Cup. What is shocking is Nash rockin’ the Brandi Chastain sports bra while he sleeps. Even if it’s for Visa.

If Steve Nash -one of the toughest guys in the NBA- wears a sports bra, I can only imagine the piles of Victoria’s Secret panties and bras in Vince Carter’s bedroom.

Steve Nash paddling to the World Cup:

Steve Nash and the Phoenix Suns surprised everybody outside of Arizona by pulling even with the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference Finals. Los Suns’ girly zone and desperate hustle carried them to the two victories but they might have had a little intergalactic help as well. Steve Nash hooked up with Space Ghost for an interview and to promote Vitaminwater. Rumor has it he used his powers to make Andrew Bynum disappear.

The Los Angeles Lakers stomped the Phoenix Suns 121-102 at the Staples Center in a battle of Pacific Division leaders. Steve Nash had 13 points and five assist in 24 minutes which led him to take out his frustration on referee Violet Palmer. Nash gestured to Palmer that she needed glasses after he was whistled for a foul on Derek Fisher in the third quarter.

@talkhoops snapped the pic that should land Nash a fine.

Here’s the video thanks to @jose3030:

Steve Nash is Kanye West to Violet Palmer’s Taylor Swift. He wouldn’t have done that to Steve Javie or Joey Crawford.. That’s a punkass move and the League needs to dip into his pockets. BUT.. If Nash had simply stomped around and waved arms before approaching Palmer with his hands against his chest to heatedly plead his case, and then strutted away shaking his head and laughing, it would’ve been all good.

Steve Nash is spending his summer vacation twittering, traveling in South America, and twittering about traveling in South America. When he isn’t drinking beer, helping the needy, or looking for good music, Nash is playing soccer with Club Olimpia in Paraguay and conducting interviews in Spanish.

Steve’s wife Alejandra is from Paraguay which explains why Nash is there chillin’ with the team. As far as him speaking Spanish so well, his wife speaks Spanish which pretty much makes Steve speak Spanish.

The Internet is such a lovely thing. Think about it, almost anything you can ever want is a mere tapping of a few keystrokes away. From some brand new exclusive shoes or clothes to the latest albums, movies, TV shows and blogs covering everything from Ants to Zucchini. Chances are that if you love something, it’s probably online. And if you’re an NBA junkie like me, its latest gift is the wonderful world of Twitter, or as Shaq calls it, “Twitteronia.”

For those who still aren’t hip to Tweeting, let me break it down.

First off I’ll go with what the site describes itself as: “Twitter is a service for friends, family, and co–workers to communicate and stay connected through the exchange of quick, frequent answers to one simple question: What are you doing?”

It sounds pretty straightforward and easy, and for the most part it is. You sign up with an e-mail, a password and a name of your choice. After that, you literally just post whatever it is you’re doing right now. Whether it’s listening to some music, mowing the lawn or publicly complaining about your roommate behind their back. After that, you can browse the site and pick and choose who you follow, meaning whose updates (tweets) you subscribe to. Anyone who subscribes to your updates is one of your followers.

At first use the site does seem pretty complicated to figure it out, with most new users probably wondering what the heck all the “@” symbols mean and where to make sense of it all. But after a while it starts to come together and you’ll most likely be hooked, checking to see what Martha Stewart is up to or to get a warm goodnight greeting from Diddy. Everyday.

A rather disturbing photo proclaiming Shaq as the King of Twitteronia.

If that happens to us common folk, imagine what happens when you give famous, multimillionaire athletes with 24-hour web access a free, instant website to express themselves?

How about a classic NBA sitcom/reality show. Think about it, we all have egos and sometimes think (either secretly or publicly) that everyone else cares about or wants to constantly know what we’re doing. Now imagine multiplying that ego-driven reality by someone whose bank account has about six extra zeros and you’re bound to get Twitter gold.

Back in the day you had to wait for tomorrow’s paper (usually boring, formulaic replies) or 30 minutes in a parking lot after the game to catch a few words from your favorite players or coaches. Not anymore, not by a long shot.

Take the posts of Twitter’s most famous athlete, Shaquille O’ Neal.

Timeless “Twitpics” uploaded on Shaq’s Twitter account.

He’s pioneered some fun and interactive contests for his 500,000 + followers, like the time he invited anyone reading his tweets to meet him at the restaurant where he was having lunch, and then poking fun at those shy or afraid to approach him. Or the contests he’s done to give away free tickets to the first person to identify where he’s at through his tweets or the first to touch him. (Click the link, it’s a great read.)

Not to be outdone, at least a dozen other NBA ballers tweeters have accounts and some have also used Twitter to make their way into the news cycle.

Perhaps the most publicized was the time Milwaukee Bucks forward Charlie Villanueva tweeted the following during halftime of a crucial game against the Boston Celtics: “In da locker room, snuck to post my twitt. We’re playing the Celtics, tie ball game at da half. Coach wants more toughness. I gotta step up.” Despite the fact that he came out for the second half and played well enough to secure an upset win over the Champs, he still received a lot of heat for the move and prompted Bucks coach Scott Skiles to publicly announce a ban on tweeting during a game.

There was a mini-fallout out after the Villanueva incident, with everyone from Doc Rivers to Alvin Gentry giving their take. Shaq took the opportunity to announce that he would post a tweet at halftime, fearing no repercussions from his coach, who it turned out didn’t really care. “As long as he gets 25 (points) and 11 (rebounds), he can do whatever he wants. He can Twitter, Facebook, MySpace,” said Gentry. Shaq did post at halftime, a fitting “Shhhhhhh.”

Turns out Gentry might have been more understanding since he has a Twitter account of his own. And he isn’t alone. Former player and current ESPN analyst Jalen Rose uses the site, and Paul Pierce, Steve Nash, Chris Bosh and Clippers guard Baron Davis all regularly update as well. For Davis, the site also led to unexpected moments, like the time he updated his account with a picture of where he was having lunch with his teammates. It all seemed routine and innocent until he updated a few minutes later saying that people were calling the restaurant asking for him. More than once.

Baron Davis learns that posting a Twitpic of where you’re eating probably isn’t the best idea.

And while the Baron incident was taken with some humor (he later tweeted suggesting his followers should call and ask for teammate Marcus Camby at another restaurant they were at), it hasn’t all been fun and games. Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban was recently fined $25,000 by the NBA for comments he made about officiating on his Twitter. Ouch. If anything, just like with other social networking sites like MySpace and Facebook, the Cuban incident served as a reminder that you should always be careful what you say, especially if you’re high profile on a public website. Cuban took it in stride, and of course he had to add his funny 2 cents on the fine. “can’t say no one makes money from twitter now. the nba does.”

Even with the few bad moments, Twitter appears to be the next big Internet phenomenon. With all the great fan interaction, the ease of following your favorite players, the satisfaction of knowing hundreds or thousands of people care what you think and the potentially gripping storylines, it’s hard not to have it be your new guilty pleasure. The only thing this drama has been missing so far is a good, old fashioned rivalry.

New Orleans Hornets center Tyson Chandler hopes to change that though, according to a recent blog post on his website. “I was thinking about dissing Shaq on his Twitter. Something to make him come back to mine. That’s how it happens on the street. I feel like when rappers start a beef that their album sales go up. So I’m going to start a beef with Shaq and maybe I’ll get more Twitter hits. I hope he doesn’t take it personal though. Rappers just talk. I actually have to see Shaq in a couple weeks.”

At least Tyson is smart enough to admit that his only similarity to Iron Mike is the names they share. Nobody wants Shaq to beat anybody up because of Twitter, unless of course there are some portable Twitcams there to catch it all for the rest of us.

- Will.

NBA point guards Baron Davis and Steve Nash are taking the Step Brothers concept to the next level. It’s impossible to tell what this flick is about other than BD and Nash riding a two-seater bike, doing the robot, and getting a little friendlier with one another than we need to see. Maybe Baron and Steve will release a straight to dvd youtube short film.

Baron Davis, Steve Nash, Step Brothers, video

Steve Nash and Claudio Reyna put together a celebrity soccer game at Sara D. Roosevelt park in New York City. The match brought out some big names and a huge crowd in the name of charity. Fans climbed fences, trees, and light post to watch Baron Davis, Jason Kidd, Leandro Barbosa, and Raja Bell join up with Thierry Henry, Steve McManaman, and Robbie Fowler. Steve Nash’s team won the game 9-4 which probably doesn’t matter as much as the overall entertainment provided by all of the players.

Thierry Henry:

Baron Davis played soccer in seventh grade, but that didn’t stop him from committing two hand-ball fouls which led to penalty kicks.. And he got carded. It wasn’t all bad for BD though.. Check out his game below:

It’s fun to watch the NBA players on the soccer field but you know the Golden St. Warriors were nervous. Baron Davis is injury prone and the team might be trying to move him. One wrong step and their 2008-09 season and the hopes of a deal were done.

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Steve Nash, Claudio Reyna, Thierry Henry, Baron Davis, video, youtube

This is the new pre-game introduction video for the Phoenix Suns. Grant Hill, Amare Stoudemire, Steve Nash, Boris Diaw, Leandro Barbosa, and Raja Bell were already residents of Planet Orange. The Big Aristotle Shaquille O’Neal is the new addition and he’s playing the role of Shaqzilla.

In two games with Phoenix, Shaq looks rejuvenated.. And a little out of place. That’s to be expected but the Suns coaching staff has to come up with a way to get Shaquille the ball where he’s comfortable. Having Shaq slip screens from the top of the key, catch the ball at the free throw line, and then make a move to the basket isn’t gonna work. Shaq can’t face the basket and shoot past 8 feet, and he can’t dribble. Mike D’Antoni has a beautiful mind for basketball offense, so they’ll get this problem solved.

It looks like the Suns have already been dipping into NFL playbooks when it comes to looking for an advantage over the competition. Phoenix isn’t secretly taping other teams, but they are doing what the Dallas Cowboys did to Jesse Palmer and the New York Giants.

Well done Phoenix. You earned that victory.

Photo courtesy of Andrew D. Bernstein NBAE/Getty Images

Tags: Phoenix Suns, Pregame Introductions, video, youtube, Steve Nash, Amare Stoudemire, Shaquille O’Neal

I thought the Shaquille O’Neal as a jockey commercial during the Super Bowl was one of the better commercials.. Based on the visual of big ass Shaq riding a horse.. I like to think of Shaq being a jockey as a metaphor. The horse actually represents Dwyane Wade or Steve Nash.. And the finish line represents the NBA championship.. Meaning, the only way Shaq gets the prize is on the back of somebody else.

Check out how the conversation that Steve Nash and Leandro Barbosa will be having whenever Shaq puts on his new Suns uniform:

Tags: Shaquille O’Neal, Steve Nash, Dwyane Wade, Leandro Barbosa, NBA, youtube, commercials, utube

Jeff Van Gundy was a good coach but he’s a better broadcaster. He’s straight up and doesn’t hold back. He has some biases, but none are as bad as Doug Collin’s love for Steve Nash. I think there’s a 85% chance that Doug Collins calls his sons daily and yells “Why couldn’t you be like Steve?!?!”

So near the end of ESPN’s broadcast of the Milwaukee Bucks-Los Angeles Lakers game, the discussion turned to the health of Kobe Bryant. It had been revealed earlier in the game that Bryant was suffering from an infection.

JVG: If I was Phil Jackson I would inject a dose of upper respiratory viral infection into my whole team tomorrow at practice. That would be practice.

MB: In case you’re just tuning in and you don’t know what this sick man is talking about.. Bryant not feeling well, before the game, and that’s what he has, but it certainly hasn’t affected him, 37 points 7 assist 5 rebounds.

JVG: Can you do that? Can you inject somebody with a serum of upper respiratory viral infection?

MB: I believe that’s illegal.

JVG: Isn’t that what Clemens said he did?

MB: (subtly laughing) You’re going down a dangerous path. I’ll ask you to reconsider during this timeout.

JVG: Laughs

They didn’t talk about it anymore after the timeout, but they didn’t need to. JVG had done his job.. Another funny moment came after the game when Andrew Bynum dropped a F-bomb during the post game interview. It looks like he took a lot of notes from Kobe’s summer tirade.

Tags: Jeff Van Gundy, Roger Clemens, Steroids, ESPN