The WPS tries so, so hard.

As you may be aware from merely existing, Twitter is all the rage these days. We use it. I use it. Lots of celebs use it, and, thanks to some thrilling reportage in the New York Times this morning, lots of those celebs hire people to Tweet for them!

Well, the WPS has caught wind of this Twittering business, and their big news concerns their inaugural game on Sunday: players on the bench will be tweeting! During the game!

Score one for the marriage of brand-new social networking and brand-new, sure-to-fail professional sports leagues.

As the story from ESPN shares (in way more than 140 characters, mind you), the WPS will select certain players on the bench to update their feeds during the game via mobile phones. However, the "during" is convoluted, much like this genius idea: starters will be updating before the game, at half-time, after the game, or if they're subbed off.

Actually, that last one might be the most compelling: "Coach took me off! Bullshit! Y am I not playing n e mor? :/" but I digress.

It's a wonderfully gimmicky move to get attention, and I dare say it's working. However, beyond the first game or two, it will fade into oblivion, much like this entire league.

ESPN's criticisms are flimsy, as usual: WON'T SOMEBODY PLEASE THINK OF THE CHILDREN? WHAT KIND OF MESSAGE ARE WE SENDING TO THE YOUTH? You know, the usual plaintive cries better suited to a frumpy Andy Rooney monologue at the end of 60 Minutes.

It really won't have much of an impact on "the children", but in the rush to Tweet and follow our celebrities going about their daily lives and web surfing, quite a few might take note. For example, if Heather Mitts or Hope Solo begin tweeting, I might have a look, but for entirely different reasons (please post naked twitpics! please post naked twitpics!).

Chalk it down to some sweaty, desperate marketing folks in a room hundreds of miles away, anxiously hunting out ways to get recognized. Sadly, like so many good things, Shaquille O'Neal got there first.

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