December 20th just can't get here quickly enough can it? If you aren't sure, that's the date the Chargers and the Bengals play, and if these little war of Tweets continues between Shawne Merriman and Chad, these two might just beat each other to a pulp before the game even starts.

Anyway, these two are at it again, this time with Merriman firing the first salvo; a stalker-style update letting Chad know he's being watched. Naturally, Chad was unwilling to let his kind of "disrespect" go without a response, which follows:

Don't you just love offseason football fun?  As long as these two are going at it, it certainly makes it easier to bear, at least for me.  Judging by some of the comments in our last Ocho/Twitter post, not everyone is for Chad using Twitter during games; and after reading the complaints, it's easy to understand.

Nevertheless, posts like these are why I do support it. 

Granted, a petulant Ocho would probably make some chemistry-destroying posts, but when Chad is in form like he is with Merriman -- and is fully on board with being a Bengal -- good things like this little war of Tweets happens.  And I, for one, am enjoying it for all its worth.  To me, this is entertaining and it adds value to the December meeting between the Chargers and the Bengals.

How can it not?  When this game rolls around, everyone, from local media to ESPN, will be talking about Merriman's and Ocho's Twitter battles; which, like it or not, does increase viewer interest, especially when the content of the rivalry is revealed.  I understand the purist point of view, as well as those that are tired of Ocho's act.  I hear these arguments and they are valid.

With all of that in mind, it would still be wise to embrace, or at least acknowledge and perhaps tolerate the Twitter craze.  I know the words people use in relation to all things Twitter are annoying -- Tweet, Twitterview, etc. -- but the fact is, the service isn't going away anytime soon; especially when it's being used in such an entertaining matter by professional athletes.