In the heat of competition, words can fly and hit as hard as any tackle or hard foul. And this week has been no exception in either the football or basketball world.
On Sunday, moments after the Baltimore Ravens secured their second-ever trip to the Super Bowl, Baltimore safety Terrell Suggs didn't waste any time crowing about Baltimore's dominating second half after the Ravens beat the Patriots 28-13 to win the AFC Championship.
As he ran through the visiting team tunnel at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Mass., Suggs taunted the Pats, calling them "arrogant f-----!"
"(We) shut them out in the second half! Tell them to have fun at the Pro Bowl!" he shouted while he celebrated with teammates. "Shut them out in the second half. Arrogant [expletive]. These are the most arrogant [expletive] in the world starting with [coach Bill] Belichick on down."
Suggs, who was playing with a torn biceps, has a history with the Patriots, particularly Tom Brady. In 2010, Suggs called Brady's three Super Bowl rings "Questionable" due to the controversy involving the "tuck rule" game in 2001 and the Spygate scandal in 2007, the latter involving accusations of the Patriots videotaping defensive signals from the Jets during a regular season game.
The linebackers words rubbed Patriots wide receiver Deion Branch the wrong way after the game.
"If you talk to Ray (Lewis) it might be a little different. If you talk to some other guys, they are champions. That's not how a true champion talks, regardless of whether you win or lose. It just doesn't work that way. But congratulations to the Ravens," he said of Suggs' comments.
Of course, heading into Sunday's game, Patriots fans weren't exactly humble either, posting up a giant billboard that read "Countdown to Ray's Retirement Party" in Medford, Mass., days prior to the game. Lewis, who saw the billboard, said after the game--as he celebrated the Ravens' AFC Title win--that the billboard was hurtful.
And after the game, Anna Burns Welker, wife of Patriots tight end Wes Welker, posted a scathing rant about Lewis--including his murder trial in 2000 and accusations regarding is personal life--on her Facebook page that drew so much negative feedback that she eventually posted an apology.
Meanwhile, in the NBA, while the Battle for New York between the New York Knicks and Brooklyn Nets has concluded at a 2-game tie for their season series, the war still rages between two of the franchise's key players.
Nets forward Kris Humphries, known for taunting Knicks fans, tweeted "Big game tonight! The Garden got really quiet on the way out!#Brooklyn" on Monday after the Nets beat the Knicks in an 88-85 thriller.
Taking offense to that, Knicks guard J.R. Smith, who missed what would have been a game-tying shot in the final seconds, took a pot shot of his own. "Wasnt quiet when Kanye tore it down last month!" Smith tweeted back.
Smith was referring to Humphries' brief marriage to reality show star Kim Kardashian, to whom he was married in 2011 and is in divorce proceedings with at present time. News has spread recently that Kardashian is expecting a baby with her boyfriend, superstar rapper Kanye West.
The tweet from the Knicks guard was re-tweeted 55,149 times.