Wow, it’s been like coming out year for sports bloggers. First it was Jason McIntyre at The Big Lead, then the guys at Fire Joe Morgan turned out to be writers of The Office. Now, the writers of the fabulously lo-fi but awesome Hoopshype.com have come out and… they’re Spanish! Sorry, we mean ¡they’re Spanish! After six years of anonymity building a readership that includes NBA GMs and agents, the site’s writers have been outed as founder Jorge Sierra, Angel Marin and Raúl Barrigón. More surprisingly than keeping their IDs in check is that they’re the ones who initiated an actual NBA trade, which makes their blogger props number somewhere around Fleshbot editor-level.

What most distinguishes Hoopshype is the critical mass of movers and shakers who read it daily. Even when the rumors prove false, the site acts as a catalyst. One morning in October 2005, a Hoopshype item caught the eye of Larry Harris, the former general manager of the Milwaukee Bucks: A New York tabloid was reporting that the New Orleans Hornets wanted to trade Jamaal Magloire.

The story turned out to be wrong. But the rumor prompted Mr. Harris to call the Hornets to find out if they were willing to deal. Two days later, Mr. Magloire was on his way to Milwaukee. Mr. Harris says he routinely calls other general managers in the league based on tips from Hoopshype.

Awesome. On that note, we won’t stop until we can get Dimitar Berbatov in an Everton jersey—just because we can. Dun-dun-dunnnnn….

The NBA’s Top Gossips [WSJ.com]
Image [WSJ.com]