Glen Rice
Glen Rice, seen here with Jeff Van Gundy, called Sarah Palin a "sweetheart," according to The New York Times. REUTERS

Reports that former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin and former NBA basketball star Glen Rice had a one-time fling continued to dominate the headlines and social media Web sites on Friday.

Two days after the National Enquirer reported that Joe McGinniss' new book, The Rogue: Searching for the Real Sarah Palin, included a story about the two hooking up, Glen Rice continued to trend worldwide on Twitter.

The book, which will hit store shelves on Tuesday, alleges that the two had an encounter in the 80s, when Rice was a junior basketball player at the University of Michigan and Palin -- then known as Sarah Heath -- was a sports reporter for an Anchorage television station.

The story claims that Palin had a fetish for black men at the time and hauled Rice down, though The New York Times mentioned in its review of the book that Rice called Palin a sweetheart and respectful.

Rice refused to comment on the situation when reporters reached him at his Florida home on Wednesday, but he did allegedly confirm the relationship to McGinniss in the book. Another report stated that Rice and Palin used to talk to each other over the phone, even though Palin was apparently seeing her then-boyfriend Todd Palin at the time and would marry him nine months later.

The reports that Rice had a relationship with the one-time vice presidential candidate was too salacious for many to ignore, as many took to the airwaves and Twitter to share their thoughts.

Former NBA star Charles Barkley -- who in the past has stated affection for Palin -- told ESPN Chicago that if the story is true, Glen Rice had gone up in his book.

You know I have a thing for Sarah Palin, I do. I think she's hot, Barkley told the radio station. When I read that... Glen Rice is my new hero.

In addition to Barkley's comments, people throughout the world took to Twitter to respond to the allegations. Among the funniest comments on Twitter:

Sarah Palin had an intimate relationship with Glen Rice in the 80s. Rice tried to resist but he was never one to stop anyone from scoring, @TheBillWaltonTrip, a parody account of NBA legend Bill Walton.

Sarah Palin had a one night stand with Glen Rice? Interesting, but not better than the time Nancy Pelosi sexed Mutombo, @GotEm_Coach

I wonder if Sarah Palin could see Russia from on top of Glen Rice, @MySecondEmpire, better known as Chris Jones, an editor-at-large at Esquire.

Listen Palin, no one, and I mean no one can stop Glen from scoring when he's hot, @BlueBookPoetry

Glen Rice and Sarah Palin still seem like a better fit than Texas and the ACC, though, @JasonKirkSBN