Sports continued its growing presence on the Web and social media in ’12. Below are some lists showing how sports stories and figures stacked on several sites and search engines.
SEARCH ME: “Linsanity” found its way to the Web in big fashion in ’12. During his breakthrough with the Knicks last season, current Rockets G Jeremy Lin was the top trending athlete on Google in ’12, followed by Broncos QB Peyton Manning and Gold Medal-winning U.S. swimmer Michael Phelps. Among U.S. athletes participating in the London Games, Heat F LeBron James was the most-searched Olympian, followed by Lakers G Kobe Bryant. In Canada, the Blue Jays were the most searched Canadian team on Google, followed by the Maple Leafs and Canucks. During the club’s first season in MLS, the Impact ranked 10th overall. On Yahoo, golfer Tiger Woods was the most-searched athlete in ’12, followed by tennis player Maria Sharapova.
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SELECT SPORTS SUPERLATIVES ON GOOGLE IN THE U.S. IN '12
|
MOST-
SEARCHED |
NO. 1 |
NO. 2 |
NO. 3 |
U.S.
Olympian |
LeBron James |
Kobe Bryant |
Michael Phelps |
| U.S. sports |
Football |
Golf |
Basketball |
| U.S. athletes |
Jeremy Lin |
Peyton Manning |
Michael Phelps |
| MLB players |
Derek Jeter |
Bryce Harper |
Josh Hamilton |
| NFL players |
Tim Tebow |
Peyton Manning |
Tom Brady |
| NFL teams |
Cowboys |
Bears |
Broncos |
| NBA players |
LeBron James |
Jeremy Lin |
Dwight Howard |
| |
|
|
|
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MOST-SEARCHED CANADIAN SPORTS TEAMS ON GOOGLE IN '12
|
|
RANK
|
TEAM |
RANK
|
TEAM |
|
1
|
Blue Jays |
6
|
Oilers |
|
2
|
Maple Leafs |
7
|
Flames |
|
3
|
Canucks |
8
|
Senators |
|
4
|
Canadiens |
9
|
Raptors |
|
5
|
NHL Jets |
10
|
MLS Impact |
|
|
|
|
|
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MOST-SEARCHED ATHLETES ON YAHOO IN '12
|
|
RANK
|
ATHLETE |
RANK
|
ATHLETE |
|
1
|
Tiger Woods |
6
|
Tim Tebow |
|
2
|
Maria Sharapova |
7
|
Jeremy Lin |
|
3
|
Peyton Manning |
8
|
Anna Kournikova |
|
4
|
Danica Patrick |
9
|
Lolo Jones |
|
5
|
Amanda Beard |
10
|
Serena Williams |
| |
|
|
|
LIKE ME: The NFL Giants topped Facebook’s list of the most-mentioned sports topics in ’12, followed by the Patriots and Jets QB Tim Tebow. AT&T Park ranked third among all locations for Facebook check-ins, with Yankee Stadium ranking fourth. Among all public figures mentioned on Facebook, Tebow ranked fourth, while Peyton and Giants QB Eli Manning tied for fifth. Super Bowl XLVI was the second most-mentioned event on Facebook, with the London Games ranking fifth.
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SELECT SUPERLATIVES ON FACEBOOK IN '12
|
| CATEGORY |
NO. 1 |
NO. 2 |
NO. 3 |
| Sports mentions |
NFL Giants |
Patriots |
Tim Tebow |
| Check-in locations |
Times Square |
Disneyland |
AT&T Park |
| Events |
U.S. Presidential Election |
Super Bowl XLVI |
Death of Whitney Houston |
| |
|
|
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TWEET ME: The top three sports-related trends on Twitter in ’12 belonged to league hashtags. The leader was #NFL, followed by #nascar and #mlb. Lin was the top athlete trending on Twitter, followed by Lakers C Dwight Howard and G Kobe Bryant. Meanwhile, the top tweet for @SBJSBD -- the official feed of SportsBusiness Journal/Daily -- March 14 about the Big 12’s 13-year, $2.5B TV deal with ESPN.
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TOP SPORTS-RELATED TRENDS ON TWITTER IN '12
|
|
RANK
|
TOPIC
|
RANK
|
TOPIC
|
|
1
|
#nfl
|
6
|
jeremy lin
|
|
2
|
#nascar
|
7
|
super bowl
|
|
3
|
#mlb
|
8
|
dwight howard
|
|
4
|
olympics
|
9
|
kobe
|
|
5
|
#sfgiants
|
10
|
#yankees
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