As the year comes to a close, it’s time for my annual thoughts on the Yahoo Year in Review. This is their annual look back at the top athletes. There are many other Top Ten lists if you wish to search Yahoo for those. For instance, the top-searched question for 2015 was, “How do you tie a tie?” I can understand that question, but I am somewhat amused that the #9 most-asked question is, “How many weeks in a year?” That either means that we are just not very smart or more elementary school children are on the internet. I personally do not like either conclusion.
The Top Ten Athletes searched on Yahoo are:
- Ronda Rousey
- Lindsay Vonn
- Maria Sharapova
- Danica Patrick
- Caroline Wozniacki
- Tiger Woods
- Floyd Mayweather
- Manny Pacquiao
- Ana Ivanovic
- Hope Solo
It appears that for an athlete to be searched more than others they have to have attributes, both good and bad, that go beyond them playing sports. Although each of the females on the list are outstanding athletes and at the top of their various sports, I think it is safe to assume that much of their popularity comes from their sex appeal.
Ronda Rousey, who recently lost her UFC bout with Holly Holm, is the star of her sport, but she has also become a favorite through her modeling photos. The same can certainly be said for Vonn, Sharapova, Patrick, Wozniacki, and Ivanovic. Rousey, Patrick, Wozniacki, and Sharapova are back for the second straight year.
Hope Solo was the goalkeeper for this year’s USA World Cup championship team, which certainly captured the attention of Americans. Solo allowed only three goals throughout the tournament. She also has had her share of controversy angering teammates at times and facing a domestic violence charge.
Tiger Woods was #1 last year in most-searched athletes. Much like his golf game, he drops all the way to #6, but he was the most-searched male athlete of the year. At a time when it looks like he may not be able to play competitive golf again, he still garners more attention than any other golfer. It will be interesting to see if he even appears on the list again next year. Last year’s list included Tony Stewart, Tito Ortiz, Ray Rice, and Michael Vick. None of them are on the list this year.
Mayweather and Pacquiao are no surprises to make the list together since they were part of the self-promoted “Fight of the Century”. The fight made $410 million in revenue and one could certainly argue that these two are the only ones to truly make the list based on their athletic abilities in the past year.
So what does the list tell us about where our real interests are in the world of sports? I will let you come to your own conclusions.
ABOVE THE EARS (SOME MUSINGS)
- Who were those guys in the Eagles’ uniforms on Sunday? As horrible as they looked the two previous weeks, that’s how good they were on Sunday when they played the New England Patriots. The offense still looked spotty, but the defense and particularly the special teams looked great. But they ARE tied for first place in the NFC East and it appears that the last game when the Eagles face the Giants will decide the champion. Go figure.
- The Flyers are also playing better – the ’76-ers, not so much. Do you think the ‘76ers’ strategy of tanking season after season will work in the long run?
- Parkland should be the team to beat in high school basketball, but they have to start the season without the football players who are enjoying amazing success. This past week, their football team became the first District XI AAAA team to beat a Philadelphia Catholic League team in the PIAA playoffs. They went overtime to do it, but they did it!
- I like Bangor and Salisbury to battle for the Colonial League championship, but there should be plenty of good talent and exciting games in the 2015-16 season.
- The PIAA state semifinals are this coming weekend and we have our two local teams LIVE on RCN-TV. Saucon Valley will be at Bethlehem School District Stadium to take on Imhotep on Friday night at 7:00pm and Parkland will tackle undefeated Upper Dublin in Souderton at 1:00pm on Saturday. If you can’t be there, we’ll take you there.
NFL PICKS LAST WEEK – 12-4; OVERALL 119-73 (62%)
NFL PICKS (WEEK FOURTEEN)
ARIZONA
CINCINNATI
PHILADELPHIA
CAROLINA
SAN FRANCISCO
CHICAGO
DETROIT
KANSAS CITY
TAMPA BAY
JACKSONVILLE
JETS
NEW ENGLAND
DENVER
GREEN BAY
SEATTLE
GIANTS
