the buzz log
Michael Jordan, Back on the Buzz Court
According to The Times of London, basketball great Michael Jordan has settled divorce proceedings with his ex-wife, Juanita. The final deal? A record $168 million, a slam dunk of celebrity splits.
Some Windy City writers seized the moment to rhapsodize about the legendary Bulls star. But not everyone was buying it. At least one sports columnist rejected the claim—and felt a little miffed that a Brit broke the news, too.
Regardless of the statement's truthiness, the story alone was enough to boost buzz on "His Airness." Over the past week, searches for his pictures leapt 1,597%. Demand for his ever-popular shoes jumped. And queries for his name more than doubled.
A mammoth amount of money isn't the only thing passing the NBA champ up the Search chart. Before the divorce news hit, Jordan's son Jeffrey made his college debut on the court. Just the idea of another Jordan playing hoops scored "jeffrey jordan" a 2,051% rise. Demand for his brother Marcus and his mom also surged. For that moment, the entire family hung in the upper reaches of Buzz, in true Air Jordan style.
Filed under: Basketball, NBA, Divorce
Whiny Bryant Scores Big Buzz
The NBA season isn't even a week old and hoops buzz is off to a perfectly pouty start. Thanks to petulant superstar Kobe Bryant, searchers are curious about the soap opera surrounding the Los Angeles Lakers. Bryant's whole trade-me-no-wait-don't act has worn thin in SoCal, but hoop heads have sent searches on the mopey malcontent up 10%.
However, Kobe's buzz isn't measured by searches on his name alone. Related queries on "kobe trade rumors," "kobe bryant chicago bulls trade," and "kobe bryant trade" give a big assist to buzz on the talented ballhog. The Lakers star also contributed to a recent rebound in searches on "nba rumors" and "lakers rumors." So will the temperamental titan of the court be traded? Data offers us no real insight, but we can predict this ongoing saga will continue to slam the Search box...
Filed under: Sports, Basketball, NBA
Oden's Out But Not Down
You gotta feel for the Portland Trail Blazers. Greg Oden, their top draft pick and the man many feel is destined to return the franchise to glory, will likely miss the entire 07-08 season with an injury.
Searches on the big man jumped big time, up 1,216% once the news hit. Related lookups on "greg oden blog," "blazers season," and "microfracture surgery" (the injury that will keep him on the bench) also spiked.
Grieving fans in Portland and Columbus, Ohio (where Oden attended college) accounted for the two biggest slices of the Search pie. We can't say that was much of a surprise, but we did find it interesting that Oden's NBA rival, Kevin Durant, experienced a 218% jump in the Buzz. It seems fans can't hear about one rookie getting injured without checking to make sure the other's OK.
Filed under: Sports, Basketball, NBA, Injuries
Yao Ming: Married Man
NBA superstar Yao Ming recently married his longtime sweetheart, and searches on the handsome pair soared to impressive heights.
Ming, known for his smothering defense and lack of ego, surged 1,652% to land among our top 750 searches. This intense interest proves just how famous the 7' 6" center has become during his stint in the NBA.
Still, even those lofty numbers pale in comparison to the searches on his bride, Ye Li. Li's buzz surged so dramatically that we were unable to calculate a percentage. Plus she finished among our top five overall searches. That's absolutely epic, but wait, there's more—queries on "ye li pictures" and "ye li yao ming wedding" posted huge gains and "ye li basketball" jumped off the charts as well. Yao may be the president of Ye's fanclub, but clearly he ain't the only member.
Hoops of Infamy
Everybody has problems. The NFL has Michael Vick, and MLB has that whole steroids thing. Both are disturbing, but the current NBA meltdown may be even worse. Following news that a referee bet on games (and perhaps more), searches on the scandal's key players took flight.
Tim Donaghy is the ref in the middle of the mess. Queries on the 13-year veteran hit the roof once his name hit the wires. In fact, interest in the "rogue" official topped searches on the NBA, his former employer. Related search spikes included "tim donaghy bio," "tim donaghy gambling," and "tim donaghy playoffs." Hooray for infamy!
But this story isn't just about ol' Tim. As the saying goes, it takes two to tango and NBA commissioner David Stern is Donaghy's unwilling partner. Of course, the commish didn't collude with Donaghy, but many are wondering why Donaghy, who had a reputation as a gambler, wasn't fired earlier. Stern, on a mission of damage control, described the fiasco as an isolated incident. If it turns out to be more, expect outraged searches on Donaghy, Stern, and the NBA to soar even higher.
top movers
| Rank | Subject | 1-Day Move |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lin Chi Ling | Breakout! |
| 2 | Gloria Diaz | Breakout! |
| 3 | Freida Pinto | 27459% |
| 4 | Gloria Estefan | 9975% |
| 5 | Gloria Velez | 6463% |
| 6 | Gloria Trevi | 3878% |
| 7 | Faith Hill | 2081% |
| 8 | 60 Minutes | 1114% |
| 9 | Alexis Denisof | 994% |
| 10 | Lee Ann Womack | 987% |
top leaders
| Rank | Subject | Move | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | NFL | +464 | 575 |
| 2 | Britney Spears | +194 | 316 |
| 3 | Hi-5 | -11 | 244 |
| 4 | Black Friday | +23 | 212 |
| 5 | Freida Pinto | +198 | 199 |
| 6 | UFC | -24 | 194 |
| 7 | Club Penguin | -30 | 161 |
| 8 | Gloria Estefan | +149 | 150 |
what's the buzz?
A subject's buzz score is the percentage of Yahoo! users searching for that subject on a given day, multiplied by a constant to make the number easier to read. Weekly leaders are the subjects with the greatest average buzz score for a given week.
For more detailed information, visit our FAQ.