The 4-Day Championship Round-up
TV Talks as The Sports World Sees Champs Rise and Fall
6.12.2012—The blood and sweat spilled over the last year in the sports world all came to decisive conclusions in the past four days. Boxing, basketball, hockey and tennis have seen champions crowned and contenders vanquished. Aside from the sports titles awarded or denied to the participants, Boxfish shows how the TV mentions match up between opponents.
Anthony Bradley vs. Manny Pacquiao
Fight-fans were transfixed on this match before the punches started flying. With Pacquiao clawing to a close victory against Manuel Marquez in his previous fight (one that many say he lost), people were eager to see how he would fare in his next battle. A young, undefeated Anthony Bradley came to challenge Pac-man for the title. After trading blows for 12 rounds, the match ended in a highly controversial split decision victory for Bradley, dethroning the long-reigning Pacquiao as champion. The fight earned Pacquiao 784 mentions over the weekend. Bradley being the new champion amid controversy got him the lion’s share of mentions with 1004 during the weekend.
Miami Heat vs. Boston Celtics
Taken to the bitter end, the Miami Heat edge out against the Boston Celtics in Game 7 of their NBA semi-finals to meet the OKC Thunder in the championship. What first looked like a definite sign of the Heat’s victory became a battle between the old guard and the new. The Miami heat came out of the weekend with 529 mentions, while the Boston Celtics got 286 mentions.
LA Kings vs. New Jersey Devils
People did not see the LA Kings coming when they became the top team in the west. They didn’t see them making it far into the playoffs either, but the Kings continued to take victory after victory in the post-season, carving a path to the Stanley Cup Finals. Even at the beginning, the New Jersey seemed outmatched. However, NJ struck back, winning 2 games back-to-back after being swept the first 3 games. However, the Kings dominated their opponents 6-1 in the final matchup, winning them the cup. Their first Stanley Cup victory earned the Kings 993 TV mentions, while the Devils got 864.
Nadal vs. Djokovic
Nadal took home his 7th French championship after beating top-ranked Djokovic. The grand-slam rivalry that is starting to ramp up between these two is going to captivate tennis in the months to come. Nadal got less mentions on TV over the last 4 days than Djokovic’s 982, but Nadal still pulled out 842, 145 of which was when he won the championship, topping Djokovic’s 92 in the same timespan.
