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2014's game day viewership broke records, which certainly didn't hurt the businesses with ads in the broadcast.

During Super Bowl, the Real Action Will Be on Social Media (Infographic)

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My grandma used to love wrestling. Never thought I'd write that in a public forum...

Sitting next to her in her little apartment in Denia, Spain, I grew up watching Hulk Hogan, The Undertaker, Andre the Giant. I remember Wrestlemania 3 like it was yesterday. Talk about showing my age!

Today, it warms my heart, genuinely, to see the fanaticism that still surrounds WWE.

And given the nature of this blog, its equally thrilling to see how social media has played a fundamental role in the success of this sport-based-reality-TV series; RAW being officially the longest running weekly episodic TV program in the US.

This most recent Monday Night RAW was typical of the volume of social chatter that accompanies the show blow-for-blow - with the USA network now routinely displaying hashtags to initiate conversation and calling out - loudly and proud - the succession of national trending topics that dominate twitter during the +3 hours of entertainment:

#RawChicago #HijackRaw #YESMovement the list goes on and on and on...

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Boxing's Savior? Social Media Power

Edit 3/3/14:

So it turns out FM picked Maidana despite him actually losing the social media poll to Khan. Disappointing. Hopefully the notion catches on regardless!!

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Original:

A few weeks back I vented my frustrations about where the sport of boxing was going and who in their right mind was going to come in and save the day.

As if The Money Team itself was listening, we might have an answer...

Floyd Mayweather Jr. (45-0) crowdsourcing his next opponent in Twitter is a genius stroke of marketing.

Over 200,000 fight fans reportedly responded to a tweet from the unbeaten, five-division world champion asking for their opinion on whether he should next fight WBA Welterweight champion Marcos Maidana or British star Amir Khan.

Maidana got the vote, literally, and the unification title bout on May 3 will be the sport's first ever fight agreed via social media.

Given the sheer volume of fan engagement generated by this initiative - bearing in mind it was barely advertised or pushed by the powers that be - we might well be seeing a lot more of social in boxing yet. Here's hoping.

Next decision, the venue - Vegas or New York? Watch this space... or tweet Showtime Sports boss @StephenEspinoza.

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The Games have come and gone, farewelled by a suitably odd, giant crying teddy bear.

But without a shadow of a doubt, the winner of the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi was BBC Radio 1's Greg James, the genius who persuaded famed natural history presenter, David Attenborough, to revoice the Team GB versus Team USA curling match. Bravo!

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The Matrix referee...

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As you may have read in Marketing today, we've been looking closely at the controversial 2014 Sochi Olympics. On the face of it, a high profile sporting event with wall-to-wall TV coverage and a f

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The United Sports of America

Every state's signature sport. Love it. By @josh_levin, Slate's executive editor, and awesome illustrator @JessFink

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A Boxing SOS - Save Our Sport

I recently attended a night of World Championship Kickboxing at Madison Square Garden. It was an incredible night of raucous, brutal action, glitz, glamor, celebrities and alcohol. And I loved it. As did the thousands of people in the packed out arena.

Kickboxing, along with MMA and UFC, is continuing to experience a meteoritic rise in popularity across the United States. More and more people are attending professional fights, more and more bouts and related shows are being picked up by cable networks, brands are jumping on the endorsement bandwagon, and more and more young fighters are being attracted into the sports. Even WWE is continuing to grow in much the same way across the world.

These trends are all linked, of course. But given this rosy situation, why is the greatest prize fighting sport of them all continuing to slide into absolute obscurity?

Wait, I take that back. In my humble opinion, boxing is not just the greatest fighting sport - its the greatest sport of them all. The ultimate in human physical sporting exertion. The pinnacle of one-on-one combat. Some say its savage but I’d argue done right its positively balletic. Especially when compared to its grappling, cage fighting counterparts. Boxing is strategic. Intense. Its the ultimate test of mentality, bravery and physicality.

When Ali was champ, he was literally the champion of all sports. King of the World. And he probably always will be.

I stood there watching the Kickboxing in the Garden, for many people including me, one of the homes of boxing. Floyd Mayweather Jr,, the greatest boxer of this current generation, swaggered past me.

Boxing has lost its cool. Boxing has lost its relevance. And its lost its heroes.

I genuinely believe it can recover. But it needs to rediscover its identity. It needs personality and within that, it needs personalities. Boxing needs a new wave of boxers, trained from the grassroots up - not recruited from NFL or other sports. We need a 20-year-old Mike Tyson to come in and shake the world. We need to be able to get excited about an amateur Olympic gold medalist who has the pedigree of a Lennox Lewis to go on and become a household name.

To get this, boxing needs to reimagine itself. It needs the glamor, it needs an elevated status. It needs finances - to wow the audiences, and to entice young stars into the sport instead of where they’re currently going - the NFL, the NBA or any of the aforementioned fight games.

Brands have to get involved - that or some billionaire angel investor. Brands need to contribute to a format overhaul to generate excitement. More regular big fight night showcases to get the media buzzing.

We need to find our heroes.

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Wish I'd been a part of this... Stunning content from @thenorthface #NeverStopExploring

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The Empire State of @ReebokClassics! Lol! Love from the BK Bridge all over the world! Oooowee!! What city do you rep?! ;-)  

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Thankfully, this guy is alright minus a few minor-ish injuries... And its an incredible piece of content. This is the base jumper #ThayerHealey who captured his horrifying parachute failure on GoPro

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"He inspired others to reach for what appeared to be impossible and moved them to break through the barriers that held them hostage mentally, physically, socially and economically." Boxing legend Muhammad Ali leads the sporting world's tributes to Nelson Mandela. RIP.

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The Talisker Whiskey Atlantic Challenge

  Up for a race? How about a 3,000-mile row, unassisted, across the Atlantic from the Canary Isles to Antigua?

Billed as one of the toughest races in the world, the Talisker Whiskey Atlantic Challenge is being battled out right now by 20 international teams.

Each team comprises four men rotating rowing duties two hours on and two hours off, 24 hours a day. The race is expected to last between six and eight weeks with all funds being raised for charity.

You can follow the incredible feat on this tracking app from the clever folks at yellowbrick

More info on the race here.

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"I'll be honest with you - you look like a succulent baby lamb." Yet another strand of the great marketing strategy that is #AnchorMan2

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This year, BNP Paribas wanted to celebrate its 40 year partnership with Roland Garros, The French Open, with an amazing social media campaign. We decided this should be something that was

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Not ideal