Is NHL now more popular than NBA, NFL, or MLB?

As we kick off the New Year, would it shock you to learn that hockey has overtaken the other three major North American pro sports?

And is just this wishful thinking from a lifelong hockey fan (that would be me) who really doesn’t care much about what happens in football, basketball, or baseball?

Far from it. In this case, I’m relying upon the collective wisdom of the world’s most popular search engine: Google.

Wired.com sums it up simply: “Google assigns a PageRank rating of 0 to 10 for every site it indexes. The ranking reflects the significance of a site as determined by Google — the higher the rank, the more popular the site.”

There’s been lots of talk about the shakeup that occurred in Google’s PageRank ratings in recent weeks, but who knew the NHL would come out looking so good as of January 1, 2008?

The PageRank for NHL.com is: 8 The PageRank for NBA.com is: 7 The PageRank for NFL.com is: 7 The PageRank for MLB.com is: 7

On the surface, it seems like a new-millennium version of the June 20, 1994 Sports Illustrated cover that accompanies this posting.

NHL.com actually has the same PageRank as Google’s own home page.

Boy, with Sidney Crosby scoring the shootout winner for Pittsburgh versus the Buffalo Sabres today in front of 71,212 fans at Ralph Wilson Stadium and a US-wide audience on NBC, NHL.com should be rocking a 9 soon.

Skeptics and curmudgeons may highlight the Alexa ratings as a counterpoint:

NBA.com has a traffic rank of 182 NFL.com has a traffic rank of 450 MLB.com has a traffic rank of 571 NHL.com has a traffic rank of 908

Well, boo to that.

But regardless, any tech-savvy readers who would like to offer a feasible explanation for NHL.com’s superior PageRank are welcome to chip in. Has the league’s move to embrace and promote new media, from fan forums to blogs, really paid off in such a big way?

Behbigben15All-Star

697 days ago

Score 2

Nice try, but Hockey still has a long way to go to top Football, Baseball, and Basketball in America, same with Soccer. But, I do think Hockey (and Soccer) is moving up.

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False ProphetAll-Star

697 days ago

Score 1

Alexa dissagrees with you...

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RomiezzoLegend

697 days ago

Score 3

Haven't you realized that NHL is the only sport out of the 4 that you mentioned that doesn't really have a problem with their sport?

MLB: Steroids

NBA: Playoff ratings

NFL: Deaths/Convicts/Arrests

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False ProphetAll-Star

697 days ago

Score 3

NHL: Versus

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Behbigben15All-Star

697 days ago

Score 2

How about the Refs in the NBA as well??

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RomiezzoLegend

697 days ago

Score 1

Now, I'm not saying that hockey has topped the NBA, MLB, or NFL yet. It probably won't; it might get AS popular, but sorry, all three of those sports are just classic. It's the Big 3 for crying out loud.

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KelsdadAll-Star

697 days ago

Score 3

I consider not having a major TV deal to be a problem, but that's just me.

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Anonymous Fanatic #1

696 days ago

Score -1

NHL: Fans

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RawbeezeitzMajor Leaguer

697 days ago

Score 3

I think a reasonable explanation for NHL.com having a higher ranking is that there are so many other places for people to get NFL, MLB, and NBA content. ESPN.com, Yahoo, CBSSportsline, etc. This spreads out the traffic of people seeking NFL, MLB, and NBA news and information. But for NHL content, there really isn't an alternative to going to NHL.com. Also, the NFL, MLB, and NBA all have much more content on TV. If someone wants NFL content, they can turn on ESPN. If someone wants NHL content, they won't find it readily on television.

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MegECass110AAA-er

696 days ago

Score 0

Exactly. Hockey fans have to rely on NHL.com for more info, so it's more popular than the other major sports websites.

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Steel TownDraft Pick

696 days ago

Score 0

NHL news is located on all of those sites you mentioned Raw. And second, It's the World Wide Web, not the US Wide Web.

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Steel TownDraft Pick

696 days ago

Score 0

The more I think about this more amazed I become. Do you two really believe that you can only get hockey news at NHL.com? That is just silly. You even pointed out websites that have decent NHL coverage and said that they don't. Do you think people in Canada can't make websites, 'cause guess what, hockey is the most popular sport there. It is OK for the NHL to succeed at something.

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RawbeezeitzMajor Leaguer

696 days ago

Score 0

Well I don't find the NHL content on those other sites all that interesting. Personally, I go to ESPN for MLB and college sports coverage, Yahoo for NFL, and NHL.com for the NHL. And you make a good point, it is the World Wide Web, do ESPN, Yahoo, and CBS have very good NHL coverage in Swedish?

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Steel TownDraft Pick

696 days ago

Score 0

My guess is that the Swedes do follow thier favorite players. www.yahoo.se

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SSreportersLegend

697 days ago

Score 7

NHL is more popular than all 3 leagues.

Man can also walk on sun.

Snow falls up.

Mlnsports posts full articles on ArmchairGM.

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Anonymous Fanatic #2

696 days ago

Score 0

I have to agree with SSreporters comment being from Canada and a huge there is still no chance it will be bigger then all of them. In Canada are sports stations are always talking about how the NHL is fairing so badley by not drawing crowds or being able to find good markets. I havent herd that being said to often about the Nfl or NBA sometimes the Mlb.

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LASportsblogAAA-er

696 days ago

Score 0

When this Anon said he disagreed with SSR and then quickly mentioned he was from Canada, I thought he was going to tell us that snow does in fact, fall up...

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Alex HolowczakHall of Famer

696 days ago

Score 4

I think the NHL is easily more popular than the other American sports. In North America, maybe not, but the NHL is the most globally followed of all of the American sporting leagues. The NHL has Russians, Swedes, Czechs, Slovakians, Germans, Finns and people from a lot of other countries looking in. The NFL has maybe Japan and a bit of Britain involved. The NBA also has a decent wad of Europe, although probably less than the NHL. MLB is almost exclusively the USA and Japan. So internationally, the NHL is probably the most globally played, and hence supported, sport in the US.

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JuTMSY4Legend

696 days ago

Score 2

The NHL is also a terribly regional sport in...when I wanna watch a flyers game I can either turn on Comcast Sportsnet Philadelphia (Which i don't get in boston, obviously) or listen to it via flyers.com/nhl.com. Moreover, I get my news about the fly guys via local philly websites...mostly because the big guys don't give me much....

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Steel TownDraft Pick

696 days ago

Score 0

That's just it Alex. Hockey is one of the most popular sports in the world. In fact, Americans are a minority in the NHL. But it is nice to know that there is a sport out there that isn't rocked with scandal right now. I have always called it the Big 4, not the Big 3. Is that just me?

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CRS-ONEVarsity Captain

696 days ago

Score 1

The NBA is expanding fairly well in China thanks to Yao and Yi. Also, basketball is really big in Argentina and other parts of South America. I've also been under the impression that basketball had a decent following in Europe, thanks to the FIBA Euro tournament and the club teams.

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Alex HolowczakHall of Famer

696 days ago

Score 1

I think that more countries play hockey than basketball, but I could be wrong. I no 45 are members of the IIHF, basketball may be similar, but I don't know. But once basketball gets really big in China, it will overtake hockey. I think another aspect is that NHL.com has less media attention put on it, so more people need to visit the NHL website to find out about it. Also, the NHL is the most liberal with its material, i.e. sticking highlights on YouTube and the website itself (i.e. for free). So a casual fan can see more NHL and get into it. I think that's a really clever thing for the NHL to do, and is probably their best marketing strategy. Admittedly, their others are suspect, but that idea is a good one.

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Alex HolowczakHall of Famer

696 days ago

Score 0

Also, national league websites (i.e. Elite League in Britain, Elitserien in Sweden) all link in to NHL.com, and NHL.com can all link out to them. MLB and NFL are not so lucky, again, only NBA could have this resource (I don't know whether it implements it though).

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CRS-ONEVarsity Captain

696 days ago

Score 1

Thans for the info, Alex. Marketability aside, I think one of the biggest thing that basketball has going for it internationally is how cheap it is to play. All you need is a ball and a hoop.

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Alex HolowczakHall of Famer

696 days ago

Score 1

That's the only reason that "soccer" is the most popular game in the world. All you need for it is a ball and a jumper or two to use as posts.

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Pittsburgh GunnyMajor Leaguer

696 days ago

Score 2

I can only speak to my own personal preferences and for me the only two leagues that I really care about in North America are the NHL and MLS. Although I find myself intrigued by the NBA more and more as I read some of the stuff here written by Oneflydude. MLB has completely lost the plot I lost interest with the players strike and then all those big home run years, it made it all rather boring for me. The NFL is over-coached and over-officious for my liking.

PS:

I discovered yesterday that my Cable provider picked up the NHL Network, Hooray!

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LASportsblogAAA-er

696 days ago

Score 0

...The First, only and last Cable provider to do so

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CRS-ONEVarsity Captain

696 days ago

Score 0

True that. I'm still surprised that soccer has never taken off in the States.

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LASportsblogAAA-er

696 days ago

Score 1

All that evidence proves is that Hockey fans make it to NHL.com to masterbate to pics of Sid the Kid more ofeten the NBA fans get to NBA.com to masterbate to KG and Boston Fans get to NFL.com to masterbate to Tom Brady. Bring me some eidence with some weight.

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Alex HolowczakHall of Famer

696 days ago

Score 3

You mean Doug Weight?

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JuTMSY4Legend

696 days ago

Score 2

i'd give you (both) more plusses if I could...

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JuTMSY4Legend

696 days ago

Score 1

And i thought Alex would have refered to Carel Weight...

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LASportsblogAAA-er

696 days ago

Score 3

I would of also accepted gusses of Oprah's weight...

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CRS-ONEVarsity Captain

696 days ago

Score 0

LAsb, that might be the quote of the week!

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Alex HolowczakHall of Famer

696 days ago

Score 0

quotation...

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LASportsblogAAA-er

696 days ago

Score 0

I can manipulate internet information to show everyone that Hillary Clinton is a good canidate for president, doesn't make it true.

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CityhockeyfeverVarsity Captain

696 days ago

Score 1

Lucas, great point to bring up as far as any impact the Winter Classic might have on hockey here in the United States. No offense, guys. But hockey at the NHL level is sadly nowhere remotely close to being as popular in America as the NFL and is still significantly behind Major League Baseball and the NBA in national viewership, media coverage and grassroots programs. Hell, even auto racing and golf are more popular than hockey here. I admit this and I'm a diehard hockey fan for at least two full decades now. I'm sorry, but I cannot lie about how the NHL is embraced here while it is all but at a "religious" level in Canada. The most recent best chance at challenging (note "challenging" not surpassing) the other three major sports was when the New York Rangers won the 1994 Cup title. Maybe a lot of hype surrounding their 54-year curse had something to do with many tuning in. However, the lockout that immediately followed killed all the momentum the NHL had and they're STILL recovering since... The NHL can over time get back to even that level of popularity as in 1994 it was rising, but it is still a major work in progress. Grassroots programs is the key to growing the only sport of the "big 4" where its birthplace isn't in the United States. Sidney Crosby winning yesterday's game was the perfect Hollywood script for the NHL, so if they're smart, they step it up as far as marketing the sport A LOT better than it has.

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RawbeezeitzMajor Leaguer

696 days ago

Score 0

Hockey has more of an American "birthplace" than football or baseball.

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Alex HolowczakHall of Famer

696 days ago

Score 0

Actually, they all came from Britain... Basketball's pretty much the only game the US have ever invented, and some say that's questionable.

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Falcon02520Legend

696 days ago

Score 1

Hockey could become the greatest sport in the US... baseball has the steroid issues, but it is still "America's Pastime"... the NBA is rejected by many people because of the player's attitudes and predictability of many games (ie:Boston will blow away Memphis ten out of ten times)... Soccer isn't big as far as sports entertainment in the US... football is the biggest thing here, but other than that, why cant the NHL soon be a top sport again? The NHL is exciting again... the skill sets, the big hits, the high scores, the fast moving games... we are headed back to the times of the BIG FOUR in sports instead of the big three...

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Alex HolowczakHall of Famer

696 days ago

Score 2

NHL is to USA what cricket is to England:

• Nobody much cares for it, but they would complain if it wasn't there.
• Sporting and no big egos.
• You rarely hear a NHL/cricket player on the wrong side of the law.
• It's probably not the biggest sport in the country, but it has a passionate fan base.
• It is marketed awfully.

On so many levels...

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SSreportersLegend

696 days ago

Score -1

Alex, if you watch the NHL, they are performing criminal acts on the spot (i.e Chris Simon).

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AfraidofedhochuliDraft Pick

696 days ago

Score 0

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Alex HolowczakHall of Famer

696 days ago

Score 0

I'd love to be able to play the accordian. But then, I'd love to be able to play the triangle.

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LASportsblogAAA-er

696 days ago

Score 0

It's easier then playing the square Alex...

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Jay100Soccer Kid

696 days ago

Score 1

Im not here to say that what Chris Simon did was right but to call it a criminal act..i dunno..i guess that in the NHL you can be assualted and hurt and attacked by weapons(skates,stick,or helmets sometimes)but thats part of the sport the game is played on the edge and some people take it passed the edge especially since the instigator rule was brought into effect long ago. Players can't take action against a player who cheap shotted them or a teammate and thats why these brutal acts are becoming more and more common. I know alot of people that watch hockey for the slight chance that something ridiculous will happen a big hit a nice goal but mostly and its said to say an act of violence. Not a slash to the face or skate to a leg but a fight. The world loves hand to hand combat look at the UFC and the Ottawa Buffalo game after the line brawl lastyear the tickets sold out the minute they hit the box office.

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DRE-LOAAA-er

696 days ago

Score 0

The NHL isn't up to the NFL or NBA yet, but if they continue to play outdoors they may overtake MLB, which as we know is floundering at the moment.

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Falcon02520Legend

696 days ago

Score 0

the NHL will over take the NBA before the MLB...

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LASportsblogAAA-er

696 days ago

Score 2

DRE-LO, check out MLB attendence averages and TV shares compared to NHL and get back to us buddy.

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False ProphetAll-Star

696 days ago

Score 2

The NHL is doing a horrible marketing job. In MN, Hockey is huge, but the NHL gets poor coverage. High School and College Hockey come to dominate the Hockey discussion here. I love watching Hockey, and now that I am starting to understand it a bit more, it has become a lot more interesting. But seriously, the NHL sucks at marketing. They fail to make a big impact in the State of Hockey, even though the Wild are the only team that can be said to have a chance at a title in the next 5 years (Vikings could should the QB situation improve in one way or another, and if they can find another receiver, which would either need to be a deep threat for the 3rd option, or a real number 1), and yet they still are not the buzz around town

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XtinctWaterboy

695 days ago

Score 1

Another thing hockey may have in terms of attracting and keeping a following, is that it is not an easy pick up and play sport for kids. The biggest problem is the need for ice...living in Atlanta, that means a special trip to an ice rink, at a scheduled time. Whereas the other major sports in America, though requiring some equipment, can be quick pick up games just like that.

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