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"It's been a busy year in the sports world, and many athletes discovered that they'll get more mainstream recognition for controversy than for their athletic prowess. Despite dismal performance on the field, football quarterback Tim Tebow was the most-searched athlete this year, moving up from the #3 spot in last year's rankings. Last year's most-searched athlete, Peyton Manning, fell out of the top 10, despite his killer comeback as Denver's QB this season.\nHere are the rankings of the top 10 most-searched athletes of 2013, along with an explanation as to the athlete's surge in popularity online this year.\n1. Tim Tebow \u2014 It's been an interesting couple of years for Tim Tebow. A Heisman Trophy winner, Tebow's pro-life Super Bowl ad in 2010 earned him favor among Christian religious organizations, but also spurred controversy. In 2011, he inspired the Tebowing meme. In 2012, he was disappointing as the New York Jets' backup quarterback. In 2013, he signed with the New England Patriots and was thereafter released from the team. Oh, and he also got into the CE space with ... headphones. (#3 in 2012)Image courtesy Flickr, OPEN Sports\n2. Lindsey Vonn \u2014 It was a big year for the alpine skier, but not necessarily for her ski skills. Vonn crashed during training in February, began dating Tiger Woods and experienced a partial ACL tear in another crash in November, which jeopardizes her participation in the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics.\n3. Tiger Woods \u2014 Tiger Woods was named 2013's \"biggest surprise\" in golf. He won five times this year, though none of the Ws were majors. He also announced that he was dating Lindsey Vonn, which put him in the spotlight and led to a wave of web searches. (#2 in 2012)\n4. Kevin Ware \u2014 Kevin Ware's gruesome injury during March Madness triggered a massive wave of web searches. The Louisville baller's recovery has been an inspiration, especially when he got back to dunking. His injury propelled him to be the most-searched basketball player of 2013, ahead of NBA MVP King James.\n5. Ray Lewis \u2014 Lewis became a hot topic after leading his team to Super Bowl glory and retiring from the NFL after 17 seasons. Image: Flickr, Keith Allison\n6. LeBron James \u2014 LeBron James led the Miami Heat to a NBA Championship and was named MVP. This season, King James is gunning for his fifth MVP award and third consecutive NBA title.\n7. Danica Patrick \u2014 Partly famous for her GoDaddy commercials, partly famous for her road skills, Danica Patrick came in strong in 2013. Patrick's popularity was spurred by a Super Bowl commercial and the fact that this year marked Patrick's first season in NASCAR's Sprint Cup Series.\n8. Dwight Howard \u2014 Howard is a NBA center who was traded from the Orlando Magic to the Los Angeles Lakers in 2012, and his first season in L.A. was a disaster. After a disappointing season, he left L.A. and signed with the Houston Rockets in free agency in the offseason.\n9. Derek Jeter \u2014 Jeter is the Yankees' all-time career leader in hits, games played, stolen bases, and at bats. He's the top-searched baseball player for the third straight year, and he recently signed a contract to stick with the Yankees next season.\n10. Maria Sharapova \u2014 The most-searched female athlete of 2012, Sharapova now sits in the shadows of Lindsey Vonn and Danica Patrick. The tennis star withdrew from the 2013 U.S. Open because of bursitis and hasn't played tennis since August, though she has her eye on the 2014 Brisbane International.\nThe Most Searched Sports Teams\nImage: Flickr/ Football Schedule\nDespite not making the playoffs for the third year in a row, the Dallas Cowboys were the most-searched sports team of 2013. The jury's still out on whether they'll make the cut this year, but the Cowboys are the second highest valued sports franchise in U.S. history (behind the New York Yankees), with an estimated value of approximately $2.1 billion. Hot on the heels of the Cowboys is King James' basketball team, the Miami Heat, who dominated the San Antonio Spurs to claim the NBA championship. Here's the full list of the 10 most-searched for sports teams of 2013:\n1. Dallas Cowboys2. Miami Heat3. New York Yankees4. New York Giants5. Chicago Bears6. Baltimore Ravens7. Detroit Tigers8. Miami Dolphins9. Atlanta Braves10. Green Bay Packers\nIn 2014, we can expect even more interest in sports, as the Sochi Olympics get underway in February.\nThe data below comes from Bing's 2013 search data. Spam and repeat queries have been filtered to build a database that reflects the most compelling trends of 2013.\nThumbnail Image: Keith Allison, Flickr"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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