The Jeremy Lin phenomenon: 'Linsanity' by the numbers

After leading the Knicks to their seventh straight victory, the 23-year-old, Harvard-educated sensation's name alone is worth $14 million — and counting With the New York Knicks' 100-85 victory over the Sacramento Kings at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday night, "Linsanity" officially hit a fever pitch. Over the last two weeks, the breakout point guard has led the formerly-struggling Knicks to seven straight wins — and secured his status as a bona fide phenomenon. The 23-year-old Harvard grad is the first American-born player of Taiwanese or Chinese descent to play in the NBA, and he's drawn comparisons to the NFL's Tim Tebow because of his devout Christianity and unlikely success. Here, a guide to the buzziest player in sports, by the numbers:

7
Consecutive games won by the Knicks since Lin came out of nowhere to lead the team

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136
Points scored by Lin in his first five starts, the most by any player since the NBA and ABA merged in 1976

26.8
Lin's points-per-game average for the first six games in the Knicks' winning streak, an "eye-popping" figure, says Ian Begley at ESPN. Lin scored just 10 points during Wednesday's win against the Kings, but "his 13 assists prove he can run the Knicks' offense."

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30
Turnovers Lin committed in his first five NBA starts — also a record. This is only "a minor linterruption to Linsanity," says Juliet Spies-Gans at The Harvard Crimson.

$3,919
Top price for a ticket to Friday's Knicks game against the New Orleans Hornets at Madison Square Garden, according to TicketsNow.com

$183
Minimum price for a ticket to Friday's game, according to TicketsNow.com. Before Lin's streak began, a ticket "could be had for as low as $47 on Craigslist," says Alison Bowen at Metro.

SEE MORE: Jeremy Lin: The NBA's Tim Tebow?

70
Surge in TV ratings, in percent, for Knicks games since "Linsanity" began

$50 million
Amount Lin is expected to boost the Knicks' revenue by next season

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$14 million
Value of Lin's name as a brand, according to Forbes — a number that is climbing

349,124
Twitter followers Lin has on his @JLin7 account

28,505
Twitter followers he had on February 1

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37,000
Twitter followers he picked up Tuesday night, following his last-second three-pointer against the Toronto Raptors, a tie-breaking shot that won the game for the Knicks

850,000
Followers Lin has picked up on Weibo, the Chinese version of Twitter

8
Consecutive days that Lin has appeared on the front or back cover (or both) of the New York Post, typically with a headline like "Lincredible!" or "May the best man Lin"

650
Percent increase in searches for the Knicks on Google in the last week. "About half of the increase has come from Taiwan," says Roger Yu and Michael McCarthy at USA Today.

550
Percent increase in traffic to NYKnicks.com and KnicksNow.com from Feb. 5 to Feb. 12, the highest weekly increase ever

3
Search terms related to Jeremy Lin — "knicks," "new york knicks," and "lin" — in the Top 20 of Google Trends on Thursday morning. On Wednesday morning, those three search terms were all in the Top 10.

$1,500
Cost of a Lin autograph on eBay. Before his surge in popularity, the typical price was $29.

168,000
Pieces of merchandise that sporting goods retailer Modell's has ordered for its flagship store in Times Square with "Lin" or "Linsanity" written on them

Sources: ABC News, CBS News, CNBC, ESPN, Bangkok Post, Forbes, Google Trends, Harvard Crimson, Metro, New York Post, TicketsNow.com, Twitter, TwitterCounter, USA Today (2)

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Jeremy Lin: The NBA's Tim Tebow?

"Linsanity" is in full flame, earning the overtly Christian point guard direct comparisons to a certain Denver quarterback. Is the parallel warranted? Former benchwarmer Jeremy Lin is quickly becoming the toast of the NBA, posting career numbers while leading the injury-plagued Knicks to three consecutive victories. The Harvard grad, a slow-footed point guard who lacks an outside jumpshot, was cut from two teams last year before finding his way to the end of New York's bench, where he languished until this past week. Now, a series of clutch baskets and other dazzling moves have merchandisers scrambling to get the guard's number 17 jersey on shelves for an increasingly rabid fanbase. (He even has his own rap song.) Given the Ivy leaguer's outspoken Christianity, unexpected success, and internet buzz, is Jeremy Lin the NBA's answer to Tim Tebow?

Yes, this is "Linsanity": The point guard certainly "checks all the Tebow-esque boxes," says Jake Simpson at The Atlantic. He's a college star who was expected to fail in the pros. He's a devout Christian who thanks Jesus after every game. He plays a key position on an underachieving team. (He doesn't even have a place to call home, sleeping on his brother's couch in New York's Lower East Side.) Yes, like Tim Tebow, Jeremy Lin fulfills "several prerequisites for Internet superstardom," and it's no wonder his run this week drove the blogosphere "berserk." As impressive as Lin's court presense has been, it's "dwarfed by his larger-than-life image online."
"Linsanity: How the Internet Made Jeremy Lin a Star in Less Than a Week"

The comparison doesn't really work: "The Lin-Tebow comparison is facile," says Eric Freeman at Yahoo. Sure, the Christianity parallels are there. And Lin even cites Tebow's approach to winning and off-field charity as an inspiration. But Lin "wasn't drafted and received no scholarship offers as a recruit," while Tebow "was a first-round pick, won the Heisman, and was a consensus top prospect in high school."
"Jeremy Lin draws inspiration from Tim Tebow" 

SEE MORE: 4 ways NBC is ruthlessly 'milking' the Super Bowl

In any case, this is a special moment: "I have seen a lot of Knicks fans' neuroses and breakdowns play out in public before, but never quite like this," says Emma Carmichael at Deadspin. It's as if nervous fans are afraid "the mere mention of [Lin's] name might make him disappear, like some kind of magical elf." After all, despite his solid fundamentals, his minutes and production will not last forever, especially as better teams start giving him attention. He remains a mystery. Still, I can pinpoint at least one reason why Lin's rise has been so much fun to watch: "He is having the best time ever."
"Asian Harvard Grad Somehow Succeeding In New York; Or, Why I Love Jeremy Lin"

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Jeremy Lin: The NBA's Tim Tebow?

"Linsanity" is in full flame, earning the overtly Christian point guard direct comparisons to a certain Denver quarterback. Is the parallel warranted? Former benchwarmer Jeremy Lin is quickly becoming the toast of the NBA, posting career numbers while leading the injury-plagued Knicks to three consecutive victories. The Harvard grad, a slow-footed point guard who lacks an outside jumpshot, was cut from two teams last year before finding his way to the end of New York's bench, where he languished until this past week. Now, a series of clutch baskets and other dazzling moves have merchandisers scrambling to get the guard's number 17 jersey on shelves for an increasingly rabid fanbase. (He even has his own rap song.) Given the Ivy leaguer's outspoken Christianity, unexpected success, and internet buzz, is Jeremy Lin the NBA's answer to Tim Tebow?

Yes, this is "Linsanity": The point guard certainly "checks all the Tebow-esque boxes," says Jake Simpson at The Atlantic. He's a college star who was expected to fail in the pros. He's a devout Christian who thanks Jesus after every game. He plays a key position on an underachieving team. (He doesn't even have a place to call home, sleeping on his brother's couch in New York's Lower East Side.) Yes, like Tim Tebow, Jeremy Lin fulfills "several prerequisites for Internet superstardom," and it's no wonder his run this week drove the blogosphere "berserk." As impressive as Lin's court presense has been, it's "dwarfed by his larger-than-life image online."
"Linsanity: How the Internet Made Jeremy Lin a Star in Less Than a Week"

The comparison doesn't really work: "The Lin-Tebow comparison is facile," says Eric Freeman at Yahoo. Sure, the Christianity parallels are there. And Lin even cites Tebow's approach to winning and off-field charity as an inspiration. But Lin "wasn't drafted and received no scholarship offers as a recruit," while Tebow "was a first-round pick, won the Heisman, and was a consensus top prospect in high school."
"Jeremy Lin draws inspiration from Tim Tebow" 

SEE MORE: 4 ways NBC is ruthlessly 'milking' the Super Bowl

In any case, this is a special moment: "I have seen a lot of Knicks fans' neuroses and breakdowns play out in public before, but never quite like this," says Emma Carmichael at Deadspin. It's as if nervous fans are afraid "the mere mention of [Lin's] name might make him disappear, like some kind of magical elf." After all, despite his solid fundamentals, his minutes and production will not last forever, especially as better teams start giving him attention. He remains a mystery. Still, I can pinpoint at least one reason why Lin's rise has been so much fun to watch: "He is having the best time ever."
"Asian Harvard Grad Somehow Succeeding In New York; Or, Why I Love Jeremy Lin"

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The Bourne Legacy trailer: Can Jeremy Renner make people forget Matt Damon?

A new teaser offers skeptics their first glimpse of The Hurt Locker star's attempts to fill Damon's shoes in the Bourne franchise

"There was never just one," teases the newly released trailer for The Bourne Legacy, the latest installment in the blockbuster film franchise. (Watch the clip below.) In this fourth Bourne film (hitting theaters August 3), Hurt Locker star Jeremy Renner (Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol) plays Aaron Cross, a new agent giving himself over to a super-secret spy program. Renner, Hollywood's latest go-to action star, is stepping in for Matt Damon, who, as titular character Jason Bourne, helped the franchise's first three films rake in more than $1 billion worldwide. Will Renner be able to fill Damon's shoes?

It sure looks like it: At least the producers are acknowledging the inevitable comparisons between Renner and Damon, says Sean O'Neal at The A.V. Club. Right off the bat, the trailer includes the voiceover, "Jason Bourne was just the tip of the iceberg." And Renner "seems perfectly at ease" and "characteristically grim-faced and tormented" as a man who surrenders his identity to the mysterious and dangerous spy program. Bonus: He gets to play off the talented Edward Norton as the film's villain. Assuming fans can move past their "Where's Damon?" sentiments, Renner should acquit himself just fine.
"The Bourne Legacy"

The jury's still out: At least in this trailer, Renner's being overshadowed by Jason Bourne, says Katey Rich at Cinema Blend. The entire first half of the teaser focuses on the Bourne mythology, offering only obscured glimpses of Renner, who barely speaks during the subsequent scattershot montage of action scenes. Producers don't "actually emphasize Renner himself" — just the "franchise they're trying to continue."
"The Bourne Legacy trailer: Jason Bourne was just the tip of the iceberg"

Forget Renner. The film looks great: This trailer convinced me that the franchise can survive without Damon, says Jason Serafino at Complex. But it's not necessarily because of Renner. Instead, the trailer's mix of "quick cuts, bone-shattering blows, and some shadowy government agents" combines the best elements of the original trilogy, and certainly lives up to the Bourne brand. The Bourne Legacy "won't be just another vapid sequel" whose only purpose is "making a quick buck."
"Trailer park: The Bourne Legacy looks like a worthy successor to what Matt Damon started"

Judge for yourself:

 

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