FOXSportsDetroit.com Web Traffic Spikes for Busy Weekend in Michigan Sports

• 790% increase in unique visitors and 341% increase in overall page views for Friday, Feb. 24-Sunday, Feb. 26 compared to a typical weekend.

• Storylines included Tigers spring training, NFL Combine, Red Wings home winning streak, Big Ten basketball, high school sports, and the search for the new Fox Sports Detroit Girl.

• Robust content included articles, video features, webcasts, blog posts, live streams, Facebook and Twitter updates, and more.

FOXSportsDetroit.com last weekend provided a prime example of how far the FSN regional networks' web content has come since launching in November 2010, dispatching reporters to a combination of games and events scattered among six cities in three states, including Michigan, Florida and Indiana. 

Lakeland, FL -- Detroit Tigers Spring Training:

Boots on the ground at Tigertown included reporter Dana Wakiji, producer/videographer Michael Heidner, and contributions from on-air talent John Keating and Rod Allen.  The trio combined to provide daily updates, blog posts and features from daily workouts; various videos including interviews and expert analysis, and a live webcast/interview following each weekday workout. 

Tigers fans on FOX Sports Detroit's Facebook and Twitter accounts were kept updated on all the spring training happenings, including posting of articles and videos throughout the weekend, as well as Twitter posts from the likes of  @FSDWakiji, @RodAllen12, @JohnKeatingFSD and @Shannon_Hogan -- the latter three in Lakeland to work on features for an upcoming Tigers Season Preview special to air on FOX Sports Detroit.

Indianapolis, IN -- NFL Scouting Combine:  FOXSportsDetroit.com's resident NFL expert Mike O'Hara was on the scene at the NFL Scouting Combine, not only to keep tabs on the prospects for the upcoming draft, but also to cover the ongoing national story that the Detroit Lions have become.  

O'Hara, a veteran of more than 30 years on the Lions/NFL beat,  filed stories on the even-in-the-offseason buzz about Ndamukong Suh, the Lions' GM Martin Mayhew addressing whether potential free agent defensive end Cliff Avril will receive their "franchise tag." , Combine updates on players from Michigan and Michigan State; how prominent players might fare in the upcoming draft including Heisman Trophy winner Robert Griffin III; a position-by-position Combine wrap-up; and an analysis of the Lions' draft needs.

Detroit, Ann Arbor and Lansing, MI -- Pros, Colleges and Preps:  A typical busy Saturday of sports in Michigan saw FOXSportsDetroit.com on the scene at the following events:

• Red Wings: The NHL's biggest story in recent weeks has been the Detroit Red Wings, coming off the completion of a league-record 23-game home winning streak.  With his staff dispatched elsewhere, FOX Sports Detroit digital content manager Mike Happy went back to his reporting roots to cover Saturday night's game against the Colorado Avalanche at Joe Louis Arena.  Also posted during the weekend was a story by Art Regner which included juicy comments from Red Wings goaltender Jimmy Howard regarding the Western Conference rival Vancouver Canucks.
• Big Ten Basketball:  The state's two Big Ten teams, both nationally-ranked were in action with Dave Hogg in Ann Arbor for Purdue's upset over 11th ranked Michigan, while Dave Dye was up the road in East Lansing as No. 6 Michigan State trounced Nebraska (the Spartans on Sunday would clinch the Big Ten regular-season crown after a Sunday loss by Ohio State).

• Sister Act:  FSDetroit.com newcomer Reed Nelson chipped in with a terrific feature on twin sisters who recently combined to score 75 of their team's 77 points in a Detroit Public School League playoff game -- an article that made its way on to MSN.com's "Editor's Picks" for a few hours Sunday afternoon.
• Wrestling on the Web:  The website also hosted live streams on Friday and Saturday of Michigan High School Athletic Association Dual Team Wrestling state competition, accounting for nearly 100,000 page views alone. 

Girl Power: Another highlight of the weekend on the web was Saturday night's conclusion of the two-week entry stage in the search for the next FOX Sports Detroit Girl to determine who will represent the network in the upcoming April in the D promotional campaign.  The contest (likely the subject of a future "Spotlight") attracted 200 qualifying entries and significant traffic to the website as the entry deadline approached Saturday at midnight.