2015 Sean's Ramblings Visitors

Ryan Seacrest, Carson Daly and Pitbull all counted down to start 2016 on national television, but I know that the new year can't truly begin for all us until we know the top visitors to Sean's Ramblings in 2015. Like past years, this information is courtesy of Google Analytics.

Top 10 Number Of Visitors To Sean's Ramblings By City

1. New York

2. Chantilly, VA

3. Pittsburgh

4. Arlington, VA

5. Washington

6. Deerfield Beach, FL

7. Chicago

8. Los Angeles

9. Houston

10. Towson, MD

This is the third straight year New York finished in the top spot.

For many years, some variation of Pittsburgh, New York, and Washington always finished in the top 3. Washington has slipped the last two years, and my guess is that's because the popular blog, DC Blogs has gone dormant as has the DC blogger community. (There's a DC Bloggers MeetUp group that just started, but where the DC blogging community seemed dynamic about 6-7 years ago, it's no comparison to the current vibrant Pittsburgh blogging community.) The fact that I seem to write less and less about Pittsburgh sports is probably the reason my hometown finished 3rd.

As a reminder, if your city is not in the top 10, visit my blog from multiple computers or mobile devices in 2016 early and often and encourage your friends and family to do so too.

Top 10 Visitors by Country

1. United States

2. Canada

3. United Kingdom

4. Australia

5. Germany

6. France

7. Russia

8. Philippines

9. South Korea

10. India

Where did you go Brazil visitors? I guess you'll be back in 2016 since you won't find any better coverage of the Summer Olympics than here!

Finally, in the past, I shared the top 10 keywords used to find Sean's Ramblings. However, I'm not sure about how reliable this is anymore particularly since there are separate entries for Sean's Ramblings, Seans Ramblings, Sean Ramblings, etc. Therefore, here are the Top 10 Visited Posts In 2015 (even if they were published prior to 2015).

1. The Last VJ

VH1's decision not to renew the outstanding Jim Shearer's contract to host the Top 20 countdown.

2. Maroon 5's Sugar Sounds Like Michael Jackson's Beat It

3. 2011 Year-End Credit Card Spending Summary

People still find my blog for this post simply because folks freak out when they see Sun Refining & Marketing on their credit card bills. This company is also known as Sunoco.

4. Why Do People Hate Hillary Clinton?

This blog post is now 8 years old...and will probably be the #1 most visited post in 2016.

5. Hyomin Throws Out First Pitch At Pittsburgh Pirates Game

Korean pop superstar Hyomin threw out the first pitch at a Pirates game. I'm still convinced that the Pirates would have won the Wild Card game if she threw out the pitch at that game too.

6. Do Pretzels Go Bad

I still think I need a good answer to this.

7. Sally Wiggin

A 2013 post about a legendary Pittsburgh broadcaster

8. Songs With Alcohol in the Title

This post is from 2007! 2007!

9. Chris Coghlan Hates Asians

I may have been a little upset that the Cubs outfielder injured Jung Ho Kang.

10. Hanson Brother Runs NHL All-Star 5K

A fun post about my friend who dressed like this to run a 5K.

See you in 2016!

Chris Coghlan Hates Asians

Let me preface this blog post by writing that this title is (probably) not true. I'm just a little upset that Chicago Cubs outfielder Chris Coghlan ended Jung Ho Kang's season by a dirty slide.

On May 24, 2009, Chris Coghlan, then of the Florida Marlins attempted to break up a double play by sliding hard into second base and into Tampa Bay Devil Rays second baseman Akinori Iwamura. Iwamura, from Japan, was injured as a result of Coghlan's slide and did not return to the major leagues until the end of August, more than three months later.

On Thursday, Coghlan again attempted to break up a double play but instead slid right into Kang resulting in the South Korean infielder suffering a torn left MCL and fractured tibia. Kang, a major part of the Pirates success this season and friend of K-Pop star Hyomin, is now out for the season.

So is it a coincidence that Coghlan has now significantly injured two of the few infielders born in Asia? Does Coghlan have something against players from Japan and South Korea (and possibly China, Indonesia, and others)?

I guess we'll let Commissioner Rob Manfred decide.

Hyomin Throws Out First Pitch At Pittsburgh Pirates Game

On Sunday, Hyomin, the lead singer of the K-Pop group T-ara, will throw out the first pitch at the Pittsburgh Pirates-Milwaukee Brewers game at PNC Park. I know that you're all big fans of Korean pop music, but in case you're not familiar with Hyomin and T-ara, I asked my Korean correspondent Christine if she knew of T-ara.

Yes, I have heard of T-ara - they were on the K-Pop news quite a bit before their "comeback" this summer and I think a current hit is "So Crazy". It doesn't surprise me that Hyomin would be sending out the first pitch somewhere. South Koreans love baseball (attending one of the games there was sooo much fun) and K-Pop itself is one of the cultural aspects that Korea has made major efforts to export.

Thanks to the power of YouTube, here is T-ara's "So Crazy."



I'm sure that this video reflects commentary on the role of the military and perhaps the privilege of power. Or the director wanted the members of T-ara to dress in cute, little sailor outfits.

Anyway, so why is Hyomin flying probably over 15 hours to throw out the first pitch at a Pirates game? The answer: Jaff Decker Jung Ho Kang. According to allkpop, a website I read daily, Hyomin is friends with Kang. That's quite a long trip to visit a "friend." Even if there is no romantic connection here, I'm sure that Hyomin hanging out with Kang, who maintains a massive following in South Korea, will be good PR for her and her career. Oh, and here's a picture of Hyomin from that allkpop article.

Update: This is proof of Hyomin throwing out the first pitch at PNC Park.

Does South Korea follow the same fashion policy about not wearing white after Labor Day? Anyway, since the Pirates won today, I think we need to start a petition to have Hyomin or another member of T-ara to throw out the first pitch at every Pirates game for the rest of the season and playoffs!