Super Bowl ads are known for generating buzz—and viewers—but not all creatives are created equal. Nielsen reveals America’s most liked commercials over the past five years, and the NFL itself tops the list.

Which Super Bowl XLVI team is winning the online competition? According to Nielsen and NM Incite, a Nielsen/McKinsey company, it might be a draw: the New England Patriots had more visitors on their team’s website, but the New York Giants have more buzz on social media.

National TV sports advertising generated $10.9 billion in revenue last year, compared to $10.3 billion one year prior, according to Nielsen’s State of the Media: Year in Sports

The Texas Rangers and St. Louis Cardinals might be headed to the World Series, but the Philadelphia Phillies garnered the top local TV ratings in 2011. This season, nearly one-tenth of Philadelphia households—the most of any market—tuned in during regular season, locally televised Phillies games, and more than double (21.6%) of those households tuned in during the playoffs.

For sports fans, mobile means instant score updates, fantasy sports at your fingertips and connecting with your favorite teams and athletes via social media, all without leaving the stadium, the train or your favorite armchair.

An unprecedented 81% of the population (15 years and older) were glued to screens across New Zealand to watch the opening game of the Rugby World Cup, according to the results of a survey conducted by Nielsen.

According to Nielsen, Peyton Manning, Drew Brees and Donovan McNabb hold the highest N-Scores, a measure of marketability created in tandem with E-Poll, yet Michael Vick, Tom Brady, Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers garnered the most buzz online since last September.

Among NFL teams, the NY Jets generated the most online buzz during the off-season from blogs, message boards/groups, Twitter, Facebook, and online news posts.

Roughly 13.5 million people in the U.S. tuned in to watch Japan’s shoot-out victory over USA in the final of the Women’s World Cup on Sunday, July 17, the end of a tumultuous and exciting tournament that left USA fans on the edge of their seats.

NBA finals champ Dirk Nowitzki is the most marketable man in basketball, according to Nielsen/E-Poll, with an N-Score of 132. In addition to his MVP performance in the finals, Nowitzki’s new top position on the list is thanks in part to the retirement of N-Score and endorsement heavyweight Shaquille O’Neal and the shifting fortunes of LeBron James and Dwyane Wade, whose scores dropped from 131 to 26 and 117 to 34, respectively.