slowen

i agree that it's a no brainer: only someone with no brains would think that way. SI should be finding the next big thing, instead of coasting on kate. remember, of the last 36 rookies, kate upton is the only one deemed worthy of a cover. kate was good (two years ago), but she's not that good. and she sure not getting any better. i didn't make this, so i'm not the only one to point it out... i think it will take care of itself. next year it will be even harder to justify choosing kate over a model who actually tries to stay fit. it sounds like a bad joke, but they literally had to put her in a parka so she would look presentable for this year's cover. i guess she knows MJ isn't bold enough to pick anyone else. i shudder to think what they'll have to put her in next year that would justify a three-peat. maybe one of those cut-outs you stick your head through? i dunno, seems at that point it would be better just to use a fresh face instead.

i'm curious why you still think that four rounded percentages adding up to 101% is evidence of fraud... votes not moving much over time is a plausible indication. but adding to 101 is not.

i could swear MJ's mentioned both the 50th issue and 50th anniversary issue in the same sentence in a recent video interview, but i really don't want to try to find that again

no, it was the 50th issue. next year they'll do the 50th anniversary issue. for anyone confused why SI is doing that, read daniel boorstin's 'the image: a guide to pseudo-events in america'. basically it allows SI to celebrate something without actually accomplishing anything other than continuing to exist.

Not sure about the should have had... she wasn't their best marketable bet. Maybe with the Carl's Jr/Hardees ad, she'll become more recognizable to the buying audience but it's a no brainer on who got the cover. Biggest name, solo never before done location. I'm not sure why anyone thought that they would give the cover of the 50th to a girl who isn't guaranteed to sell. and i'm betting they'll do the same when it comes to the actual 50th anniversary issue, then the first anniversary of the 50th anniversary, etc. kate upton forever! everyone else can just quit

when is voting for rookie of the year over? i noticed the percentages haven't changed at all in several days...

yeah, turning SI's brand into the kate upton magazine is NOT a long-term strategy. all the more reason they should've had someone else on the cover! i'll go ahead and bet now that between this summer's issue and the next issue in february, kate will have one or both of those covers.

so yeah, they're going to celebrate both the 50th issue and the 50th anniversary, just as i said. i also suspect that the closing of SI south africa played a part in SI USA's production of a summer swimsuit issue.

i wonder how many people clicking on "kate" for rookie of the year think they're voting for kate upton?

Not saying it's not rigged, but the 101% isn't necessarily a sign of it. eg. 14.6% -> 15% 26.6% -> 27% 19.1% -> 19% 39.7% -> 40% Left side adds to 100%, right to 101%. It can happen if you're just looking at the rounded numbers. In any case, the results are completely backwards to how I'd vote

another jewel that kate upton can add to her crown is that, of the last SIX rookie classes, she's the only one to get a cover. all other cover girls were rookies in 2007 or before. she's also one of the quickest to get the cover, though elsa benitez and carolyn murphy also got the cover in only their second year. beyonce is an exception, so i don't count her. heidi klum got the cover on her first year (1998), but that was before SI's concept of "rookies" started in 1999. also, she's heidi klum and no one since has even come close to her greatness!

having thorougly reviewed the data, i'd say this year's crop of rookies is the 3rd best in the last decade. the class of 2007 was the best. that was the year beyonce was on the cover looking very un-beyonce. the inset showed bar refaeli next to text: "best rookies ever" and it was true. bar and irina later went on to have covers of their own. selita ebanks and tori praver both had good SI shoots, even if they only came back a few times. that class also featured julie henderson, ana paula araujo, raica oliviera, and fernanda tavares. of the 9 rookies, 6 of them were in the subsequent issue. the 2nd best class, in my mind, is 2009. SI only giving us one year of kim cloutier is still the biggest sin they can never atone for. lucia dvorska was also a good example of a one-hit wonder. cintia dicker, jessica hart, damaris lewis, ariel meredith, and hilary rhoda were also in this class. of the 7 rookies, only 3 were in the 2010 issue, though ariel meredith later returned in 2012 and 2013. on average, SI has about 50% of the rookie class come back for the next issue.

of all the rookies, i hope natasha comes back because now that SI south africa is gone, this will be the only SI venue for her

umm, bad news. there's no more sports illustrated south africa. http://www.sportsillustrated.co.za/

is it just me or are the 'intimate' videos mostly worthless this year? cintia's is okay, nina's is not bad towards the end. otherwise i found them boring. it was a nice concept a few years ago (e.g. kate stepping into that outdoor shower) but for most of the girls these just seem too similar to their other photoshoot videos.

https://vimeo.com/59514411 not sure if that had been posted--some B-reel footage from kate's antarctica shoot

the rookies: natasha is by far the best, so naturally this will be her only year. hopefully she'll stay active with SISA. emily will get asked back a few times, especially now that izabel is out and the SWBG quota needs filling. hannah does nothing for me, but i suppose she will be the 2015 cover girl, provided she's still dating derek jeter. kate bock, well, i was excited about her the most given that one pic of her body from the rookies' teaser, but, well, she's the new julie henderson, i guess. the veterans: nina's stuff is fantastic--definitely the all-star of the issue. cintia, especially her intimate video, damn. alyssa's pics were good, except bodypaint. kate's shots were better than expected, but that's not saying much. i haven't much bothered with the others yet.

by pheno's logic, i think heidi klum would've had 10 consecutive covers. was elsa or yamilla or carolyn or irina more popular than heidi klum in any given year? this "she's popular, she'll sell, SI is a business" trope tends to ignore the fact that kate became popular because...she was on the cover. if someone else had a picture that deserved the cover, then by the time march rolls around, they'd be more popular than kate. that's how turnover works. without it, you get into a rut where you keep putting the same girl on the cover and having the same models return year after year after year.

i think SI should have "term limits" for models. let's say...4 years. (hell, that's all laetitia casta got!) some models are already well beyond that: anne v, julie, irina, jessica g, cintia. this is chrissy and genevieve's 4th year. i'd be fine with none of them returning. some have had a good run, some have gone on long past their prime, some have never really lived up to their promise. it's rare that a model deserves more than four years, and those cases used to be models like marisa miller, heidi klum, tyra, etc if nothing else, it would encourage SI to cycle through more models. pick one of those long-term veterans. is their 5th year better than being able to include catrinel menghia for a few years? or lisalla montenegro? or (insert your favorite model here)?

don't worry, i'm sure next year's kate upton cover will be better