DFW Social Media Powerhouses: Sports list

The stars ...  

Derek Holland, pitcher for the Texas Rangers

Twitter: @Dutch_Oven45 (100,848 followers)
Facebook: facebook.com/pages/Derek-DutchOven-Holland (1,141 likes)
Total followers: 101,989
Why he makes the list: The star left-hander likes to goof around, posting amusing photos of his sometimes unfortunate facial hair and interacting with fans.

Shawn Marion, power forward for the Dallas Mavericks

Twitter: @matrix31 (1,012, 026 followers)
Facebook: facebook.com/pages/shawn-marion (21,950 likes)
Total followers: 1,033,976
Why he makes the list: The Mavs forward posts pictures and videos to take fans behind the scenes of the life of an NBA player. Marion is also very active in responding to fans questions and comments.
Sample tweet: "Fun at teammate house http://mob.li/_zwamN" (Jan. 21)

Dirk Nowitzki, power forward for the Dallas Mavericks

Twitter: @swish41 (693,898 followers)
Facebook: facebook.com/dirknowitzki (2,074,015 likes)
Total followers: 2,767,913
Why he makes the list: The global superstar and long-time Mav mixes in other sports (he's a big tennis and soccer fan) with his basketball thoughts. He's also been known to tweet a pic of coach Rick Carlisle sleeping on the team bus.
Sample tweet: "Finally tennis is back. Been too long. Who you got in the aussis?" (Jan. 13)

Derek Roy, center for the Dallas Stars

Twitter: @roy9ner (45,223 followers)
Facebook: facebook.com/officialderekroy (5,744 likes)
Total followers: 50,967
Why he makes the list: Quick to respond to fans, and promote not only the Stars but the sport of hockey, Roy is a tireless advocate for the NHL.

Brek Shea, midfielder for FC Dallas

Twitter: @BrekShea (35,901 followers)
Facebook: facebook.com/brekshea (12,832 likes)
Total followers: 48,733
Why he makes the list: A jock with a sense of humor, Shea keeps things light on his feed, while responding to fans. (But word is he may be headed to Europe to play. Stay tuned.)
Sample tweet: "The progressive commercial where the guy try's to juggle the chainsaws reminds me of me. ... Haha #lemmetry." (Jan. 17)

Jason Witten, tight end for the Dallas Cowboys

Twitter: @JasonWitten (185,325 followers)
Facebook: facebook.com/jasonwittenscorefoundation (10,799 likes)
Total followers: 196,124
Why he makes the list: While promoting his charity work, Witten also gives fans an off-field peek into life as a Dallas Cowboy.
Sample tweet: "I loved Mike Singletary's comments on Ray Lewis: It's his passion. A lot of guys play the game hard. Very few play with their hearts & souls" (Jan. 13)

The teams and events ... 

Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial

Twitter: @CrownePlazaInv (3,635 followers)
Facebook: facebook.com/colonial (3,924 likes)
Total followers: 7,559
Why it makes the list: The official feed for Fort Worth's annual PGA tour stop includes updates on the tournament field and other golf news.
Sample tweet: "Was at another Fort Worth tradition. Stock Show and Rodeo. Thank you Fort Worth CVB for hosting." (Jan. 19)

Dallas Cowboys

Twitter: @dallascowboys (512,724 followers)
Facebook: facebook.com/dallascowboys (5,329,642 likes)
Total followers: 5,842,366
Why they make the list: The team doesn't go overboard on promotion, but makes sure fans are up to date on the latest Cowboy happenings.

Dallas Stars

Twitter: @dallasstars (89,133 followers)
Facebook: facebook.com/dallasstars (174,497 likes)
Total followers: 263,630
Why they make the list: A sports franchise quick with a joke, but also eager to keep fans in the loop.
Sample tweet: "The loss is a bummer, but you can lift your spirits at the After party on the plaza till 11 and the After AFTER party at @Sfuzzi_Uptown !" (Jan. 26)

Mark Cuban, owner of the Dallas Mavericks

Twitter: @mcuban (1,496,153 followers)
Facebook: facebook.com/markcuban (823,614 followers)
Total followers: 2,319,767
Why he makes the list: The owner of the Dallas Mavericks is active on Twitter and rewards his nearly 1.5 million followers with comments on everything from the Mavs and Shark Tank to entrepreneurial wisdom.
Sample tweet: "Whatever company or effort you start, work to be the best. Even if you fail, you will have learned just how much work it takes to get there." (Jan. 27)

Texas Rangers

Twitter: @rangers (237,731 followers)
Facebook: facebook.com/rangers (1,433,093 likes)
Total followers: 1,670,824
Why they make the list: The Rangers excel at taking fans behind the scenes, as well as providing crucial in-season info.
Sample tweet: "Trying out the lateral ski trainer at the @TxSportsHOF - @Dutch_Oven45 & @BrandonSnyder29. #WhoDidItBetter?" (Jan. 25)

Shannon Gross, social media strategist for the Dallas Cowboys

Twitter: @Shannon_PG (2,648 followers)
Facebook: n/a
Total followers: 2,648
Why he makes the list: Shannon's gotta be a master juggler: his role makes him reponsible for overseeing the Facebook and Twitter accounts for the Dallas Cowboys, Cowboys Stadium and the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders.
Sample tweet: "Who's had a worse week, Manti Te'o, Lance Armstrong or Michael Crabtree?" (Jan. 20)

Mike Modano, executive adviser to the Dallas Stars

Twitter: @9modano (68,272 followers)
Facebook: facebook.com/9modano (9,208 likes)
Total followers: 77,480
Why he makes the list: The legendary face of the Dallas Stars, part owner of the Allen Americans and recently named executive adviser to the Stars talks golf, hockey and current events on his timeline.

The sports media ... 

Bryan Broaddus, DallasCowboys.com columnist

Twitter: @BryanBroaddus (20, 711 followers)

Why he makes the list: The former NFL scout has his thumb on the pulse of everything going on with the Cowboys at Valley Ranch and is always open to chat with his followers about auto racing and the LSU Tigers.

Daryl Reaugh, color analyst for Dallas Stars

Twitter: @Razor5Hole (18,934 followers)
Why he makes the list: His entertaining feed includes plenty of hockey talk and interaction with fans.
Sample tweet: "Closing in on 20,000. I wanna give 20,000th follower a semi-insignificant prize pack but don't know how to flag 20,000th so screw it #itried" (Jan. 27)

Jeff Wade of ESPN's Ben and Skin Show

Twitter: @SkinWade (23,946 followers)
Why he makes the list: Better known as "Skin," half of ESPN Radio's Ben and Skin Show 9-Noon Monday-Friday, 103.3 FM) and part of FOX Sports Southwest's Emmy-winning Dallas Mavericks broadcast team. His Twitter feed includes irreverent talk of all local sports, movies and his attempt to master the game of golf.
Sample tweet: "BREAKING: A-Rod denies his original denial" (Jan. 29)

Mac Engel, sports columnist and blogger for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram

Twitter: @MacEngelProf (2,008 followers)
Facebook: facebook.com/mac.engel.5 (940 friends)
Total followers: 2,948
Why he makes the list: Yes, he's one of our own, but Mac is a tireless social media maven, tweeting and Facebooking news and opinions about sports, pop culture and food.
Sample tweet: "Holy stupid, Batman! Mavericks reportedly looking at Allen Iverson http://bit.ly/T1JKwZ" (Jan. 28)

Jay "The Famous Jay" Betsill, writer at large, covering sports and entertainment

Twitter: @thefamousjay (31,689 followers)
Why he makes the list: Full disclosure: Jay is a regular contributor to DFW.com. But he is also a force of nature on Twitter, where he's always got a conversation going on about sports and entertainment in DFW.

Troy Aikman, former Dallas Cowboys quarterback and Fox broadcaster

Twitter: @troyaikman (923,358 followers)
Facebook: facebook.com/troyaikman (165,375 likes)
Total followers: 1,088,733
Why he makes the list: The Dallas Cowboys Hall of Fame quarterback and current NFL on FOX lead analyst talks Cowboys, NFL, local DFW restaurants and much more.

Marc Stein, NBA correspondent for ESPN

Twitter: @ESPNSteinLine (234,909 followers)
Why he makes the list: Based out of Dallas, Stein always has the inside scoop on the Mavericks and the rumor mill for the entire NBA. I often sound like a Mavs expert to my buddies by quoting Stein's tweets.
Sample tweet: "Tweets from @alleniverson make it clear he wants one more NBA shot. But this is his third season out of NBA. Is there another 'route"' back?" (Jan. 29)