Lance Armstrong Announced as the 2012 TANK MCNAMARA® Annual Sports Jerk of the Year Award Winner

Votes were submitted worldwide via social media and GoComics.com in a tight race for this year’s illustrious prize.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (January 30, 2013) – After weeks of voting and tallying counts, Universal Uclick, GoComics and Bill Hinds, co-creator of the trailblazing sports-focused comic strip TANK MCNAMARA, announce that cyclist and triathlete Lance Armstrong is the public’s choice for the 2012 Sports Jerk of the Year Award.
 
“While Lance’s actions for award consideration certainly accumulated over a number of years, 2012 was the year that many of his conflicting statements and untruths came to light,” said Hinds. “The public spoke – pun intended – loud and clear.”
 
TANK MCNAMARA, fondly noted for bridging the comic and sport worlds, was created by the late Jeff Millar and artist Bill Hinds in 1974. The partnership brought out the best in both creators, with Millar offering his wit and experience at a large, athletically celebrated university and a personal passion for sports. Millar, noting that he couldn’t draw a stick figure, sought out Hinds as a collaborator. The end result has been the iconic comic strip spanning five decades with an illustrated chronology of major issues affecting professional and amateur sports. In November, Millar passed away after a long illness.
 
“One of the biggest thrills that Jeff had was the time leading up to the Sports Jerk of the Year announcement,” said Hinds. “We’re continuing this in his memory and also for the readers who enjoy reading and submitting their thoughts. It’s become a great year-in-review of some of the notable moments in athletics.”
 
Armstrong joins Terrell Owens, Dan Snyder, Bud Selig and 2011 winner Ndamukong Suh as notable recipients of this sardonic honor. In 2012, many of Armstrong’s former teammates spoke out about his leadership of his cycling team’s doping programs. Armstrong was stripped of his seven Tour De France titles and was banned from future cycling, running and triathlete competitions by the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) and the International Cycling Union (UCI).
 
The first runner-up for the 2012 Sports Jerk of the Year award was National Hockey League (NHL) commissioner Gary Bettman. The NHL experienced its second work stoppage in nine years, the third such lockout during his 20-year tenure, with many fans seeing Bettman as the face of the league’s difficulties.

To read the Tank McNamara comic, visit gocomics.com/tankmcnamara. To follow co-creator Bill Hinds on Twitter, you can find him at @TankBuzzCleats. Hinds is available for interviews to discuss the comic and this year’s award selection.
 
About Universal Uclick
Universal Uclick is the largest independent press/entertainment syndicate in the world and a leading digital entertainment provider of humor, comic strips, political cartoons and other content for print, Web and mobile devices. Universal Uclick provides editorial development, licensing and other distribution services for iconic brands like Doonesbury, Dear Abby, Miss Manners and some of the most significant comics in history, including Calvin and Hobbes, The Far Side, Garfield, Peanuts, Dilbert, For Better or For Worse, Cathy and Ziggy. Recent standout successes include Lio, Cul de Sac, Pearls Before Swine, Get Fuzzy, Big Nate and The Argyle Sweater. A full comic catalog can be found at GoComics.com. For more information on Universal Uclick, visit UniversalUclick.com.

Media Contacts:
Gene Willis, Universal Uclick  
816-581-7645
gwillis@amuniversal.com

Julia Gigliotti, Universal Uclick
816-581-7658
jgigliotti@amuniversal.com