'Linsanity' on TIME Magazine's Cover (But Only in Asia)

February 27, 2012 edition covers of TIME magazine from (clockwise from top left) the United States, Europe, South Pacific and Asia.

One week after getting accused of "dumbing down" the cover of its U.S. edition, TIME magazine returns this week with another interesting regional-cover-related move.

It should come as no surprise that New York Knicks sensation Jeremy Lin, who is everywhere these days, would grace TIME's cover. But here's the curious part: The Asian-American point guard whose meteoric rise let a thousand Lin puns bloom, only appears on the cover of TIME's Asia edition. The covers in Europe, the South Pacific and the United States — where "Linsanity" arguably rages the strongest — feature North Korean leader Kim Jong Un (or "Lil' Kim," as TIME calls him).

Looking closer, the U.S. edition is the only one not to feature the word "Linsanity." Instead, Americans get "Santorum" and a small headline in the upper right that reads, "Jeremy Lin's Hoop Dreams." Given Lin's popularity in the U.S., we wonder why TIME is downplaying its coverage in that edition? (We thought it was Mainland China that was supposed to have issues with promoting the "Taiwanese Tebow.")