Auto racing, basketball and hockey provide some of the most high-profile TV viewing options this weekend -- comprising a series of separate, single events that could produce dramatic endings.
The NBA Conference Finals will certainly conclude during the long holiday weekend with the Eastern Conference matchup ending as soon as Friday night when Orlando visits Boston in Game 6 (8:30 p.m., ESPN). If they need Game 7, it will be played Sunday night (8:30 p.m., ESPN).
In the Western Conference, Los Angeles visits Phoenix Saturday (8:30 p.m., TNT) for Game 6 in that series. A necessary Game 7 would come Monday (9 p.m., TNT).
Drama comes in the conclusion of those events. One team advances while the season ends for the other. So they're playing for something -- and that usually draws a few more viewers. Ratings have been up for this round and if Boston and Los Angeles advance the NBA would have a seemingly TV friendly matchup for the NBA Finals.
In hockey, the Stanley Cup Finals begin on NBC with Game 1 between Chicago and Philadelphia Saturday night and Game 2 on Monday night. Both begin at 8 p.m. with the enjoyable and talented Mike Emrick providing play by play. He just makes the sport come to life.
Plus, the two major U.S. markets also should mean good things (in perspective) for NHL ratings. What has been interesting, though, has been the approach of some TV types to Philadelphia's march through the playoffs. Because the Flyers were an eighth seed, some see that as a sign of weakness for the sport, that a supposedly less-deserving team has gone so far.
But if this were college basketball, people would be piling on the underdog storyline and suggesting that people love an underdog. Apparently that's the difference between collegiate and pro sports.
Finally, and not at all to be overlooked, auto racing takes center stage Sunday with the Indy 500 (1 p.m., ABC) and the Coca-Cola 600 (6 p.m., Fox). Ratings for both have been down in recent years, but ESPN has put almost all of its promotional weight -- as much as it could spare in advance of World Cup soccer hype -- to spread the word about the "personalities" and "storylines" of the Indy 500.
None of the hype matters once the green flag drops though, but ESPN/ABC should be more-than prepared for coverage. It has 51 cameras for the race, including eight HD-capable, 360-degree cameras on cars.
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