Weekend Pre: A Traditional TV Threesome

Many options exist for TV sports viewing this weekend -- especially with the World Cup and college baseball on the ESPN family of networks -- but three events stand out. Tradition plays a role in the reason for watching each.

First, England-United States in the World Cup at 2:30 p.m. Saturday on ABC. It's the most tradition-rich sporting event in the world, and while many here in the United States will be watching here only for nationalistic purposes, it should still be worth watching.

There will be no recommendation in this space to watch all 64 games of the World Cup, or even a quarter of them, but an effort to take in the U.S. team seems appropriate.

Second, baseball's best tradition -- a dominant pitcher -- provides the reason to watch Washington Nationals rookie Steven Strasburg face the Cleveland Indians at 1 p.m. Sunday on TBS. Another interleague game (Phillies-Red Sox) was scheduled in that spot, but TBS asked to change and Major League Baseball wisely OK'd the switch so Strasburg's second big league start could be televised. People will tune in to see Strasburg. There's just something appealing about a good pitcher.

Third, Game 5 of the NBA Finals between the Lakers and Celtics tips off at 8 p.m. Sunday on ABC. It has become a solid series, worth watching. In addition, the NBA has provided a nice proving grounds for the use of instant replay and Jeff Van Gundy continues to emerge as a solid color commentator.

Short Waves
Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll chimed in on the USC sanctions from a safe distance, and without dealing with any reporters. Video of his statement carried by ESPN was credited to PeteCarrollTV. What's that? Why the personal YouTube channel for the coach, of course. ... Ratings for Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Finals were the highest in more than 35 years. The Blackhawks' clinching game against the Flyers in Philadelphia attracted more than 8 million viewers -- the most for an NHL playoff game since 1974.

Stanley Cup Finals Score Strong at Start

The first two games of the Stanley Cup Finals (thanks to large-market participants Chicago and Philadelphia) have posted higher combined ratings than the first two games of last year's championship series, and Game 2 helped NBC earn the highest ratings among 18- to 49-year-old viewers on Monday night.

Game 1 on Saturday grabbed the best overnight rating for the first game of the Finals in 11 years. It produced a 2.8 rating and a 6 share, drawing more than 7 million viewers nationally. It was up 12 percent from last year.

In the team markets Saturday, 35 percent of all TVs were tuned into the game in Chicago and 25 percent in Philadelphia.

On Monday, the national numbers were even with last year's Game 2 between Pittsburgh and Detroit last year. About 7 million people watched on Monday.

Midweek numbers for the next game might not be as high, but the numbers are a good start for the NHL.

For comparison, though, the gold medal game from the Oympics between the United States and Canada drew more than 27 million viewers in the United States. So, nationalism apparently sells better than playoff hockey -- even hockey at its highest level.

NHL Tries Too Hard for Olympic Bounce

When radio and TV talkers speculated about a possible popularity bounce for the NHL in the wake of a strong Olympic tournament -- notably the two Canada-United States machups -- they proffered numerous possibilities for the sport to build off that apparent success.

Whether TV ratings for a once-every-four-year event really mean anything for the least popular pro sports league in the United States might take a long time to determine.

Still, the NHL showed subtlety was not part of its post-Olympics plan Tuesday night.

On the FSN broadcast of the Buffalo Sabres game against the Pittsburgh Penguins, a matchup that included the Olympic tournament MVP (U.S. goalie Ryan Miller who plays for Buffalo) and the player who scored the decisive goal in the gold medal game (Canadian forward Sidney Crosby who plays for Pittsburgh), pre-game introductions included individual recognition of all Olympic hockey players participating in the game.

With the Olympic theme music in the background at the Mellon Arena, the public address announcer announced every player from each international team and the arnea spotlight then focused on each of the players, culminating with Crosby. While the approach produced some interested results, among them a big ovation for Miller in a rival arena, it also showed that the NHL does not believe its product can stand on its own.

As much as pro hockey could use a boost, it has to craft success on more than just the Olympic hype.