My latest for Awful Announcing is a story on ESPN’s last U.S. Open. I’m going to miss Scott Van Pelt’s excellent work on the tournament, and he’s going to miss being there even more.

From the story.

******

When Scott Van Pelt first heard the news last August about Fox landing the U.S. Open, he was shocked. Then when he read the wording on the United States Golf Association release, he was fuming.

Reality, though, has settled in since then. Van Pelt now insists he will be just concentrating at the task at hand this week: Anchoring ESPN’s coverage from the 18^th tower for the first two rounds of the U.S. Open beginning. He is in the lead role with Mike Tirico covering the World Cup in Brazil.

However, it will be a difficult moment for Van Pelt and ESPN when he signs off on Friday afternoon. It will mark the end of the network’s 33-year run in covering the U.S. Open. Fox Sports begins its 12-year deal with the 2015 U.S. Open.

Much of the sports media focus has been on Johnny Miller and NBC’s last shot for the U.S. Open, including a piece I did for Golf World.  However, ESPN has a deep association with the tournament dating back to 1982, when Jim Simpson was the host and Cary Middlecoff and Nick Seitz were the analysts.

“I guess Pinehurst is it, and that’s hard to fathom,” Van Pelt said. “It’ll be emotional, I mean, legitimately emotional.”

Van Pelt admitted he was caught by surprise when a friend informed him via text that Fox had won the rights to the Open.

“Brutal,” Van Pelt said.  “I said, ‘What?  I didn’t know they were at the table, man.’”

Then to compound the loss, the USGA issued one of the most poorly-worded press releases ever. It included this line: “The game is evolving and requires bold and unique approaches on many levels, and Fox shares our vision to seek fresh thinking and innovative ideas to deliver championship golf.”

Yeah, thanks for nothing, NBC and ESPN. Van Pelt still gets agitated every time he thinks about it.

“That was incredibly offensive,” Van Pelt said. “We’ve done plenty to innovate and change how golf is covered, and (ESPN producer) Mike McQuade should be praised for that. Golf looks very similar on TV now as it did before.  There’s only so much you can do.

“You want to put arrows for the wind, I got it.  You want to show me what direction the putt is going to go, that’s fine.  What are you going to do, put a camera on Bubba Watson’s visor?  How are you substantively going to change how the game is covered?  You’re not.  What they should just say is that they wrote us the biggest check, and that’s fine.”

Earlier this week, I did a post on NBC working its last U.S. Open for a while.

I had a chance to talk to Johnny Miller for the story. The U.S. Open not only defined his career as a player, but also as an announcer for NBC.

The connection runs deep, and his history has been to get emotional on the air whenever he talks about what the U.S. Open means to him. Sunday’s finale could be a three-tissue experience.

I love Miller’s work, and truly will miss him on the Open. I thought it was worth sharing my Q/A.

What has the U.S. Open meant to you?

Miller: For me growing up, it was always about honing my game to win a U.S. Open.  I never even mentioned the PGA or the British Open or the Masters.  It was all going up to Olympic Club, which was an Open course, and it was all about winning a U.S. Open and getting my game ready for the U.S. Open.

Of course when I had the chance to do the TV in ’90, I had no idea that we could actually secure the ’95 U.S. Open and get that contract. If you look back on it or if you remember back, before the telecast when they first asked me what my feelings are doing that first U.S. Open at Shinnecock that (Corey Pavin) won, you know, I sort of choked up.  For me it was the epitome of what I wanted to do as an announcer.

I’m just grateful that I got to do as many as I did since ’95. It is what it is.  It’s over. Money talks a little bit.  It is what it is.  I can understand.

Dick Ebersol invited you to New York to help make NBC’s presentation to the USGA in 1994.  You got emotional.  Did that catch you a little bit off guard that you got emotional during that presentation?

Miller: Well, whenever I talk about my dad and what it meant to my dad, even the Olympic Club connection with Hogan and Fleck and then of course my U.S. Open at Olympic with Billy Casper and Arnold Palmer and playing with Jack Nicklaus and Trevino, for me those are all my best memories. (USGA executive) Sandy Tatum was (at the NBC meeting) and he was a San Franciscan, and I caddied in his group growing up at San Francisco Club. He knew that I loved the Open and that that was my championship that I tried harder than any of them to win.

So I think they could feel my sincerity and how much I was already getting quite a bit of publicity for my announcing because it was pretty different than anybody had ever done before.  I think they knew that I was serious about my announcing career and also would really cherish doing the Open.  I’m not going to overrate what I did, but it didn’t hurt, let’s put it that way.

What were your favorite Opens as an announcer?

Miller:  There were some great ones. Of course you’ve got to go back to Corey, when the ball had just touched the ground, took its first bounce on 18, I said, he’s hit the shot of his life.  A lot of announcers have used that wordage since then when people hit their shots near the 72nd hole, but to beat Norman and I think Floyd was there in the mix, that was a great one, and I totally fell in love with that course and how that championship played out.

Payne Stewart in ’99: Who knew it was going to be that emotional?  To get that major championship and make those last three putts that nobody has ever made in a U.S. Open to beat Mickelson by a shot, that was amazing.  I mean, nobody makes that putt he made on the last hole.

And then of course my favorite of all was the 2000 Open at Pebble with Tiger. That’s my favorite because I think that was the greatest golf anybody has ever played. We were only into the coverage about one hour on Thursday, and Dan Hicks said what do you think Tiger’s chances are?  I said I think he’s going to win by a big margin and shoot a record score, and he looked at me like what are you smoking something?  We’re only here on Thursday.  I had looked in Tiger’s eyes on Wednesday and how he was playing and of course how he was playing that year, and I could just see that thing coming, and he went 72 holes and never lipped out one putt.  I mean, literally he made every putt or cleanly missed it, but there was no lip‑outs, which is impossible on those bumpy greens.  That performance was just surreal, actually.  It really was.

It seemed like once you landed the Open, NBC’s golf coverage went to a much higher level.

Miller: Dick Ebersol along with Tommy Roy, they both were passionate about what we did.  The pieces they put in position with the announcers, we had good synergy and just had good people working towards it.  I think you’re right, once we got to the U.S. Open that made us all step it up another notch. Before it was more of a PGA TOUR type of mentality, and then when we got the U.S. Open, it was like we had gotten to another level.  It was just another level of announcing, and I think it made us all better because we had to lengthen our stride, so to speak.

What does Tommy Roy bring to the table for you guys?

Miller: Tommy, he’s like the mad scientist.  I mean, he’s just so ‑‑ cares so much.  That’s I guess the only thing I can say.  I’ve never seen a guy that cared so much about perfection.  He wants it to be perfect.  He wants it just to be the best.  You know, he doesn’t demand it, but he really wants it to be accurate and he wants you to sort of meet his level.

He’s worked crazy hours since we’ve been with Golf Channel, and I’ve never heard him ever complain or anything else.  He’s sort of doing two jobs now, so I mean, it’s just he has the passion for golf.  He loves golf.  He loves TV golf.  I mean, I don’t know the other guys, but Tommy’s commitment to be great and make us great is the best I’ve ever seen or heard of even.

What’s your thought going into Pinehurst?  Are you thinking this is going to be the last one? 

Miller: Everybody is going to know that it’s the last one for us, I guess. But the bottom line is, yeah, it’ll be on our minds, so we’re going to go about doing the Open absolutely the best one we can possibly do, and especially being at Pinehurst.  For me, it’s going to be a different Open, but we’re just going to go about doing this thing like we’ve got it again next year.  It’s not going to be a swansong type of a performance, it’s going to be like we have it for the next 10 years as far as the performance this year.  I’m not going to view it as crying because it’s my last one. I am going to try to do a great U.S. Open.

You’re an emotional guy.  Do you expect you’ll get emotional or that Dan will say something to get you a little emotional or something like that?

Miller: Well, I don’t know.  I never know when I’m going to get that way or not.  It’s just sort of ‑‑ as long as nobody asks me that question like, well, ‘Is this going to tear your heart out because it’s your last U.S. Open?’ I’m probably going to be fine if that doesn’t come up.

*****

My latest Chicago Tribune column is on ESPN’s invasion of Brazil for unprecedented coverage of the World Cup.

You also can access the column at my Twitter at @Sherman_Report.

From the column:

******

Progress can be measured by the offside rule when it comes to soccer in the United States.

Back in 1994, when ESPN aired the first World Cup held in the U.S., play-by-play man Ian Darke was required to give viewers a lesson in what constituted offside in soccer. Imagine Joe Buck says a double play counts as two outs during a World Series.

“I understood at that time,” Darke said. “But I think the sophistication of the American audience has grown, and I would almost regard it as an insult, really, to their intelligence now to be asked to explain the basics of the game.”

Twenty years later, the anticipation and awareness for the World Cup is at an all-time high in the U.S. ESPN is going all out with unprecedented coverage beginning with the opening match Thursday. All 64 matches will be shown live on either ESPN, ESPN2 or ABC, along with nearly 24/7 analysis on all of its platforms.

The network’s invasion of Brazil will consist of hundreds of ESPN staffers scattered throughout the country to cover every aspect of the Cup. It will be as close to NBC’s armada for the Olympics as it gets for a major sporting event.

The World Cup always has been huge everywhere but here. Now after all these years, the U.S. is starting to catch on.

The reason is twofold: Soccer continues to grow in popularity in the states. Darke cited the growing participation numbers that not only expose kids to the game, but also their parents.

“I think they understand the rhythms of it, and everybody’s got the general idea now that the World Cup is a very, very big deal,” Darke said.

The other factor, though, clearly is ESPN. The network’s blanket coverage of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa sucked in many non-traditional soccer viewers. ESPN then fired up its massive blowtorch with a relentless marketing campaign to promote this year’s World Cup.

In short: Don’t underestimate the power of ESPN.

“I think what we did in 2010 is rather remarkable in that you could make the argument that the United States was really the last holdout, if you will, for somewhat of a level of indifference in the World Cup,” Jed Drake, ESPN’s executive producer for the World Cup. “We fundamentally changed that in 2010.  We did so through a production and marketing approach that made people understand how important this event is to the rest of the planet.”

I did a big piece for Golf World on the end of era in sports TV. NBC will be doing its last U.S. Open for a while this week. Fox Sports takes over the duties next year.

It truly was a pleasure to do the story. As a veteran of many U.S. Opens, I have known the NBC golf crew for years. I wanted to capture what went into a terrific run in covering the tournament.

I had nothing to do with the illustration that ran with the piece (check it out), but Johnny Miller’s tears says much about his passion, and NBC’s for that matter, for the Open.

From the story:

His NBC teammates know that whenever Johnny Miller starts talking about the U.S. Open, it could be a three-tissue experience. He tends to get a bit emotional about the tournament that has defined his career as a golfer and an analyst.

“The Open always has been such a big part of my life,” Miller says.

The connection reaches back to his father, Larry, telling him while honing his game as a kid in San Francisco that he would win the U.S. Open one day. The dream came true when Miller’s final-round 63 at Oakmont in 1973 proved to be the transcendent moment of his Hall of Fame career.

Miller then got a second crack when NBC acquired the rights to the U.S. Open in 1994. His frequent bursts of emotion have punctuated the network’s coverage of the event, serving almost as mile markers along the way.

Former NBC Sports chairman Dick Ebersol invited Miller to be part of a meeting when the network made its big sales pitch to the USGA to land the rights. Ebersol recalled Miller breaking down while talking about the Open.

“It was the most unusual presentation ever,” Ebersol says. “Tears were coming down his cheeks. I always thought seeing that emotion, that love for the event, really had a huge impact [on the USGA].”

NBC golf producer Tommy Roy got an instant taste of an emotional Miller when the network launched the new deal by airing the 1995 U.S. Open at Shinnecock. Roy opened the Saturday telecast with a montage on Open lore that included Miller. Looking at the monitor, he could see both Miller and his partner, Dick Enberg, choking up.

“I’m going, ‘Holy Cow, this can’t be happening,’ ” Roy says. “I start yelling to Dick, ‘Talk about the weather.’ If you look at the video, you’ll see Dick starts talking about the weather.”

Miller’s display at Shinnecock hardly was a one-time thing. His longtime 18th-tower partner, Dan Hicks, says Miller still gets emotional during the opening segment for the final round on Father’s Day. “Every time,” Hicks says.

Team at work: NBC’s long run of U.S. Open coverage has blended the diverse talents of Miller (above) and Hicks (below, alongside Miller). Photo: Al Tielemans/Sports Illustrated/Getty Images

Now with Miller set to work one last U.S. Open at Pinehurst for NBC, all eyes will be on him again. Will there be enough tissues in North Carolina to handle his finale?

“I don’t know,” Miller says. “I never know when I’m going to get that way or not. This tournament is the epitome of what I wanted to do as an announcer. As long as nobody asks me, ‘Is this going to tear your heart out because it’s your last U.S. Open?’ I’m probably going to be fine.”

Hicks, though, knows better. “It’s almost unfathomable to me to think what his emotions will be like, knowing it’s his last time,” he says. “It’ll be pretty powerful.”

On producer Tommy Roy:

While Miller made a profound impression on the USGA, Ebersol contends he also had another powerful weapon.

“If Johnny is the face of the U.S. Open for NBC, Tommy Roy is its heart and soul,” Ebersol says.

The son of a golf pro, Roy is known for a devout attention to detail. Roy credits longtime USGA fixture Sandy Tatum for helping to shape his philosophy in televising golf. Tatum told him that less talk is better, especially down the stretch, and that “tap-ins aren’t important. Tee shots are.”

Miller says he never has been with anyone who constantly strives for perfection like Roy. The quest is felt by those who work for him.

“He’s such a perfectionist. We know when he thinks we haven’t done our best work,” says on-course reporter Mark Rolfing. “Yet he’s also the first guy to praise and stand by us. He cares so much that you really don’t want to let him down.”

High standard set for Fox:

Ebersol is saddened that this will be NBC’s last Open. He calls the USGA’s decision to go with Fox a mistake, considering the learning curve required to air a U.S. Open.

“I don’t think Fox is going to do a bad job,” Ebersol says. “But they have to live up to a high standard.”

For his part, Roy says he is not going to dwell on the fact that this will be his last U.S. Open for a while. In fact, he has plenty on his plate since NBC will remain at Pinehurst to do the U.S. Women’s Open the following week. He insists the story “is about the event, not NBC.”

Also, it isn’t as if NBC is getting out of the golf business. The network still has a healthy menu, highlighted by the Ryder Cup and Players Championship.

Yet the entire crew knows the reality of the situation. The U.S. Open has been NBC’s jewel and now the long run is coming to an end. It goes beyond Miller. The air will be thick with emotion in the production compound.

“It’s going to be tough,” Hicks says. “I can’t imagine how we’ll feel when the last putt drops. I guarantee some tears will be flowing.”

It started with Rick Reilly winning a sportswriting contest as a kid growing up in Colorado. Consider it an early scouting report.

It will culminate with Reilly being inducted into the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Hall of Fame Monday in Salisbury, N.C. He will be presented by no less than John Elway. Apparently, Babe Ruth wasn’t available.

In between, Reilly wrote countless stories and columns that showcased his immense talents. Many of them from ESPN are featured in his new book, Tiger Meet My Sister…And Other Things I Shouldn’t Have Said.

Reilly writes his obituary in the first chapter. It shows his decision to give up sportswriting has been in the works for a while.

It is hard to argue with his plan to spend part of the year living in Italy. I’m sure he has a regular tee time with Costantino Rocca.

However, much like other greats he covered who retired early (Michael Jordan, etc…) only to come back, I think he will eventually feel the pull to start pounding the keyboard again.

Regardless, it is has been a helluva run. On the eve of his induction, I did an email Q/A with Reilly.

John Elway is going to be your presenter?

There’s something wrong with a world in which they can hold a Hall of Fame ceremony where I go in and John Elway doesn’t.

How do you feel about being a Hall of Famer? Are you in any other Hall of Fames?

I don’t think so. I’m so pumped about going into this one because it contains most of my heroes — Damon Runyon, Jim Murray, Red Smith, people like that. I never EVER imagined when I started out that I’d be on any list with those names on it. I never dreamed that big. It’s either an incredible honor or they are completely out of people to induct.

Why the obituary to open the book? It seemed like an obit of your writing career. Did you know when you wrote it you were going to sign off as a regular columnist?

Yes, I knew this would be my last sports collection, sort of the death of my sportswriting career, so why not write an obit for it? Besides, why leave it up to some dandruffed obit writer who’s got a bottle of Smirnoff under the desk and just had a fight with his wife? It was great fun to take stock of what I’ve done so far and what I haven’t. After I was done with it, I decided if I catch a skulled drive in the head right now and check out, it’s been hellaciously fun and rewarding.

Why are you giving up writing a regular column now?

Because I can finally afford to? At least for six months a year. I’m going to keep doing the Monday Night Countdown features and a few SportsCenter features during the NFL season and then, for the other six months, we’re going to live in Italy. I’m ready to read instead of write for awhile, listen instead of talk. Play piano, bathe in Italian wine, and catch up on my thumb twiddling. I’m going to do a whole lot of nothing. And on weekends, I’m not even going to do that.

Rick Telander used to say there’s only seven sports columns in the world. I think I’ve written all seven 11,000 times each. Do you realize I’ve published more than 2 million words? And every one of them has been about sports. I’m like a dog who’s never been out of the yard. I want to try writing film, travel, politics, music and, I don’t know, really strong Haiku. I’ll probably fall flat on my face but at least it will be a new challenge.

I always dreamed of retiring early. I never wanted to be one of these old sportswriters that was still hacking out columns at 90 and then died over their Olivettis. Dave Barry and I are friends and he’s been my role model in this. He quit his column when he was at the very top of the humor writing business and everybody thought he was crazy. And yet, now, he’s happier than ever and has written a hit book series — Peter and the Starcatchers — and done 100 other cool things. I know there’s actual life out there beyond groin pulls.

(Below: ESPN Front Row interview)

You got very personal in the book and even included the column about your father-in-law and the Redskins. Why did you go that route?

Don’t see how I can ask athletes to be transparent for my columns if I can’t ask that of myself.

What were your favorite columns in the book?

The one on my dad, the one on Chy Johnson, the one on the prison football team who were shocked to find that half their opponents’ fans (and cheerleaders) were rooting for THEM, the one where I spent two days trying to make a hole in one and finally succeeded on shot #694.

Looking back, how do you view your move to ESPN? 

I love trying new stuff and ESPN was like going back to college for me. I learned the TV industry, digital writing, found out what it was like to have my own traveling circus (Homecoming), learned (the hard way) to walk the tightrope of live TV, learned how to write for TV and found a younger audience for my columns. I met so many cool, smart people at ESPN. It’s an eye-opening experience to be inside what may be the most successful media company in history.

What other projects do you have in the works elsewhere?

Working on three movies and a book and some really good grocery lists.

Have you talked to John Skipper about opening an ESPN bureau in Italy?

Pardon the Antipasti?

Anything else?

Are you hiring?

******

Reilly also did a Q/A with Chris Strauss of USA Today.

My latest piece for Awful Announcing is on Jeff Van Gundy, one of the best TV analysts in sports. But will he stay there?

An excerpt:

******

Mike Breen won’t allow it. If Jeff Van Gundy ever is on the verge of jumping back as a NBA coach, his ESPN/ABC partner knows exactly what he will do: Sabotage.

“If I ever hear he’s offered a job, I’m going to call the GM and say, ‘Do you know about his gambling addiction?’ Breen said. “I’m going to tell the GM, ‘He’s got some dark secrets. You really don’t want to hire this guy.’”

Obviously, Breen is joking about Van Gundy’s private side. However, it speaks volumes on how much he and ESPN/ABC value his abilities on the public side.

Van Gundy’s talents will be on full display during ABC’s coverage of the NBA Finals, which begins Thursday. Initially a work-in-progress when he first joined ESPN/ABC in 2007, he now has emerged as one of the best TV sports analysts in the business. And that’s in any sport.

Not only is Van Gundy candid with his unique analysis, but he also has a quirky personality that leads to many unpredictable moments during the broadcast. Breen has learned by experience to be ready for anything.

“He has a broad spectrum,” Breen said. “He’s a big reader of US Magazine. He likes the gossip columns almost as much as the sports columns. When there’s a pause, and he says, ‘You know I want to say something…’ I’m like, ‘OK, what’s coming out of his mouth now.’ His unpredictability is what makes him so much fun.”

Tim Corrigan, the lead producer for the telecasts, agrees. He says being genuine might be Van Gundy’s biggest strength.

“With Jeff, off the air compared to on the air, there’s not a huge swing,” Corrigan said. “I don’t think there ever has been a broadcaster who could have less of an ego. I can’t tell you how easy it is to work with him.”

Hockey fans know from listening to him that not only is Mike Emrick a terrific play-by-play voice, but he also is an uncommon man with a deep perspective on life.

Yet people who know him best even were struck by what Emrick said during his acceptance speech for winning best play-by-play at the Sports Emmys in May.

“Only Doc,” said an associate.

I talked more to Emrick about it and did a story for USA Today. Here is an excerpt:

*******

The Stanley Cup playoffs are the busiest time of year for Mike Emrick. Yet he added something to his routine this spring that has nothing to do with hockey.

NBC’s lead NHL play-by-play man is writing a letter every day to a person who had an impact on his life. The recipients of the daily notes range from longtime producers and analysts to long-ago high school classmates, neighbors and people from his early jobs in the business.

“There’s so much that people did for you along the way that they probably thought was nothing at all,” Emrick said. “I wanted to tell them what it meant to me. It seemed like something that needed to be done.”

Emrick plans to continue his letter writing during the Stanley Cup Final. However, the death of his father-in-law will force him to miss Game 1 of the New York Rangers-Los Angeles Kings series on Wednesday night. He will return for Saturday’s Game 2 on NBC.

Emrick, 67, stresses the thank-you notes aren’t a veiled signal that he is in declining health. In fact, he starts most letters by saying, “For no particular reason …”

“I don’t want people getting the wrong idea,” Emrick said.

Emrick said the inspiration came in part from his brother, Dan. His parents were both school teachers, and in the later years of their lives, Dan arranged for their former students to send them letters that Emrick says “showed they made a difference.”

“As you get older, you realize you see people leave, and you didn’t get a chance to talk to them before they left,” Emrick said.

Got complaint notes over the weekend from disgruntled sports fans, including transplanted Chicagoans, who are upset that Tribune Co. soon will discontinue airing Cubs, White Sox and Bulls games on WGN America.

Lynne Marek of Crain’s Chicago Business wrote about the situation Friday.

Actually, this isn’t breaking news. It is well known that Tribune Co. is converting WGN America from a Superstation to a full-scale basic cable network with a full slate of original entertainment programming. As a result, it will be prohibited from showing the games because of MLB and NBA contracts. Note: Blackhawks games weren’t on WGN America.

Tribune Co. CEO Peter Ligouri doesn’t appear broken up about the prospect of no sports on WGN America. From Marek’s story:

“If the Cubs continue on this path to virtual irrelevancy, it’s really not going to matter,” he said at a recent New York media conference in a tongue-in-cheek preamble to his bottom-line reasoning: “When you look at the Bulls, the White Sox, the Cubs and the Blackhawks, outside of the greater Chicago (designated market area), they really do lose their attraction.”

Indeed, the media landscape has changed considerably since the late 70s and 80s when Harry Caray and the Cubs telecasts made WGN such a huge player when cable was gaining its foothold. Take a look at this vintage WGN promo for Caray in 1987.

Just like Ted Turner hitting it big by airing Atlanta Braves on his Superstation, WTBS, the Cubs games not only transformed WGN by airing coast-to-coast, but also the franchise. Caray sold the charm of Wrigley Field to millions of viewers who soon became fans. In the process, “Heyyy Harreee” became a national icon.

Also, back then, the only baseball you saw besides your home team was “The Game of The Week” on NBC. There was a certain novelty in being able to watch games on a daily basis from Chicago and Atlanta.

Obviously, things change. Baseball is available everyday on multiple outlets. And if you want to pay the price, you can watch every game via MLB Extra Innings.

Reportedly, the Chicago sports that aired on WGN America were among the lowest-rated programs on the network. Marek writes:

Advertising income from that sports programming contributes just $250,000 to income, he told the audience at the MoffettNathanson Media & Communications Summit on May 15. That’s less than 1 percent of Chicago-based Tribune’s $234.3 million in operating profit last year.

Time marches on. In fact, Turner marched on long ago, transforming TBS in an entertainment network. Tribune Co. is doing the same thing with WGN America.

There’s been much talk this morning about NBC and the NHL hitting the jackpot with a Stanley Cup Final featuring the nation’s two top markets.

As Lee Corso would say, “Not so fast, my friends.”

The trouble is, they don’t watch really watch hockey in New York and Los Angeles. They do in my town, Chicago.

Just look at the ratings.

Last night’s Game 7 did a huge 22.7 rating in Chicago, which translates to more than 800,000 homes tuning in.

Chicago powered a national 3.17 overnight rating, the highest ever for any NHL game on NBCSN, and that includes Stanley Cup Final games. It surpassed Game 3 of last year’s Chicago-Boston Final, which did a 3.10 rating.

Chicago accounted for at least 25 percent of the national rating Sunday. Percentage could get higher when overall national rating is released later.

Meanwhile, in Los Angeles, the Kings did a 4.8 rating (268,800 homes). A 4.8 rating for a Game 7 that put the Kings in the Stanley Cup Final? Are you kidding? The Blackhawks do better than that for a regular-season game against Carolina.

What about the Rangers? Their Game 6 clincher over Montreal did an 8.5 rating (620,500 homes) in New York Thursday.

New York is an Original 6 town, and it can’t break double-digits for a game that puts the Rangers in the Stanley Cup Final for the first time in 20 years? Are you kidding, part 2?

No, these aren’t passionate hockey towns. However, New York and Los Angeles still will deliver viewers just because of the sheer size of the nation’s No. 1 and 2 markets.

Also, the NY-LA thing holds some appeal throughout the country. It will bring some fans to their TVs.

Listen, NBC isn’t going to complain about a Rangers-Kings series. It is much better than a Winnipeg-Ottawa Final, and various other possibilities among the NHL’s less attractive teams and markets.

The Blackhawks, though, represented the jackpot for NBC and the NHL. Hockey fever is so high here, there would have been ratings in the 30s for some Final games. And as I have written many time, those numbers add up since Chicago is the nation’s third largest market.

Oh well, it is hard to repeat in the NHL. Enjoy your vacation, Blackhawks.

My latest Chicago Tribune column is on how much is at stake for NBC in the Chicago-Los Angeles series.

You also can access the column via my Twitter feed at Sherman_Report.

From the column:

********

They won’t admit it, but privately NBC will be rooting for the Blackhawks to pull off the comeback against the Los Angeles Kings this weekend.

Having the Hawks in the Stanley Cup Final is huge for NBC. Not as much with the Kings.

With the New York Rangers and Kings still alive, Chicago technically is the nation’s No. 3 TV market in terms of overall viewers during the playoffs. But thanks to the avid following for the Hawks, the town is a clear-cut No. 1 in terms of delivering hockey viewers.

The numbers tell the story. Prior to Thursday’s Rangers-Montreal game, New York was averaging a 4.1 rating for Rangers games during the playoffs; Los Angeles is at 1.7 for Kings games. Meanwhile, Chicago checks in at a robust 13.4 for Hawks playoff games.

While being careful not to play favorites in the Western Conference final, Mike Emrick knows what the Blackhawks have meant to the NBC in recent years.

“It’s a magical time for hockey in Chicago,” Emrick said. “There’s a passion that is hard to discount. Even Mr. Fix-it on Saturday morning is talking Blackhawks hockey.”

The rating for the Hawks’ overtime victory in Game 5 really hammers it home. The game pulled a 16.3 rating in Chicago. It only did a 3.0 rating in Los Angeles even though the Kings had a chance to clinch a bid to the Final.

Here’s a further breakdown of the numbers: 1 rating point in Chicago is worth approximately 35,000 homes; 56,000 homes in Los Angeles, the No. 2 market. That means Game 5 was seen in 576,000 homes in Chicago compared to 169,000 for Los Angeles. To put it in further perspective, the Chicago rating accounted for an astounding 39 percent of the national rating for NBCSN.

Little wonder why they play “Here Come the Hawks” in NBC Sports’ corporate offices.