Tag Archives: Miami Heat

Make up your mind SI: Is it LeBron’s era or Durant’s?

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There’s a fundamental problem when you anoint a new era in a sport before the finals is played. Your new era guy might lose out to the old era guy.

A few weeks ago, Sports Illustrated ran Kevin Durant on the cover with the big headline declaring: “The New Era.”

Then mockingly, it had a small insert of an old SI cover declaring LeBron James as “The New Era.” Hey, LeBron, you are so yesterday.

Well, now we all know the rest of the story. James and the Heat defeated Oklahoma City in five games.

As a result, SI went back to the old era with James on the cover this week. Lee Jenkins wrote a post finals piece with the now official King of basketball.

Who knows? Perhaps the Durant cover inspired James?

And who knows? Perhaps Durant was done in by yet another tale of the SI cover jinx?

 

 

 

Nail fungus ad mars historic Ft. Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel front page

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OK, it’s a fact of life that newspapers need the revenue from front page advertising. But perhaps just this one time it might have been best for the Sun-Sentinel in Ft. Lauderdale to kill a front-page ad.

The Miami Heat’s championship presented the paper with one of those rare opportunities for a historical front. Thousands of extra papers are printed for fans who want a timeless souvenir.

The Sun-Sentinel delivered a front page Friday suitable for framing. However, at the bottom, there’s a huge ad for a nail fungus remedy, with before and after photos.

I’m sorry, but that’s way too much for me to digest in the morning, and especially on a front page celebrating LeBron James’ first. The paper should have said to the nail fungus folks, “Not today, we’ll make it up to you.”

 

Ratings report: Despite Tiger struggles, U.S. Open still up; another big number for Game 3

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Ah, what might have been for NBC and the U.S. Open. Imagine the rating if Tiger Woods actually had resembled Tiger Woods Sunday. Instead, his brutal start had him on the missing person’s report during the meat of the coverage.

As a result, we got a heavy dose of the plodding Jim Furyk and a U.S. Open where par was indeed a good score. It didn’t necessarily add up to compelling golf, but thanks to the primetime window, people still tuned in.

The numbers from NBC:

Sunday’s 6.5-hour (4-10:30 p.m. ET) final-round coverage of the U.S. Open on NBC delivered an 6.6 rating and 13 share, up 29% vs. last year (5.1/12).

The combined Saturday-Sunday overnight was a 6.1/13, up 39 % vs. last year (4.4/11) and the best since 2008 (6.8/15).

Despite competition from the NBA Finals, the rating increased every half hour from 8:30 p.m. ET on, peaking at an 8.1 from 10-10:30 p.m. ET. From 7 p.m. ET on, the rating never dipped below a 6.9.

Yes, there was a finals game last night. Another big number for game 3 on ABC.

From ESPN:

Through three games, the 2012 NBA Finals on ABC – Miami Heat vs. Oklahoma City Thunder – is the highest-rated series since 2004 and the second highest-rated ever on ABC based on overnight ratings, according to Nielsen. The Finals is averaging an 11.3 overnight rating, up 5 percent from a 10.8 last year (Dallas Mavericks vs. Miami Heat).

NBA Finals Game 3 – Miami defeated Oklahoma City 91-85 – generated a 10.4 overnight rating, peaking with a 14.7 rating from 10:30 to 10:45 p.m. ET. The game generated a 41.9 rating in Oklahoma City and a 29.6 rating in Miami.

 

 

The decision: Game 3 or U.S. Open tonight? Tiger or LeBron?

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So what are you watching tonight? Game 3 of the NBA Finals or the final round of the U.S. Open?

We have been handed this delicious Father’s Day bounty thanks to the Open being in San Francisco.

In a brilliant decision beginning with the 2010 tournament at Pebble Beach, NBC decided to air these West Coast Opens in prime time. The last group of Jim Furyk and Graeme McDowell goes off at 6:10 p.m ET. That means the final putt won’t go down until 10:30-11 p.m. ET.

I love it, and so many other golf fans. Nothing like enjoying a beautiful day and then coming home to watch some big-time golf.

But there’s more. Also on the menu is Game 3 of the NBA Finals airing on ABC. Big game to see if LeBron James and the Heat can take control of the series at home.

The first two games have done huge ratings, and they only will get bigger.

For NBC’s sake, it would help if Tiger Woods gets back into the hunt quickly in the fourth round. He tees off at 4:50 p.m. If he makes a charge, people will tune in, especially the casual and even non-golf fan.

Either way, it should be a great night. My remote is in for a workout.

 

 

Stanley Cup Final could have used a Gretzky; Game 1 ratings soar with LeBron, Durant

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It’s all about big, big stars.

The NBA has them for its final; the NHL didn’t. Just look at the ratings.

Final numbers for the Stanley Cup finals were the lowest since 2007. The Los Angeles Kings-New Jersey ratings were down 33 percent from last year, averaging 3 million viewers per game.

Meanwhile, Game 1 of the NBA Finals did an 11.8 overnight rating, the highest ever for a game on ABC. And it only figures to get bigger if LeBron James and company can win a few games in this series.

The NBA rating speaks to the star power of a final that includes James, Kevin Durant, Dwyane Wade, Russell Westbrook. As much as people hate the Heat, they still tune in to watch. I thought it was great that they made the finals. Rooting for Miami to lose to Boston is sort of like wanting Jack Nicholson’s Joker to be knocked off with 45 minutes left in Batman. I wanted more Heat, not less.

As for hockey, would the ratings have been down if the Kings still had a player named Wayne Gretzky? Definitely not.

Gretkzy, though, is long gone, and the league doesn’t have another transcendent star, given the uncertain health status of Sidney Crosby. As a result, the final featured two mostly unknown teams. And the Kings going up 3-0 also dulled the ratings momentum.

The NHL’s parity is great in the early rounds, when the No. 8 Kings proved that the seeds don’t really matter in hockey. The new format of airing every game on NBC’s various platforms resulted in a nice increase in the ratings.

However, the problem with parity is that sometimes the big-name teams and players get knocked off before the finals. For the first time since 2007, there wasn’t an Original 6 team or Crosby-led Pittsburgh in the Finals. Instead, the NHL got Los Angeles-New Jersey, two teams that don’t necessarily move the meter even in their home markets.

There are plenty of positives for hockey. But as the ratings for the Final showed, there’s plenty of room for improvement.