NBA Finals and (1-1)

The NBA finals between the defending champion Miami Heat, and the San Antonio Spurs are tied at one game apiece.

The Spurs paced by Tony Parker won game one while the Heat eased to a win in game two.

This is the 32nd consecutive year in which the entire NBA finals are being televised live to the national audience. 32 is my favorite number as it was worn by Sandy Koufax and Jim Brown, two who have never “sold out.” It was also worn by two former favorites “O.J.” and “Dr. J,” Simpson and Erving respectively, two who did.

Speaking of selling, a (1-1) series is better for the networks than one that is (2-0). This is the 16th, half of the 32, to be (1-1) after two games.

All three of the major networks, (once they were virtually the only choices for television viewing, now there is another major over the air network, Fox, and a plethora of cable channels) CBS, NBC, and ABC have televised the NBA finals in those 32 seasons.

From (1982-1990), CBS had five (1-1) finals and four that were (2-2). NBC “played under .500,” getting only five of twelve (1-1) finals from 1991-2002. However, NBC had Mr. (Michael) Jordan in six of those finals. I doubt their ratings suffered. ABC in its 11th season of televising the NBA finals has six (1-1) and five (2-0) starts.