In St. Louis, Dan Caesar notes while Sharks have a 2-1 lead in the Western Conference Finals against the Blues, St. Louis is "dominating in television ratings" for the series, "routing" the Bay Area. The series has averaged a 14.4 local rating in St. Louis. That compares to a 4.9 in the Bay Area, where viewers are "much more interested in the local team" in the NBA Western Conference Finals, with the Trail Blazers-Warriors series drawing attention away from the Sharks. Meanwhile, Game 3 was the "first in the Blues' series that overlapped a Cardinals contest," and hockey "trounced baseball 13.6-3.7 in St. Louis ratings" (ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH, 5/17).
LOCAL COMPETITION: The CP's Gregory Strong noted an average of 2.2 million Canadian viewers tuned in for Raptors-76ers Game 7 on Sportsnet, "making it the most watched NBA game ever in Canada." However, that is still "well below the ratings generated when the Blue Jays are in the playoffs," as the MLB team averaged 5.12 million viewers for Game 6 of the '15 ALCS. But "progress is being made" (CP, 5/16).
IN HIS BAG: In Houston, David Barron notes the "most-watched show on Houston television" on Wednesday was Astros-Tigers, which drew a 4.6 rating for AT&T SportsNet Southwest. Meanwhile, Baseball HOFer Jeff Bagwell "continues to entertain in his monthly appearances on AT&T SportsNet Southwest for Astros games." In his most recent appearance, he "recalled the difficulty of hitting against the Braves" when umpires gave Baseball HOFers John Smoltz, Greg Maddux or Tom Glavine "extra leeway on the strike zone" (HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 5/17).
