Lakers resale tickets soar

The average resale price for Game 1 on Thursday is $1,071, according to price forecaster SeatGeek.com (via the WSJ). That's not for the really good seats - that's the average of all seats. You'd be better off flying to Boston, where average ticket prices are a paltry $600. No doubt fans in both cities are going a little nutty - and we're still two days away. But what about the rest of the nation? During the great Magic-Bird rivalries of the 80s, national ratings were huge. But sports choices in those days were limited (ESPN was just getting started as a serious broadcast player), and of course there were no smart phones, no Web, and no NBA TV, which will replay the games a bunch of times. Big difference. Forbes National Editor Michael Ozanian, who specializes in the economics of pro sports, expects ratings to be roughly half they were in the 80s. Of course, a lot depends on how competitive the series turns out to be. Remember, the games are starting at 9 p.m. back east, and if they're snoozers you can expect viewership to slide.