ABC honchos must be praying for a Heat win tonight

Not that a Pacers victory in Game 7 wouldn't be a great sports story. It's just that a Spurs-Pacers match-up in the NBA Finals would likely produce one of the lowest-rated series in recent years. As it is, San Antonio is never much of a draw, not only because it's the 30th largest media market (Indianapolis is 41st), but because the Spurs, to their credit, have never been much for drama off the court. Besides, not having LeBron James is certain to depress ratings. From Slate's Matthew Yglesias:

ABC started airing the NBA Finals in 2002. Since that time, the San Antonio Spurs have made three NBA Finals appearances--the lowest-rated ABC Finals in 2007, the second-lowest-rated ABC Finals in 2003, and the third-lowest-rated ABC Finals in 2005. By contrast, ABC's three best NBA Finals have all featured the Los Angeles Lakers. So the decline of the Lakers and the resurgence of the Spurs looks like an economic disaster for the network. But the three highest-rated non-Lakers finals have all featured--you guessed it--the Miami Heat.