Tag: Memphis

NBA Finals earn big TV ratings in San Antonio — even with no Spurs

There was a lot of chatter on the local sports radio talk shows wondering about how much interest there was in San Antonio without the Spurs and with Miami and Dallas playing in the NBA Finals.

The viewers in San Antonio answered with the best ratings in any metered market outside of the Dallas-Fort Worth area or South Florida.

San Antonio’s market ranked fourth (15.9), trailing only behind Miami-Fort Lauderdale (33.7), Dallas-Fort Worth (30.7) and West Palm Beach, Fla. (17.7), .

Here’s are the markets where the NBA earned its top television rankings for the Finals.

1. Miami-Fort Lauderdale  (33.7)

2. Dallas-Fort Worth (30.7)

3. West Palm Beach, Fla. (17.7)

4. San Antonio (15.9)

5. Cleveland (15.8)

6. New Orleans (15.1)

7. Memphis (14.5)

7. Houston (14.5)

9. Oklahoma City (14.4)

10. Chicago (13.7)

And the lowest metered market in the nation was Pittsburgh (5.1) — Mark Cuban’s hometown.  

It’s interesting that the Spurs beat even Cleveland, where interest was high as Heat fans rooted against LeBron James and the Heat.

Many San Antonio fans were rooting against the Mavericks at the start of the series. But by the end of the Mavericks’ dramatic title victory, I bet the Texas team had picked up some fans even among disgruntled Spurs fans.

Could Grizzlies be headed for shakeup after stunning playoff run?

The Memphis Grizzlies stunned the NBA by making an unexpected surge through the Western Division playoffs.

The Grizzlies had never won a playoff game before this season. And despite not having second-leading scorer Rudy Gay, Coach Lionel Hollins’ team knocked out West top seed San Antonio before falling to Oklahoma City in seven games.

The Grizzlies missed Gay’s perimeter shooting in both series, but there is speculation around the league that the Grizzlies might let him go after their success without him in the playoffs. Particularly with the emergence of Shane Battier and Tony Allen’s defensive skills, the Grizzlies might have a replacement for Gay on their roster already.  

Gay, 25, has about $68 million left on his max contract over the next four years. Memphis awarded Zach Randolph a monster new $71 million contract at the start of the series with the Spurs. Rapidly improving center Marc Gasol’s expiring contract is next and there is thought that Memphis owner Michael Heisley might not be willing to sign all three players.  

The Akron Beacon Journal reports that Gay .

Since the new NBA season won’t officially begin until July 1, Gay’s 2010-11 salary would apply until then. His $13.6 million salary would fit under the Cavaliers’ trade exception, but he likely would command much more than just that trade exception.

While Gay’s future destination will command much attention with Memphis fans after their suprising run, Battier had an interesting tweet after the end of the Oklahoma City game that thanked fans for their support.

Memphis blog brother respects Spurs’ historic accomplishments

 Memphis blogger Chip Crain ofprovided some blog fodder earlier in the Memphis series when he ranked Marc Gasol over Tim Duncan and Mike Conley over Tony Parker in some of his positional analysis.

After the way the series played out, Crain’s analysis was spot-on. Even with the strong history from the two key players in the Spurs’ foundation, he was correct that their Memphis counterparts now are better. They certainly played that way in the series.

In his post-series analysis, Crain has some about the Spurs.  He praised Manu Ginobili, Gregg Popovich, Duncan and Parker, along with the Spurs’ organization. In the process, he almost proclaimed brisket as the equal of  the Memphis dry-rub version of barbecue.

But his most prescient comments came when he ended his commentary. It might be something for Spurs Nation to pause and reflect on as they get ready for a long off-season.

“The Spurs never gave up. They never acted immature. They held themselves to higher standard,” Crain wrote. “They showed the same class in defeat as they have shown in their victories in the past. I won’t lie and say I feel sad that the Spurs lost but I do feel honored to have seen such an excellent example of how true champions behave.

“This may one day be looked back on as the end of an era for the Spurs but I hope the way they handled themselves in both victory and defeat will be a lesson for the teams that come. Thank you San Antonio. You have shown our young team how to handle themselves in good times and bad. I can only hope that the Grizzlies handle themselves with the same class that the Spurs have done for the past decade.” 

Here are some other takes from my blog brothers after the end of the Spurs’ season.

  • Timothy Varner of 48 Minutes of Hell.com explains why he still would vote R.C. Buford as his NBA Executive of the Year, during the next several months. Varner also proclaims that the Spurs lost the Memphis series
  • Paul Garcia of Project Spurs.com provides a about the Spurs and after the Game 6 loss to Memphis.
  • Grego21 of Pounding the Rock.com relates that Zach Randolph’s domination of the Spurs was reminiscent of the kind of to the rest of the NBA.
  • Craig “Junior” Miller, a noted Spurs fan from way back  and a big-time radio host in Dallas, writes that he’s as Memphis did in the recent series.  
  • Tom Ziller of SB Nation.com details the reasons why the in recent seasons.
  • Secretchord53 of Spurs Dynasty.com relates how the last five minutes of Memphis’ Game 6 victory over the Spurs
  • SilverandblackDavis of Pounding the Rock.com gives us a detailed reflection of the Spurs’ past season, saying that surprising presents sometimes come arrived in .
  • J. Michael Falgoust of USA Today.com writes why the Grizzlies’ series victory over the Spurs .  
  • Paul Eide of Hoops Vibe.com doesn’t expect the Spurs to once the NBA resumes play next season.
  • Wayne Vore of Spurs Planet.com writes that the Spurs’ improbable Game 5 victory helpedto the Grizzlies.  
  • Scrappy-doo of Pounding the Rock.com opines that despite back-to-back championships, the Spurs were a .
  • Josh Guyer of Pounding the Rock.com provides the for the Spurs’ Game 6 loss to Memphis.
  • Alleyoop of Spurs Dynasty.com provides a .
  • The Pro Sports Exchange provides its post-season wrapup on the .