Weekend ratings predictions.

• NBA on ABC, Celtics/Cavaliers. Prediction: 3.2. Final rating: 3.2. This game got out of hand quickly, with the Cavaliers opening up a 30-11 lead on their way to a 108-84 blowout. As a result, ABC could not have been too surprised that the game fell 6% from the comparable Suns/Spurs Game 3 last year.
• NASCAR on FOX, Dodge Challenger 500. Prediction: 4.7. Final rating: 4.8. NASCAR more than held its own opposite NBA competition on Saturday night. The 4.8 for the Dodge Challenger 500 is even with the rating the race drew in 2006, the last time it was run on a Saturday.
• NBA on ABC, Lakers/Jazz. Prediction: 3.6. Final rating: 4.1. An overtime game involving the Lakers is bound to be ratings gold. The 4.1 for the Jazz’ Game 4 win over L.A. marks a 46% jump from the 2.8 for Pistons/Bulls Game 4 last year.
• PGA on NBC, The Players Championship. Prediction: 2.2. Final rating: 3.1. Without Tiger Woods, ratings for The Players Championship fell by double digits. NBC drew a 3.1 rating for Sergio Garcia‘s victory, down 14% from a 3.6 last year.
• MLB on FOX, Yankees/Tigers or other regional action. Prediction: 2.4. Final rating: 2.2. Viewers are not flocking to Yankees’ games like they used to. Last year, not a single Yankees telecast on FOX drew less than a 2.5 rating.

This week’s predictions:

• NBA on ABC, Cavaliers/Celtics, 3:30 PM Sunday — Game 7s are always good for ratings, especially as the playoffs go on. The last time ABC broadcast a Game 7 in the second round was two years ago, when LeBron James and the Cavaliers got destroyed by the Pistons. Even with a final score of 79-61, the game still drew a 6.1 rating. Prediction: 5.7.
• Horse racing on NBC, The Preakness Stakes, 4:30 PM Saturday — The publicity surrounding horse racing lately has the potential to either attract or repel viewers. Will America be intrigued by the Triple Crown hopes of Big Brown, or turned off by the recent death of Eight Belles? Prediction: 6.7.
• NHL on NBC, Stars/Red Wings, 1:30 PM Saturday — On one hand, NBC has to be thanking its lucky stars it gets a piece of the highly rated NHL Conference Finals. On the other hand, the network must be dreading a potential repeat of last year, as the game would have to move to Versus after one overtime to accommodate Preakness coverage. Prediction: 1.0.
• NHL on NBC, Flyers/Penguins, 3 PM Sunday — With the Flyers/Penguins series setting records on Versus, NBC has to be looking forward to airing the potential clinching game of the series. Opposite Cavaliers/Celtics Game 7 on ABC, the numbers may not be as impressive as they could have been. Prediction: 1.6.
• WNBA on ABC, Sparks/Mercury, 3:30 PM Saturday — The WNBA will never attract big time ratings, but look for a decent bump for the first game of the season. With college star Candace Parker joining Lisa Leslie in Los Angeles and Diana Taurasi playing for the defending champion Mercury, ratings should improve over the 0.6 overnight Monarchs/Shock drew last year. Prediction: 0.9.
• MLB on ESPN, Yankees/Mets, 8 PM Sunday — The Yankees and Mets are both underachieving, with the former in last place in the AL East. Still, ESPN should draw huge numbers for the only nationally televised Subway Series match-up of the weekend. Prediction: 2.7.