First, the result of last week's predictions:
— NFL Hall of Fame Game, Steelers-Vikings. Prediction: 5.0; final rating: 6.6.
— Pro Football Hall of Fame induction ceremony. Predictions: 0.7 (ESPN) and 0.3 (NFLN); final ratings: 0.6 (ESPN) and 0.3 (NFLN)
— PGA Tour, WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, final round. Prediction: 2.7; final rating: 2.4.
— Breeders' Cup Challenge, Whitney Handicap. Prediction: 0.7; final rating: 0.7.
— English Premier League, Chelsea-Swansea. Prediction: 0.6; final rating: 0.7.
— MLB Sunday Night Baseball, Pirates-Dodgers. Prediction: 1.4; final rating: 1.1.
This week's predictions:
PGA Championship, third and fourth rounds (2 p.m. ET Saturday and Sunday, CBS): The final major of the golf season will be hard-pressed to match last year, when a flurry of big names lifted third- and final-round ratings to six-year highs (3.0 and 5.3, respectively). With that said, the numbers should still surpass the mediocre levels of 2013 (2.6 and 3.9). Predictions: 2.8 and 4.4.
NFL preseason, Buccaneers-Vikings (8 p.m. Saturday, NFL Network): Despite the debut of the NFL's No. 1 draft pick, NFL Network should see a decline in ratings for Saturday night's game. Last year’s comparable Browns-Lions game, the first for Johnny Manziel, had a 1.8 rating — the highest ever for an exhibition game on the network. The comparable game in 2013 had a 1.1. Prediction: 1.5.
NASCAR Sprint Cup racing from Michigan (2:30 p.m. Sunday, NBCSN): Every NASCAR race on cable this season has had a decline in ratings from last year, and that trend should continue this weekend. Having said that, ratings have picked up somewhat in recent weeks. Each of the past three races has earned at least a 2.5 rating, compared to just one of the previous eight on cable. Last year’s race had a 3.2 on ESPN. Prediction: 2.6.
MLB on ESPN, Angels-Royals (8 p.m. Sunday, ESPN): A playoff rematch of contending teams should do relatively well for Sunday Night Baseball. Last year’s comparable matchup set the bar low with a 1.0 rating. Prediction: 1.1.
Premier League, Chelsea-Manchester City (11 a.m. Sunday, NBCSN): With the last two Premier League champions meeting on NBCSN on Sunday morning, look for ratings to improve over last year’s 0.3 for Sunderland-Manchester United. Prediction: 0.5.
Paulsen is the founder of Sports Media Watch and a contributor for Sporting News. Follow him on Twitter @Paulsen_SMW.