First, the results of last week's predictions:
— NBA Finals, Cavaliers-Warriors Game 5. Prediction: 12.4; final rating: 11.8.
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— Stanley Cup Final, Blackhawks-Lightning Game 5. Prediction: 3.0; final rating: 3.0.
— NASCAR Sprint Cup racing from Michigan. Prediction: 2.3; final rating: 2.2.
— Women’s World Cup, France-Colombia and England-Mexico. Predictions: 0.9 and 1.0; final ratings: 0.8 and 0.9.
— Sunday Night Baseball, Reds-Cubs. Prediction: 1.2; final rating: 1.0.
— WNBA regular season, Fever-Sky and Lynx-Mercury. Predictions: 0.1 and 0.2; final ratings: 0.2 and 0.2.
This week’s predictions:
U.S. Open, third- and fourth-round coverage (2 p.m. ET Saturday and Sunday, Fox): Fox enters its first weekend of U.S. Open coverage in as good position as a freshman rightsholder can be. Last year’s tournament set an extremely low bar to pass, earning a mere 2.3 rating on Saturday and a record-low 3.0 on Sunday. Ratings were likely to improve no matter what, but the West Coast location gives Fox the advantage of extensive primetime coverage. That already paid dividends Thursday, as Fox and FS1 combined for the best first round of the event since 2002. Even the absence of Tiger Woods, who missed the cut Friday, is not as poor an omen as it once was due to the presence of young stars like Jordan Spieth. The last time the U.S. Open aired on the West Coast, third- and fourth-round coverage drew ratings of 5.0 and 6.0, respectively. Ratings are unlikely to hit that level sans Woods but should come close. Predictions: 4.3 and 5.5.
Premier Boxing Champions (8 p.m. ET Saturday, NBC): Premier Boxing Champions airs on primetime network television for the first time in two months. After slipping under TV sports’ Mendoza line — a 1.0 rating — for three straight Saturday afternoon windows, look for the series to bounce back. How far is another story. The last primetime telecast drew a 1.8 rating. Prediction: 1.4.
FIFA Women’s World Cup, Canada-Switzerland (7:30 p.m. Sunday, Fox): With the U.S. Open on Fox, the entire Women’s World Cup round of 16 will air on Fox Sports 1. While the highlight of the round is Monday’s USA-Colombia match, Canada-Switzerland has the coveted Sunday night time slot. So far, FS1's top non-USA match was Brazil-South Korea on June 9 (0.5 rating). Sunday’s match should easily top that mark. Prediction: 0.9.
MLB Sunday Night Baseball, Giants-Dodgers (8 p.m. Sunday, ESPN): After two weeks facing the NBA Finals, Sunday Night Baseball has lighter competition this weekend. Look for the defending champion Giants’ clash with the rival Dodgers to improve over last week’s 1.0. Prediction: 1.3.
Paulsen is the founder of Sports Media Watch and a contributor for Sporting News. Follow him on Twitter @Paulsen_SMW.