Hatton-Pacquiao Caps Huge Sports Day

In a most intriguing Saturday, the May 2 boxing match between Pac Man and the Hit Man is clearly the most important to the fiscal fortunes of its sport.

Local MLB and college action aside, the national spotlight will shine on a potential epic battle between Tiger and Phil at the Quail Hollow Championship.  Woods, who was the leader after the first round, is now one off the pace, while Lefty is two back at six under. Perhaps this is a prelude to a Super Sunday on the links with the Nielsens for Golf Channel and CBS.

Also at 1 p.m., NBC faces off its coverage of the opener of the Washington Capitals-Pittsburgh Penguins NHL playoff series. The Game 7 losses by the New York Rangers (the Blueshirts were up 3-1 versus the Capitals) and New Jersey Devils (all-time winning goaltender Marty Brodeur surrendered the tying and winning goals within the final 1:20 against the Carolina Hurricanes) were devastating to New York-area hockey fans and executives at MSG. But upon reflection, the outcomes were probably beneficial to the league, the Peacock and Versus — not to mention Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic and FS Carolinas.

Sure, many of the fans in New York, the nation’s No. 1 DMA, may have had their hockey interest iced by their teams’ ousters, particularly supporters of the Rangers, one of the “Original Six.”

Instead, the Capitals and Penguins young stars, Alex Ovechekin and Sid “The Kid” Crosby, the league’s transcendent talents who won’t be dining together any time soon, will be on full display. A long, exciting series with the protagonists leaving their imprimaturs on the ice will more than make up for any short-term, Big Apple Nielsen losses.

At Churchill Downs, the rites of the first Saturday in May are here again. It’s time to throw back a mint julep or three as horse racing devotees hope that this year will breed the first triple crown winner since Secretariat in 1973. NBC will be trackside around 6:30 p.m. as 19 thoroughbreds will vie in the most exciting two minutes in sports. (That roster was at 20 before the morning favorite I Want Revenge was scratched in deference to an ankle injury and what was expected to be a sloppy surface.)

That excitement actually runs all the way to Pimlico and the Preakness Stakes. Here’s hoping for NBC and ABC, which televises The Belmont, that this is the year - and there’s no repeat of the over-hyped Big Brown debacle from 2008.

The evening’s menu features Game 7 of the NBA classic between the Boston Celtics and Chicago Bulls. Characterized by clutch shots, choked free throws and tremendous defensive plays, the series is being hailed as the greatest opening-round series in hoops history. Here’s history’s scorecard: 65 ties, 108 lead changes, five games decided by three points (tying a league mark) and a record seven OT periods through the first six contests.

Game 6 produced the most-watched opening round game in cable history for TNT with some 5.35 million viewers, and set marks for CSN New England and CSN Chicago (Fans in the Windy City can be forgiven for also flipping their remote to CSN Chicago +  to keep an eye on the Blackhawks in the second game of their NHL Western Conference semifinal against the Vancouver Canucks, which will also be televised by Versus.)

Even with Kevin Garnett now declared officially out of the entire playoffs — there was talk yesterday of a Willis Reed moment for The Big Ticket — a Celtics win is preferable for the league. TNT needs the Cs to advance and then fly by Superman Dwight Howard and his Orlando Magic in round two to set up a match against the LeBrons in the Eastern Conference finals, to which the “drama” network holds exclusive rights.

The junior welterweight title tilt nightcap is clearly the main event.  Manny Pacquiao-Ricky Hatton is boxing’s first (only?) megafight of the year. With no Tyson, Holyfield or even Lennox Lewis looming on the heavyweight horizon and the Golden Boy finally retired by Pacquiao last December (1.25 million buys), boxing, HBO Sports and the mulitchannel universe needs a big performance from the boxers and PPV buyers. Depending on whom he’s spoken to HBO Sports boss Ross Greenburg has talked about being happy with buys in 400,000 to 500,00 range, as well as in the 500,000 to 700,000 arena. Any of those number would be a disappointing result, given that both fighters have been involved in bouts that easily exceeded that total.

More important would be a Pacquiao victory. Currently, viewed as the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world, the Filipino needs to uphold that distinction and set up a much more lucractive card with Floyd “Pretty Boy” Mayweather, the erstwhile holder of that fabled moniker.

Today, there are reports indicating Mayweather will end his “retirement” by taking on lightweight champ Juan Manuel Marquez on July 18. Mayweather handed Hatton (800,000 buys in November 2007) his only loss, so it would be much easier to sell a battle with Pacquiao.

Pac Man over the Hit Man is good for boxing and the multichannel industry.