The NBA and NHL must share a lot as, like brothers and sisters of two industries. At times, the home arenas, other times, television ratings. Both championship series are currently under way—NBA Finals and NHL Stanley Cup Finals—and the better of the two may be a surprise in 2013.

Lace up your skates, folks.

The NHL’s 2013 season was in jeopardy by January and now it culminates with two historic and energized teams, the Chicago Blackhawks against the Boston Bruins reading to clash.

Meanwhile, a potential stale matchup of the NBA Finals will unfold in the coming days—the sleeper San Antonio Spurs against the hyped Miami Heat. The Spurs lead the series 2 games to 1 at the moment.

 

The trend could be following heavier with the NHL’s Cup Finals as a big draw. First, Sports Illustrated had a cover-feature article by Steve Rushin on why the Stanley Cup playoffs are far beyond any other playoff. The 2013 Stanley Cup Finals have two formidable markets in Boston and Chicago, each winning their long-awaited Cups since the Nixon presidency.

To consider as well, the Grizzlies/Spurs NBA Western Conference Finals drew a 3.9 overnight rating on ABC Sunday afternoon, down 41% from Celtics/Heat Game 1 on ESPN last year (6.6), and down 26% from Thunder/Mavericks Game 1 on ESPN in 2011 (5.3). Aside from the big names of LeBron James, Tim Duncan, and Dwayne Wade, America (aside from overblown ESPN coverage) is losing focus of the performance of the sport, and focusing solely on tired hype.