TV Ratings Are Sure to Be High

The Chicago Bulls’ stirring six-game victory over the Utah Jazz in the NBA finals was watched closely by more than Chicago fans.

The ratings for Friday night’s decisive Game 6, won by the Bulls, 90-86, guaranteed that the series will finish no lower than third among NBA finals when Nielsen ratings become available Monday afternoon.

Friday’s NBC telecast drew an overnight rating of 20.1 and a 35 share, down slightly from last year’s Game 6, when Chicago defeated Seattle for the NBA title.

*

The party went into the wee hours Saturday morning after the Bulls’ title win.

But after the team’s fifth championship in seven years, there wasn’t as much to clean up as in years past. It seems the city has learned just how far it can go in celebration without losing control.

“All things considered, it was a peaceful evening for a championship kind of celebration,” Chicago police spokesman Paul Jenkins said.

The number of calls for police assistance were down about 30% from last year’s celebration.

One person was killed, shots were fired, rocks were thrown, some stores were looted. But about 6,000 police officers--most in riot gear and many on horseback--kept the revelry in check, avoiding the mass destruction of property that marked similar celebrations in 1992 and 1993.

“It was not unlike a typical Friday night,” said state’s attorney’s office spokeswoman Marcy O’Boyle.

*

A crowd estimated at 20,000 packed Salt Lake International Airport to welcome the Jazz charter jet as it landed just after noon.

The plane was escorted by a phalanx of police vehicles, their sirens wailing and lights flashing, through an arc of water sprayed from two airport fire trucks.

Karl Malone thanked fans for their support and apologized for not adding a championship ring to his NBA Most Valuable Player award this year.

“Not only did you guys give us the support we needed, but it was the way you did it,” a somber, yet obviously moved Malone said. “Hopefully, next year we’ll do a better job.”