Sunday’s Boston vs. Los Angeles game on ABC earned a 5.0 overnight rating, a tie (Los Angeles-Cleveland in 2009) for the highest-rated, non-Christmas Day, NBA regular-season game ever on the network.

Ratings were up 14 percent compared to last season’s Celtics-Lakers matchup. Locally, the game delivered a 10.3 metered market rating in Boston, the highest-rated, non-Christmas Day, NBA regular-season game ever on ABC. In Los Angeles, their 11.1 rating was the second highest-rated, non-Christmas day, NBA regular-season game on ABC.

(Try saying that 10 times in a row.) Read more

As we’ve been following the movements of the network anchors and correspondents in Egypt, TVNewser was sent this picture of “Nightly News” anchor Brian Williams, weekend “Nightly News” anchor Lester Holt and producer Paul Nassar at work this evening in Cairo, putting together tonight’s “Nightly News.” Williams will appear on MSNBC’s “Hardball” in the next few minutes and he’ll tape an appearance on “The Last Word” following “Nightly.” No word on whether Williams’ iPad has internet service.

ABC’s Christiane Amanpour will also be making a return to her old network CNN when she appears on “Piers Morgan Tonight” at 9pmET from Cairo. The Cutline’s Michael Calderone talked with Amanpour today: “I really do think what we’ve shown is that when news happens, we’re going to go there and report for ourselves and for our viewers from the ground.”

“World News” weekend anchor David Muir is en route to Cairo where he will join Amanpour, and correspondents Alexander Marquardt, Lama Hasan, and Lara Setrakian.

This is just a friendly reminder that SportsNewser is hosting a pre-Super Bowl cocktail party tomorrow evening, February 1. Also: there will be free hard cider courtesy of Magners. Forget the lousy weather by joining your SportsNewser editor and grabbing a drink or two!

Details below, and please RSVP here.

SportsNewser’s pre-Super Bowl party

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

6:30-8:30 PM

Bar XII
206 E 34th St (Btwn 2nd and 3rd, closer to 3rd)

25-54 demographic (Live +SD)

• Total day: FNC: 339 | MSNBC: 145 | CNN: 173 | HLN: 108

• Primetime: FNC: 563 | MSNBC: 225 | CNN: 191 | HLN: 147

	5p:	6p:	7p:	8p:	9p:	10p:	11p:	12a:
FNC	Egypt:	Baier:	Shep:	O’Reilly:	Hannity:	Greta:	O’Reilly:	Hannity:
	471	441	510	785	518	386	391	219
MSNBC	Matthews:	Live:	Matthews:	O’Donnell:	Maddow:	EdShow:	Investigates:	Investigates:
	103	127	153	175	257	244	276	304
CNN	Blitzer:	Blitzer:	KingUSA:	ParkerSpitzer:	Morgan:	Cooper:	Cooper:	Morgan:
	179	257	239	149	178	247	232	176
HLN	Showbiz:	Prime:	Issues:	Grace:	Missing:	Behar:	Showbiz:	Grace:
	108	63	97	235	148	66	94	101

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ABC’s Barbara Walters was a guest on “Live! with Regis and Kelly” this morning to discuss her upcoming special on heart surgery. Walters told Regis Philbin and guest co-host Joy Philbin that the special is important, because most people are “terrified of open heart surgery.”

When Philbin said that the girls on “The View” don’t fight as much anymore, Walters was quick to say “We don’t fight. We discuss.”

Walters also had some interesting things to say about the situation in Egypt — Hosni Mubarak in particular: “That kind of instability can be very scary, and we don’t know who’s going to take over.” She goes on to say that Mubarak should be given “some sort of safe haven” no matter what happens.

After 15 years at ESPN, senior baseball writer Rob Neyer filed his final column on Monday.

“Fifteen years ago, I moved to Seattle to work for a company called Starwave. The company did a lot of things, but I was hired — and this might surprise you — mostly to edit fantasy-related content for a website called ESPNet.SportsZone.com; a few years later, we became the ESPN.com that everyone knows and loves so well.

Frankly, it’s a minor miracle that I’ve been here ever since. I was the new guy, didn’t know how I was supposed to behave, and somewhat routinely ran afoul of my bosses and their bosses. I owe a great deal to their good graces, and I’m sorry I can’t thank everyone who’s allowed me to do what I love for so long. I will toss extra hosannas to Geoff Reiss, David Schoenfield, and David Kull, for reasons they know only too well. Collectively, they’re No. 2 on the all-time list. Read more

HLN host Nancy Grace is being sued for $5 million by former colleague Patty Caruso for allegedly stealing the idea for her CBS show “Swift Justice.”

Caruso — a former Court TV publicist — claims that she helped create the series (originally titled “Grace’s Cases”) with Grace. When the show was sold to CBS, the publicist was supposedly cut out of the deal.

Grace’s former colleague is now preparing to file a lawsuit asking for $5 million–$1 million per year.

An HLN representative told TVNewser, “No comment.”

It appears Urban Meyer won’t return to the coaching sidelines in 2011.

The former University of Florida coach will join ESPN as a college football analyst. Meyer will make his debut on Wednesday during ESPNU’s 10-hour National Signing Day Special.

During the season, Meyer will work a weekly regular-season game and select bowl games. Along with his work in the booth, the 46-year-old will provide studio analysis on College Football Live, College GameDay, the NFL Draft and spring games. Meyer will also make weekly appearances on ESPN Radio.

Meyer announced on Dec. 8 that he was stepping down as coach, citing his family and health.

“Football has played an extremely important role in my life for the past 25 years and ESPN has given me an incredible opportunity to join its world-class team and share my passion, knowledge, and enthusiasm for the game with fans across the country,” Meyer said.

• “NBC Nightly News” anchor Brian Williams is on his way to Cairo right now. He left New York Sunday afternoon arriving in Amman, Jordan and is now en route to Egypt. He’s expected to arrive in time for “Nightly News.”

• CBS’ Katie Couric, after a weekend in Miami Beach, is leaving for Egypt today. “Evening News” EP Rick Kaplan will travel with her. Harry Smith will be filling in at the anchor desk tonight.

• ABC’s Diane Sawyer is not going to Cairo “at this time,” says a spokesperson. Christiane Amanpour is leading ABC’s coverage in Egypt.

MSNBC’s Chris Matthews is anchoring a President’s Day special on MSNBC three weeks from today titled “President of the World: The Bill Clinton Phenomenon.”

Matthews recently spent a week Bill Clinton, sitting down with him one-on-one for the special. The hour includes interviews with Clinton’s close friends including Tony Blair, Terry McAuliffe, Mary Steenburgen and Kevin Spacey. The special “will take viewers behind the scenes of Clinton’s life,” says the press release.

There’s not a single political figure today with the global reach and influence of Bill Clinton—a former U.S. President turned humanitarian and diplomat extraordinaire. No one else in today’s political arena has the ability to command the attention of world leaders and organizations everywhere quite like he does.

“President of the World: The Bill Clinton Phenomenon” airs at 10pmET Monday, Feb. 21.