NBC averaged 13.8% of U.S. TV households — about what the network promised advertisers and up 13% from NBC's 2006 Torino Games, which had more time-zone challenges and had fewer than half as many U.S. medals in the lowest-rated Games since 1988. But Vancouver's rating is down 28% from NBC's 2002 Salt Lake prime-time average and down 15% from CBS' 1998 Nagano Games.

Still, NBC's 2010 ratings were dominant by today's broadcast network TV standards, where even sagging ratings can be hailed as victories.

Hockey boon?

Niche sports in the Olympics have a common dream: Use their huge TV exposure in the Games as a springboard to lasting TV appeal.

Like hockey now. Imagine the afterglow if an Olympic hockey game drew huge ratings. Actually, you don't have to imagine it: In 1980, the tape-delayed U.S.-U.S.S.R. semifinal drew 23.9% of U.S. TV households and the U.S.-Finland gold-medal game drew 23.2%.

Now in third place: The Canada-U.S. showdown Sunday, which drew a bigger U.S. audience than any non-Olympic TV sports outside NFL action and college football's BCS title game.

Imagine that: plain old Olympic live action — with few commercials or up-close-and-personal vignettes — drawing boffo TV box office.

The coming months will show the 2010 Games, unlike the 1980 Games provide a better first-stage booster rating for the NHL, whose regular-season games on NBC the past two years averaged 1% of U.S. TV households. Or will show whether Vancouver's hockey ratings go down as historical oddities like soccer's ratings for the U.S.-hosted 1994 men's World Cup or the 1999 women's World Cup.

Predictably, the top 10 local TV markets for Sunday's game — each drawing more than 20% of local households — were all cities with NHL teams. Still, hockey reached beyond its base in drawing 17.1% of households in Austin, Texas.

But will Longhorn country stay hooked now that the NHL games are back with more ads, fewer flags and springtime playoff action?

Final tally:

NBC's Vancouver primetime coverage averaged 13.8% of U.S. TV households.

That's about what NBC promised advertisers and up 13% from NBC's 2006 Torino Games, which had more time zone challenges and had fewer than half as many U.S. medals in the lowest-rated Games since 1988. But Vancouver's rating is down 28% from NBC's 2002 Salt Lake primetime average and down 15% from CBS' 1998 Nagano Games.

Still, NBC's 2010 ratings were dominant by the today's broadcast network TV standards, where even sagging ratings can be hailed as victories.

Say what?

You must wait years for an Olympic Closing Ceremony. Sunday, NBC added a little extra wait as it cut away from Vancouver's curtain-closer to debut its much-flogged The Marriage Ref before kindly bringing viewers back. No big deal. It was still same-day coverage.

Running numbers:

Not surprisingly, weekend Olympic action whacked other sports ratings. Fox's NASCAR Shelby American 400 drew a 4.2 overnight, translating to 4.2% of TV households in 56 urban markets — down 22% from last year's coverage. But in a rare non-Olympic ratings update, the overnight for ESPN2's NASCAR Nationwide Series race Saturday — with Danica Patrick— was up 13%, albeit to diminutive 1.7%. … According to Slate.com's Sap-o-Meter, which tallies words heard on NBC's Vancouver coverage that it deems sappy, the gold goes to "dream" with 64 total mentions.