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NESN prepared for double feature

One of the problems of having one network own the broadcast rights to two teams is the overlap when one season is wrapping up and the other is just starting. The Bruins have two regular-season games remaining - the penultimate of which is tonight against the Senators in Ottawa - and the Red Sox are finally back on the East Coast and will face the Blue Jays tonight in Toronto.

Although that means some channel switching for sports fans, it also meant some adjustment for NESN.

The network is hyping tonight as "Two Great Teams, One Great Night." So, the Red Sox-Jays game will be on NESN at 7 p.m. and the Bruins will air on NESN-plus channels (CN8 locally) with a 7:30 p.m. start time. For a complete list of NESN-plus channels, got to nesn.com.

As much as Red Sox Nation is excited about the team's defense of its World Series championship, there is increasing interest in the Bruins' quest for a playoff spot. According to NESN, the Bruins game earned a 3.1 household rating for Wednesday night's shootout loss to the Devils in New Jersey. That rating was better than the Celtics game on CSN and ESPN combined.

"We've done this a number of times," said NESN's Gary Roy. "What we do is, with the help of all of our affiliates, we get an additional channel to show one of the games. In this case, we're pretty lucky because all the affiliates are helping out and we've got both games pretty much equally distributed throughout the region."

Let's face it, the Bruins haven't caused many issues with TV in mid-spring because the team hasn't been in the postseason since 2004.

"With the Bruins not being in the playoffs the last few years, we haven't had as much of this [scheduling conflict]," said Roy. "Previous to that, we did it a couple of years in a row pretty regularly . . . It's something we're well prepared for."

We're talking baseball

Fox's Game of the Week kicks off its 13th season tomorrow at 3:30 p.m. with live regional coverage. Boston will see the Chicago White Sox at Detroit Tigers with Thom Brennaman and Jose Mota. For the first time, all Fox games are being broadcast in high definition. Prior to the first pitch, Fox will air its pregame show with host Jeanne Zelasko and analysts Kevin Kennedy and Mark Grace . . . In other baseball news, TBS - best known for its coverage of the Atlanta Braves - will launch a national baseball package Sunday at 1 p.m. with Red Sox-Blue Jays. The broadcast team includes Chip Caray, Buck Martinez, and Ron Darling . . . ESPN will air the Women's NCAA Final Four Sunday beginning with Stanford vs. Connecticut at 7 p.m. followed by LSU vs. Tennessee. Defending champion Tennessee, coached by Pat Summitt, is making its 18th Final Four appearance and is seeking its eighth national championship . . . Tuesday night's NESN SportsDesk reached a milestone. The program earned its highest rating with a 3.5 in the Boston designated market area. The show aired after the Red Sox-Oakland game between 12:45 and 1:15 a.m. . . . The 2008 Sprint Series continues on Fox tomorrow from Texas Motor Speedway at 1:30 p.m. Points leader Jeff Burton will be looking for his second victory of the season. The action will be called by Mike Joy, Darrell Waltrip, and Larry McReynolds along with reports from the pits from Dick Berggren, Steve Byrnes, Krista Voda, and Matt Yocum.

Nancy Marrapese-Burrell can be reached at marrapese@globe.com.