Why it's good to be a West Coast viewer

The way things broke on Sunday night I was able to watch the Sunday Night Football game in which Dallas beat the Redskins. (A new Bruce Springsteen song was the theme for the halftime highlights -- but what's happened to Bruce's voice? It's gone). And then I watched "Desperate Housewives."

The Cowboys-Redskins television ratings were up 25% over last year's Patriots-Bills game, according to Nielsen Media Research data, and beat "Desperate Housewives" in less-civilized places where the shows went head-to-head.

It was the highest-rated Sunday night game of the year for NBC, and beat the housewives (the second-highest rated program Sunday night) by 32% (13.5% rating to 10.2%).

Here are the top 10 metered markets for the Cowboys-Redskins game:
1. Washington D.C. 37.0/53
2. Dallas 34.8/49
3. Richmond 26.9/38
4. Norfolk 24.5/33
5. Austin 23.1/36
6. San Antonio 22.4/31
7. Albuquerque 18.3/26
8. Baltimore 17.9/25
9. Nashville 16.6/23
10. Las Vegas 16.3/24

Interesting that Nashville placed in the top 10. (And, without spoiling "Desperate Housewives" for those who may have recorded and not yet watched, the drama on the football field was equally compelling to that of Wisteria Lane.)

-- Diane Pucin

Photo: Tony Romo (left) of the Dallas Cowboys celebrates a touchdown against the Washington Redskins with teammate Roy Williams on Sunday. Credit: Jim McIsaac / Getty Images