The Raven and the Patriot...

When the New England Patriots beat Baltimore 27 to 24 Monday night, 17.5 million viewers watched, helping ESPN break the cable record set by sister station the Disney Channel in August, when 17.2 million viewers tuned in for High School Musical 2. Nearly 24 million viewers tuned in as the Pats made their last-minute comeback from 11:30 to 11:45 p.m. Eastern time. The New York Post reports that the game also set a record for cable households, with 12.5 million, and it was the top-rated telecast that night, cable or broadcast.