Playing fast and loose with fans.(rumored efforts of television networks to shorten sporting events)(Brief Article)

As evil empires go, network sports television resides somewhere between Nike and Stalin's USSR. Telecasters, after all, are directly responsible for such atrocities as moving the World Series to prime time, not showing marching bands at halftime and John Tesh's NBA theme song.

Now TV stands accused of conspiring to keep baseball games under three hours.

Tipped by a reliable source--Mets manager Bobby Valentine, who's seeing questionable calls behind the plate--the New York media reported the commissioner's office issued top-secret midseason memos ordering umpires to "hunt for strikes." The clandestine objective: Fewer balls means fewer pitches means shorter games, so TV can show the same number of commercials in less time, kids will watch and ratings will soar. (And the lords of baseball will get more obese.)

What did networks know and when did they know it? Fox (paying MLB $417 million annually) and ESPN ($150M) deny talking to, let alone pressuring, baseball about shortening games--although Fox boss David Hill confessed he once had a sit-down about the length of the NHL playoffs.

Of course, TV obsesses about losing wait--but does it exercise regularly?

The NFL strives to stay inside the magical three-hour boundaries. However, allowing TV to insert ads before and after kickoffs provides empty calories. The second games start at 4:15 now, not 4 p.m. "60 Minutes will be shown in its entirety following the game" remains a mantra.

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