Television: The Deep Dark Debacle

With brutal abandon, the front-running New York Jets and the Oakland Raiders fought point for point all afternoon. Then, with 65 seconds remaining, the Jets slipped ahead 32-29. But the Raiders struck back swiftly, connecting on a 22-yd. pass play that put them within scoring range. Now there were only 50 seconds left in the game. The Oakland stadium erupted like Mauna Loa. Twenty-one million at-home fans climbed into their TV sets. And then—NBC abruptly cut away to Heidi, a two-hour dramatization of the children's classic. It was a clear case of unsportsmanlike conduct, especially since the Raiders, in those...