AUTHOR GRADES COLLEGE SPORTS.

Byline: TOM HOFFARTH Media

Probably a good thing the electoral college doesn't have a football or basketball team. Otherwise, students would be so distracted by how TV is messing around with start for the big upcoming game, they'd forget about having to cast the real votes for president.

Murray Sperber hasn't gone that far in his critical examination of the dysfunctional relationship between college sports and undergraduate education. But the Indiana University professor who's had plenty of run-ins with former basketball coach Bob Knight professes it's an exaggeration that at least makes a point.

Kinda like throwing a chair across a court in disgust.

In ``Beer and Circus: How Big-Time College Sports is Crippling Undergraduate Education'' ($26, Henry Holt and Co., 322 pages with notes and index), Sperber's latest hardbound dissertation on the subject might read like a stuffy term paper. But it's packed with examples and his own research that support his premise - even if the title isn't what he wanted in the first place.

``I hate the subtitle,'' Sperber admitted by phone from Denver, where he stopped this week to take part in more academic discussions about the subject. ``It implies that it's all the fault of college sports, but the book doesn't say that. My idea was, `The Impact Big-Time College Sports Has on Undergraduate Education,' but it was changed because they said it wasn't sexy enough.''

Just another example of media manipulation.

The enabling influence of the media - especially television and its rights fees - is something Sperber particularly likes to discuss and dissect. In addition to English and American history, he has taught courses at Indiana on the media and the popular culture.

``The media is really more than an enabler; it's so pivotal,'' said Sperber, who is on a leave of absence from Indiana in large part because the school fears retribution from students who target him as a reason Knight was fired in September.

``I think the media is the single major force in transforming college sports,'' Sperber continued. ``If you went into a Rip Van Winkle and fell asleep in 1978 and then woke up today, you'd be amazed if you were a college sports fan. The athletes and nature of the game is different - better in many ways - but it's all as a result of delivering a product for the networks.''

No earth-shaking revelation there. But when Sperber starts laying out all the examples he's compiled, from shoe contracts to conference formation to eliminating tie games in football, it does all seem to lead back to the media monster pulling the strings.

Sperber's historical linchpin of change is 1979, when ESPN changed sports from a weekend activity to a 24-hour-a-day event that led to the creation of more conferences. The next major media blip - ``The Flutie Factor,'' Sperber calls it - came after Boston College's miraculous win over Miami on the day after Thanksgiving in 1984, televised on CBS. Boston College, already known as a party school, saw admissions jumped the next two years.

Sperber cites CBS' $6 billion rights fees paid to the NCAA for the men's basketball tournament through 2013 and ABC's investment in the BCS as disguised attempts of the media helping member institutions fortify their educational process.

``It's not a contribution to higher education but payment for a product,'' said Sperber. ``These are vocational students out there. The media isn't about showing Pomona vs. Harvey Mudd because if it did, the ratings would be in the toilet and no one would bet on it.

``I can't see the media ever being more responsible (in this synergetic relationship). They so love college sports, and televising them helps them advertise their own shows. Asking them to step back now is like asking them to generate less money.''

Meanwhile, the image of a college campus tends to get distorted, Sperber says, with shows like ESPN's ``College GameDay.'' Just look at the coeds in the background who seem to be auditioning for the new MTV show ``Jackass.''

``What impact does nine hours of images of drunken students have on the average American?'' asks Sperber. ``I don't know, but I'd love to see a survey.''

Sounds like fodder for a new book.

--Working on the Knight moves: Thankfully, CBS and Knight apparently couldn't come to an agreement on a TV-analyst deal as the network looks for a replacement for the ailing Al McGuire.

``There never was an opportunity that made sense to both Bob Knight and CBS,'' CBS Sports spokeswoman LeslieAnne Wade said.

Or made sense to anyone else, either.

--So what about us? Not only has the kickoff for next Saturday's USC- UCLA football game not been determined, but neither has the network carrying it.

Word is that KABC-Channel 7 has been lobbying to be allowed to show it at 12:30 p.m. even if ABC decides to go ahead with the probable Pac- 10-deciding Oregon-Oregon State game. If Fox Sports Net goes with the Washington-Washington State game as a regional broadcast at 4 p.m., Fox Sports Net 2 will likely get USC-UCLA on a local broadcast at that time, even though a Kings-Colorado game at 1 p.m. scheduled before it could go later than the three-hour window.

All parties seem to be trying to avoid a 7:15 p.m. start, which is Fox Sports Net's weekly prime-time TV window.

A decision won't be made until Sunday at the earliest but most likely Monday.

--The courtship of Carruth: The media's convergence on the upcoming murder trial of former Carolina Panthers receiver Rae Carruth continues to develop as its own storyline while Court TV's daily coverage will start in earnest Monday.

``NFL star death penalty trial'' is the snappy title Court TV has bestowed upon this ongoing drama, which is much bigger in North Carolina, where Carruth is much more a public figure.

Yet the cable channel that fought for and received permission to bring cameras into the courtroom will try to set the stage - and possibly put a guilt-by-association spin on Carruth's case that nonsequestered jurors might happen upon - with a special called ``Out of Bounds'' (today, 6 p.m.)

How they can air stories about how media leaks are corrupting the integrity of the case but then run a special like this should be the topic of discussion. Instead, Court TV's attempt to do an ESPN ``Outside The Lines'' report on the consequences of role models breaking the law and its impact on young fans really isn't appropriate if a fair trial is what they're trying to get.

The discussion co-hosted by former NFL great Lynn Swann and Court TV anchor Rikki Kleiman includes author Jeff Benedict, who did the book ``Pros and Cons,'' which examined the rise of NFL players caught up in the criminal-justice system.

Meanwhile, Court TV continues to run comments from Carruth's mother, Theresa, during its talk shows on the subject, including this telling one: ``This case has already been tried in the media and they haven't heard Rae speak - they owe it us.''

SOUND BYTES

WHAT SMOKES

--Thanks to the politically correct SWAT team for showing restraint by not pouncing on Dennis Miller for his potentially misinterpreted hot-button comment on the last ``Monday Night Football'' telecast. After calling George W. Bush ``an empty suit, but it is a well-tailored one,'' Miller roasted Al Gore as well on the night before the election, saying he didn't think he could handle Gore as president ``because I can't watch him high-five African-Americans for the next four years. How awkward is that move? It's like the `Lost in Space' robot.'' Why Miller needed to refer to African-Americans . . . who knows. It was puzzling enough that Rep. Maxine Waters, the longtime Democratic Congresswoman from South Central L.A., phoned ABC to ask about the quote but then agree it was just an innocent political jab. ``I obviously didn't mean to offend anyone,'' Miller said in a statement through the network. Nor does ABC, which has dealt with such ``MNF'' controversies as Howard Cosell calling Redskins receiver Alvin Garrett a ``little monkey,'' plan to smack Miller with an awkward backhand across the back of the head.

--Not to make another rash decision, but know where we can get some of that ``Itch Stopper'' goop, the stuff Joe Montana insists he wants to rub in the general vicinity of Ronnie Lott's crotch? The new commercials for TiVo hinge on the slogan ``Stop the stuff you don't want to see,'' which includes the Montana-Lott scenario played out on a golf course. Funny stuff. Montana and Lott continue their comedy routine on FX's ``The X Show'' Wednesday at 11 p.m.

--Weekend Fox cable highlights: ``Goin' Deep'' has a ``insider report'' on how the new XFL's L.A. Extreme cheerleaders will do much more than just entertain at halftime, while the fabulously wild ``You Gotta See This'' has a flimsy segment on women who like to skydive in their favorite lingerie.

WHAT CHOKES

--There are some things we just don't need to know. Such as Bill Weir's choice as the Spice Girls and Hall and Oates as his guilty-pleasure recording artists. But there was the KABC Channel 7 sportscaster making that public knowledge as part of the panel discussion on VH1's ``The List,'' whose episodes this week are hosted by Pat O'Brien and feature sports personalities and athletes. OK, so the audience agreed with Weir and picked Spice Girls as the No. 1 choice. Tune in today when - and we're not making this up - Fox Sports Net ``Goin' Deep'' anchor stud Chris Myers debates his choice for ``sexiest song'' with a foursome that includes boxer babe Mia St. John.

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