Dazbo asks, "Is it fair on the teams, fans, broadcasters and the TV viewers to watch, for example, a baseball game that goes into extra innings and finish in the middle of the night just to get a win, especially when the teams may be playing in a different part of the US the following day?"

Yes. Absolutely. As Ron Olesko said on 05 Oct 06 - 10:47 AM, "The rules of the game are laid out so everyone knows the chances. Baseball is not a slave to a clock." Instead, baseball is a "slave" to the rules about extra innings. In some cases, this can mean that the next day's game might have to be rescheduled (unlikely unless, as Dazbo suggests, there are problems with the visiting team's travel plans).

Part of the allure of finishing in the middle of the night is the opportunity for fans to brag the following day, preferably to their co-workers at the water cooler, about how they stayed at the stadium until the end of the game or stayed up to watch it on TV. Sure, it's hard on the players and broadcasters, but that's why they make the big bucks... and besides, I'm sure that those games are remembered and talked about among the players and broadcasters more than most. The extra-inning game becomes a test not only of endurance but of strategy and tactics to break (or hold) that tie.

Those of us who are dyed-in-the-wool fans were outraged in 2002 when the All-Star Game (National League vs. American League) was declared to be a tie in the 11th inning, when both teams ran out of all-star pitchers. In a "normal" game they would have had to keep playing anyway, but the team managers and the baseball commissioner didn't want to physically strain the players. Bah!