Yesterday morning, millions of students nodded off in class and won't remember much of anything about the day's lessons. At work, productivity fell because sleepy employees dragged through the day too tired to concentrate. And it's likely that commuter weariness will be reflected in a spike in accident rates.

Last night brought a reprieve, but the sluggish scene will be repeated again tomorrow morning. Why? Because the long-awaited championship rematch between the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers doesn't start until 9 p.m., and the games don't end until after midnight. And why is that? Because the television networks that bid on the rights to air the games claim they get the maximum number of viewers when the games start at 9. Maximum viewers means maximum ratings and maximum revenue for the networks and the National Basketball Association - and minimal sleep for sports fans.

During the week, starting games late is understandable, given the three-hour time difference between Los Angeles and Boston. But Game 5, which could have ended the series had the Celtics won, was played on a Sunday. The game could easily have started at 4 or 6 p.m., but, no, NBA Commissioner David Stern says even on Sundays earlier starts mean fewer viewers.

Professional basketball is a business, and so are television networks. But greed is greed. The late-evening starts mean young fans can't - or shouldn't - watch. Employers lose a small fortune because productivity falls, and teachers might as well show a movie and let the teens sleep. This series marks the 11th time the Celtics and Lakers have met to contest the crown. Let's hope it's the last time, however, that the league and the networks, just to make a few more bucks, decide to drag America around by the eyelashes.