HOT CORNER

A consumer’s guide to the best and worst of sports media and merchandise. Ground rules: If it can be read, played, heard, observed, worn, viewed, dialed or downloaded, it’s in play here. One exception: No products will be endorsed.

What: “Outside the Lines: Simulating Sports--the Video Game Craze”

Where: ESPN, Friday, 4:30 p.m.

This one-hour show explores all the angles of the global $20-billion video-game industry, touching on the fun parts as well as the troubling parts. The show was originally scheduled to air tonight but was pushed back a day because of Game 1 of the Toronto-Carolina NHL series.

Although ESPN and its parent company, Disney, are involved in the business, the show and its host, Bob Ley, don’t shy away from being critical. Well examined is the effect that the violent and sexual content of some games have on young children. Also dealt with is the questionable rating system that is supposed to give guidance to parents. An E rating means a game is for everyone, T is for teens, M is mature and AO is adults only.

Targeted for violent content are two Midway-produced games, NFL Blitz 2002, billed as a game of “no refs, no rules, no mercy,” and NHL Hitz 2002.

“I can’t figure out why they carry an E rating, because they promote violence and they promote cheating,” says child psychologist David Walsh. “How that can be appropriate for kids is beyond me.”

The first segment is about how popular video games are among pro athletes, with the Clippers’ Darius Miles and Elton Brand featured.

World Series hero Luis Gonzalez is featured in one segment. And in another, Tiger Woods and John Madden talk about their rather significant roles in the games they endorse.