The first time it happened by accident. Now, though, I routinely search the web to find out who has been eliminated before the American Idol results show airs here on the west coast, three hours after the live broadcast to the other half of the country. It makes it a whole lot easier to take Ryan Seacrest’s puerile ramblings and insipid jokes if the “suspense” isn’t part of the equation.

Of course I still watch the show. I watch it because everyone else is watching it. I’m not ashamed to admit that I’m part of the national phenomenon, and that I get off on being in tune with the cool kids for once in my life. And I have to say that even though I knew two and a half hours early who would be leaving tonight, I still had tears in my eyes when the curtain came down.

I don’t know about this “suspense” business. There are definitely times when I don’t want to know how something will end. The buildup can be greater than the conclusion, which is often anticlimactic. In a work of drama or narrative, I don’t want to hear the ending, and I’ll fight you if you try to tell me. Some creative mind has made an effort to surprise or excite an audience, and I only want to be part of that experience. I’ll be watching the finale of Lost next Wednesday with everybody else, on the edge of my seat.

And, by the way, I’ll be TiVoing the Idol finale, which airs at the same time. I suspect I’ll watch it at 10:00 pm, right after Lost, but it won’t take me two hours to get through it. More like ten minutes

But here’s the confession it most pains me to divulge. I like knowing how a baseball game ends. Most of the time I watch the game live, so there’s no one to tell me the final score. I don’t know any psychics, seers or soothsayers, so I have to find out who wins by watching the game. And that can be rewarding, I’ll admit, especially if something dramatic happens in the late innings. Once again, I’m on the edge of my seat.

But it takes nothing away from the experience if I miss a game live and then learn the result before I get around to watching the recording. I can still savor every pitch and every nuance — as long as the Giants win! Because frankly, if I have a game on tape and I know my team has lost, I’m not gonna watch it. That’s just the way it is.

As I mentioned back last summer, I would always watch the end of Jeopardy before the beginning, to make sure Ken Jennings hadn’t lost that day. I wanted to see how he did it, but I also wanted to know I wasn’t watching his swan song. I wasn’t even sure I’d keep watching after he lost, but I have. Now, I just don’t care who wins. But next week, when Ken comes back for the finale of the tournament? I’m not sure what I’ll do. Peek, or be surprised. I haven’t decided.