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Their sexual relationships with much younger subordinates have not only made for embarrassing headlines, but have found their way into the legal system. Yet David Letterman hasn't been disciplined by his network for his faux pas with former assistant Stephanie Birkitt, while our friends at With Leather are reporting that ESPN just gave baseball analyst Steve Phillips the ax for his dalliances with the 22-year-old production assistant the New York Post charmingly dubbed the "Tubby Temptress," Brooke Hundley.

Of course, no two inappropriate office affairs involving television figures and young women with "assistant" in their title are the same. And Phillips already had a history of similar dodginess -- in 1998 he took a leave of absence as GM of the New York Mets after an employee accused him of sexual harassment.

Nevertheless, in both cases, it was a man in a position of power possibly taking advantage of someone who depends on him for her job. Furthermore, with Letterman, it seems like Birkitt may have been rewarded with on-air opportunities that subordinates who weren't screwing their boss didn't get.

So why is Letterman still reading top 10 lists while an unemployed Phillips checks into rehab for sex addiction? Is it because Letterman constitutes a good chunk of CBS's daily programming, while Phillips can just be replaced by another silver-tongued ex-GM? Or is there more to it?