FIRST OFF . . .

Dallas station WFAA-TV has dropped telecasts by evangelist Oral Roberts after he renewed a controversial plea for money from his viewers, the station president said Tuesday. WFAA President Dave Lane said Roberts’ last show on the station will be March 22. Last month the station dropped a Roberts broadcast because viewers complained about his linking his fund raising to his possible death. Lane said Roberts’ renewed offensive Sunday was the last straw. “I guess Sunday’s show might be a difference of perception,” Lane said. In Sunday’s show, Roberts complained about his critics: “They’ve tried to get me, tried to kill me. They’ve tried everything they could--but they haven’t gotten me yet.”