BOWL GAME COMING TO THE HEAD

Super Bowl XX or Toilet Bowl I?

When it comes to big stories, the coming college bowl games will not be able to match the controversy over NBC’s two-hour pregame show for the Jan. 26 Super Bowl. Stop the presses. This is really sizzling.

Michael Wiseman, executive producer of NBC Sports, has announced that there will be a one-minute break about mid-way through the pregame show to allow viewers to visit the bathroom. The screen will actually go black for 60 seconds, with the potty break being carved from program time, not commercial time, thus resulting in no financial loss to the network.

This may have enormous implications. Is this really an Orwellian scheme or Big Brotherism, as some sports columnists have charged? (“Hell, no, I won’t go,” declared Stan Hochman of the Philadelphia Daily News.)

Does Wiseman really believe that the predictably overblown pregame show will be so fascinating that viewers will remain in their seats, eyes straight ahead on the screen, until NBC tells them it’s OK to do you know what?

Probably not. NBC is saying that Wiseman meant the potty break as a gag. However, you can bet that NBC would prefer that viewers not rush to flush during the commercials (30-second spots for the pregame show cost between $275,000 and $300,000, compared with $550,000 for those during the game).

The irony is that the fuss over the minute blackout has created so much interest in the pregame show, NBC says, that some advertisers want to pay NBC to have their logos appear on the darkened screen during the break. They apparently believe that millions of viewers will sit in front of a set watching a dark screen. A band has even offered to plays its tunes during the break and give American TV it’s first music to visit the bathroom by.

NBC, though, says its potty break is not for sale. That’s integrity for you.

There is another critical question here. Simply, is NBC’s minute enough time?

What about large families with only one bathroom? Everyone may try to squeeze inside at once. And what about families without indoor facilities? Only a sprinter could make the return trip to the shed in less than a minute.

Here’s a better idea. Limit the pregame show to a minute and let the screen go dark the rest of the time. Nothing lost, everything gained.

Meanwhile, the race to see who will get into the Super Bowl continues this weekend. Cleveland, battling to win a berth in the AFC Central division title, will be on the tube, as will the New York Giants, the Washington Redskins and the San Francisco 49ers, all of whom are seeking a wild-card berth in the playoffs.

The Giants take on Pittsburgh at 9:30 this morning (Channels 4, 36 and 39), while Washington takes on St. Louis this afternoon at 1 (Channels 2 and 8).

Cleveland will try to wrap up its first division crown since 1980 in New York against the Jets on Sunday at 10 a.m. (Channel 4). At the same time, playoff-bound Chicago will be playing Detroit on Channels 2 and 8.

If Washington loses today, it won’t matter how the 49ers fare Sunday. But if the Redskins win, San Francisco will need to beat Dallas to clinch a wild-card spot. That game will be broadcast at 1 p.m. (Channels 2 and 8).

ROUNDUP: Today, Tennis, Sweden vs. West Germany in Davis Cup action, 6 a.m., ESPN . . . College football, Maryland vs. Syracuse in the Cherry Bowl, 10 a.m. (11) (51) . . . Golf, Mazda championships, 10 a.m., ESPN . . . College basketball, Georgetown vs. DePaul, 12:30 p.m. (4) (36) (39) . . . Wide World of Sports, boxing with Mark Breland, Evander Holyfield and Tyrell Biggs, 3 p.m. (10), 4 p.m. (7) (3) (42) . . . Soccer, Portugal vs. West Germany, 4 p.m. (34) . . . College basketball, West Virginia vs. Virginia Tech, 4 p.m., ESPN . . . Pro basketball, Lakers vs. Washington, 5 p.m. (9) . . . College football, Minnesota vs. Clemson in the Independence Bowl, 5 p.m. (11) (51) . . . College basketball, UCLA vs. Miami (Fla.), 6 p.m. (2) . . . Hockey, Kings vs. Vancouver, 7:30 p.m., Prime Ticket cable . . . College basketball, Rebel Roundup final, 9 p.m. (9) . . .

SUNDAY: Tennis, Sweden vs. West Germany in Davis Cup action, 6 a.m., ESPN . . . Pro football, San Diego vs. Kansas City, 10 a.m. (36) (39) . . . Pro basketball, New York vs. Washington, 3 p.m., WTBS . . . Hockey, Boston vs. Buffalo, 4 p.m., ESPN . . . College football, Arkansas vs. Arizona State in the Holiday Bowl, 5 p.m. (5) (42), USA, 8 p.m. (51) . . . Indoor soccer, San Diego vs. Los Angeles, 6 p.m., Prime Ticket cable.

Paul Henniger is on vacation.