He Wants to Make a Few Points and Also Subtract Another One

Newsday’s Stan Isaacs offers these improvements for March Madness:

1. Get rid of the National Invitation Tournament.

2. Reduce the dunk to one point.

3. Stop nit-picking CBS for its inability to please all of the basketball nuts all of the time.

Add madness: Isaacs says the NIT has outlived its usefulness. “It is an also-ran tournament. It is an embarrassment for New York City, for Madison Square Garden . . . to be involved with such a second-class enterprise.”

Last add, madness: Ted Shaker, CBS executive producer for the NCAA tournament, lamented: “One year we had a game going to North Carolina in which Carolina was up by 30 points. So we switched to a more compelling game elsewhere. North Carolina, as a state, went berserk.”

Trivia time: What Hollywood screenwriter-director was one of Las Vegas’ most flamboyant sports bettors, once reportedly winning $1.5 million in one day of baseball betting?

Throw the bum out: Montreal Canadien Sylvain Turgeon was upset about the way he learned he would not play against the Kings the last time the teams met. Instead of saying anything, team officials let Turgeon know the score by not placing a towel in his locker after pregame warm-ups.

“I didn’t like the treatment. I feel humiliated,” Turgeon said.

Replied Coach Pat Burns: “If he feels humiliated, what can I say? He humiliated us a lot this year--every time we used him.”

Smooth operator: Johnny Orr, Iowa State basketball coach, on recruiting 6-foot-10 freshman center Julius Michalik: “You don’t just pick up the phone and say, ‘Gimme Czechoslovakia.’ ”

Instant perspective: NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue on the demise of instant replay: “It’s not quite as important as the Berlin Wall coming down.”

Double figures: Andrea Congreaves of Mercer University scored a season single-game high of 51 points against Florida A&M; twice, on Jan. 11 and again on Feb. 6.

Major shock: Attendance in the seven-team Major Indoor Lacrosse League has averaged about 12,000, according to league President Christopher C. Fritz, who said 350,000-400,000 fans will attend a MILL game this season.

“‘We want to create (atmosphere) almost to the edge of mayhem,” Fritz said. “Somebody who likes football or boxing . . . this is perfect for them.”

Worth noting: The University of Texas is the only Division I school to have completed an undefeated season since the NCAA sanctioned women’s basketball, starting in 1981. The Longhorns were 34-0 in 1986.

Now it can be told: World cross-country silver medalist Catherina McKiernan’s family farmhouse in Ireland includes more trophies for the Irish hurling game of camogie than for running.

Trivia answer: James Toback, screenwriter of “Bugsy.” Art Manteris, who runs the sports book at the Las Vegas Hilton, says Toback flew home to Los Angeles that day with the $1.5 million in cash stuffed into his pockets, socks and underwear. A casino guard accompanied him and received a $100 tip.

Quotebook: Jim Sundberg, while playing for the Chicago Cubs in 1987, was asked about a near miss with another plane during a team flight: “I don’t know how close it was, but the lady in 13D was having the chicken dinner.”