* We keep trying to tell Gus Johnson that on Knicks radio broadcasts he can present bad guesses as facts; who in the car will know better? But to do the same on TV is to expose one's self as a baloney artist -- and for not even one good reason.With :32 left in Michigan St.-Kansas, Friday, MSU was up three when a tripping foul was called at half court against MSU's Raymar Morgan. Johnson, already minutes into his screaming mode, hollered, "And that's an excellent call!"

But CBS replays quickly showed that KU's Tyshawn Taylor had tripped over his own feet; it was a rotten call. And Johnson then pretended that either he hadn't hollered, "That's an excellent call!" or that no one had heard him, the latter being impossible.

* TV gets so see/hear-through silly when it comes to Tiger Woods. Saturday, NBC obviously was staying with the Arnold Palmer Invitational until Woods' round was done, even if he wasn't leading.

But rather than just say that NBC would stick with it until Woods putted out on 18, co-host Dan Hicks, after Woods finished, reported, "We've run out of our allotted time" -- as if the telecast was scheduled to end at 6:09 p.m.!

* Often, you're only as good as your director.

Although most basketball fans by Saturday knew that Missouri plays a frantic, full-floor defense, and early in CBS's UConn-Mizoo telecast analyst Jay Bilas smartly noted that such a defense works best after Missouri scores, CBS several times followed UM field goals with cutaways and close-ups of the scorer, thus that defense -- including at least one steal -- was lost to us.

* Thursday on Golf Channel, a TV rarity: Woods' misconduct was neither ignored nor excused. After he was shown angrily tossing his driver, Arnold Palmer, already in the booth, was asked if he ever did that. Palmer told of hurling his putter when he was 16 -- and how his parents were so shamed it made no matter to them that he won the match.

Yesterday on NBC, Woods tossed an iron after missing a green. "You can see the club taking a fling there," was all Johnny Miller or anyone else on NBC had to say about it.

TV commentary with Woods playing has surpassed absurd. Yesterday he'd started two-under after three and had roughly a 15-footer for par when Roger Maltbie said, "He doesn't want to give up his momentum, John." To which Miller replied, "Exactly." Geez.

* The week's has-to-be-a-typo final score: Islanders, (NHL's worst,) 2, Red Wings (NHL's best, at the time), 0, and in Detroit.

Speaking of the Isles, Jiggs McDonald will work several MSG Islander telecasts in April, when Howie Rose returns to Mets' radio. And speaking of Mets' broadcasters, who are they fooling by calling the home opener "Opening Day"? It's a made-for-ESPN-money Monday night game.

* GC co-host Brandel Chamblee, during Thursday's round of Palmer's PGA tournament, was seated with Palmer and co-host Kelly Tilghman when he asked Palmer -- who he'd been calling "Mr. Palmer" -- if he likes the nickname, "The King." Palmer said that while he's used to it, he's not fond of it; it's excessive and silly.

The next day, with Palmer back in the booth, Tilghman continued to call him The King.

* Yes, even Gonzaga must keep its street-cred, recruit-cred and shopping mall-cred high. Although the school's colors are red, white and blue, it wore its black uniforms, Friday, for national TV.

* The Golf Channel/NBC production of the Palmer Invitational included footage designed to show how Tim Herron, who'd just badly missed a par 3, "got quick" with his swing. "Got quick," though, was shown in slow motion.

NBC's announcers, though, yesterday did a good job hushing up so we could hear the caddies talk it over with the leaders.

*

Not that we're supposed to notice, but Villanova's run has been predicated on three things that the most powerful forces of modern marketing -- the Nikes, ESPNs and makers of video games -- had deemed passe about basketball: defense, foul shooting and moving without the ball.