Tnt

Here we are, on the cusp of another NBA season, and what are we talking about? A repeat for the San Antonio Spurs? A new cast in Miami? Larry Brown in New York? No, we're talking dress code. Sport coats. Ixnay on the ing- blay. For one of ESPN's commentators, putting suits on the players is fine, but he wishes this had been decided a while ago. "I would like to have seen this discussed right after the season," studio analyst Greg Anthony said during a conference call yesterday. There should be a buzz about the teams and players right now, he said, and "we don't have that yet."

Nitroglycerin - a key component of TNT - has been a medicine cabinet mainstay for 150 years, but scientists who studied its effects on cells say doctors should rethink its use. A team of medical researchers who have been analyzing the effects of nitroglycerin for years have concluded that it can have a "biologically corrosive" effect on some people, especially those with diabetes, transforming their blood vessels into the equivalent of rusted pipes....

ST. ANDREWS, Scotland - There was no happy motoring for the Tiger Woods bandwagon yesterday at the Old Course, where his lead shriveled and nearly disappeared. But Woods himself was not all that bothered by his 1-under-par round of 71 that left him with a two-shot lead over Jose Maria Olazabal in his quest for a second British Open title. The two shots were half of what he led by when the third round began, but that was also before he started visiting places on the course that should have remained off limits, such as gnarly gorse bushes and knee-high rough.

Nobody could quite believe what they were seeing that day. Perhaps because almost nobody saw it. Jack Nicklaus swung at a golf ball, and it seemed to obey him. Not a bad trick for a 10-year-old. Jackie, as he was known back then, shot 51 on the first nine holes he ever played. Fifty-five years, 73 professional wins, 18 majors, one wife, five children, three body types, one hip replacement and millions of spectators later, Nicklaus' career is about to end in the perfect spot. St. Andrews, Scotland.

Set in a low-income apartment in New York City, the landscape of TNT's new made-for-TV movie, The Wool Cap, is graffiti-scarred and bleak. Although the seasons change during the course of the film, it always seems to be a rags-of-winter-gray February day or a darkly empty, cold December night. Don't let that keep you from seeing this latest collaboration by actor William H. Macy and director Steven Schachter, who last year brought Emmy glory to TNT with the acclaimed Door to Door, an inspirational film about a disabled salesman who refused to be defined by his limitations.

Baseball 7 p.m.Cleveland at Boston ESPN2 Pro basketball: NBA playoffs 8 p.m.Indiana at Miami TNT 10:30 p.m.Minn. at Sacramento TNT College softball 1 p.m.UCLA at CaliforniaCSN Hockey: Stanley Cup playoffs 7:30 p.m.Philadelphia at Tampa Bay ESPN

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. - You take away the mahogany tan, the convertible, the white suits with pastel shirts and what have you? You have Don Johnson the person. Buried in the debris of publicity for most of his adult life, Johnson has not only survived the white-hot lights, he's turned them inward. Always an underrated actor, Johnson has given up his breezy banter for words of significance in his latest teleplay, Word of Honor, premiering Saturday on TNT. Johnson plays a Vietnam veteran who harbors a secret which threatens to destroy several lives 30 years after the fact.

YESTERDAY Second round East Oklahoma 74 California 65 South Connecticut 85 Stanford 74 Midwest Marquette 101 Missouri (OT) 92 Wisconsin 61 Tulsa 60 West Notre Dame 68 Illinois 60 Arizona 96 Gonzaga (2OT) 95 Kansas 108 Arizona State 76 Duke 86 Central Michigan 60 TODAY East Louisville vs. Butler 2:20 p.m. Ch. 9* Syracuse vs. Okla. State 2:40 p.m. Ch. 13* Wake Forest vs. Auburn 5 p.m. South Xavier vs. Maryland 4:40 p.m. Chs. 13, 9* Texas vs. Purdue 4:50 p.m. Michigan State vs. Florida 7 p.m. Midwest Pittsburgh vs. Indiana 12:10 p.m. Chs. 13, 9* Kentucky vs. Utah 7:10 p.m. Chs. 13, 9* *-TV games could shift to ESPN, ESPN2, TNN, TBS or TNT if CBS switches to coverage of the war in Iraq.

Normally, one wouldn't think the high-tech navigation system used in competitive sailing would have anything to do with NASCAR stock car racing. But there is a connection. In yachting, a satellite Global Positioning System, or GPS, is used to determine a boat's position and performance, the drift of the current. This information allows the navigator to compute the fastest course. In NASCAR, the same tracking system is used to give TV viewers each car's position, its speed and how many seconds it is behind the leader.

What:PGA Championship When:Today-Sunday Where: Hazeltine National Golf Club, Chaska, Minn. TV:Today, TNT, 3-9 p.m.; tomorrow, TNT, 3-9 p.m.; Saturday, TNT, noon-2:30 p.m., chs. 13-9, 3-8 p.m.; Sunday, TNT, noon-2:30 p.m., chs. 13, 9, 3-8 p.m. Defending champion:David Toms