NBC Rolls With the Dice Man

NBC management did not seem too troubled Thursday by the controversy surrounding comedian Andrew Dice Clay’s appearance as guest host of this week’s “Saturday Night Live.” In fact, it seemed as if the network welcomed the publicity.

“Let’s put it this way,” said Rick Ludwin, NBC’s senior vice president for specials and late night television, “things have gotten real interesting within the last few days. . . . My own fix on the situation is that there have been a lot of people who have accused ‘Saturday Night Live’ of becoming boring and predictable over the last few years. Well, something tells me that this Saturday is not going to be boring and predictable.”

The network has not yet decided if Saturday’s show will be put on a seven-second taped delay because of Clay’s material.