For better or worse, March Madness has taken on a new meaning this year. I’m thinking many of us are yearning for the good old days when it only meant basketball.

Here’s how I propose keeping score. What if all the candidates, instead of wearing the same old suit, donned basketball sneakers, shorts and jerseys, the latter bearing the names of their leading donors along with the date of when they consumed their last hot dog.

Before being allowed to participate in the upcoming debate, each candidate would have to make one free throw, one layup and one three point shot (time limit: one hour). That will narrow the field a little so that only truly worthwhile candidates remain.

And once the debate begins the scoring will be fairly simple. Any time a candidate utters two consecutive sentences about education, the environment or the economy, he or she will receive one point. Those who fail to accumulate at least three points by the end of the debate will not be invited back for the next one.

Simple, no?

Well, it should be, but I’m more then a little concerned we could end up in a scoreless stalemate, at which point we could either head into overtime or eliminate the lot of them and find a few new faces. If we really want the madness to end, I’m choosing the latter.