The player, Cory Kipp, sought out the Lawrence Journal-World to refute Mangino's claims that he has never mistreated his players during his time in Lawrence. "I'm doing this," he tells the paper, "because I've got proof how horrible a coach he is." His account:

Kipp began the crawl and, after moving several yards, felt a burning sensation in his hands. On multiple occasions, Kipp said, he stopped to complain that the turf was burning his hands - according to a University of Arkansas report, artificial playing surfaces have been documented at up to 199 degrees in temperature - but was ordered by Mangino, who was walking alongside the crawling player, to keep going.

By the time Kipp had finished, the skin near the heel of his hand had been completely seared, and photos provided to the Journal-World depict blistering and a sizable area of missing skin.

As a result of the injury, Kipp said, he was forced to undergo extensive treatment on his hand by then-head football trainer Carol Jarosky throughout the next three weeks, and although he said at least two members of the coaching staff were aware of the injury, he was told to practice through it.

"It wasn't like because my hand was burned, I took a couple days off," Kipp said. "They made me practice."

Kipp took photos of his hand after the incident, but he decided not to report anything lest he lose playing time or even his scholarship. Mangino will now no doubt lump in Kipp with the 1 percent of KU players who don't "appreciate" his style of coaching, which style includes: taunting a kid for having an alcoholic father; threatening to send a guy back to St. Louis, where he could get shot with his "homies"; threatening to send another guy back to Oakland, where he could spend the rest of his life "drinking out of a brown paper bag"; poking and grabbing players and occasionally making them crawl across 200 degree turf for the grievous crime of missing a weigh-in. He's basically Don Rickles meets Junction Boys meets Ponderosa. It sounds like he'll be fired very soon.

Ex-player accuses Mangino of mistreatment [KUsports.com]
News Flash: Mangino's fate awaits [Yahoo!]

Raymond Brown, a wide receiver who was a senior last season, said Mangino would "say personal, hurtful, embarrassing things in front of people," which kind of makes Jayhawk football players sound like sensitive little daisies. Until you learn that when Mangino wants to say something hurtful, the man cuts like a surgeon.

"One day, [Mangino] said in front of the entire team, 'Are you going to be a lawyer or do you want to become an alcoholic like your Dad?'"

Ouch. In another instance, when confronting a KU player who had received a "minor in possession" ticket, Mangino told him "You'll be drinking out of a brown paper bag the rest of (your) life." Brown, who had a brother that was once shot in the arm, says that Mangino once said to him, "If you don't shut up, I'm going to send you back to St. Louis so you can get shot with your homies." So basically, if Mangino ever learned about a painful incident from a player's background, he stored that little nugget away so he could break it out at the precise moment when it would do the most damage to the player's psyche. That's talent.

Several others also confess that Mangino occasionally gets physical with players, although it never seemed to rise above the level of poking or grabbing jerseys. And as at least one former player pointed out, it is curious that all these stories are flooding in now that Kansas football is having its worst season in years.

"I'm not going to deny that some of those things didn't happen," [former defensive lineman Russell] Brorsen said. "But I think part of the problem here is you have four or five years worth of stuff hitting the fan within a period of three or four days. I think [Mangino] could get pretty intense. And I think there was swearing. But my personal opinion is it's not much worse than what you would get at another university."

It is curious that no one seemed to have any complaints about Mangino's vicious temper when the Jayhawks were 12-1. But despite the program's "turnaround," they have only had 3 winning seasons since Mangino took over in 2002—and this year isn't one of them. His days are likely numbered.

Ex-Kansas players: Coach Mark Mangino said 'hurtful' things [ESPN]
Mangino confident probe will clear him [Fox Sports]
Not-so-gentle reign [KU Sports]

Mark Mangino seems very jolly, but according to KU's parking and transit authority, he used to have anger issues. And parking issues. In his first few years as the Jayhawks coach—before he was a national coach of the year with the pull to get his own private parking space—Mangino had a habit of parking in school loading zones (I know, I know) and then either not paying or getting the tickets voided. In 2007, he was issued eight tickets in a span of six months and when he received his last one, he blew up at the student who issued them.

In his written report, Walters said that Mangino had told him that he'd been unloading notebooks and had asked how he could unload without getting a ticket. [Ed note: Yes, yes. "Unload."] Walters responded that he should get a loading permit from one of the parking booths on campus or to contact the office.

"He got out of the car, slammed the door and came within about a half-foot of my face and started yelling at me, saying that I couldn't answer any of his questions and that he works 16-hour days and has no time to get a pass," Walters wrote, in his report ....

"This job gives you power, does it?" Mangino said, according to Walters. "You feel real f—-ing powerful walking around like a big shot, huh? … Why in the hell else would you be bothering me with this?"

No, Walters said, the office had told him to issue tickets for cars parked in the loading zone.

"So offices tell you what to do?" Mangino said, according to Walters. "F—-ing offices walk around telling you what to do all day?"

Mangino eventually got back into his car, Walters said, before continuing: "You just don't like talking to me because I'm ethnic, just because I talk with my hands."

This is just shocking. Mark Mangino is "ethinic"?

Also, this whole saga of Mangino's investigation is apparently happening because senior linebacker Arist Wright complained that Mangino—a noted disciplinarian and occasional hothead—"poked him in the chest." Seriously? He could lose his job for poking someone in the chest? Isn't that why football players wear pads? Even the freakin' baby thinks that's weak.

Probe aims to determine if Mangino went too far [Lawrence Journal-World]
Documents show what it looks like when Mangino loses his temper [KU Sports]
Kansas Jayhawks football coach thinks he's above, of all things, parking tickets [True/Slant]

•Twenty-four hours of basketball might be over, but Elliot Williams is going to be seeing this game for a long time. A contested 3 at the buzzer clanked off the rim, and Kansas escaped with their reputation sullied, but not their record. Memphis probably shouldn't get too excited, as within 5 years at least four of these players will probably be under investigation for some kind of violation. (Thanks to Russell for the screengrab.)

•With Larry Johnson gone, at least the Chiefs' skill players are all upstanding citizens now, right? Oh. Dwayne Bowe, four games for flunking a drug test. Gotcha.

•Here's a neat little list of the top 25 highest paid coaches. Some fun notes: four of them are college coaches, one of them a baseball manager, and of the top 11, only Phil Jackson isn't a soccer coach. You can click through, but you'll have to trust me they're not MLS coaches.

•Brendan Shanahan calls it quits after 21 seasons, leaving just one active NHL'er who played for Hartford's final season: JS Giguere. I guarantee you'll win a bar bet with that bit of trivia. It's what Shanny would have wanted.

•Puck Daddy finds some incredible video of a Swedish goal celebration going horribly wrong, with flying bodies and broken glass, and for all I know this is par for the course in Sweden. And holy cow, did the hockey fans all wake up from hibernation? Two hockey notes in a row. Let this be a lesson to you soccer fans, if you tip us, we will post.

•Elizabeth Lambert, who was public enemy number one for those two days we cared about women's college soccer, says she's sorry, and it wasn't pent-up sexual aggression. Seriously. She said that.

•Another day, another Volunteer arrested. This time it's Nyshier Oliver, busted for swiping a $110 polo from Dillards. Before you laugh at risking a scholarship on Dillards - The Style Of Your Life! - remember that this is Knoxville, and anything resembling luxury goods are at least two state lines away.

•••••

You might have noticed a new tag on this post. We're trying something different, so this is your new wake-up call. Not that I advocate any of you waking up at this hour; it's ungodly. But let's see what happens. Change doesn't have to be scary.

On Monday, KU Athletic Director Lew Perkins held a team meeting—without Mangino present—to discuss "concerns" about their coach. The meeting reportedly stems from an incident earlier this season that involved Mangino "yelling at and making contact with a player." Several players and parents are now involved and Perkins allegedly promised that an "unbiased person, who will have no opinions either way, will conduct the investigation." This is ... how you say? ... not good.

No one is very big on the details here, but at a press conference today, Mangino said, "I haven't lost the team one bit. I may have lost some people around here, but it's not players. Take that for what it's worth, you decipher it." I presume that the "some people" includes the AD and since he cuts the checks, I would say that losing him is much worse for Mark than losing players. Speaking of losing, Kansas has done a lot of that this year so if the school was looking for an bigger excuse to dump their formerly beloved head coach, this could be it. (Bastion of truth Wikipedia already has him listed as fired.)

Of course, the real tragedy here is that if Mark Mangino is no longer allowed to coach, then will we be allowed to continue using this picture to illustrate stories about Kansas, college football, and/or fat guys? Aren't Bode Lubber and his legions of fans the real victims here?

On the plus side, this story does give me an excuse to post this video from the Nebraska-Kansas game on Saturday. I mean, Baby Mangino has heart, but this video has a football in the groin.

Mangino: I may have lost some people around here, but it's not the players [Lawrence Journal-World]
Kansas Jayhawks program faces internal investigation [ESPN]
What Do Kansas Jayhawks Make of Secretive Meeting? [Bleacher Report]

Jimmy Tucker, better known to the rest of the country as "that guy with the beard who really likes Kansas athletics," has been a fixture on KU's quad since time immemorial, but students have noticed his recent absence.

Seems Tucker, 62, has repeatedly violated a restraining order taken out by his 23-year-old ex-fiancée, and was arrested last week for failing to show up for a court date.

That's not the only run-in with the law Tucker has had. He's scheduled to appear in court on a theft charge after stealing three books from the student library, and has yet another court appearance for a marijuana possession charge.

I wouldn't expect anything less from a man who named himself after a blunt.

‘White Owl' Held In Jail In Connection With Protective Order Case [Lawrence Journal-World]

Kansas is No. 1 in the first college basketball poll and apparently first in insane full back tattoos. This isn't even the only outrageous Jayhawk-themed tattoo on this KU Sports page right now, as a commenter entered the fray with her own bleeding Kansas tribute. The things we do for the love of hoops.

Seriously, this young lass must really care about her Jayhawks to sit still long enough to have the Bayeux Tapestry of Midwest hoops painted on her shoulder blades. Unfortunately, she's out for the rest of the season after deciding to get that Danny Manning tattoo on her knee cap.

[Photo via KUsports.com]

* * * * *

There will be peace when Friday is done.

However, Taylor did give some warning on his Facebook page:

"keep my name out ya' mouth for you get smacked in it," he wrote at 11:12 a.m. Tuesday, and 30 minutes later he posted, "never get outta character .. I'm always a G about it."

About 4 p.m., Taylor posted, "(racial slur)s be muggin me ..you know I'm mugging back."

(Racial slur)s, huh? I wish those people would just (derogatory remark.) Taylor later admitted to dislocating his finger "throwing a punch," which will be very helpful to authorities should they decide to press charges. This is at least the third high-profile fight in the last year between athletes from rival teams at the same school. (Michigan and Michigan State have both had notable football-on-hockey violence.) Can't they all just agree to stick together and beat up on the kids from weaker D-III schools instead? You're tearing us apart!

At least Taylor did provide this blogger with a new motto about old media, warning folks not to believe everything they read in the papers—even when the papers report exactly what happened and what you confirmed on Facebook.

"don't let the news paper gas yall up aite!"

Consider myself ungassed.

Fracas sends KU guard Tyshawn Taylor to hospitals [KU Sports]
In Facebook post, Kansas player Tyshawn Taylor says he dislocated finger throwing punch [KC Star]
Tyshawn Taylor injured in a fight with KU's football team [Ballin Is A Habit]

UPDATE: More fighting today! Police broke up an "altercation" between hoops and football players who may or may not have a "beef" with Sherron Collins. Developing? [Daily Kansan]
Witnesses report second altercation between basketball, football players [Lawrence Journal-World]

UPDATE 2: Yep, it was over a woman. [KUsports.com

Kellis Robinett was born in Texas, lives in Nebraska and went to school in Lawrence. So he's the perfect candidate to cover K-State, right? Well, Wildcat fans don't think so. Robinett put his first post on the Eagle's K-State blog and some of the diehards were less than thrilled.

Is this a joke Wichita Eagle? ....

Are you serious??? A UK grad??? Hard to believe that the people predicting the ultimate demise of the UK Star may be correct based upon decisions like this. Did the leadership (and I say this tongue-in-cheek) of the UK Star Sports/Wichita Eagle not understand that this decision could create issues leading to few subscriptions? I just got my renewal in the mail yesterday. Guess what Star? It's over. ...

This biased reporter has written blog posts for Jayhawk fan sites absolutely trashing the school, it's coaches, and their fans. It's sad that they forced J-Mart out just to replace him with a KU fan who I doubt will show any journalistic integrity or neutrality. I won't be reading this blog, or the KC Star ever again. Disgusting. ...

I would rather have no coverage of K-State than to have a hack like you do it. ...

Good heavens. You are the prick that predicted Montana State to win in Manhattan [Ed. Note: KSU won 69-10] defended racist comments from KU players and had a KU blog. Goodbye Eagle. Had a subscription for 30 years. This is the final straw. ...

I have been reading the Wichita Eagle for over 50 years and if you are still here monday, I WILL CANCEL THE PAPER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ...

This is a disgrace to Dr. Pepper imo. ...

Kellis, don't take this too personal, but it appears that you are an obviously ku biased hack.

Why would he take that personally? Anyway, the comments go on like that for awhile. Since everyone seems think that bloggers are all sarcastic assholes, perhaps this is the perfect hire. Many online fans are hypercritical of their favorite teams—if they aren't unabahsed homers—so maybe more hate is the answer. Who can better sympathize with a self-loathing Wildcat fan than an actual loathing Jayhawk?

I'm here … Now let's get started [Wichita Eagle Blogs]

I actually sorta defended the Henrys as an unfortunate product of the NBA's silly one-and-done rule, but J. Brady McCollough's Kansas City Star article about the Henry family gave a lot of Kansas fans pause. Some say it made Jayhawk recruits Xavier and C.J. look like prima donnas and made their dad look like a demanding control freak. Dad didn't like it either and he also didn't appreciate the insinuation that he would make veiled threats towards Bill Self's program to ensure his sons get preferential treatment—so he responded by making veiled threats towards Bill Self's program.

Late yesterday, Henry hinted that he was so upset about the story—one he fully admitted was factually accurate—that the boys might change their mind about attending Kansas and maybe bolt for Kentucky or somewhere else. He announced that they would have a "family meeting" Tuesday night to decide their fate. Very late in the evening, Xavier finally texted radio host Cory Anderson saying, "I'm goin to Kansas and that's final." Crisis averted! For now.

Now some might say responding to charges of being a prima donna by acting like a prima donna, doesn't make a lot of sense—but that's the way prima donnas work. Illogical overreaction is the whole point. But thank you to Carl Henry for proving all his critics right in one burst of crazy. It's too late for the Henry boys to go anywhere else (even though Dan Shanoff's D-League suggestion makes perfect sense) but at least when things go south for the Jayhawks this season, no one can say they weren't warned.

Xavier Henry says he'll keep his commitment to KU - Kansas City Star
Ballin' is a Habit: BREAKING: Xavier Henry staying at Kansas
Xavier Henry: Why Not Try D-League? [Dan Shanoff]
2009 One-and-Dones: Was It Worth It? [Rush The Court]
"I Hope Bill Self Is Right..." [KU Sports]

Xavier should have been a lottery pick in last Thursday's NBA Draft, but the pesky age limit rule is sending him to Kansas this fall. He will be joined there by his older brother, who rode the bench at Memphis last season and jumped ship when John Calipari went to Kentucky, which didn't have room for either Henry brother because they signed John Wall, who Bill Self nearly snagged for Kansas. Got all that?

However, Xavier—unlike some of his freshman teammates—is not at Kansas yet, because he's still trying to figure out how to get to the NBA while spending as little time as possible inside an actual classroom. ("If he didn't have to go to college, he wouldn't do it," dad says.) He contemplated Europe, but that won't give him enough "exposure" and he's not desperate for the money, because C.J. is still living off a New York Yankee contract he signed four years ago. (That's why he still hasn't played college ball yet.) Plus, unlike those other chumps, he's knows he the real deal.

"If you're ready," Xavier says, "you should be able to go. But most kids that came out of high school, they weren't ready when they were supposed to be. They were just jumping to make money."

As if everyone who shook David Stern's hand last week didn't honestly believe they were the best player in the room. Dad thinks C.J. is NBA-ready too ... and he has a bad foot and hasn't played organized basketball in four years.

"I don't like stepping on people's toes," Carl says, "but I just know what I know. I watch them play, all the Kansas kids. I like all these kids, (Sherron) Collins, (Tyshawn Taylor), they're good kids, man. But they're not better than C.J." ...

"Everybody's gotta be on board," Carl says. "The coach has got to be on board."

Ok, that makes him sound like a real prick, but to be fair to Carl Henry, he is not exactly reaching Marv Marinovich/Damic Dokic territory here. (Even if that is setting the bar ridiculously low.) He knows his sons are valuable—even if he probably has an over-inflated sense of their basketball abilities—and he's going to do what he can to get the most out of the value. Good for him. But what makes people uncomfortable is that parents (or AAU coaches or "representatives") believe that they should be the ones calling the shots for a major basketball program. Even worse, they often get to.

Nothing against these kids, either. They are clearly working hard to make themselves better basketball players, and they've got talent. But they don't belong anywhere near college. They don't want to be there, they'll only stay as long as they have to, and even though Bill Self thinks he's getting a gift, programs would be wise to steer clear of obvious one and done players. (Just ask Thad Matta.) The current rules aren't helping colleges or the pros, but I feel like there will be a lot more stories like this one before they get fixed.

Getting to the pros the Henry family plan [Kansas City Star]
Carl Henry Clears the Air…Part 1 [The Shiver]
OTC: Daddy Henry Responds to Star Story But Shuns C&C [KC Confidential]
Xavier Henry: Why Not Try D-League? [Shanoff]

2) Case closed Michigan State is 5-0 all-time in NCAA Tournament games in Indianapolis and 7-0 as a No. 2 seed. It's like they don't even need to play the game. (Seriously, if Kansas wants to forfeit, that's cool with me.)

3) Half Right Like they did against Kansas in January, the Spartans have a habit of shutting down opposing offenses for long stretches of time. It's a trait that is reminiscent of the 2000 championship team, which was one of the best defensive and rebounding teams ever seen. However, State also has a less attractive habit of forgetting to score their own points during those stretches. For example: in their second-round game against USC, the Trojans tied the score at 67 with 4:36 left, yet scored no more field goals the rest of the game. Over the same period, Michigan State scored two and the game was still in doubt with under a minute to go. Yes, defense wins championships, but it helps to throw a few points in there too.

KANSAS JAYHAWKS

1) The Beast From Bloomington With 13 points, 20 rebounds, and 10 blocks, Cole Aldrich recorded the first official triple-double in Kansas Jayhawks history last Sunday against against the Dayton Flyers. Why the official disclaimer? The NCAA didn't record blocks or steals until 1986. I have no idea how the hell that's even possible, but when it comes to the NCAA there's nothing they can't screw up, even stats. If we ignore the official caveat, one must go back to 1957 for the last Kansas triple-double, which of course was posted by Wilt Chamberlain during Christmas Break '57 when he "acquainted himself with" 14 redheads, 12 blondes, and 11 brunettes in the course of a single Saturday night. Back then, of course, "acquainting oneself with" a young woman was a euphemism for anal sex.

2) This time it's personal It's only been a little over two months since KU met Michigan State in the regular season (the results of which shan't be discussed here), but it's been slightly longer since the two basketball powerhouses have met in the NCAA Tournament. In 1986, the Jayhawks met the Spartans in a Southeast Regional semifinal matchup at Kansas City's godforsaken Kemper Arena. Some shot clock irregularities gave the Jayhawks an extra 10-15 seconds of game time, which they used to complete their comeback from a second-half deficit and send the game into overtime, which they then of course won. Michigan State fans were livid about the supposed home cooking, and it's one of those minor footnotes in history that fans on the internet still get all CAPS LOCK-y about still today while conveniently ignoring the fact that Michigan State blew a few chances in the waning moments of the second half to seal a victory.

3) Your seats, show them to me. The greatest KU basketball story ever told isn't one you'll find in the pages of Inside Sports or the Twitter feed of Rick Rielly. No, the greatest KU basketball story ever told is the one that popped up last year on an anonymous, now-dormant blog. Both Kansas fans and opposing fans have latched onto it with glee, and retell it with relish. Is it true? Who knows? Who cares? Ladies and gentlemen, the AIN'T NO SEATS story:

Someone from my dorm last year had a class with Sherron Collins and a few other basketball players (Darrell Arthur, Brady Morningstar, maybe someone else) and they always sit next to each other and cheat on tests and such. Sherron enters class on a test day and immediately goes and sits right next to the other players, and of course you're supposed to have a seat between you and the closest person. The teacher tells Sherron to sit in the front of the class, where there are five or six completely empty rows. Sherron doesn't even look up and just yells 'AIN'T NO SEATS' and proceeds to continue in his studious ways and miraculously gets an A on the test while sitting next to the basketball players.

Remember — "Most of us are going pro in something other than sports."

Greetings, square-staters! I'll be your substitute Sussman for this first-round game between the Jayhawks of Kansas University and the Fightin' White Guys of North Dakota State. If Vegas is to be believed, this is the 3-14 matchup most likely to produce an upset this year, an outcome that would likely lead to gangs of Kansans and North Dakotans fighting pitched battles somewhere in the vicinity of Wall Drug. Which would be awesome, so let's hope the game lives up to expectations.

For those who don't yet know, I'm delighted to report that those of us with access to the telecast of the game will be treated to the comedic stylings of Gus Johnson. Let's all pray the food vendors in the arena have their tasers on them.

Due to some earlier technical difficulties, I'm coming to you from a sports bar in Brooklyn, which should add a certain local flavor to the proceedings—there's a 15% chance I witness a mob hit on a patron who welched on his 4-team parlay yesterday. The local weather report for the bar today calls for a dense sausage cover with a 100% chance of beer. On the plus side, at this early hour the bar has a ratio of 12.7 TV's per patron, and the bartender has set me up with a sweet command post in the back.

Since I've noticed that some of these games are being live blogged by people with rooting interests in one team or another, let me assure you that like all credentialed northeasterners, I couldn't find Kansas or North Dakota on a map. My ignorance knows no bounds, which is a wonderful guarantee of objectivity. Off we go.

—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-
2:35: Beer time again. Thanks to all who followed along, and special thanks to Sussman and Daulerio for plucking me from my previous obscurity to do this. If you somehow need more time-wasting options, check out me and my co-author, Deadspin-endorsed horse racing guru Angelo Grasso, at the Gowanus Rotisserie Baseball Gazette. Cheers.

2:32: Kansas dribble out the clock. That was a hell of a game, with great performances from Collins (32), Woodside (35), and, down the stretch, Aldrich (23). Final score 84-74 Kansas.

2:30: Jeez, there are a lot of good games going right now. KU is doing a good job of making their free throws and keeping NDSU at arms' length. It's gonna take a miracle here. 82-72 Kansas, :33 to go.

2:28: NDSU foul quickly on the inbounds, to the befuddlement of Gus. Given that Gus is one of the great tactical minds of our generation, NDSU might be in trouble. KU make both, then grab the rebound off of a rare miss by Woodside. Collins is back at the line. 78-70 Kansas, :44 to go.

2:27: NDSU hit a desperation 3 to make it a 2 possession game. 76-70, 1:07 left.

2:25: Aldrich dunks again, but Woodside responds with his 3rd 3 of the game; he now has 35 for the day. Aldrich responds with yet another bunny. NDSU has no answer for the Montross! 75-67 Kansas, 1:53 to go.

2:22: Off a timeout, Kansas gets an easy bucket off of a set play. Nice job by Self. At the other end, KU almost strip NDSU, but end up fouling DeJuan Summers. Yes, he plays for NDSU. He hits 2 at the line. . 71-63 Kansas, 3 to go.

2:20: Where the hell are the cheeleader shots in this game? Is the cheerleader situation really that dire in the upper midwest?

2:17: And just like that, NDSU rally. Woodside hits a jumper and a FT. 69-62 Kansas, 3:55 to go.

2:14: It's threatening to get out of hand, so NDSU calls for timeout. NDSU only went 6-7 deep during the season, so losing any player to foul trouble is going to hurt.

2:13: KU harass NDSU into a shot clock violation. Aldrich attacks the rim over Moorman, who is nearly killed and definitely fouled out. Aldrich makes both FTs. 69-59 Kansas, 5:47 to go.

2:11: Collins hits a loooong three, then Morningstar converts a turnover into a layup. Five quick points for KU. 67-59 Kansas, 6:50 to go.

2:09: Drinkability my ass. You know what else is drinkable? Water. Which is what you're selling, just with food coloring added.

2:08: Montross/Aldrich crushes a dunk down on the entire NDSU frontcourt, but then gets called for his 3rd personal at the other end. Tveidt and Winkelman also have 3 for NDSU; NDSU's Moorman has 4, but hasn't done a damn thing all day, so it's unclear how much that matters. 62-57 Kansas, 7:57 to go. TV timeout.

2:06: Software. So. Slow. Dying.

Collins and Woodside trade baskets; Woodside is then fouled on a drive, putting NDSU into the 1-and-1. 60-55 Kansas, 8:28 to go.

2:04: Winkelman commits a charge. KU gets it inside to Aldridge, who is fouled and makes 2. 58-53 KU, 9:31 to go.

2:02: Gus Johnson is starting to feel it. He's rumbling like a '64 Studebaker engine turning over.

2:00: Collins misses another jumper early in the shot clock. Woodside fouled again, though it's non-shooting this time. Woodside is basically playing 1 on 5 right now, no offense to Winkelman and Tveidt. 56-53 Kansas, 11:16 to go.

1:57: The money I could be saving with Geico has a real pretty mouth. That's all I'm gonna say.

1:55: Collins hits a great step-back, but Woodside responds by converting a layup while being shoved into the sousaphone section of the band by a KU defender. Fantastic play, and he'll have a chance to get NDSU within 3 coming out of this TV timeout. 56-52 Kansas, 11:48 to go.

1:53: Morningstar (Kansas's designated three point shooter/white guy) hits an open 3 to push KU further in front. Winkelman responds as only a Winkelman can. 52-48 Kansas, 13 to go.

1:51: You can neither stop nor contain the Tveidt. 49-46 Kansas, 14:26 to go.

1:47: Tveidt (who looks about 35) makes the and-one, and Collins misses a silly pull-up jumper. NDSU blows a layup that would have pulled them within 2 (EDIT—OK, 1. I was told there'd be no math). KU hits a badly needed basket heading into the first TV timeout of the half. 49-44 Kansas, 15:21 to go.

1:43: Mike Tveidt strikes again (dirty!), tipping one home to pull NDSU within 4. Self calls timeout, and looks ready to start revoking scholarships. 47-43 Kansas, 16:44 to go.

1:42: Both teams come out a little frantic, with a lot of up-and-down play and little to show for it. Someone called Mike Tveidt hits a 3 to reestablish order. I'm pretty sure you can get an FCC fine for saying "Mike Tveidt" on camera. 47-39 Kansas, 17:30 to go.

1:39: Second half begins.

1:38: Gus and Len note that NDSU is down by 9 despite shooting above 50% from the three-point line. Sounds ominous for the Bison. NDSU are just milling around on the floor; KU is nowhere to be seen.

1:29:. Before we get back into the action, a question for the North Dakotans out there—is NDSU considered a safety school for those who can't get into the University of North Dakota? And if so, exactly what level of stupidity does that require? Are we just talking about maladjusted farmers, or is it more like people who enjoy a relaxing glass of lead paint after work?

1:20: Collins (17 points) and Woodside (16) have essentially canceled each other out, but Kansas's supporting cast has, unsurprisingly, looked significantly better than NDSU's. Unless the Bison can find another guy to make shots, KU is going to pull away in the second half, as long as Bill Self orders floggings for any KU player that takes a jump shot without making a post entry pass first.

Christ, this is thirsty work. I need a beer. Do me a favor and go bother the Syracuse-SFA blogger for a while. Or just enjoy your live look-ins, if you're lucky enough to have access to a TV. See you for the second half.

1:18: Collins hits a lovely jumper to pad KU's cushion going into the half. 43-34 KU at halftime.

1:17: KU keep threatening to pull away, but NDSU seem to come up with a shot every time things start to get out of hand. Woodside draws a foul about 35 feet away from the basket, though he misses the FTs. Last possession of the half to KU.

1:14: KU stretch it out to 9, but NDSU hit two quick jumpers, one of them a three, to get it back down to 4. Somebody named Brett Winkelman was prominently involved in the NDSU mini-run. I vote that if NDSU loses, Winkelman has to name his eldest son "Sherron". 38-34 Kansas, 2 to go.

1:10: Reason #148 why the NCAA possession arrow sucks: it just robbed us of what would have been the lowest-elevation jump ball in recorded history between the Montross lookalike and one of NDSU's interchangeable farm boys.

1:07: Woodside is keeping NDSU in the game by himself. He's 6-for-7 for 14 points; NDSU's second most effective player has been a guy who looks like Chuck Klosterman's mentally challenged cousin. 34-29 Kansas, 3:48 to go.

1:03: Sonic either needs to open franchises in the northeast or stop making national ad buys. I demand that someone immediately bring me whatever a Fritos Chili Cheese Wrap is. One quibble, though: no bacon?

1:01: NDSU somehow gets an offensive rebound despite not having a player over 6'6" on the court. Way to box out, Jayhawks. Of course, NDSU then decides it's a good idea to try to beat KU off the dribble and put a dent in the backboard with a terrible shot. Morningstar answers with a 3 for KU. 32-27 Kansas, 4:50 to go.

12:58: At the under-8 timeout, NDSU is hanging in there. KU can't quite seem to keep up with NDSU's screen/flex offense, though NDSU doesn't seem to have an answer for a simple post entry pass by KU. 27-25 Kansas, 6:47 to go. Did Stephen F. Austin bother to get off the bus? Syracuse is coming off about 11 straight hours of play last week.

12:56: Woodside hits another three, and NDSU ties it up at 25, with 7 to go in the half.

12:55: The bar is filling up now, and some guy named John keeps bugging me to say hi to someone named Angela. So, Angela, if you're reading this: John has what appears to be a herpes sore on his lip.

12:53: KU dials up their defense, though they don't accomplish anything, as Ben Woodside hits from way the heck out to keep NDSU in contact. 25-22 Kansas, 8:30 to go.

12:50: An ad features clips of the 1999 UConn team. Rip Hamilton looks exactly the same today as he did back then. It's like The Picture of Dorian Gray, except instead of a picture it's Khalid El-Amin that ages.

12:48: Not a ton of defense being played here, which probably favors NDSU more than KU, since NDSU couldn't stop Kansas if they wanted to. Going into the under-12 TV timeout it's 21-19 Kansas, 10:53 to go.

12:46 : Johnson is oddly subdued. Perhaps his BBQ mishap is weighing on him.

12:44 : The teams trade baskets, with NDSU doing damage from deep, while Kansas just drives right over the top of the smaller Bison. NDSU is now 4-4 from three. 17-16 NDSU, 13 to go.

12:40: Sherron Collins hits the first three-ball for Kansas, After an NDSU basket, Collins hits again. He has 7 points in less than 5 minutes of play. 12-11 Kansas, 14:47 to go in the first half.

12:38: NDSU hit another three, though KU come right back with an inside bucket and tack on the and-one. 6-5 NDSU, 17:10 left.

12:33: NDSU hit a three, then dive into the band on the ensuing defensive possession to show their grittyness

12:31/Pregame We've already set the tournament record for total burr haircuts on the floor. One guy has inexplicably chosen to steal Eric Montross's look.

12:28/Pregame The teams hit the floor. Both sides are wearing special NCAA logo patches on their jerseys. Does the NCAA really think the people watching aren't aware this is a college game? Doesn't the presence of NDSU's 6'5" power forward pretty much give it away?