The Wiz of Odds

Another Wildcat Strike

The Topeka Jayhawk Club's billboard on Interstate 70 between Manhattan and Lawrence has been vandalized once again by Kansas State fans, this time with the message, "EMAW." That stands for Every Man a Wildcat.

In 2007, the billboard was defaced the week before Jayhawks played the Wildcats in Manhattan. It didn't help, as Kansas won, 30-24. The teams play Saturday in basketball. Thanks to John.

Nasdaq Brings in a Heavyweight to Ring Opening Bell

That's right. Kansas' Mark Mangino joined Insight Bowl chairman Dave Tilson and Minnesota's Tim Brewster at Nasdaq headquaters in New York to ring the opening bell for Monday's trading session.

Unfortunately, Mangino's touch didn't help. Nasdaq was down 2.10%. More pictures of the festivities are available here. The teams square off Dec. 31 in Tempe.

Mangino: 'I Took a Bullet for It'

Texas is headed back to Lawrence for the first time since Nov. 13, 2004, and that means it's time to revisit Mark Mangino's famed rant after Kansas lost that day to Longhorns, 27-23, in a game filled with controversy.

Mangino went off on officials for an offensive pass interference call on Charles Gordon that forced the Jayhawks to punt. Had the flag not been thrown, Kansas, which was leading, 23-20, would have run out the clock and Texas' hopes for a berth in a Bowl Championship Series game would have been dashed.

Mangino's tirade cost him $5,000, but the coach said it was all planned.

"It was to save the team. I knew I was going to get criticism for it and take some bullets, but Kansas hadn’t had a winning program for many years, we were trying to get it on its feet, we were getting close but just couldn’t get it over the hump. So I took a bullet for it."

'Rip His (Expletive) Head Off!"

With ESPN2 cameras rolling into Lawrence to broadcast Saturday's Colorado-Kansas game, another movement has started to snuff out the obscene cheer by Jayhawk students during kickoffs.

This time a student group is behind the move. Senior Matt Erickson, the editor of the Daily Kansan, met last week with associate athletic director for external relations Jim Marchiony, director of university relations Todd Cohen, student body president Adam McGonigle and linebacker Mike Rivera, among others, to come up with a fresh game plan.

It might involve having coach Mark Mangino address the students before the game.

Good luck trying to convince thousand of students, some of whom — gasp! — have been drinking alcohol, to go with the plan.

Video, of course, comes with a language warning and is not safe for work.

Kansas Tries to Plug Security Leak

Kansas' $31 million upgrade to its football facilities was the source of much excitement in Lawrence, but that quickly subsided earlier this month when Mark Mangino marched his players onto two new practice fields. The big guy apparently realized that anybody could watch what the Jayhawks were doing.

Now the athletic department is going to spend another $90,000 in an attempt to give the team more privacy. Officials plan to plant 100 pine trees — ranging in height from 10 to 20 feet — around the fields beginning this week.

Mangino said Friday night that this has nothing to do with security, but associate athletic director Jim Marchiony told the Lawrence Journal-World otherwise.

“The real reason,” he said, “is just to allow for more privacy during practice with respect to how much can be seen and heard.”