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Thursday, December 6, 2007

Ryan Wood’s KU football notebook

By Ryan Wood

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Mangino in Florida for Orange Bowl Kickoff Festival

The Kansas football team doesn't touch down in Miami for the Orange Bowl until late December, but head coach Mark Mangino made a brief stop in the Sunshine State this afternoon.

Much ado about nothing?

KU associate athletic director Jim Marchiony denied talk on Wednesday that the Jayhawks broke a Big 12 Conference rule by promising to sell a certain amount of tickets above the 17,500 figure allotted to each school for the Orange Bowl.

There are tangible numbers to back up Marchiony's claim: Orange Bowl Committee member Vance Carlton said Monday that 70,000 tickets already have been sold for the game, which includes the standard 17,500 allotment per school.

Dolphin Stadium holds 72,230 fans. If Carlton is correct, a promise of excess ticket sales by KU would be unnecessary since the game is close to a sellout already.

Marchiony did say that athletic director Lew Perkins assured Orange Bowl officials that the 17,500 tickets allotted to KU would be sold. But that's within the rules.

"We don't have access to any more," Marchiony said.

Big 12 assistant commissioner Bob Burda said the league was not investigating the matter, refuting a report by a Kansas City radio station.

"There is no truth to what that individual is reporting," Burda said. "It's really a non-issue."

Face time

KU football coach Mark Mangino and offensive lineman Anthony Collins will be in Orlando, Fla., today for the College Football Awards Show.

The show will be televised by ESPN (Sunflower Broadband channel 33) starting at 6:30 p.m. today.

Mangino is a finalist for the national coach-of-the-year honor. Collins, meanwhile, is one of three finalists for the Outland Trophy, given annually to the nation's top interior lineman.

The Football Writers Association of America also will announce its All-America team today.

Another finalist

Mangino, a finalist for pretty much every national coach-of-the-year award, has another one for the list.

KU's sixth-year coach is one of eight finalists for the Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year Award passed out by the FWAA.

The winner will be announced Jan. 4 in New Orleans before the BCS National Championship Game.

No winner

KU defensive coordinator Bill Young was in Little Rock, Ark., on Tuesday at the Broyles Award Luncheon. He was one of five finalists for the Broyles Award, given to the nation's top assistant coach, but lost to Ohio State defensive coordinator Jim Heacock.

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Comments

okjhok (anonymous) says...

Not knowing who the radio individual is, I would guess Kietzman. Can anyone confirm or deny that? Good luck at the awards tonight, guys.

December 6, 2007 at 7:20 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

mvjayhawk (anonymous) says...

shoot, it could be either of the KC all sports stations. they're both equally bashing the Jayhawks, the schedule, Lew Perkins and dealmaking and the works. I am now officially not listening anymore.

December 6, 2007 at 7:40 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

patton6 (anonymous) says...

As would be expected, it is Kietzman

December 6, 2007 at 7:51 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

Displayhawk (anonymous) says...

Sorry to hear that Bill Young lost out on that award. Because he does more with arguably less talent.
But if it keeps him here at KU, then all is not lost!

December 6, 2007 at 7:53 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

troutsee (anonymous) says...

KC sports stations spend too much time talking about non-sports issues. Then they take phone calls from village idiots. Then they have 5 min commercials every 5 min. I stopped listening to them years ago. Don't waste your time waiting for anyone in the media to say something good about the Jayhawks this year. Everything is tainted because we did not play OU or TU. Big deal. TU sucks this year. I sure as hell hope they lose their bowl game. Ditto for the egocentric Stoops and his collection of 4 and 5 star athletes.

We will prove ourselves on 1-3-08.

December 6, 2007 at 8:33 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

KUDB99 (anonymous) says...

Yep, Kietzman made that report. I don't understand why he would be willing to alienate a full 1/3 of his fan base in the Metro area. What a tool.

I'll never listen to him again.

December 6, 2007 at 8:48 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

justanotherfan (anonymous) says...

troutsee,

It really isn't going to benefit KU to come from a league that does poorly in bowl games. We need all of the Big XII teams (yes, even MU) to win their bowl games, otherwise it will look like not only our non-con, but our conference is soft. I'll be rooting for OU, MU, Texas, Colorado, Tech, Okie State and A&M to win their bowls beause that makes the Big XII stronger nationally. Losses by Texas, OU, and MU especially would hurt because they, along with us, are the "best" teams in the conference. We need them to win.

December 6, 2007 at 9:06 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

pilot100 (anonymous) says...

"Justanotherfan" You are 100% correct. Gee there is intelligent life on this planet..

December 6, 2007 at 9:21 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

txrockchalk (anonymous) says...

I am not surprised Kietzman would try to advance such a theory. He is all about sensationalism. I lost a lot of respect for him after hearing him berate Lamar Hunt on the air a couple of years ago. Anyway, it appears Kevin has a short memory too...

http://espn.go.com/ncf/news/2002/1202...

December 6, 2007 at 9:44 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

bmcmich1 (anonymous) says...

Kietzman is a kitty kat moron who loves to stir up all these crazy conspiracy theories. Other than Lee Corso, I can't think of many other media personalities that love to hear themselves talk more than he does.

Would you expect anything else out of a purple prider?? His beloved kitty kats didn't make a bowl, so now he's got to stir up garbage about Lew breaking league rules.

December 6, 2007 at 10:11 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

bmcmich1 (anonymous) says...

The color of sour grapes is purple.......

December 6, 2007 at 10:12 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

seattlehawk_78 (anonymous) says...

Don't know who Kietzman is but someone should email him that story.

Totally agree with those who will be rooting for ALL Big 12 teams. The better they do, the better we look.

I'll even root for mizwho, though I won't be able to do so and watch the game. I can only hope they'll win in my head. A genetic predisposition will prevent me from watching the game and actually wanting them to win.

December 6, 2007 at 11:01 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

bmcmich1 (anonymous) says...

I'll echo that--with the exception of k-suck and mizzou, I always root for other big 12 teams to win ooc games. The better they look, the better we look. Along with pride in your team you should also have pride in your conference. I love being a part of the Big XII, and will defend it to anyone. This bowl season: rock chalk jayhawk, Hook 'em Horns, Go Buffs, Go 'Pokes, Gig 'Em Aggies, Ruff 'em up Red Raiders, Boomer Sooner, and, yes, go tiggers.

December 6, 2007 at 11:28 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

ku_mom (anonymous) says...

Kietzman is a fool. He goes off on these tirades and then when called on them, denies he ever said anything. He thinks he is totally un-biased. He's even talked of boycotting the BCS games and encouraging a "family night" instead. I'm in favor of boycotting Keitzman!!
What Kietzman should focus on is teaching the boys in purple how to use the restroom!!!

December 6, 2007 at 12:15 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

dbgjayhawk (anonymous) says...

you've got to expect these stupid conspiracy theories to come from a ksu or mizzou fan

December 6, 2007 at 1:47 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

plasticJHawk (anonymous) says...

I'm rooting for the Sooners, the Cowboys, the Longhorns, the Red Raiders, the Aggies, and the Buffaloes. I would be rooting for the Wildcats, the Huskers, and the Cyclones, but never EVER for Mizzou.

December 6, 2007 at 1:57 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

plasticJHawk (anonymous) says...

Add the Bears to that first list, who doesn't love a fuzzy cuddly teddy bear

December 6, 2007 at 1:58 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

troutsee (anonymous) says...

Sorry folks, I don't root for teams we recruit against. Period. And recruiting is where the rubber meets the road in college ball. Yes, I know coaching is very important. Mangino has proven that. But at least half the battle in college is recruiting. Maybe I can pull for some of the bottom feeders but never for ou, tu, a & m, ksu, mu, or NU. If that means I have a small mind, so be it.

December 6, 2007 at 2:29 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

JBurtin (anonymous) says...

I can understand the recruiting angle troutsee. But consider that we also have to recruit against the Big 11, Pac 10, SEC, Big East, etc . . .

If we win our BCS bowl game, and everybody else in the Big 12 wins their bowl games. Then not only do we have a claim to being the best team in the Big 12, but we also have a claim to being the best team in the best conference.

The other teams in the conference are going to get some good recruits no matter what we do. With the limits on scholarships we can't take all the recruits the way that Nebraska always did. We don't have to pick up every great recruit to win games. It's more important that we fill our biggest needs with the highest quality players. Mangino does a great job of this. One our biggest needs next year is replacing TE Derek Fine. We have two guys that won the MVP award from two different Nike camps. Tim Biere 6-4, looks like a Derek Fine clone, he looks like an offensive lineman, yet has great hands. Tanner Hawkinson is the guy we've been waiting for for a long time. He's 6-6 with a long, lean body and great hands, yet he's also a great blocker. This guy is ging to open up the offense a ton over the next few years.

December 6, 2007 at 4:31 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

troutsee (anonymous) says...

Hmm. JB, good points, as usual. I just hate the others sooooooo bad......

You make good points about our recruiting needs and prospects for next year. The tight end recruits are huge. More team speed continues to be a priority, especially on defense. Not that our front 7 are slow but....If we play as a team on defense against VT, we should be okay.

December 6, 2007 at 5:02 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

sevenyearhawk (anonymous) says...

610 Sports, in particular Marty Wall (a former Jayhawk tuba player) does a pretty good job not bashing Kansas.

Afterall, they are the flagship for our radio network ...

DA has kinda been a punk, but he's probably bitter about having to ride the girls bike from Lawrence to KC

Gruny is good to listen to, but hung up on the Chefs ...

Chris and Cowboy are OK, they seem to have taking back their earlier criticism of Kansas ...

December 7, 2007 at 7:39 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

cwag (anonymous) says...

Sick of KC sports talk?

http://www.theticket.com/

December 7, 2007 at 7:22 p.m. ( | suggest removal )