‘Blinky’ Jayhawk pins sell like hot cakes

By Mark Fagan     Mar 24, 2007

The best-selling items for Kansas University fans at the official team hotel in downtown San Jose are not Mario Chalmers jerseys, KU ball caps or even those pervasive plastic strings of crimson-and-blue basketball beads.

Try a diminutive Jayhawk pin, one featuring tiny lights that flash on and off as fast as a Sherron Collins drive to the hoop.

“They’re attention-getting,” reports Jamie Winkelman, working the merchandise table for the KU Alumni Association.

Since setting up shop two weeks ago in Oklahoma City for the Big 12 Tournament, the association has moved 400 of the little $5 pins, among the least expensive items available to support the association and its activities. The strands of beads – two for $5 – also are selling well, Winkelman says, as fans tend to favor accessories over apparel.

A win today would do wonders for the group’s bottom line. Winkelman figures that the association would run through hundreds of shirts, hats and anything else with Jayhawks flair should KU play for a national title at the Georgia Dome.

And don’t worry, fans. Winkelman and her crew would bring plenty of “blinky” light Jayhawk pins to Atlanta.

¢ Postseason power: Patrick Prewitt considers the only blemish on his postseason record to be an aberration.

Prewitt, a 2001 KU grad who sells construction equipment in Chicago, is extending his string of tournament-game appearances today to 16 games.

He’s 14-1, the last time being in 2004, when KU lost to Georgia Tech in a regional final in St. Louis.

Not again.

“Hell no,” Prewitt said. “Otherwise I’ll be in Atlanta with nothing to do.”

Prewitt, like dozens of other KU fans, already has airline tickets to the site of the Final Four, set for March 31 and April 2 at the Georgia Dome.

He’s so confident that he simply doesn’t bother selecting the “refundable” option when booking flights.

“I don’t believe in it,” he said, preferring to bank on his stellar tournament record, as a fan, to back his investment once again.

¢ Pardon me, chancellor: Joel Borth made the trip to San Jose from his home in Eugene, Ore., then managed to move down a few rows inside HP Pavilion for a few minutes in Thursday’s UCLA-Pittsburgh game.

A tap on the shoulder revealed that he had taken someone’s seat.

“It was Robert Hemenway,” Borth said. “I couldn’t believe it – out of all the seats in this place, I sit in the chancellor’s seat.”

But Hemenway, KU’s top administrator, didn’t make a scene. Borth simply moved over a spot, allowing Hemenway to sit down and affording them both a chance to visit about the Jayhawks, the university and, of course, KU’s chances in today’s regional final.

Now Borth wouldn’t mind running into the same situation again, this time in Atlanta.

“I’ve already got reservations in Buckhead (an area of Atlanta), and two tickets through the Williams Fund,” said Borth, a 1985 KU grad who works as a dealer account manager for Ford Motor Credit Co. “We’ll be there no matter what.”

¢ Return trip: Win or lose, the Jayhawks and their traveling party look to have a late night tonight that carries into the early morning.

The team is scheduled to board its charter flight in San Jose sometime about 10 p.m. (midnight Lawrence time), for a nonstop flight to Forbes Field in Topeka.

That puts the team in T-town about 3 a.m. (Lawrence time) Sunday morning, and to Allen Fieldhouse about 4 a.m.

Whether the next step will be gearing up for a trip to Atlanta or clearing out their lockers will be settled tonight at HP Pavilion.

¢ Max can relax: This time, Max Falkenstien really is on vacation.

Having retired last year after 60 years as KU’s radio “Voice of the Jayhawks,” Falkenstien found himself lounging on a park bench Friday in downtown San Jose. Well wishers offered him words of encouragement as he soaked up the sun, knowing that the KU players and coaches were hard at work putting together a game plan to thwart UCLA in tonight’s regional final.

“They’ve come out here with an objective in mind,” he said.

Falkenstien’s objective Friday: Board San Jose’s light rail system for a trip out to Mountain View, Calif., a high-tech outpost at the southern tip of San Francisco Bay.

“You can only sit in a hotel room for so long,” he said. “This is a fun trip.”

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