LJWorld.com

Rockin' around the Christmas tree while wondering whatever happened to Brenda Lee :

Tale of Two Terp Teams: Two college football coaches who require no additional padding to portray Santa Claus - Maryland's Ralph Fridgen and Kansas' Mark Mangino - have something else in common.

Back in 2001, Fridgen was named AP Coach of the Year after the Terps were selected to participate in the Orange Bowl. This year, as you know, Mangino was named AP coach of the year and also is taking the Jayhawks to the Orange Bowl.

Foreshadowing or coincidence? Well, if you believe in deja vð, I have good news and bad news. Maryland was flogged by Florida, 56-23, in the 2002 Orange Bowl. But on the flip side, Maryland's men's basketball team captured the NCAA championship three months later.

Given the choice, would Kansas sports buffs trade a bowl loss to Virginia Tech for a national basketball title? Or is that a rhetorical question? :

Sawdust It's Not: I'm not certain, of course, but I doubt if I'll find a slab of the old Allen Fieldhouse floor under the Christmas tree this morning. At $175 (plus $24 shipping and handling) for a hunk of wood roughly the size of a standard piece of paper, the old flooring is mainly for the man (or woman) who has everything.

There's a disclaimer, too. "Requests for floor location or coloration cannot be accepted." Darn, and I would have considered shelling out for the spot where Missouri mugged KU's Raef LaFrentz back in 1997.

Do you remember the incident? First, MU's Jason Sutherland bumped LaFrentz, then Kelly Thames elbowed him and finally Derek Grimm applied the coup de grace with a throwdown that included a clip to LaFrentz's jaw. At least the Tigers didn't stomp on the Jayhawks' two-time All-American. :

Pass the Pens, Please: They aren't giving away basketballs autographed by KU's men's basketball team, either. Those go for $159.95 plus $5 shipping and handling with this disclaimer: "This product is hand signed by the team and coaches, and imperfections including smudges or smears occur during this process." That begs the question: Who spends the least time signing his autograph and theoretically has the least chance of creating a smudge? Answer: Bill Self, of course. Among the players, it's a tie between Sasha Kaun and Tyrel Reed at nine letters apiece. :

Do Tread on Me: Speaking of high-priced items available from KUathletics.com, you can still "show your love and commitment to Kansas Athletics" by purchasing a custom granite paver for the area around the Phog Allen statue on the east side of Allen Fieldhouse. Cost: $350 for a six-inch square or $600 for a 12-inch square. Bricks are, of course, much better outside the fieldhouse than inside. :

Tick, Tock, Tick, Tock: The clock is ticking on Kansas Athletics and its inevitable announcement of a hike in football ticket prices. Last year's ducats were $35 for nonconference games and $45 for Big 12 games except the Nebraska game that went for a record $75. :

Hee, Hee, Hee, We're 32-3: Let's see, the KU men's basketball team is 12-0, the football team is 11-1 and the women's basketball team is 9-2. That's a combined record of 32-3. Yeah, I know, it should be 35-0. Honestly, though, a 91.4 winning percentage for your top two men's programs and your women's centerpiece is astounding. :