With the fall high school sports season now behind us and winter games set to tip off on Friday, here’s a short list of news and notes compiled while wondering just how weird it will be to see Lawrence High’s boys basketball team play on Friday without Dorian Green on the floor.

Since he came up, here’s a look at Green’s stats at Colorado State University through the first seven games of the season. The Rams have jumped out to a 4-3 start. Games played: 7, games started: 7, Points per game: 14.4 (first on team), Minutes per game: 36.4 (first on team), Assists: 25, Steals: 10, Rebounds per game: 3.7 (tied for fourth on team), Three-point percentage: 34.1 (14-of-41), Free throw percentage: 86.1 (31-of-36). Next up: Green and the Rams will take on Denver University at 8 p.m. (CST) Saturday at home.

• Every couple of weeks some sort of high school sports journal or magazine ends up in my mail box at work. Most are sponsored by the Kansas State High School Activities Association and nearly all of them are packed full of interesting features, news or trends regarding high school sports. Some have led me to story ideas and other issues have helped provide background and shed light into stories I already had been working on. But after receiving these gems week after week for the past few years, the one thing I had never noticed were the covers. Each time a new one would arrive, I’d simply grab it and toss it onto my desk until I could get around to reading it. But the one I grabbed the other day stopped me on my tracks. There, on the cover, were some very familiar faces: The Free State High gymnastics team, with it’s state title trophy in hand, was smiling proudly atop the podium at last month’s state meet. I guess I never realized that all of those covers from the past were photos from around the state. OK, so it’s not quite making the cover of Sports Illustrated, but it’s a cool feat nonetheless.

• Speaking of feet — bare feet, to be exact — the 2009-10 winter sports season officially begins this afternoon at Free State High, as the Free State and Lawrence High boys swimming teams hit the water for the first event of the winter season. The Firebirds and Lions both will compete at the five-team Free State Invite that kicks of the season. Both teams return several talented and experienced swimmers from last season and each features a host of newcomers that will add to the excitement of the upcoming meets. The meet begins at 3:30 this afternoon at the Lawrence Aquatics Center.

• When the LHS and Free State boys and girls basketball teams open their seasons this week and next, they’ll kick off the final season in which making it to Emporia is the cool thing to do. Emporia, which has been home to the Class 6A state basketball tournaments for decades, will step aside in 2011, making room for Wichita to get in on the action. The 2011 boys and girls state tournaments will be played at Wichita State University’s Koch Arena. Emporia, meanwhile, will host the Class 1A, Div. II state tourneys. There was no word on how long the tourney would stay in Wichita or if Emporia’s White Auditorium ever will host the Class 6A event again. With that in mind, wouldn’t it be great if LHS or Free State — or both — could give the old barn a sweet sendoff?

• In case you missed it, Olathe North won the Class 6A state football championship last weekend, with a 37-3 pasting of Wichita Heights. After winning a hard-fought game against the Free State Firebirds (41-28) in the quarterfinals and surviving a turnover-plagued semifinal showdown with Blue Valley (16-14), the Eagles returned to form in the title game, running all over the Falcons for the school’s eighth football title since 1996.

• That’s all for now…. It’s time to look ahead to the rest of the winter sports seasons, particularly the openers for all of the city’s basketball teams. Lawrence High’s boys and girls will open Friday at Washburn Rural. It will be the first game for two new head coaches as Mike Lewis (boys) and Nick Wood (girls) will look to get their head-coaching careers off on the right foot. Also on Friday, Veritas Christian’s boys and girls will open the season with back-to-back home games at the Eudora Community Center. Next Tuesday, Bishop Seabury Academy’s boys will join the parade, as they open their season at home against Hyman Brand. And next Thursday, when the LHS boys and girls open play in two different KC-area tournaments, the Free State High boys and girls will kick off their seasons at the Bonner Springs Metro Prep Tipoff Classic.

It should be a fun season. Let’s get it going.