By Ralph Hipp  The buzz in the newsroom and in our area sports scene this week is the behavior and the fate of KU coach Mark Mangino.. the dam is breaking on support for this guy.  I don't know the exact head count, but I would surmise I could count the players who are faithfully loyal to Coach Mangino with the fingers of one hand.  That may be generous.  Aside from the talk of a revolt led by the assistant coach the players DO like, Clint Bowen; the videos and audiotapes of what Mangino does or says to his players tell it all.

But it's not the 5-5 record, not all about these allegations.  As Lew Perkins dangles a tantalizing news conference over our heads about Mangino's future.. we all know how this really going to turn out.  Coach Mangino would be fired for two reasons:  that there are very influential alumni who want Mangino out.  The other reason is that Mangino has already lost the recruiting war for the University.  If they're good, if they're in Kansas, and they want to play in Kansas.. they're going to sign up for Bill Snyder's second rebuilding at Kansas State.  It's a rebuilding that's already been done in the time KU has gone into a tailspin with their five losses. 

J.B. and I have just finished watching a segment about Mangino on ESPN.  Good question asked.. what parent would possibly allow Mark Mangino to come to their home and pitch the Jayhawk program to their son now? 

We'd love to know what you KU and K-State fans think.   Ralph