The Obligatory Mangino is Overweight Post

The Big Red Network has been around for a little over two and a half years. Creating original content every weekday throughout the year causes you to sometimes repeat yourself a bit. Each of the past two years before the KU game, we pointed out Kansas head coach Mark Mangino's weight . We then were bombarded with comments from Jayhawk fans and others outraged and pointing out our lack of class.

Then we check the site visitor stats. Sure enough, these posts have been home runs. In fact, Darren's original post on the subject is like an annuity that pays off throughout the year. People seem to find it and come back to it again and again. Our theory is that someone is watching a KU game on TV for the first time and goes, “Holy smokes! Look at that guy!� then they google him and up pops the story.

Each time we've written about Mangino's weight, we've raised the health issue. I don't think anyone would disagree that Mangino is at an unhealthy size. But last year might have slammed the door on talk that it's somehow hurting KU football. A 12-1 season is a great thing whether you win your division or not. An Orange Bowl victory is a sweet thing for any fan. Maybe that's as great as things will ever get at KU and they'll go back to being a middling to bad team, but given that program's history over the last 30 years and the school's emphasis on basketball, it's doggone good.

So I can make crass remarks, like asking whether he has a bigger bra size than his wife. Maybe he deserves it for leaving his starters in so long a year ago to run up the score. But I'm done questioning what the man can do as a coach. He's definitely earned my respect for his ability there.