From the heartland to the far-flung reaches of Porter Corners, N.Y., and

Baton Rouge, La. In the middle of the night and during moments stolen at the

office. . . <

Tap, tap, tap on the computer keyboard, they send their hopes and dreams,

joy and frustration trucking down the information superhighway. Surf the Net,

dial up America on Line _ one of the nation's numerous computer on-line

information services.<

Today's M-You, K-You basketball showdown in Lawrence is /{the/} game, but

not /{the only/} game. All night and all day all season, Tiger and Jayhawk

fans have been squaring off with computer, modem, keyboard and mouse.<

One of 50 message folders on America on Line is reserved for Missouri

basketball fanatics, another one for Kansas. There's a Big Eight area for

those who want to intermingle. But any of the profane, inane or mundane

leapfrog into the center of each other's chat cycles regularly.<

Most know each other _ friend or foe _ only by such natty sobriquets as

Jah Love 1 (a 30-year-old Missouri fan living in Chicago, who grew up in

Kansas City as Jim Hense).<

Jah Love delights in piquing the Kansas fans with crossover messages in

the Jayhawk folder, frequently with reference to the showdown in Allen Field

House.<

``Feb. 25 is Judgment Day!!!<

Feb. 25 is Judgment Day!!!<

Feb. 25 is Judgment Day!!!''<

The response from Dolpin68 (Sean Rodman of Derby, Kan.):<

``I can't wait until February 25th just to shut you up once and for all.''<

Trash talk? It's here plenty, often left by people like MAlva14468, who

protect their true identities by not posting personal information in AOL's

member directory.<

``The Tigers have no shot this year in the NCAA tourney. But maybe NIT,''

he//she wrote as a Valentine's Day offering.<

The normally more subdued Web Reach got into the act too, on the Feb. 25

Judgment Day theme, declaring:<

``Can't wait for the appointment on Feb. 25. I know you are aware of this

date. The sound of this date makes you tremble in your shorts. Oh, don't

forget your twins. I wouldn't want them to miss the Phog.''<

The action is always hot, sometimes too hot.<

At midweek, Simbaud _ AOL's version of referees Eddie Hightower or Stanley

Reynolds _ left this missive for all to read:<

``Would you guys do me a favor and tone down your language? I'm the new

cybercop of the College Basketball Area, which means I have to read every

post on every board looking for messages which, due to obscenity, vulgarity,

ethnic slurs, etc., violate the AOL Terms of Service.[e]A number of the Tiger

fans among us have been getting a little bit too exuberant in recent

postings. I must therefore ask you to remember that you're posting in a

public venue, and that restraint is appreciated.''<

Why are they on line?<

``I think the sports boards serve several purposes,'' wrote John Steere, a

Wichita attorney who goes by KU84.<

``Primarily, they are an electronic water cooler around which people from

all over can gather to talk about their favorite team or just listen in. Much

of the chatter I used to participate in in the halls at work is now

transferred to the computer.<

``It's not as spontaneous but can be more thought out, since one has to

put one's thoughts in writing.''<

Recruiting rumors are a hot topic on the Kansas and Missouri boards. There

is coaching praise and coaching criticism, such as that posted by Frank

Harmon of Shreveport, La., who wishes Kansas Coach Roy Williams gave Billy

Thomas more playing time.<

``I guarantee that BT would not put up 2 Air Balls with the shot clock

counting down,'' he wrote under the screen name FHar"mon515. ``Also if you

lay off of BT the way OU layed off Vaughn, the rock will be in the air toward

the bottom of the net. I think BT got about 3 minutes of playing time in the

2nd half. Granted, Minor blew his doors off a couple of times, but Minor blew

Pearson's, Haase's and Pollard's doors off a few times also. I hope Roy

accepts this loss as coaching induced and not player induced.''<

For Clay Cottingham, a Tiger-news-starved Missouri fan from Porter

Corners, N.Y., this is a lot easier than what he went through trying to

follow the Tigers while he was stationed overseas.<

``While in Japan in 1990, some of Mizzou's games were broadcast on Armed

Forces radio and TV, but would start at 4 or 5 a.m. Japan time,'' Cottingham

explained. ``I would get up and watch the games which would typically run

into our workday. My division officer and I had an understanding that I was

excused from work until the games were over. He knew where my priorities

were.''<

Age and position are transcended within the computer link.<

Dr. Gale Thompson, a professor of psychology and clinical psychologist at

Bethany College in Bethany, W. Va., maintains, ``I may be one of the older

fans on the board.''<

Along the way to getting a BA, MA and Ph.D. from Missouri during 1957-71,

DR GALE T wrote: ``I can remember watching MU basketball during my

undergraduate days in the old field house when some players were still using

two-handed set shots.''<

So there is tradition here that is widely appreciated, deeply implanted.<

MONA L P, married into the KU-MU rivalry.<

``Being from Indiana and the Big 10,'' read one of her postings, ``I never

knew any one state's fans could hate another the way Indiana does Kentucky

until my daughter married a Kansas City boy who is Catholic, and we are not.

His main concern was that his children be born in a Missouri hospital, not a

Kansas, since you can't tell which state you are in half the time! He never

said anything about the kids being Catholic, just not Kansans!''<

BTRJayhawk, one Dick Williams, was born into the rivalry. His deceased

Having some of the last words, for now, are KU's Dolpin68 and MU's JaH

Love 1.<

Writes Dolpin: ``It's hard for me to imagine any Kansas graduate who

doesn't love that basketball team. It's actually a little sick. After a KU

loss, I'll be depressed for a week. And a loss to Missouri is twice as bad.<

``I know K-State thinks they are our main rivals, but it's just not the

case. Any true Hawk fan will tell you it's Mizzou. A chief rival has to be

good, and as much as it pains me to say it, Mizzou has been a good team over

the last decade.''<

Writes Jah Love 1 (the ellipses are his): ``The KU basketball program

is[e]let's see[e]the model for college basketball programs. It is efficient,

heavy on tradition, and in all ways, squeaky clean. Recruits are blue chip,

tops in the country. The play is not athletic, it is old-time, conservative

basketball. Passing, passing, passing. Fundamentals. KU Basketball is the

Family Von Trapp Singers. They are great at what they do[e]but they are

BORING.<

``Missouri Basketball[e]the Dirty Dozen. A greasy, unshaven, snot-faced,

scoundrel punk[e]but man is he fun to watch. The long list of X-Tigers reads

like a Williams S. Burroughs novel (never understood why he chose to live in

Lawrence)[e]a rap sheet of social outcasts, underachievers, and carnival

freaks. Like the Dirty Dozen, the Tigers were never supposed to (be) able to

get the job done[e]but they do, and then they die. Thanks to the one

man[e]the dean[e]Norm Stewart, aka Lee Marvin.''<<