A new curve in flooring

A sneak peek at what you might soon see underfoot: Bolefloor, a hardwood floor that throws organic curves into that part of the home long ruled by straight lines. The Dutch manufacturer touts the free-flowing edges as not only beautiful but also eco-friendly. The curves allow the company to use 20% more of each sawn plank. Bolefloor comes in oak, ash, cherry, maple and walnut, priced at $11 to $21 per square foot, depending on the wood and grade. The tongue-and-groove planks are about 9 feet long and come unfinished or oiled, ready to glue down.

As a courtesy, the NCAA asks Connor Sports Flooring to offer the Final Four court to the champion that year. In the six years it has been in business with the NCAA every single title-winning men's team has bought the court. Florida won in 2006 at the RCA Dome in Indianapolis and has been playing home games on it since. When they repeated the next year in Atlanta, they bought the court again. The center logo hangs on the wall in their practice facility. The rest was chopped into squares, and logos from their other Final Four appearances were added and hung alongside them. Kansas, the 2008 champion, did the same. Last year's champ, Connecticut, bought the court and sold it off in pieces, as did 2010 titlist Duke.

The regional courts, however, are sold on the open market — opening the path for the Newark court to find its new home in Las Vegas, the footing for approximately 70 high school, college basketball and Harlem Globetrotter games at the Orleans Arena.But if not for a miscalculation, it could have been known as Danny Miles Court, named for Oregon Tech's legendary head coach.A small NAIA Division 2 school in Southwest Oregon, its director of athletic development, Russ McMahon, received a flash e-mail last April from Connor Sports Flooring. It offered used floors that would be sanded down then repainted with the college's color schemes and logo.