Kansas News

Olympic gold medalist named KU softball coach | KUsports.com
McFalls most recently spent eight years as the assistant softball coach at the University of Texas from 2011-18. She helped lead the Longhorns to eight NCAA tournament appearances, including a Super Regional berth in 2012 and the Women's College World Series in 2013.

KU in search of consistency from complementary D-linemen | KUsports.com
“Some of the guys, I think, are proven but have to be more consistent,” redshirt senior defensive tackle and team leader Daniel Wise said.

Point guard Tre Mann to visit KU in September; Tarik Black signs with team in Israel
Tre Mann, a 6-foot-4, 185-pound senior point guard from Village Charter High School in The Villages, Fla., will make an official recruiting visit to Kansas on Sept. 21-23, Rivals.com reported Monday. He will hold an in-home visit with KU coaches on Sept. 10.

All of KU’s basketball players in town for start of Monday’s academic year
All of Kansas’ basketball players are back on campus for Monday’s first day of the 2018-19 academic year, Jayhawks coach Bill Self said Sunday night.

College basketball countdown: Top 10 toughest home courts since 2000
It shouldn't come as any surprise that Allen Fieldhouse is the No. 1 entry on the list. Even after the Jayhawks lost three home games — and a fourth at Sprint Center — in the 2017-18 season, KU coach Bill Self still has more consecutive conference titles (14) than he has home losses (13).

KU athletic director Jeff Long announces first coaching hire: New softball coach Jennifer McFalls
"We are excited to name Jennifer McFalls as our new softball coach," Long said in a KU athletics release. "She brings outstanding credentials as a coach in the Big 12 Conference and as a national-caliber player. Our student-athletes will benefit greatly from her knowledge and passion for the game of softball."

Get to know the 2018 KU football roster: Cornerbacks
With players having reported in Lawrence and Fall Camp underway, Phog.net will be taking you through the current KU football roster to look at how the team stacks up at each position and what newcomers and returners should be expected to contribute

Big 12 News

Outrageous College Football Predictions for the Big 12 in 2018
Despite this program's recent struggles, there is some low-key talent on the roster -- especially on offense. They've got a lot of options in the backfield at both quarterback and running back, some talented, experienced receivers and a couple of returning starters on the offensive line. Defensively, the Jayhawks field a unit full of upperclassmen, including some future NFL players in defensive lineman Daniel Wise and linebacker Joe Dineen Jr. They'll take down Nicholls State, Central Michigan, and Rutgers and then pull off a slight upset at Baylor to start the year.

2018 Big 12 expert picks: Overrated, underrated teams and predicted order of finish - CBSSports.com
The Big 12 has missed the College Football Playoff in two of the four years it has existed, but Oklahoma came excruciatingly close last year to becoming the first Big 12 team to play for a national championship since 2009. Alas, it did not happen, and the Big 12 may once again be looking up on the rest of the Power Five unless it can find a way to turn things around.

Other Sports News

Jackie MacMullan on Kevin Love Paul Pierce and state of mental health in NBA
So began Love's public journey as the NBA's unofficial (and eloquent) spokesman on mental health. The willingness of Love and DeMar DeRozan to step out of the shadows and reveal their struggles has set the NBA on an important path of self-discovery. It has prompted the National Basketball Players Association to hire Dr. William Parham as its first director of mental health and wellness, and it has convinced commissioner Adam Silver and union head Michele Roberts that hammering out a comprehensive mental health policy needs to be a priority.

Adam Jones of Baltimore Orioles reunites with Danny Jansen of Toronto Blue Jays years after living with family
Orioles outfielder Adam Jones and Blue Jays rookie catcher Danny Jansen are 10 years apart in age, 13 years apart in MLB service time and aren't related, yet Monday's game in Toronto was a reunion of sorts for the two.

Standing Rock Sioux to honor Kyrie Irving of Boston Celtics in ceremony
Irving's late mother, Elizabeth Ann Larson, was adopted out of the White Mountain family of the tribe and his grandparents and great-grandparents were citizen of the tribe, according to the tribe's release.

Toronto Raptors hiring San Antonio Spurs' Jeremy Castleberry, friend of Kawhi Leonard, to coaching staff
The Toronto Raptors are hiring San Antonio Spurs staffer Jeremy Castleberry -- a close friend of Kawhi Leonard -- to a position on their coaching staff, league sources told ESPN.

Mike Zimmer of Minnesota Vikings -- Helmet rule will cost some people jobs
Concerns over the implementation of the NFL's new helmet rule continue to mount through the preseason and have drawn frustration and concern from players and coaches alike.

Other News

Chris Hemsworth generously dismisses Thor: The Dark World as "meh"
In fact, Thor himself is willing to rag on The Dark World director Alan Taylor’s attempt to expand on the sci-fi Shakespeare nonsense of Kenneth Branagh’s original Thor movie. In an interview with GQ, Chris Hemsworth dismissed The Dark World—which he simply calls “the second one”—as being “meh.” He chalks this up to an outdated notion of “masculinity,” in that The Dark World’s version of the God Of Thunder felt “very familiar,” so for Taika Waititi’s Thor: Ragnarok, he tried to make the character more human and “truer to his own spirit.”

Folks, I'm Not Sure This Plan to Blow All the Wildfire Smoke Into Canada Is Gonna Work
Per Global News’ report, Spokane, Washington resident Caleb Moon formed a Facebook event titled “Blow Spokane’s Smoke Away to Canada.” It is impossible to believe that the August 24th event, which asks each of the city’s 550,000 residents to place “at least 5 box fans on their roof” to accomplish this, is anything but a joke. But Moon at least played it earnest in an interview with the network:

Ouch, These Stories From the Crypto Crash Are Hard to Stomach
Kim Hyon-jeong, a 45-year-old teacher and mother of one who lives on the outskirts of Seoul, said she put about 100 million won, or $90,000, into cryptocurrencies last fall. She drew on savings, an insurance policy and a $25,000 loan. Her investments are now down about 90 percent.