Kansas News

Mike Lee talks offseason preparation, expectations for season
University of Kansas junior safety Mike Lee spoke with reporters Tuesday about his expectations for 2018 with the season opener against Nicholls State right around the corner.

Film Breakdown: A scouting report on KU opponent Nicholls State
In order to add more depth, we spoke with Nicholls State play-by-play announcer Bryant Johnson to get his thoughts on this year's team. Here's is a scouting report of KU football's upcoming opponent.

NBA Draft stock watch: Ranking KU basketball, Big 12 prospects
On Wednesday, ESPN's Jonathan Givony posted an updated 2019 NBA mock draft as a guide of sorts to the season after a busy July and August. The mock draft contains the name of seven Big 12 players, though it actually leaves off the player perhaps most likely to be voted preseason Big 12 player of the year in Dedric Lawson.

Q&A with the voice of Nicholls State: Bryant Johnson
"The most experienced, balanced group they've had in coach Tim Rebowe's four years — and one that has a solidified position group at really all eight position groups. There are juniors and seniors at every position and then there are, of course, your new incoming class of freshman recruits, transfers and FBS transfers. But every single position group is led by guys with one, two or three years of starting experience under their belt."

KU Kickoff 2018: How the Jayhawks could win 4 games — or more | Smithology | KUsports.com
Let’s say you’re the super-positive type. A person who looks at a 50-percent filled glass of your favorite beverage and thinks, “Man, there is so much drink left! How will I ever finish it? This is going to be a terrific day.” Well, then this is the Kansas football season outlook case for you.

Diving deep into the Jayhawks' roster ahead of KU football's opener (KU Sports Hour) | KUsports.com
KU football beat writer Benton Smith leads a discussion on the Jayhawks’ upcoming 2018 debut against Nicholls State, with Tom Keeagn, Matt Tait and Shane Jackson. Topics include: how much backup quarterback Miles Kendrick will play and who among KU’s projected starters will keep their jobs all season. Plus: the Journal-World sports staff answers some of your Twitter questions during the mailbag portion.

Former Ohio State OT Kevin Feder ready to reboot career at KU | KUsports.com
“From then to now it’s night and day, for sure,” Feder said of his overall health. “Over there it was definitely frustrating. I encountered foot surgery and then it didn’t go as planned. All that kind of stuff. It was constant just nagging injuries tacking on to it. And when you’re playing over there (at Ohio State) it’s such a high caliber of guys, it’s next guy up, next guy up. It’s difficult to keep up when you’re on the sideline all of the time.”

Texas prep Samuell Williamson returns to KU’s campus for official visit
Add to that the fact the 6-foot-7, 190-pound senior guard/forward from Rockwall (Texas) High School has a brother and mother who both attended Kansas and it’s easy to see why he referred to KU in an interview (with 247sports.com) as his “dream school.”

BV Northwest’s Christian Braun receives scholarship offer from Jayhawks
Christian Braun, a 6-foot-6 senior guard from Blue Valley Northwest, has received a scholarship offer from Kansas, he reported Thursday night on Twitter.

How 'surreal' KU basketball stint helped tight end James Sosinski
A tight end for David Beaty and the KU football team, Sosinski began practicing with Bill Self’s men’s basketball squad in late November and officially joined the program as a walk-on the following month. The 6-foot-7, 250-pound “fire hydrant,” as teammate Mitch Lightfoot dubbed him, was a welcome sight for the frontcourt-thin Jayhawks and served mostly as practice depth, though he did appear in seven contests.

Other Sports

Usain Bolt makes football debut for Central Coast Mariners in 6-1 win
Usain Bolt said it would take four months for him to reach his best after a first football cameo appearance for A-League club Central Coast Mariners on Friday.

Arbitrator sends Colin Kaepernick's grievance against NFL to trial
An arbitrator is sending Colin Kaepernick's grievance with the NFL to trial, denying the league's request to throw out the quarterback's claims that owners conspired to keep him out of the league because of his protests of social injustice.

New York Yankees acquire Andrew McCutchen in trade with Giants
The New York Yankees have agreed to a trade with the San Francisco Giants for veteran outfielder Andrew McCutchen, a source told ESPN's Buster Olney on Thursday.

Punish Michigan State over Larry Nassar, but go bigger than the NCAA - SBNation.com
The NCAA isn’t going to do anything to Michigan State over the case of Larry Nassar, the convicted sexual predator who gained access to many of his victims through his job as an MSU sports doctor from 1997 until 2016. The university said Thursday that the NCAA had cleared it of rules violations after an investigation that’d been announced in April.

Brandon Knight trade: Houston Rockets pick up a couple of Suns mistakes - SBNation.com
The Rockets (championship contenders) and Suns (worst team in the NBA last season) made a trade in the dusk of August, shaking up Houston’s salary cap sheet and Phoenix’s rotation. Ryan Anderson and second-round pick De’Anthony Melton are headed to Phoenix. The Suns sent Brandon Knight and Marquese Chriss to Houston.

Here’s how NFL practice squads work - SBNation.com
All around the NFL, teams are paring down rosters to the mandatory 53-man limit before the league’s deadline on Sept. 1 at 4 p.m. ET. Beginning on Sept. 2 at 1 p.m. ET, teams can start assembling practice squads, groups of 10 players who practice with the team throughout the week but are not eligible to be active on game days.

Other Sports News

Aretha Franklin funeral: Nation mourns and celebrates Queen of Soul
Thousands of friends, family, fans, celebrities and dignitaries will pay their final respects today to Aretha Franklin, the Queen of Soul, who died of pancreatic cancer on Aug. 16.

Ronan Farrow's former producer says NBC News tried to block Weinstein story - CBS News
NBC News says two of its former journalists are "outright lying" that the network tried to block an explosive report about Harvey Weinstein. Former investigative producer Rich McHugh says NBC News displayed a "massive breach of journalistic integrity" and told him and Ronan Farrow to "stand down" on a report into Weinstein's alleged sexual misconduct.

What Louis C.K. and Matt Lauer's Attempted Comebacks Say About Them—and Us | E! News
When C.K. stepped on stage at the legendary Comedy Cellar—a NYC stand-up institution that was frequently used as a shooting location on his FX series Louie—on Sunday, it was a complete surprise to everyone: club owner and staff, the other comics on the bill, and, most importantly, the audience. While not uncommon for A-list comedians to show up at clubs unannounced while they're working out new material, giving it the audience test run the art form requires, they usually don't do it when stepping out from the shroud of disgrace for the first time.