The Rock Chalkboard

Late Night Primer 2019 - 5 things to watch at KU basketball's annual season tipoff extravaganza | Tale of the Tait | KUsports.com
So with Snoop at the top, here’s a look at the rest of the list of things worth looking forward to on Friday night, all of them of the actual basketball variety...

How KU coach Bill Self views NCAA news surrounding program
“There’s reason to be concerned. There’s no question,” said the 17th-year KU basketball coach in the interview. “The only thing that can really be said is our story hasn’t been told yet. So I believe — I know — that everyone is confident with that and feels like at the end of the day, when everything plays out, that will prevail.”

Bill Self shares thoughts on California bill to pay players
"You’ll have student-athletes doing every barbecue commercial, every dry cleaning commercial, car commercial," Self said. "You’ll have them doing all this stuff in a way to generate money, which I’m not saying is wrong in theory. I just think it’s going to be the wild, wild West in a way we’ve never seen it before."

Official: Khalil Herbert no longer with KU football, Miles says
"We would like to wish Khalil Herbert and his family well moving forward," Miles said via a KU athletics release on Wednesday. "With that said, Khalil is no longer a member of our football program and will not participate in any football activities."

'I've got to change how I run': After game of career lows, RB Pooka Williams says he's not worried about stats | KUsports.com
“Linebackers, when they play us they don’t play true to their game,” Williams said, repeating a notion he shared a week earlier in reference to some issues with rushing production against West Virginia. “They just see a hole and fill a hole.”

KU volleyball drops road match at Iowa State | KUsports.com
In its second Big 12 matchup of the season, Kansas suffered a 3-0 loss (25-23, 25-20, 25-18) at Iowa State Wednesday night inside Hilton Coliseum.

Bits o Chalk

Tennessee Volunteers AD Phillip Fulmer rules out return as football coach
"We've got a good football coach, and I believe in Jeremy Pruitt totally," Fulmer said. "I have no interest in coaching again and would rather spend that time being a grandfather and doing whatever I can as athletic director in helping Jeremy get this program where we all want it to be. Any talk of me coaching again is just a bunch of rumors."

Lonzo, LaVar Ball countersued by former partner Alan Foster
New Orleans Pelicans guard Lonzo Ball and his father, LaVar, have been countersued by their former business partner, Alan Foster, for fraudulent concealment and breach of contract.

Yandy Diaz (2 HRs) shrugs off pressure in leading Tampa Bay Rays to wild-card win
"In Cuba, they probably had knives and machetes," a champagne-soaked Tampa Bay Rays first baseman Yandy Diaz said in Spanish with a laugh. "In Venezuela, if you made an error, maybe you'd get shot."

NFL quarter-season awards - Barnwell's picks for MVP, best rookies and more
With four games of the NFL season in the books for most teams, it's about time to get to the quarter-season awards. I hand these awards out every year for a few reasons. One is to serve as a good reminder of what we were thinking at the time; 12 months ago, as an example, Mike Vrabel was a reasonable Coach of the Year candidate.

Los Angeles Lakers' Kyle Kuzma signs five-year deal with Puma
As he looks to expand his brand on and off the court, Los Angeles Lakers forward Kyle Kuzma has signed a five-year footwear and apparel endorsement deal with Puma.

Eraser Dust

Trump used Pence to tell Ukraine US would withhold aid without corruption probe: WaPo - Business Insider
Trump had ordered his administration to withhold the nearly $400 million military-aid package to Ukraine days before the phone call with Zelensky.

Flathead Co. Health Department shines light on falling vaccination rates | KECI
Recent data from the Flathead City-County Health Department show student vaccination rates are below what scientists recommend, and officials say the numbers are falling.

Oasis Albums: Which One Is the Best? | SPIN
With the critical tides now turned in the album’s favor, it’s easy to rank (What’s the Story) Morning Glory? as one of Oasis’ most essential albums. Writing about “Wonderwall” for our list of the 95 best alternative rock songs of 1995 (we named it No. 1), Andrew Unterberger offered leery praise, citing “the Gallaghers’ ability to hit specific emotional chords in the vaguest way possible, a method of attack that would, for better or worse, end up inspiring an entire generation of British rock mid-tempoists at the turn of the millennium.” And though “Wonderwall,” “Don’t Look Back In Anger,” “Some Might Say,” and “Champagne Supernova” have become something like standards, deeper cuts such as “Hey Now!” hold up just as well.

U.S. hits Europe with tariffs in retaliation over Airbus, Boeing case
American lovers of Scotch whisky, French wine and Italian cheese might have to dig deeper into their pockets after the Trump administration slapped tariffs on $7.5 billion of European consumer products.