The Rock Chalkboard

UPDATED: Luke Grimm signs with KU football after leaving class #kufball
After telling Phog.net he would not be signing early and announcing that "changes in the scholarship expectation" would keep him from signing with the Jayhawks — and reporting a new offer — a three-star Kansas City wide receiver has reversed course and signed with the Jayhawks in the early period.

Bill Self likes KU basketball's team chemistry #kubball
In years past, Self has referred to his team as “soft,” among other adjectives, in the non-conference portion of KU’s schedule. But through the first six weeks of the regular season, Self has refrained from publicly challenging his team to be better in that regard. In fact, he has gone out of his way to praise certain aspects of his team through the first portion of the season.

KU assistant Clint Bowen named North Texas defensive coordinator #nolongerkufball
Clint Bowen, previously the Mean Green's defensive coordinator (2011), was most recently the safeties coach for KU football, but he held several roles in his extended time in and around the KU program. Bowen was the defensive coordinator for the last year of the Charlie Weis-era at KU and for all of David Beaty's four-year tenure as coach. Bowen also had a brief stint as interim coach after the firing of Weis in 2014, and he also held several other positions on staff.

KU football OC Brent Dearmon identifies potential starting QBs for 2020 | KUsports.com #kufball
Though obviously enthused this week by the signing of a dual-threat quarterback in the Kansas football program’s 2020 recruiting class, offensive coordinator Brent Dearmon isn’t the type to expect incoming freshman Jalon Daniels to show up in Lawrence as some kind of preordained starter.

Bits o Chalk

Giannis Antetokounmpo after leading Bucks to win over Lakers -- I'm not supposed to be here
The reigning MVP dressed quickly and then darted to the kids' room of Fiserv Forum for a family meeting with brothers Thanasis, Kostas and Alex -- plus their mom and Giannis' pregnant girlfriend -- almost forgetting his media obligations, before reflecting on the moment.

After Tom Coughlin's firing, time was right for Jaguars to fix clocks
One of the first things the Jaguars' equipment staff had done Thursday was to turn all the clocks in the facility back five minutes. One of the first things executive vice president of football operations Tom Coughlin did when he arrived in 2017 was move them ahead five minutes. But after his Wednesday night firing, the team quickly made the change, returning the clocks to the actual time.

Thunder players evacuated from Oklahoma City mall after shooting
"When the shooting started, there were a bunch of people hid in closets, hid in back rooms, locked the stores," Sgt. Kris Gellenbeck said. "So they're having to go store to store to clear the civilians out and look for the suspect."

Doc Rivers hopes frustrating loss to Rockets is 'learning experience'
The normally laid-back Lou Williams had to be restrained from going after an official before being ejected. Minutes later, Patrick Beverley fouled out and went on to be ejected for jawing with Russell Westbrook.

Ten NBA things I like and don't like, including the Philadelphia 76ers' big question
Paul might have the most diverse lob portfolio ever. (Professor Andre Miller, Ph.D., Point Guard University, would like a word.) That lob comes suddenly. There is no start-and-stop prodding into the paint. Paul pulls up off one foot, almost as if he is lofting a floater.

Eraser Dust

Trump attacks Billy Graham's Christianity Today after editorial
President Donald Trump, who has attacked many news organizations during his career in politics, found a new target Friday: Christianity Today, the faith-focused magazine founded by the iconic evangelical preacher Billy Graham.

Where did Trump’s Ukraine conspiracy obsession originate? Aides say “Putin told him.”
This much we do know: Whatever Donald Trump knows about Ukraine, he didn’t read it in a book. That leaves Twitter and, according to the Washington Post’s report, Vladimir Putin as possible fonts of totally reliable information on which the president of the United States relies. Senior aides told the Post that throughout Trump’s time in the White House, the president has regurgitated information believed to have been relayed during his private meetings with the Russian president. What did Putin have to say? It was Urkaine, not little old Russia, that was the real culprit behind the 2016 election interference—all in an attempt to take down Trump’s candidacy. It was a conspiracy theory that served both men.

Counting on a Tax Refund in 2020? Here's Why That May Not Happen. | The Motley Fool
Each year, millions of Americans eagerly await a tax refund upon submitting their returns to the IRS. And while it's easy to argue that tax refunds are not, in fact, a good thing, since they effectively mean you gave the government a tax-free loan during the year, many people appreciate getting to collect that lump sum payment. But in 2019, many tax filers were disappointed with their lower refunds, or absent refunds. And in 2020, many are likely to experience a repeat letdown.

High Time for Hellroaring? - Flathead Beacon
But for forest planners contemplating an ambitious expansion within Whitefish Mountain Resort’s Hellroaring Basin, including installing a new chairlift to the top of Hellroaring Peak and cutting new runs, the science of skier circulation involves a precise calculus with numerous factors, yards of red tape and the fundamental assumption that skiers will continue to converge on Big Mountain in droves.

Hungry Horse News - Breaking News, Columbia Falls man admits to soliciting sex photos from minor over Facebook
According to federal court records filed in the case, the prosecution claims that beginning in January, Todd Louis Pajnich, 30, started communicating on Facebook with a 10-year-old girl. In April, Facebook reported potential online sexual exploitation involving the girl’s and Pajnich’s accounts. A law enforcement investigation found records in which Pajnich asked the girl her age and that she told him she was 13. Pajnich then asked the girl to send him sexually explicit images of herself. He sent the victim sexually explicit images of a male, purportedly of himself, and encouraged girl to send him sexually explicit images of herself, which she did. Pajnich admitted to law enforcement that he knew the victim was a child and that he solicited sexually explicit images of her, Alme said in a release.

Nike is seeing a shocking rebirth in this business because of one key sneaker
Nike’s rather chill Converse brand has surprisingly sprung back to life in the face of surging demand for athletic and fashion-focused sneakers.

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker Was Built to Win. So It Had to Fail | WIRED
First, a seemingly controversial opinion: Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is a good movie. A good movie—not a good film. Films win Oscars and play festivals. Movies sell popcorn and play in multiplexes. There are films that qualify as movies and movies that qualify as films, but Rise of Skywalker is definitely a movie. That’s not meant as an insult. J. J. Abrams’ final installment of the Skywalker Saga was meant to be a wildly entertaining spacefaring allegory about the power of good to overcome evil, of light to drown out the dark. In that, it's incredibly successful.

(ed note - i don't know if there are spoilers in this. read at your own risk)

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